[ Models | Lore | Sources | Inspiration ]
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 |
|---|---|
| Behemoth ¹ | Behemoth, a monster from the Book of Job in the Bible. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Charybdis ¹ | Charybdis, a sea monster in Greek mythology. See also: Scylla. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Collossus ¹ | Ancient Greek κολοσσός, large statue. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Gorgon | Gorgon, a snake-haired monster in Greek mythology. [WH40k Imperial ImperialGuard Vehicle SpaceMarine IronHands Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Hydra | Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed water monster in Greek mythology. [WHFB Elf DarkElf AoS Order Aelf WH40k Imperial ImperialGuard Vehicle Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Jormungandr ¹ | Jörmungandr, the world serpent in Norse mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Kraken ¹ | Kraken, a sea monster from Norwegian folklore of the 1700s onwards. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Kronos ¹ | Cronus, the leader of the Titans in Greek Mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Leviathan ¹ | Leviathan, a sea serpent in Judaic mythology. [WH40k Imperial SpaceMarine Vehicle Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Magalodon ¹ | Megalodon, a huge prehistoric shark. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Medusa | Medusa, a snake-haired monster in Greek mythology. [WH40k Imperial ImperialGuard SpaceMarine Vehicle Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Moloch ¹ | Moloch, a biblical term that may refer to sacrifice or a Canaanite god. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Naga ¹ | Nāga, a race of serpent-people in South and Southeast Asian mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Ouroboris ¹ | Ouroboros, a symbol of a serpent eating its own tail. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Pythos ¹ | Python, a legendary serpent from Delphi in Greek mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Scylla ¹ | Scylla, a monster in Greek mythology. See also: Charybdis. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| Tiamet ¹ | Tiamat, a goddess of the sea in Mesopotamian mythology. [WH40k Tyranid HiveFleet] |
| 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 Plague Wind