10 Pet Names for Your D&D Familiar or WoW Companion
10 Pet Names for Your D&D Familiar or WoW Companion
Your character has a name, a backstory, and a carefully chosen class. Their owl is named "Owl." Every adventuring party eventually has this moment, and it's worth fixing, because a well-named companion can steal the entire show.
Your Pet Needs a Worse Name Than Your Character
When players name heroes, they aim for dignity. When they name pets, they often try to do the same — and end up with a raven named something like "Shadowwing the Eternal." It sounds cool, and nobody uses it.
The pet names people actually remember are small, specific, and a little bit ridiculous. Think of Mr. Bigglesworth, Kel'Thuzad's cat in World of Warcraft's Naxxramas raid, whose name is a nod to Dr. Evil's cat in Austin Powers. Players have been fondly talking about that cat for years.
We call this companion contrast: the idea that a pet's name should work against the tone of its owner. A grim necromancer with a cat named Muffin is instantly more interesting than a grim necromancer with a cat named Doomclaw.
A Quick Background on Companions
In Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition, the Find Familiar spell lets a caster summon a spirit in one of 15 animal forms in the 2014 Player's Handbook, including a bat, cat, owl, raven, octopus, and spider. Warlocks who take the Pact of the Chain can choose more unusual familiars like an imp, pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite.
In World of Warcraft, companion pets have been collectible for years, and Mists of Pandaria in 2012 turned them into a full Pokémon-style Pet Battle system. Players now collect hundreds of pets, and many rename their favorites.
The tradition goes back further than games. In Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), the young wizard Ged is accompanied for part of his journey by an otak, a small, loyal animal — a quiet companion in a story that's all about the power of true names.
The 10 Names
1. Pebble
Best for: A toad, tortoise, or rock-like familiar
Pebble is small, round, and completely unimposing, which is exactly why it works on a powerful wizard's companion. It also doubles as a great name for an earthen-type pet.
2. Sir Hoots-a-Lot
Best for: An owl
Every owl familiar deserves a title. The "Sir" gives it dignity; "Hoots-a-Lot" takes it away again. That's companion contrast in one name.
Try the Pet Owl Name Generator for more.
3. Grimsby
Best for: A raven or crow
Grimsby sounds like a gloomy English butler, which is exactly the energy of a raven perched on a warlock's shoulder. Ravens also have deep roots in mythology: Odin's two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, represented thought and memory.
Try the Norse Raven Name Generator.
4. Biscuit
Best for: A cat
Cats are the most popular familiar for a reason: they're mysterious, independent, and perfectly suited to ignoring their summoner. A cat named Biscuit is also far less threatening in a tense negotiation, which can be tactically useful.
Try the Pet Cat Name Generator.
5. Professor Inkwell
Best for: An octopus
An octopus familiar is clever, strange, and has more arms than anyone needs. The name suggests it knows more than you do. It probably does.
6. Ember
Best for: A pseudodragon or small dragon companion
Sometimes a simple, warm name is perfect. Ember works for a pseudodragon, a fire-themed battle pet, or a whelpling in World of Warcraft.
Try the Fantasy Animal Name Generator for more dragon-adjacent companions.
7. Nibbles
Best for: A rat or weasel
This is the name for the familiar that constantly steals food, chews through ropes, and occasionally saves the party by chewing through the right rope.
Try the Rodent Pet Name Generator.
8. Madame Eightlegs
Best for: A spider
A spider familiar is useful and slightly horrifying. Giving it an elegant title turns it into a character your party will grow to love.
9. Pickles
Best for: An imp or quasit
Imps and quasits are tiny fiends with enormous attitudes. Naming one Pickles is a small act of rebellion against a warlock's dark patron — and a great recurring joke.
10. Captain Waddles
Best for: A penguin, duck, or water-based battle pet
Every roster needs one pet with an unearned military rank. Captain Waddles is ideal for anything that swims well and walks badly.
A Formula for Naming Any Companion
When you need a name fast, combine one item from each column:
| Title (optional) | Core name | Flavor |
|---|---|---|
| Sir / Lady | A food (Biscuit, Pickles) | "the Brave" |
| Professor | A small object (Pebble, Button) | "of the Tower" |
| Captain | A sound (Hoots, Squeak) | "the Unimpressed" |
| Madame | A body feature (Whiskers, Eightlegs) | "the Third" |
Professor Button of the Tower is a great owl. Captain Squeak the Brave is a great rat.
We call this the pocket title: an oversized honorific attached to a very small creature. It's the fastest way to give a companion personality.
Naming Tips
- Say it in combat. If "Madame Eightlegs, attack!" makes your table laugh, you've succeeded.
- Match your character's voice. A noble paladin says "Lady Biscuit." A chaotic rogue says "Bisc."
- Let the party name it. Companions named by the group get more screen time.
- Keep WoW's limits in mind. Renamed battle pets have character limits, so shorter is safer.
Quick Answers
What animals can a D&D familiar be?
In the 2014 fifth-edition Player's Handbook, the Find Familiar spell offers 15 forms: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel. Warlocks with Pact of the Chain can also choose an imp, pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite.
How do I name a familiar?
Contrast works best. Pair a small, homely core name, like Biscuit or Pebble, with an oversized title or flavor, like "Sir" or "the Brave." Say it in a dramatic moment at the table. If the name makes your group laugh or remember the pet, it's doing its job.
Can you rename battle pets in World of Warcraft?
Yes. World of Warcraft lets players rename their battle pets and companions from the Pet Journal, so a collected pet can carry a custom name instead of its default species name. Renaming is a popular way to give a favorite companion extra personality, especially for pets used in Pet Battles.
Where Companion Naming Is Heading
Companions keep getting more important in games, from collectible pets to fully voiced animal allies. Our prediction: as games add more personality and behavior to companions, players will treat naming them less like a label and more like adoption, and we'll see pet names become a standard part of character sheets and profiles, right next to the character's own name.