Cute monster names — 150 ideas, and how to make your own
Naming a creature is harder than drawing it, which is unfair. You spend an hour on the horns and then sit for twenty minutes typing nothing.
Below is a list you can steal from directly, organised by the sound of the name rather than by theme — because sound is what actually makes a name feel cute, and theme lists ("food names!", "nature names!") tend to produce names that don't fit the drawing.
After the list there's the method, which is more useful than the list.
Round and soft
Names built from open vowels and soft consonants. These read as friendly, slightly clumsy, harmless.
Bumbo · Mochi · Pom · Wumbly · Doolo · Nib · Ollo · Puddin · Bloop · Gumbo · Wobble · Marrow · Bunbun · Tato · Oomo · Pillow · Dolo · Nubbin · Moppet · Snub · Bobo · Yolo · Munch · Pip · Grumbo · Tumble · Nog · Booboo · Pudge · Wibb
Sharp and small
Short, hard consonants. These suit creatures that are cute and clearly capable of biting you.
Skit · Nix · Tack · Bip · Zap · Krik · Pex · Snip · Vex · Kit · Tock · Grit · Zib · Nick · Sprocket · Fizz · Twitch · Klik · Rasp · Bramble · Prick · Sket · Jinx · Quill · Nettle · Scrap · Tik · Fang (used ironically) · Spike (same) · Pin
Long and drifty
Two or three syllables, trailing off. These read as dreamy, sleepy, a bit sad.
Alowen · Mirrow · Sindri · Vellow · Ossilo · Nimue · Halloway · Tarrow · Lumen · Sable · Amaro · Vespera · Oleander · Sorrel · Willowe · Mora · Cindral · Elowen · Ashen · Winnow · Solace · Nimbus · Orrery · Bellow · Thistle · Vesper · Aurel · Marrowen · Sylo · Quillon
Nonsense with a shape
Invented words that sound like they mean something. Usually the best category, and the hardest to do on purpose.
Grunkle · Snorbit · Flumph · Wraggle · Bimbleroot · Corvish · Snaffle · Yorbit · Plimm · Gnarlow · Squib · Fennick · Blorp · Thackle · Murbo · Cragglet · Wispet · Dunkle · Snoot · Bramblewick · Fumb · Nockle · Sprig · Wobbeg · Trundle · Gribbet · Hoggle · Mimble · Skreek · Pumbo
Straight-faced human names
Underrated. A small horrifying creature called Deborah is funnier and more memorable than any invented word.
Barry · Deborah · Keith · Susan · Gerald · Doris · Trevor · Linda · Norman · Beryl · Clive · Marjorie · Colin · Enid · Reginald · Pam · Winston · Mabel · Sheila · Nigel · Doreen · Alan · Gladys · Roger · Edna · Bernard · Vera · Stan · Iris · Malcolm
Food, but obliquely
Direct food names (Cookie, Muffin) are fine but crowded. Oblique ones age better.
Brine · Custard · Rind · Semolina · Marzipan · Sage · Nutmeg · Pickle · Crumb · Truffle · Pomelo · Gristle · Curd · Saffron · Toffee · Barley · Kelp · Pepper · Suet · Clove · Miso · Fennel · Praline · Rye · Cardamom · Vinegar · Tallow · Whey · Anise · Butterbean
The three-part method
Lists run out. The method doesn't.
1. Pick the sound before the meaning. Look at the drawing and decide whether the creature is round or sharp, fast or slow. Round and slow → open vowels, soft consonants (Bumbo). Sharp and fast → short, hard consonants (Skit). Get this wrong and no amount of clever meaning rescues it.
2. Take one real word and break it. Not a whole word — a piece. Bramble gives you Bram, Bramm, Bramblewick, Ambel. Kettle gives you Kettl, Tull, Ketto. Breaking a real word gives you a name that sounds like it has history, which pure invention rarely does.
3. Say it out loud twice, then say it annoyed. You will say this name in three registers: neutral, delighted, and exasperated. A name that only works delighted is a bad name. "Bumbo, no" works. "Vespera Nightshade, no" does not.
One extra test
Say the name, then say what the creature is. "This is Grunkle. He's a mushroom with legs."
If the sentence makes you smile, the name is right. If you find yourself explaining the name, it's wrong — a name that needs explaining is a name the creature will never quite grow into.
If you're naming a creature you drew
Ours, so read it as description: Inkmon turns a drawing into a creature you look after daily, and naming happens at hatching — before you know what it becomes. That order matters more than it sounds. You name a scribble, and then the name has six weeks to turn out to have been right, which it usually does, because you'll bend your idea of the creature toward its name without noticing.
That's the actual argument for naming early and badly rather than late and well: the name is doing work on you the whole time.