Fae Names
Writing a fae character? Naming a cat something it will never come when called? Here are fae names that actually come from folklore, myth and literature, with what they mean. Pronunciations are approximate. Irish spelling and English mouths have never fully agreed.
One rule from the stories before you start: a fae never gives away their true name. Whatever you call them is the one they let you use.
From the old stories and myths
| Name | Origin | Meaning or story |
|---|---|---|
| Áine (AWN-ya) | Irish | Fae queen of summer and sovereignty, tied to Knockainey hill |
| Aoibheall (EE-vul) | Irish | Fae queen of North Munster, judge of the Midnight Court |
| Clíodhna (KLEE-uh-na) | Irish | Queen of the banshees, linked to a great wave |
| Fand | Irish | Sea fae, wife of Manannán, lover of Cú Chulainn |
| Étaín (AY-deen) | Irish | A fae woman turned into a fly and reborn as a mortal |
| Manannán (MAN-uh-nawn) | Irish | Sea god who wrapped the fae world in mist |
| Midir (MEE-jer) | Irish | Fae king of Brí Léith, Étaín’s husband |
| Fionnbharr (FIN-var) | Irish | King of the Connacht fae |
| Lugh (LOO) | Irish | God of skill and light, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann |
| Morrígan | Irish | Shape-shifting goddess of war and fate |
| Danu | Irish | Mother of the Tuatha Dé Danann |
| Badb (BAV) | Irish | Crow goddess of battle |
| Nuada | Irish | Silver-handed king of the Tuatha Dé Danann |
| Niamh (NEEV) | Irish | Golden-haired fae who carried Oisín to Tír na nÓg |
| Oisín (ush-EEN) | Irish | Mortal poet who spent 300 years in the fae land |
| Gwyn ap Nudd | Welsh | King of the Tylwyth Teg and leader of the Wild Hunt |
| Rhiannon | Welsh | Otherworld queen riding a white horse no one can catch |
| Arawn | Welsh | King of Annwn, the Welsh otherworld |
| Blodeuwedd (blod-EYE-weth) | Welsh | A woman made of flowers who becomes an owl |
| Nicnevin | Scottish | Witch-queen of the Unseelie host |
| Tam Lin | Scottish | Mortal knight captured by the fae queen, saved by his lover |
| Thomas the Rhymer | Scottish | Poet taken by the Queen of Elfland and given a tongue that can’t lie |
| Mab | English and Welsh | Fae queen of dreams, from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet |
| Morgan le Fay | Arthurian | Sorceress half-sister of Arthur, sometimes a fae queen |
| Vivienne | Arthurian | The Lady of the Lake |
| Melusine | French | Water fae who turns into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday |
From literature
| Name | Source |
|---|---|
| Oberon | King of the fae, A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
| Titania | Oberon’s queen, same play |
| Puck / Robin Goodfellow | Oberon’s trickster servant |
| Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed | Titania’s attendants |
| Ariel | The spirit in The Tempest |
| Gloriana | The Faerie Queene, Spenser’s epic |
| Duessa | The two-faced witch, same poem |
Names that sound fae (and what they mean)
These aren’t from specific stories, but they draw on Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh words, which is where a lot of romantasy names come from:
- Aisling (ASH-ling): dream or vision
- Bláthnat: little flower
- Caoimhe (KEE-va): gentle, beautiful
- Ciarán (KEER-awn): little dark one
- Dubhán (DOO-awn): little black one
- Eithne (EN-ya): kernel, also a mythic princess
- Faolán (FWAY-lawn): little wolf
- Fiadh (FEE-a): wild, deer
- Lir: the sea
- Ríona (REE-uh-na): queenly
- Saoirse (SEER-sha): freedom
- Sorcha (SOR-ka): bright
- Tadhg (TIGE): poet
- Bran: raven
- Briallen: primrose (Welsh)
- Eira: snow (Welsh)
- Gwyneira: white snow (Welsh)
- Lowri: laurel (Welsh)
- Seren: star (Welsh)
- Morwen: maiden (Welsh, Cornish)
- Ailith: noble battle (Old English, not Celtic, but it fits)
- Isolde: from the Tristan legend, possibly “the fair one”
- Corrigan: from the Breton korrigan, a water fae
Want more fae?
Read up on the different types of fae, or see every book with fae we’ve rated for spice and darkness.