Just as an intricately carved longbow conjures images of graceful elves, a sturdy oak crossbow looks at home in an industrious gnomish workshop. This provides a huge range of influences to draw from, though you don’t necessarily have to stick with the obvious associations. If your hero doesn’t take life too seriously, choosing a name that’s totally at odds with your bow’s appearance can reflect their character.
Good Bow Names
Picking a good name for any weapon is easiest when you know how your character is going to interact with it. For example, if they’re a burly outlander who favors the bow for its total precision, their weapon is going to have a more aggressive title than a whimsical druid who stumbled across their bow in a meadow.
- Elfsong Warbow
- Scorpion Sting
- Fiendish Skewer
- Windwhisper
- Harpy’s Heartstrings
- Holy Messenger
- Scourge of the Forest
- Sweet Lady Pain
Deadly Raindrops
A delicate shortbow, typical of forest-dwelling folk. Its smaller size makes the bow ideal for dancing among the treetops, hailing arrows onto trespassers below.
- Skyshatter
- Ranger’s Revenge
- Arc of Destruction
- Impending Doom
- Roughly Hewn Treebow
- Bowyer’s Opus
- Appleseeker
- Wicked Puncturer
Prey’s Bane
The longbow of a seasoned hunter, one who has spent many a month fighting for survival in the wildlands. All creatures cute and small beware!
- Deathly Drawback
- Shieldpiercer
- Gnomish Glory
- Reaper’s Recurve
- Doomcaster
- Aarakocran Skybow
Famous Bow Names
To give a bow enough gravity to be considered famous, its name could refer to a well-known event or person that has crossed its path. The whims of archfey beings are particularly suited to bows, as they were the weapon of choice for many lauded denizens and deities of the feywild.
- Harp of the Huntress
- Wicked Bow of the Wild Hunt
- Cursed Curve of Cerunnos
- Valkryie’s Flight
- Meteor Shower
- Aerie’s Blessing
- Skyfire
- Selkie Slayer
Bolt from the Blue
A fabled crossbow of the Pirate Isles, carved from a sea serpent’s fang. When thick mists roll around a ship, this bow’s penetrating bolts are sure to follow.
- Evermeet’s End
- Vorpal Viper
- Soldier’s Splinter
- Fate of the Elven Pretender
- Wildling’s Mercy
- Arbalest of the Arvandor Woods
- Elysium
- Poacher’s Thorn
Taulmaril’s Twin
In the thick of the Spellplague, an ambitious bowyer managed to seize one of Taulmaril’s silvered shafts before it dissolved. Guided by the arrow’s enchantments, he created this stunning polished longbow.
- Hellfire Rain
- Spirit of the Wind
- Arch of the Angel
- Quicksilver
- Travelling Fang
- Nature’s Last Stand
Legendary Bow Names
Many of the established bows of fantasy legend are laced with enchantments and unique carvings. Their names evoke both an image of the weapon’s form, as well as the gifts it may confer to an archer who is lucky enough to get their hands on one.
- Waxing Moonbow
- Blizzard Boltslinger
- Everloaded Crossbow
- Windspeaker
- Serpentine Sniper
- Feywild’s Favour
- Longbow of Unbidden Sighs
- Eagle-Eyed Arbalest
Corellon’s Champion
To fight for any archfey is a rare gift, but to strike with a bow blessed by Corellon is an honor without match. An echo of their power infuses the longbow, granting the ability to summon four air elementals once per long rest.
- Winter’s War Bow
- Hole Punch
- Relentless Repeater
- Hunter’s Permanent Marker
- Witchbolt War Bow
- Lliira’s Legacy
Blink Bow
This shadowy shortbow never seems to stay exactly in the same spot. On a critical hit, the weapon casts the Blink spell, vanishing along with the archer to the ethereal plane.
- Seven League Longbow
- Bolt of the Banshee
- Acid Rain
- Barebow of the Moon Druid
- Dancing Lights
- Cat-Like Reflex Bow
- Beastseeker
- Sehanine’s Dream Weaver
I loved coming up with these ideas as I often play ranged characters. An enchanted bow can be a great sidekick for a mage, who undoubtedly wants to give it a fancy name! What did you think of my suggestions? Let me know in the comments, and share this article with your fellow elves and rangers.