Charr Name Guide + Name List
Disclaimer: what is written here is derived from attentive observation of what's seen in-game and strives to be as lore-compliant and close to canon as possible.
Impotant note: if you want a name that can be used in-game, remember that the character limit is 19, spaces included!
FIRST NAMES
Can be pretty much anything you want, though there are some general guidelines.
Traditionally, first names are usually: - of Latin or Greek origin (Crecia, Galina, Vitus, Scylla, etc) - regular nouns (Ember, Rage, Talon, Flint, Snarl, etc) - simply made up for the sound (Rytlock, etc)
Exceptions are pretty common nowadays, with names taken also from other races, as a charr named Simon Blackgut is poked fun at for his human-sounding name.
Masculine names tend to have sharper sounds, while feminine sound smoother.
WARBAND NAMES
The name is picked when the warband is formed. While that usually happens in the fahrar, warbands can form and dissolve for any reason and at any point. Any charr who later joins the warband must change their last name to one that includes the warband's name. On certain occasions (death of the Legionnaire, their removal from the position, or events of importance to the warband), the name can be changed.
Warband names are not unique, and multiple warbands can have the same name even within the same Legion.
Warbands' names tend to indicate either their primary skills or line of duty (Net for fishers, Pick for miners, Welder for builders, etc), but some can be more generic or refer to different aspects shared by its members (Dawn, Paw, Heart, etc). Some warbands formed to fulfill a highly-specific duty might pick an otherwise "incorrect" name directly related to it (Ogre is a warband tasked with pushing back ogres).
Some warbands pick their name as a way to honor fallen soldiers or pay tribute to historical figures (the Scorch warband with Kalla Scorchrazor, Bhuer Goreblade with the Gore warband after his sire cleaned the tainted legacy of the name Gore).
Ash, Blood, Iron and Flame are not strictly off-limits as warband names, as there appear to be at least a Blood warband and an Iron warband seen in game. Regardless, individuals regularly pick them for their personal part of the last name.
[Note: the lore about the "Primus warbands" and Imperators needing to be part of them (or descendants of the Khan-Ur) seems to have been completely abandoned, other than the High Legion's names being implied to be derived from the warbands of the sons of the Khan-Ur]
LAST NAMES
The last name of a charr belonging to a warband is made of two words. One is the warband's chosen name, while the other is more descriptive of the individual (personality, appearance, ideals, history, occupation, etc).
Important: nouns, base form verbs and adjectives only. No adverbs, no comparatives.
The two words can be in either order, though they have to make grammatical sense and "sound right" (Shotfierce and Keepersoul don't really work, while Fierceshot and Soulkeeper do. Stoneglow and Glowstone work in either case.)
Nouns and verbs can be used in either position, while adjectives tend to be used for the first word (Fierceshot, Crimsonfist, Heavyblade, etc).
Most verbs can also be used as suffixes in their derivative noun form (chase/chaser, crack/cracker, gut/gutter, etc), and they can also be warband names. Note that the word used for the warband can't be altered in personal names (a member of the Welder warband can't change it to Weld, and so a member of the Weld warband can't use Welder).
Words used in warband and last names are singular. There are rare exceptions, usually for things that come in pairs or multiple (Haunteyes).
Last names can be compound words (Brimstone is both another name for sulphur and brim+stone), but compound words can't be used as part of surnames (Brimstoneblade wouldn't work, as they're effectively 3 words).
Words tend to be short, usually not longer than 7-8 characters.
Given their martial and industrial culture, charr are unlikely to pick peaceful, cutesy and weak-sounding words for their name, especially when combined. However, such words can still be worked with depending on the warband name (Sweetflower wouldn't be used, but both Sweetpoison and Flowerblade could be chosen by the right charr in the Poison and Blade warband respectively).
Likewise, names related to food, other species (animals or races), plants and the "beautiful/nicer" parts of nature are rare, usually coming down to the individual's duty or particular skills (there's a charr named Drakecatcher who could be part of either the Drake or Catcher warband, while Hawkslayer and Skaleslayer are found in the same map and could be both part of the Slayer warband). [Note: titles and names like those are more typical of norn and kodan.]
Despite their military-based culture, words that indicate ranks (both inside and outside of the Legions) are not used, likely due to the risk of mixing them up with actual ranks (boss, master, rookie, captain, general, soldier, tribune, etc).
Words used should be things reasonably known by the charr and especially Tyria as a whole (things that don't exist in Tyria like "horse", "bleach", "digital", etc). That said, some charr might end up using previously "off-limits" words after certain discoveries ("Holo" is unlikely to be used before the tech spread around Tyria after Personal Story, while "Jade" can be used for its other meanings but never in reference to Canthan tech prior to EoD) or mingling with other races ("Cable", "golem" and "aether" are common words for asura, but charr are unlikely to pick them unless they specialize in that kind of tech).
While not a rule per se, charr are quite unlikely to use technical or "fancy" words for their name, instead opting for more common and generic ones ("Coal" is more likely than "Carbon", "Salt" instead of "Sodium", "Iron/Steel/Metal" instead of more specific metals, etc).
It's important to note that not all charr regularly use a last name tied to their warband or even feel the need to have one. Some stick to their titles (Smodur the Unflinching, Erracus the Wise, Howl the Brazen, etc) or only their first name (usually gladia who renounce their previous last name or those born outside of the Legions who never had a warband).
Last but not least, keep in mind that most charr decide their names when they're cubs or teenagers, so don't be afraid to have fun and be cringe with them! :3
Other useful resources
→ Charr Name List ← Made by me. Hopefully includes all words used for names found in the game, plus a whole lot more that make sense for the average charr. I'll try to keep it updated/adding to it.
From the GW2 Wiki - Names section in the Charr page - List of known warbands on the Warband page (only includes mentioned warbands, leaving out all the NPCs that don't appear with someone who shares part of the name) - Charr NPC list (contains ALL charr NPCs in the game, so it's very long) - GW1 Charr NPC list
My fave name site, which has categories (Roman and Greek for charr specifically, but Italian might help too) and provides actual meanings, pronounciations and variants of names!
Guild Wars 2 Name Generator by newms34 (very good generator for all playable races if you quickly want ideas to start from, not extremely varied but still a great aid)
[Dividers by @soulbeastdragon]












