A wyvern is a dragon with two legs instead of four and, often, a venomous barbed tail. It has flown on English coats of arms since the Middle Ages and is the traditional emblem of Wessex. This wyvern name generator makes fierce names like Skyrend, harsh draconic names like Vyrax, and heraldic wyverns.
What makes a wyvern
In British heraldry a wyvern has two legs and two wings, and a dragon has four legs and two wings.
- The word comes from Old French wivre, a viper, which is why wyverns are often drawn with a barbed, venomous tail.
- Wessex: a golden wyvern is the traditional emblem of Wessex, and it still flies on West Country flags and badges.
- In games, the two-legged rule has caught on: many fantasy games use "wyvern" for a smaller, wilder cousin of the dragon.
Naming a wyvern
A wyvern is a hunter, so its name should sound fast and sharp.
- Fierce names: Skyrend, Froststing, Barbscourge.
- Draconic names with a hiss: Vyrax, Rythoss.
- Heraldic names use real tinctures, the colours of heraldry: gules (red), azure (blue), vert (green), sable (black), purpure (purple), or (gold) and argent (silver). The Gules Wyvern of the Old Kingdom would look at home on a banner.
For the four-legged kind, try the Dragon Name Generator, and for a whole coat of arms, the Shield Name Generator.
For more beasts of legend, see all the mythical creature name generators.