D&D Pet Names

Q: What counts as a pet in D&D?

Four things, and the rules name them. A familiar, a spirit summoned into animal shape. A steed, called by spell and bonded. A sidekick, a companion the rules let level with you. And the plain companion, the dog the party adopted in session one with no statblock and full rights. This page names all four; the receipt tables say which rule backs which.

Q: Can I just use a real pet name?

Yes, and tables do it constantly. The real-pet sound rules, two beats, hard consonants, no command soundalikes, work at any table. Run the name through the how to name a pet check, then let the virtue or steed lane add the fantasy register if the table wants it.

Boo is a miniature giant space hamster, and the most famous pet in D&D. Canon, cited, beloved. This table holds 35 companion names: the canon lane, the steed words, the familiar shapes, the sidekick ranks, and the virtues.

Prefer the tool? Open them in the generator. Every name comes with a receipt.

What are D&D pet names?

35 names, seven lanes, one rule. The canon lane cites named companions of the licensed games. The steed lane is real warhorse vocabulary. The familiar lane names the published spirit shapes. The sidekick lane borrows rank and trade words. The virtue lane lends the tiefling convention. The tavern lane feeds the camp. The invented lane builds and labels.

Grouped by lane. The root column is the receipt column.

D&D pet names with meanings, roots and lanes
Name	Meaning	Root	Lane
The canon lane: named companions of the licensed games
Boo	canon: the miniature giant space hamster of the Baldur’s Gate games	licensed game canon	canon name
Us	canon: the friendly intellect devourer of Baldur’s Gate 3	licensed game canon	canon name
The steed lane: real warhorse vocabulary, saddled for fantasy
Destrier	the medieval warhorse word itself	real word	steed name
Palfrey	the smooth-riding horse of the road	real word	steed name
Courser	the fast hunter, sprung from the line	real word	steed name
Caparison	the decorated cover a ceremonial horse wears	real word	steed name
Chamfron	the armor for a horse’s face	real word	steed name
Trot	the gait, kept plain and honest	real word	steed name
The familiar shapes lane: named from the published spirit forms
Quoth	the raven’s word from Poe, borrowed for the raven familiar	shape-named, literary	familiar name
Scuttle	the crab’s walk, named for the crab familiar	shape-named build	familiar name
Slink	the weasel’s exit, named for the weasel familiar	shape-named build	familiar name
Puddle	where the quipper lives; the fish familiar	shape-named build	familiar name
Flit	the movement of small wings, any small shape	shape-named build	familiar name
Twitch	the shrew’s nose, always	shape-named build	familiar name
The sidekick lane: rank and trade words for companions that level with you
Adjutant	the officer’s assistant, borrowed rank	rank word	sidekick name
Provision	supplies and foresight in one word	rank word	sidekick name
Squire	the one who carries and learns	rank word	sidekick name
Tinker	the mender of small things	trade word	sidekick name
Cobbler	the mender of boots and straps	trade word	sidekick name
The virtue lane: the tiefling convention, lent to a companion
Bounty	generosity, and a reward posted	virtue name, tiefling convention lent	virtue name
Grace	elegance with mercy	virtue name, tiefling convention lent	virtue name
Wonder	the reaction she earns nightly	virtue name, tiefling convention lent	virtue name
Comfort	what he provides, at camp and after	virtue name, tiefling convention lent	virtue name
The tavern lane: the camp kitchen’s residents
Kettle	always on	tavern word	tavern name
Skillet	small, hot, essential	tavern word	tavern name
Morsel	the honest bite	tavern word	tavern name
Pottage	the pot that never empties	tavern word	tavern name
Mustard	the sharp one	tavern word	tavern name
Ladle	serves everyone	tavern word	tavern name
Grist	the grain for the mill; the daily work	tavern word	tavern name
The invented lane: built or minted here, labeled
Fizwick	gnome-flavored build, invented here	invented build	invented name
Nuzzle	the real word, minted as a name	real word	invented name
Snork	invented, the small sound he makes	invented build	invented name
Wobble	invented, the movement she owns	invented build	invented name
Gimble	literary coinage from Carroll’s Jabberwock	literary coinage	invented name

The published companion spells

Two spells do most of the table's naming work, and both are citable. Find familiar summons a spirit in one of fourteen animal forms, bat, cat, crab, frog, hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, fish, rat, raven, shrew, spider, weasel, and the familiar lane above names the shapes. Find steed bonds a mount with a spirit nature, and the steed lane answers it with real warhorse words:

The published companion spells and the naming lane each opens
The spell	What it gives you	The lane it opens
Find familiar	a spirit in animal form, any of fourteen shapes	the familiar lane, named for the shape
Find steed	a mount with a spirit nature: warhorse, pony, camel, elk or mastiff	the steed lane, real horse words
Find greater steed	the flying mounts, griffon-class	the legend lane, titles over call names

The ancestry tables for the people doing the summoning live on the D&D name generator.

The sidekick rule

Modern rules let a companion level with you, and that changes the name. The sidekick rules arrived with Dragon of Icespire Peak and expanded in Tasha's Cauldron: a beast or buddy joins the party, takes a simple class of its own, and keeps pace to high level. A companion with a character sheet earns a name with more spine than a call name, and the sidekick lane, Adjutant, Squire, Provision, is built for exactly that register.

The sound-first test still applies before any register does: the how to name a pet guide runs it in five steps.

The companion family

This page is the umbrella; the species pages go deeper. The dog page carries the tavern and warband registers plus the Monster Manual dog family. The cat page carries the familiar shapes in full and the canon cats. The general fantasy register holds the invented morphology lane. And the real-pet lane is the door back:

D&D dog names: the tavern hearth, the warband, the virtue convention.
D&D cat names: the familiar shapes and the canon cats.
Fantasy pet names: the invented-build register, labeled per row.
Pet name generator: the real-pet lane, all species pools.

D&D pet names questions, answered

What counts as a pet in D&D?

Four things, and the rules name them. A familiar, a spirit summoned into animal shape. A steed, called by spell and bonded. A sidekick, a companion the rules let level with you. And the plain companion, the dog the party adopted in session one with no statblock and full rights. This page names all four; the receipt tables say which rule backs which.

What did canon name their pets?

Boo, the miniature giant space hamster of the Baldur's Gate games, is the most famous D&D pet of all. Us, the friendly intellect devourer, and the owlbear cub come from Baldur's Gate 3; Scratch, the camp dog, too, and he has his own page next door. All licensed-game canon, all flagged with their sources.

Can I just use a real pet name?

Yes, and tables do it constantly. The real-pet sound rules, two beats, hard consonants, no command soundalikes, work at any table. Run the name through the how to name a pet check, then let the virtue or steed lane add the fantasy register if the table wants it.

Where this data comes from. The spell tables follow the published fifth-edition Player's Handbook (find familiar, find steed, find greater steed). The sidekick rules follow Dragon of Icespire Peak and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Boo, Us and the owlbear cub follow the licensed Baldur's Gate games; their canon rows carry source lines. Steed vocabulary is real historical horse vocabulary. Invented rows are labeled invented. Where every name's receipt comes from →