Giant Names: 90 Colossal & Ancient Ideas for Fantasy and D&D

Giants are old. Older than kingdoms, older than most gods, old enough that they remember when the mountains were young — and a giant's name needs to carry that weight. It should sound vast and primal, like it was carved into a glacier or bellowed down from a stormcloud. Big sounds, heavy syllables, a touch of that frost-and-thunder Norse grandeur (because giants and the old Norse jötnar are basically cousins).

The fun of giant names is the scale. Where a halfling gets something cozy and an orc gets something blunt, a giant gets something that sounds like it would take a full breath and a thunderclap to say properly. These are names for beings the size of hills.

Below are 90 giant names — colossal and ancient, sorted by the classic elemental giant types (frost, fire, stone, storm, cloud, hill) — plus a quick how-to. Whether you're writing a frost giant jarl, a fire giant smith-king, or a lonely hill giant who just wants to be left alone with his goats, there's a suitably enormous name here. Tips at the end.

Frost giant names (cold & brutal)

Frost giants are raiders and warriors of the frozen north — proud, harsh, and Norse to the bone. Their names should sound like ice cracking:

Thrymm (a nod to the Norse frost-giant king) and Hrimthurs ("rime-giant") are the real deal — they sound carved from a glacier. Kaldra and Sleta are fierce frost-giant women who'd raid your hold and not break a sweat (well — they're cold-blooded, so, never a sweat).

Fire giant names (forged & fierce)

Fire giants are master smiths and disciplined warlords of the volcanic depths — their names should sound like hammered iron and roaring flame:

Surtran echoes Surtr, the fire-giant destined to burn the world — perfect for a fire giant king. Vulkarr and Forgemane lean into the master-smith side that makes fire giants so distinctive (they forge the best weapons in the world, and they know it).

Stone, storm, cloud & hill giant names

The other classic giant types each have their own flavor — match the sound to the stone, sky, or thunder they're made of:

Stone giants (reclusive artists & elders): Stonebeard, Granthar, Bouldrick, Cragmaw, Slatehelm, Quarrun, Gravelle, Mountmain, Dolmen, Tor.

Storm giants (regal, oracular, vast): Stormcrag, Tempestane, Thunderhelm, Skarbroth, Maelduin, Voltharr, Galestride, Nimbothar, Brontes, Skyfather.

Cloud giants (lofty, proud, aloof): Cumulus, Skygather, Aurelthane, Mistcrown, Vaporine, Highholm, Zephyrgar, Nimbra, Loftarr, Silverveil.

Hill giants (big, dim, hungry — but characterful): Grakk, Lumpjaw, Boff, Mudtho, Gronk, Bigbelly, Thudd, Rumblegut, Oafric, Crumb.

Stormcrag and Skyfather suit the noble, almost divine storm giants (the most regal of all giant-kind). And don't sleep on the hill giants — names like Grakk, Lumpjaw, and Rumblegut lean comic, which is perfect, because a dim, hungry, weirdly endearing hill giant is great fun at the table.

How to name your giant

Go big — that's the whole point:

• Heavy, primal sounds. Long vowels, hard consonants, that booming Norse weight: Thrymm, Brunngar, Surtran. A giant's name should be a mouthful.
• Match the element. Frost = cold and harsh (Isgrim, Kaldra). Fire = forged and roaring (Vulkarr, Ignar). Stone = heavy and slow (Stonebeard, Cragmaw). Storm = vast and regal (Stormcrag, Skyfather).
• Borrow from the Norse jötnar. Giants in myth are deeply Norse — Thrymm, Surtr, Hrim, Ymir. Real jötun names instantly nail the ancient vibe.
• Fuse element + body/title word. Frost + helm, Forge + mane, Storm + crag, Stone + beard. Reliable and grand.
• Let hill giants be funny. Not every giant is a terror. Dim, hungry hill giants with goofy names (Lumpjaw, Rumblegut) are a delight — lean in.

A giant's name should feel like it's being spoken by something the size of a mountain — slow, vast, and old enough to make kingdoms feel temporary. If you can imagine it echoing down a frozen valley or rumbling out of a volcano, you've got the scale right.

Let the giant's role shape the name

Giants aren't just big — they have wildly different cultures, and matching the name to your giant's role makes it land harder. A warlord or jarl leading raids needs a name that sounds like a battle-cry: Brunngar, Surtran, Stormcrag — heavy, commanding, impossible to ignore. A smith or crafter (fire and stone giants are legendary makers) suits a name that rings of the forge and the quarry: Vulkarr, Forgemane, Stonebeard, Cragmaw. And a sage, seer, or oracle — storm and cloud giants are often wise and aloof, reading omens from the sky — wants something loftier and stranger: Skyfather, Nimbothar, Aurelthane.

There's also the matter of attitude. Most giant-kind in classic lore are ranked in a great hierarchy (the "ordning"), with cloud and storm giants lording it over the lowly hill giants — so a proud cloud giant should sound noble and distant, while a hill giant can be gloriously dim and funny (Lumpjaw, Rumblegut). Deciding where your giant sits — mighty warlord, master smith, lofty sage, or lovable oaf — instantly tells you how grand, how forged, or how goofy the name should be. Pick the role, match the sound, and your giant feels like part of a real, ancient civilization rather than just a big obstacle with a club.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are good giant names for D&D?

Great giant names match the type: Thrymm and Hrimthurs for frost giants, Surtran and Vulkarr for fire giants, Stonebeard and Cragmaw for stone, Stormcrag and Skyfather for storm, and goofier ones like Grakk and Lumpjaw for hill giants. Go heavy, primal, and Norse-flavored.

What are frost giant names?

Frost giant names include Thrymm, Skarn, Hrimthurs, Isgrim, Kaldra, and Vorngrim — cold, harsh, Norse-rooted names that sound like cracking ice. Thrymm and Hrimthurs nod directly to Norse frost-giant myth.

What are fire giant names?

Fire giant names include Surtran, Vulkarr, Emberthane, Ignar, Magnhild, and Forgemane — names that sound like roaring flame and hammered iron. Surtran echoes Surtr, the world-burning fire giant of Norse legend, and many nod to the fire giants' master-smith reputation.

How do I make up a giant name?

Use heavy, primal sounds with hard consonants and a Norse flavor, then match the element — frost giants get cold harsh names, fire giants forged roaring ones, etc. Fusing an element word with a body or title word (Frost + helm, Storm + crag) works reliably and sounds suitably grand.

Why do giant names sound Norse?

Giants in fantasy descend largely from the jötnar of Norse mythology — Ymir, Surtr, Thrym, and the frost and fire giants of the Eddas. That heritage gives giant names their characteristic heavy, ancient, frost-and-thunder Norse sound.

What's a good name for a hill giant?

Hill giants are big, dim, and hungry, so their names can lean comic and characterful: Grakk, Lumpjaw, Rumblegut, Boff, Gronk, or Bigbelly. A goofy, endearing name suits a hill giant far better than a grand one — and they're great fun to play.

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Go name your giant

Ancient Thrymm, blazing Surtran, regal Stormcrag, or a hungry hill giant named Rumblegut — there's a suitably colossal name here for your giant, vast and primal and old as the mountains.

👉 Open the free Fantasy Name Builder to bellow one out by type and vibe — dozens of giant-sized options in a click, no signup. ⚔️

Which one sounded big enough to shake the ground? That's your giant. Now let them stomp.