[ 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 |
|---|---|
| Abaddon the Despoiler | Abaddon, a place of destruction and archangel of the abyss from the Bible. [WH40k Chaos SpaceMarine SonsofHorus BlackLegion] |
| Cthonia | "Chthonian", relating to the underworld. [WH40k SegmentumSolar System SonsofHorus] |
| Haarken Worldclaimer | Haakon the Good (c. 920-961), king of Norway + "world", planet + "claimer", one who demands ownership. [WH40k Chaos SpaceMarine SonsofHorus BlackLegion] |
| Hastur Sejanus | Hastur, a powerful entity in the Cthulhu mythos, first appearing in "Haïta the Shepherd" (1891) by Ambrose Bierce + Sejanus (20BC-31AD), a soldier and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. [WH40k Imperial SpaceMarine SonsofHorus] |
| Horus | Horus, a god of kingship and the sky in Egyptian mythology. See also: Lupercal. [WH40k Chaos Primarch SonsofHorus] |
| Lupercal | Lupercal, the cave in which Romulus and Remus were found by a wolf. This is in reference to the original name of the Sons of Horus: the Luna Wolves. See also: Horus. [WH40k Chaos Primarch SonsofHorus] |
| Mournival ¹ | "Mournival", four playing cards with the same value. [WH40k Imperial SpaceMarine SonsofHorus] |
| Sejanus | See: Hastur Sejanus. [WH40k Imperial SpaceMarine SonsofHorus] |
| Worldclaimer | See: Haarken Worldclaimer. [WH40k Chaos SpaceMarine SonsofHorus BlackLegion] |
| 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 Plaguelord