Tiefling Names: Lore, Meaning, and How to Choose the Right One

The Lore: Why Tiefling Names Are Different

Tieflings are humans with infernal blood — descendants of ancestors who made pacts with devils, or who were changed by exposure to infernal power. They bear the marks of this heritage: horns, tails, solid-colored eyes, unusual skin tones. In a world that fears and distrusts them, tieflings grow up knowing they are different. That knowledge shapes everything, including how they relate to their names.

The D&D 5e Player's Handbook notes that tieflings who grow up in families that embrace their heritage tend to receive infernal names passed down through generations. Those who grow up in more human-integrated environments often take the names of the culture around them. And some tieflings — particularly those who have faced discrimination, who have broken free of their past, or who have simply decided to define themselves on their own terms — adopt virtue names: abstract concepts that reflect something about their personality, their aspirations, or the way the world treated them.

This gives tiefling players three distinct naming traditions to choose from, each with different implications for the character.

Tradition 1: Virtue Names

Virtue names are the most distinctly tiefling naming convention, and the one most players associate with the race. These are names drawn from abstract concepts — usually in Common (English equivalent) rather than in Infernal or any other language.

The Player's Handbook example virtue names span a wide emotional range: Carrion, Chant, Creed, Despair, Excellence, Fear, Glory, Hope, Ideal, Music, Nowhere, Open, Poetry, Quest, Random, Reverence, Sorrow, Temerity, Torment, Weary.

The diversity of these names is significant. Virtue names are not all virtuous — "Despair," "Torment," and "Carrion" are clearly names that reflect what others expected of this tiefling, or what the tiefling has internalized from a hard life. Meanwhile, "Hope," "Glory," and "Excellence" suggest tieflings who have chosen to define themselves against expectation — who carry their names as declarations rather than reflections.

Choosing a virtue name for your tiefling is a character decision. Ask yourself: did the character choose this name, or was it given by parents? Does the name reflect aspiration (Hope, Excellence, Creed) or trauma (Despair, Torment, Fear)? Has the character's relationship with their name changed over time? A tiefling who was called "Despair" by a cruel world and has spent their life proving that name wrong has a built-in character arc.

Tradition 2: Infernal Names

Infernal names are older — names passed down through tiefling bloodlines or drawn from the Infernal language. These names sound ancient and slightly ominous, with a quality that marks them as belonging to a different linguistic tradition than Common or Elvish.

Male infernal names from the Player's Handbook: Akmenos, Amnon, Barakas, Damakos, Ekemon, Iados, Kairon, Leucis, Melech, Mordai, Morthos, Pelaios, Skamos, Therai.

Female infernal names: Akta, Annis, Bryseis, Criella, Damaia, Ea, Kallista, Lerissa, Makaria, Nemeia, Orianna, Phelaia, Rieta.

These names have a specific phonetic quality: classical Greek and Latin influence is immediately visible. Many names end in "-ios," "-os," "-ia," "-aia," or "-a," which gives them a formal, ancient quality. Hard consonants ("k," "m," "d") appear more frequently than in elvish names but are balanced by those classical vowel endings.

A tiefling with an infernal name carries their heritage openly. This is a character who either grew up in a community that embraced tiefling identity, or who has chosen to reclaim that identity as an adult. An infernal name says: "I know what I am. I am not hiding it."

Tradition 3: Human/Cultural Names

Some tieflings simply take the names common in the human culture that raised them. In cities where tieflings are integrated (or where they hide their heritage), this is common — a way of fitting in, of not advertising the horns and the tail with an obviously infernal name.

A tiefling named "James" or "Maria" or "Sigrid" is making a different statement than one named "Despair" or "Akmenos." They may be assimilated, hiding their heritage, in denial about their identity, or simply raised by parents who wanted to give their child the best possible chance in a world that would judge them. Any of these backstories creates interesting character territory.

The most interesting version of this choice is when the cultural name is juxtaposed with the character's obvious tiefling appearance. A tiefling named "Thomas" who walks into a room still has horns. The disconnect between a completely ordinary name and an extraordinary appearance is its own kind of character statement.

How to Choose the Right Tradition

The right naming tradition for your tiefling character depends on three questions:

1. What is your character's relationship with their heritage? A tiefling who embraces their infernal nature leans toward infernal names. One who rejects it might take a human name. One who has processed their identity and defined themselves on their own terms might choose a virtue name.

2. What does the name communicate about your backstory? A virtue name like "Hope" suggests a character who has needed hope. "Creed" suggests strong personal conviction. "Sorrow" suggests loss. Think about what story the name tells before you pick it, because you'll be living with that story for the entire campaign.

3. Is the name playable at the table? Virtue names are excellent for this — "Hope" is unforgettable and easy to say. Infernal names can be trickier: "Bryseis" is beautiful but may cause pronunciation fumbles. If you pick an infernal name, make sure everyone at the table can say it confidently within the first session.

Building a Character Around the Name

Tiefling names are especially good backstory hooks because the naming tradition implies so much. Some questions to explore:

• Who gave you this name? Parents, the village that raised you, yourself?
• If it's a virtue name, does the virtue describe who you are or who you want to be?
• Have you ever gone by a different name — and why did you change it?
• How do people react when they hear your name? Does that reaction tell you something about their character?
• Is there a name you were born with that you've hidden or abandoned?

Tieflings occupy a unique position in D&D — a race that faces prejudice, carries visible marks of a past they didn't choose, and navigates a world that often judges before it listens. The name is the first expression of how a tiefling has responded to that position. Get it right, and you have the foundation of a character people will remember.

Use our Tiefling Name Generator to explore names across all three traditions.