Lake Name Generator

Great fantasy lakes, British lochs and tarns, haunted waters and crystal-clear magical lakes.

Style

Name Format

Press Generate Names for 8 lake names.

Tap a name to copy it, or the bookmark to keep it.

black shadow = tap it

By Rich · Updated 29 October 2026

Example Lake Names

A few names this generator came up with. Tap one to copy it, or press "Generate Names" above for more.

Any style · Name only

Cuckoo Mere
Blackcock Tarn
Widow's Mere
Gravedigger's Lake

Any style · With a description

Palvane Lake, where the town on the shore is older than the kingdom
The Shimmering Lake, where the mist sparkles like powdered diamonds
Nymph's Tarn, that heals the wounds of anyone who bathes at midnight
Lake Durnevar, where the royal barge is rowed out once a year to honour the drowned

Fantasy · With a description

Lake Embermoor, where the giants once fished with nets made of rope as thick as trees
Lake Belmoor, whose waters are so clear you can count the stones forty feet down
Lake Ivaine, where a great battle was fought on the ice long ago
The Lake of a Thousand Isles, that turns gold in autumn with the reflection of the forests

British · With a description

Llyn Tawel, where the bittern can be heard booming in the reeds in spring
Hawsdale Water, that holds the reflection of the hills perfectly on a still morning
Combe Tarn, that a local legend says has no bottom at all
Llyn Aur, where the monks once kept their fish for Lent

Dark · Name only

The Lake of Pale Lights
Hangman's Tarn
Hollow Bell Pool
Grave Mere

Crystal · Name only

Wizard's Mere
Lake Moonsilver
The Lake of Silver Swans
Shimmer Lake

How the Lake Name Generator Works

It works from 972 names and name parts, which combine into over 23,000 possible results.

The choices:

Style: Any style, Fantasy, British, Dark, Crystal.
Name Format:
- Name only, e.g. Hermit's Tarn
- With a description, e.g. Andrask Lake, where the great ships of the inland fleet are built

Each press gives you 8 names. "Show 8 more" adds 8 you haven't seen yet. Once you've seen them all, "Start again" shuffles the whole list again.

Good lake names say what kind of water it is, and the word for lake does half the work: a loch sounds Scottish, a tarn high and cold, a mere quiet and English. This lake name generator gives you fantasy lakes for your D&D map, British-style lochs, meres, tarns and llyns, dark and haunted waters and crystal-clear magical lakes, with a short description if you want a story to go with one.

Eight good lake names

All eight came from the generator, across its styles:

The Lake of the Seven Isles: a fantasy lake with a map in its name.
Jorvane Lake, that fills a crater left by a falling star: a lake with an origin story.
Llyn y Frân: Welsh for "lake of the crow".
Loch Tarvach: a Scottish-sounding loch.
Snipe Tarn: a small mountain lake named after a bird that nests there.
Stag Tarn, where a crannog once stood on a little island: a British lake with real history in its description.
Hangman's Mere: a dark water nobody swims in.
Moonbow Lake: a crystal-clear magical lake.

Meres, lochs, llyns and tarns

Each part of Britain has its own word for a lake:

Mere is Old English, used for lakes in England, and is part of Windermere, which means the lake of a Norseman called Vinandr.
Loch is the Gaelic word, used across Scotland.
Llyn is Welsh. Welsh lake names often describe something: Llyn y Wrach is the witch's lake, Llyn Dwfn the deep lake.
Tarn, from the Old Norse tjörn, is a small mountain lake, common in the Lake District.

Oddly, only one of the Lake District's lakes, Bassenthwaite Lake, has "lake" in its name. The rest are meres, waters and tarns.

Choose British for names like these, Fantasy for Lake Lorrendal, Dark for Drowned Maid's Pool, or Crystal for the Starlit Pool.

Lakes in your world

Give a lake a reason to matter. A crossing, a border, an island fortress or something underneath the water.
Match the word to the region. If the hills are fells, the lakes are probably meres and tarns; if they're bens, use lochs.
Use the description as a rumour for an innkeeper to tell.

For the rivers that feed it, try the River Name Generator, and for the hills around it, the Mountain and Forest name generators. For a much bigger body of water, there's the Sea Name Generator, and for the land it sits in, the Continent and World name generators.

For more, see all the world-building name generators.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are good names for a fantasy lake?

Names that suit the region and the mood: Lake Lorrendal or The Lake of the Seven Isles for fantasy, Loch Tarvach or Snipe Tarn for something British, Hangman's Mere for a dark water.

What's the difference between a loch, a llyn, a mere and a tarn?

Loch is Scottish Gaelic, llyn is Welsh and mere is Old English, all for a lake. A tarn, from Old Norse, is a small lake high in the hills.

Can I add a story to the lake name?

Yes. Choose With a description for a lake with a line of history or legend, like a crannog on a little island or a monster seen by every grandfather in the village.