Blues Name Generator

Set how many names you want (1 to 10), choose Male, Female or leave the gender blank for both, and press Generate Blues Name. Each result is a stage name in the old Delta and Chicago style: a descriptive nickname followed by a surname, like "Blind Chicken Freeman", "Whiskey Tooth Jones", "Nine Toes Davis" or "Washboard Joe Walker". The list holds 584 names, 297 tagged male and 287 tagged female.

It answers the "what's your blues name" question that goes around every so often, and it's a practical source for anyone naming a blues or jazz act, a character in a period story, or a bar-band alter ego for open-mic night.

How the names are put together

Every entry is a nickname plus a surname, sometimes with a first name in between. The nicknames come in a few families: a physical trait or affliction (Blind, Nine Toes, Wooden Legs, Dead Foot, Fat Boy, Tall Hat), a vice (Whiskey Tooth, Boozy Lips, Secret Drunkard, Smokes), an animal (Lost Dog, Angry Bulldog, Brown Buffalo, Twisted Snake, Big Chicken), a place (Texas, Big City, Wicked Town) or an instrument (Washboard Joe). The surnames are the ones you find on a Chess Records sleeve: Johnson, Jones, Davis, Williams, Jackson, Freeman, Washington, Hawkins, Parker, Thornton, Sykes, McGee, Slim.

The gender filter splits the list in two, but both halves are built the same way. There are no "Mama" or "Miss" prefixes on the female side; a female draw gives you "Bitter Rose Fuller" or "Blue Eyed Henderson" in the same register as the male names. Leave the dropdown blank to draw from all 584.

Sample draw

Where the tradition comes from

Real blues musicians earned these names, and the generator copies the patterns. Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake were all named for their sight. Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters took names from a sound and a river. Lightnin' Hopkins, T-Bone Walker and Bo Diddley carried nicknames from childhood or from the road. Memphis Minnie and Mississippi John Hurt were named for where they came from. Slim, Fats, Big and Little were half-names in themselves: Big Bill Broonzy, Big Mama Thornton, Memphis Slim, Fats Domino. The nickname usually came first, from friends or a record label, and the surname was whatever the musician was born with or borrowed.

The old joke formula for "your blues name" (an affliction, then a fruit or animal, then a president's surname) is the same idea compressed, and you'll see it in some of the results here: "Blind Chicken Freeman" and "Big Chicken Rogers" are pure formula, while "Twinkle Toes Thompkins" and "Velvet Boy Hayes" lean toward the smoother jazz and soul side.

Using a name from the list

• Band and solo act names. A generated name works as-is for a solo blues act. For a band, keep the nickname and add "and the …": Lost Dog Jordan and the Bottleneck Boys. The Gang Name Generator is a decent source for the second half.
• Fiction. A juke-joint scene needs a name on the poster. The tags help: generate five male names for the band and one female for the singer, or the reverse.
• Album credits. Naming a record to go with the act is a separate job; the Random Book Title Generator gives plainer titles than most music-name tools.
• Open-mic sign-up sheets. The "what's your blues name" game at a jam night is quicker with ten names on a phone screen than with the formula.

Related name tools for groups and acts, including the Newspaper Name Generator and the Mercenary Company Name Generator, are listed under all name generators.