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With a rich background stretching back decades in time, the various Warhammer games contain a vast array of names (of people, places, items, and so on). Many of these names are original, but some happen to have a meaning in the real world, as obscure terms, foreign words, or cultural references. This page lists some of these underlying etymologies for your edification. Note that some of these are best guesses (speculative fan theory) rather than confirmed derivations.
Where a name is followed by the symbol ¹, if you hover over or click on that symbol you will see when that name was first mentioned in a publication.
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Akhorne | Blend of "acorn" (oak fruit) and Khorne. First appeared as Wade Pryce's glove puppet on Warhammer TV, 11 Apr 2019, and was named by Raph. [BloodBowl] |
| Anfingrimm | See: Scyla Anfingrimm. [WHFB Norscan AoS BloodBowl Chaos Khorne ChaosSpawn] |
| Bloodletter | "Bloodletter", one who removes blood. [WHFB AoS BloodBowl WH40k Chaos Khorne Daemon LesserDaemon] |
| Boa Kon'ssstriktr | Boa constrictor, a species of large snake. [BloodBowl] |
| Bryce 'the Slice' Cambuel | Bruce Campbell, an actor whose roles include the chainsaw-wielding Ash in the Evil Dead franchise. [BloodBowl] |
| Cambuel | See: Bryce 'the Slice' Cambuel. [BloodBowl] |
| Chaney | See: Wilhelm Chaney. [BloodBowl] |
| Daemonette | Daemon + "-ette", female. [WHFB AoS BloodBowl WH40k Chaos Slaanesh Daemon LesserDaemon] |
| Deeproot Strongbranch | "Deep", extending far down + "root", underground part of a plant + "strong", powerful + "branch", tree limb. [BloodBowl] |
| Dribl | "Dribble", saliva trickling from the mouth. See also: Drull. [BloodBowl Seraphon] |
| Drull | "Drool", saliva trickling from the mouth. See also: Dribl. [BloodBowl Seraphon] |
| Frank 'n' Stein | Frankenstein (1818), a novel by Mary Shelley. [BloodBowl] |
| Glotl Stop | Glottal stop, a sound found in many Seraphon names. [BloodBowl Seraphon] |
| Gork | See: Gork and Mork. [WHFB BloodBowl Orc WH40k Ork God] |
| Gork and Mork ¹ | Blend of Gog and Magog (two individuals/peoples/lands from the Bible) and Ork. Later, Gogmagog, a giant in Welsh mythology. [WHFB BloodBowl Orc WH40k Ork God] |
| Gretchen Wächter | Gretchen, a name + German Wächter, "guard". [BloodBowl] |
| Hakflem Skuttlespike | "Hack", cough noisily + "phlegm", thick mucus that is coughed up + "scuttle", scurry + "spike", slamming a ball to the ground. [BloodBowl Chaos Skaven] |
| Jim Johnson | Jervis Johnson, designer of Blood Bowl. The illustration of Jim Johnson is also based on a 1980s Jervis Johnson photograph. [BloodBowl] |
| Johnson | See: Jim Johnson. [BloodBowl] |
| Khorne | Possibly a clipping of Khornerstone, a computer performance testing benchmark created by Workstation Laboratories in 1986 (the same year that Khorne first appeared, in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay). Khornerstone is named in the same style as Dhrystone and Whetstone, two benchmarks that it incorporates, with an "h" inserted as the second letter, and the first letter changed to "k" to retain the pronunciation of "cornerstone". Dhrystone (1984) was named as a pun on Whetstone. The Whetstone (1972) benchmark gets its name from the Whetstone Compiler (1964) for ALGOL, which was developed in the village of Whetstone in the UK. [WHFB AoS BloodBowl WH40k Chaos Khorne God] |
| Kon'ssstriktr | See: Boa Kon'ssstriktr. [BloodBowl] |
| Kreek 'the Verminator' Rustgouger | "Creak", a prolonged squeak + blend of "vermin" (annoying small animals) and The Terminator (1984 film ) + "rust", corroded iron + "gouger", one who makes a scooping groove. [BloodBowl Chaos Skaven] |
| Max Spleenripper | "Max", maximum + "spleen", an organ of the body + "ripper", one who tears. [BloodBowl Chaos Khorne] |
| Mork | See: Gork and Mork. [WHFB BloodBowl Orc WH40k Ork God] |
| Mortius ¹ | Blend of Latin mortis, "of death", and mortuus, "having died". [BloodBowl Chaos Nurgle Daemon GreaterDaemon] |
| Nuffle | Sounding out of "NFL", the National Football League, an American football league formed in 1920. [BloodBowl God] |
| Nurgle ¹ | Nergal, a god of war and plague in Mesopotamian mythology. [WHFB AoS BloodBowl WH40k Chaos Nurgle God] |
| Nurgling | Nurgle + "-ling", small. [WHFB AoS BloodBowl WH40k Chaos Nurgle Daemon LesserDaemon] |
| Pestigor | Latin pestis, "plague" + Gor. [WHFB BloodBowl AoS WH40k Chaos Nurgle Beastman] |
| Plaguebearer | "Plague", a pestilential epidemic + "bearer", one who carries. [WHFB AoS BloodBowl WH40k Chaos Nurgle Daemon LesserDaemon] |
| Rosebark | See: Willow Rosebark. [BloodBowl] |
| Rumbelow Sheepskin | Blend of "rumble" (a continuous low and heavy sound) and "bellow" (a deep roar) + "sheepskin", a tanned fleece. The name as a whole references the imp-like man, Rumpelstiltskin, from European mythology. [BloodBowl Halfling] |
| Rustgouger | See: Kreek 'the Verminator' Rustgouger. [BloodBowl Chaos Skaven] |
| Scyla Anfingrimm | Scylla, a monster in Greek mythology + German anfing, "I/he began" + Old English grimm, "savage". [WHFB Norscan AoS BloodBowl Chaos Khorne ChaosSpawn] |
| Sheepskin | See: Rumbelow Sheepskin. [BloodBowl Halfling] |
| Skuttlespike | See: Hakflem Skuttlespike. [BloodBowl Chaos Skaven] |
| Spleenripper | See: Max Spleenripper. [BloodBowl Chaos Khorne] |
| Stein | See: Frank 'n' Stein. [BloodBowl] |
| Stop | See: Glotl Stop. [BloodBowl Seraphon] |
| Stoutmead | See: Thorsson Stoutmead. [BloodBowl] |
| Strongbranch | See: Deeproot Strongbranch. [BloodBowl] |
| Thorsson Stoutmead | Son of Thor, god of thunder in Norse mythology + "stout", bulky + "mead", an alcoholic drink derived from honey. [BloodBowl] |
| Verminator | See: Kreek 'the Verminator' Rustgouger. [BloodBowl Chaos Skaven] |
| Wächter | See: Gretchen Wächter. [BloodBowl] |
| Wilhelm Chaney | Wilhelm scream, a sound effect first used in 1951 + Lon Chaney (1883-1930), a horror film actor. [BloodBowl] |
| Willow Rosebark | Willow, a tree + rose, a plant + "bark", tree skin. [BloodBowl] |
| Yhetee | Yeti, a legendary creature in Himalayan mythology. [WHFB Ogre BloodBowl AoS Destruction Ogor] |
| Inspiration | |
| Warhammer Setting | The Dark Tongue; Daemonic Names; Lexicon; Short Stories; Cut-ups; Cool Stuff |
| Art | Golden Demon; Nurglesque Music |
| Speculation | Chaos God Correspondence; Dark Heresy Backgrounds; Sevenfold Path; Sevenrot; Seven Deadly Sins |
| Real World References | Nergal in Mesopotamian History; Symbolism of Three Circles; Symbolism of Seven |
dedicated to the Lord of Ruin