How to Name Your DnD Tiefling Character: Virtue Names, Infernal Names & More
Tieflings have the most unique naming tradition in DnD — virtue names, infernal names, and everything in between. Here's how to choose.
No race in Dungeons & Dragons has a more fascinating — or more contentious — naming tradition than Tieflings. Bearing the mark of infernal heritage, Tieflings navigate a world that fears them with names that are either defiant declarations, attempts at blending in, or something else entirely: a Virtue Name, chosen to spite the expectations placed on them.
The Three Naming Traditions
Tieflings in D&D 5e have access to three distinct naming traditions, each reflecting a different relationship with their identity.
Infernal Names
Tiefling names drawn from Infernal — the language of devils — tend to be harsh, multi-syllabic, and carry meanings related to power, domination, or infernal hierarchy. These are names given by parents who lean into their heritage, or names Tieflings take when they embrace what they are.
Classic Infernal Tiefling names:
- Male: Akmenos, Amnon, Barakas, Damakos, Ekemon, Iados, Kairon, Leucis, Melech, Mordai, Morthos, Pelaios, Skamos, Therai
- Female: Akta, Antroda, Bryseis, Damaia, Ea, Kallista, Lerissa, Makaria, Nemeia, Orianna, Phelaia, Rieta, Tanis, Zelaia
These names are drawn from D&D’s Infernal language, which borrows heavily from Ancient Greek with a darker phonetic twist.
Virtue Names
This is where Tieflings get truly distinctive. Many Tieflings — especially those who grew up persecuted for their heritage — choose to give themselves Virtue Names: abstract concepts in the Common tongue, worn as both armor and identity.
The idea is this: if the world is going to assume the worst of you because of your horns, why not take a name that asserts something better? A Tiefling named Art or Hope or Torment is making a statement about who they choose to be.
Classic Virtue Names by category:
Aspirational virtues: Art, Carrion, Chant, Creed, Despair, Excellence, Fear, Glory, Hope, Ideal, Music, Nowhere, Open, Poetry, Quest, Random, Reverence, Sorrow, Temerity, Torment, Weary
Some Tieflings choose aspirational virtue names (Hope, Glory) — optimistic in the face of prejudice. Others choose darker, ironic names (Despair, Torment) — embracing how the world already sees them, or reclaiming those labels. Still others choose something stranger: Nowhere, Random, Open — names that resist categorization entirely.
Human-Style Names
Some Tieflings grow up in fully integrated communities and take human names from whatever culture they were raised in. These characters often have to decide whether to disclose their Tiefling heritage, and a human-sounding name makes that choice easier. A Tiefling named Marcus or Lyra can walk into most towns without the name triggering fear before they’ve said a word.
Choosing the Right Name for Your Tiefling
The naming tradition you choose is a character choice, not just an aesthetic one. Ask yourself:
1. Does your Tiefling embrace or struggle with their heritage? An embraced heritage points toward an Infernal name. A complicated relationship might mean a Virtue Name. A hidden heritage suggests a human name.
2. Who named them? Tieflings named by parents probably have Infernal names (if the parents lean into heritage) or human names (if the parents wanted them to blend in). Tieflings who name themselves — which many do after leaving home — often choose Virtue Names.
3. What is the name doing in play? Every time someone at your table says your character’s name, what do you want that moment to feel like? Morthos sounds like a character in a gothic novel. Hope sounds like a character with a story. Kairon sounds like someone who’s accepted what they are.
Tiefling Names in Baldur’s Gate 3
BG3 features Tieflings prominently — including a refugee camp of Tiefling NPCs with a wide range of names demonstrating the breadth of tiefling naming tradition. You’ll meet Virtue-named characters (Wyll, Karlach — though these are slightly different), human-named Tieflings, and Infernal-named ones. The naming variety itself tells a story about Tiefling communities.
Our Tiefling Name Generator covers all three traditions, with filters for Infernal, Virtue, and Human naming styles, and generates AI-enriched meanings that often suggest built-in character hooks.
Making Your Name Memorable
The best Tiefling names work on multiple levels. Damaia sounds beautiful and slightly dangerous. Torment makes your DM raise an eyebrow. Art is deceptively simple and oddly touching.
Whatever you choose: own it. The name is the first thing your character gives the world. Make it say something.
May your Virtue Names be earned and your Infernal names be feared — whichever you choose.