Naming mad scientists

[Drakeburn]

I'm working on a short one-shot adventure, and I need help with coming up with a name for a mad scientist who sent out the giant robots to wreak havoc in the city. And this is the sort of scientist who isn't restricted to just one field of science.

So, any suggestions, and ideas how to come up with names for characters for TRPGs in general?

[RazorChain]

This is what I use for my Mythic Europe campaign


https://www.behindthename.com/

[Koo Rehtorb]

Name must start with "Doctor".

[Christopher K.]

I'm a big fan of the names so obviously menacing that nobody acknowledges them as evil-sounding. "You mean to tell me Dr. Vladimir Cataclysmus was the one causing this.. this.. cataclysm?"

[Mastikator]

Maybe he has a PhD in robotics, cybernetics and biology. He has invented a machine that converts people and animals into cyborgs that follow his command.

He should have an evil beard and mustache, actually the beard is probably cliche, just a mustache, and he should be bald, because that makes him look more evil. He could wear a military uniform because he used to work for some military organization, but he left because they weren't evil enough. Or maybe because he sees himself as the general of his cyborg army. The uniform should be red.

His name should be Doctor Eggman

[Kantaki]

Name must start with "Doctor".

Make that a Doktor and give them a (vaguely) german (sounding) name and you should be mostly set.:smallamused:

Bonus-points if the name fits his modus operandi and/or is death/destruction related.

[Rockphed]

"Professor" and "Baron" are also acceptable ways to make someone a little more menacing.

[CharonsHelper]

Dr. Horrible

[Talyn]

Are we talking the name his parents gave him, or the "archvillain" name he chose for himself? The first is dependent on his age and ethnic background.

The second depends on how MAD, MAD I SAY he is. If he's just evil and mostly sane, he'd want something menacing but not over-the-top, since he wants to be taken seriously. "Professor Menace" or something. If he's frothing at the mouth nuts, the sky's the limit. "Dr. Impossible," "The Grand Imperator," or "Arkangelous" are all good.

[Anonymouswizard]

I'm a big fan of the names so obviously menacing that nobody acknowledges them as evil-sounding. "You mean to tell me Dr. Vladimir Cataclysmus was the one causing this.. this.. cataclysm?"

'I created this cataclysm causing device to help mankind, not destroy it!'

My general rule with mad scientist names is that, whether they're evil or benign, they must sound like they are trying to hard too be cool. This is how I named Mister Magnesiumleaf, the mad engineer who eventually realised he could make more money selling mostly safe devices to the public (and any injuries can be solved by his new line of prosthetic fingers). He's a mister specifically to sound less like an evil madman (and also because he only has a Masters).

Of course, the more thematic the better as well. Doctor Death is all well and good, but Professor Pestilence is obviously the only name for someone releasing a deadly plague.

[D+1]

Back when City of Heroes was still an ongoing MMRPG I played a character with a kind of manic, dissociative personality disorder that I named Dr. Starkraven M.D. Get it? Stark raving mad? <rimshot> I'll be here until next week.

No really. He was a LOON. When not actually in a group or on missions I frequently had him jumping around in fountains shouting, "I'm a FISH!" and generally being utterly unhinged. Ah, good times.

[kieza]

Herr Doktor Professor KLOM, inventor of the Spitzensparkenloudenboomengefliegendenundertasse mit riesigersturmmacher.

KLOM is capitalized because he always emphasizes it when introducing himself. He gets very offended when people don't get it right, emphasis included.

Nobody born outside his tiny, obscure Bavarian village has ever figured out how to get the emphasis right.

[Drakeburn]

Specifically, I'm looking for both a real name and a "super villain" name for my mad scientist.

So far, a couple good names came to mind, such as Doctor Delirious and Doctor Plight. Now I'm just trying to figure out which one I should go with, and what real names could go well with those names.

[goto124]

Real names should be as boring as possible, to contrast with their bombastic supervillian names. Lord Voldemort was just Tom Riddle.

Make the real name be a common name in whatever country the villain's from, and you should be set.

[wumpus]

I took mine from The Mad Scientist Club (https://www.amazon.com/Mad-Scientists-Club-Scientist/dp/1930900538), but didn't expect anyone to catch on.

- the Mad Scientist Club was a Sputnik-era book about teenish boys who ran around doing "scientific" pranks. The tech level was believable in the 1970s (consumer tech hadn't changed in terribly obvious ways), but might have well been Victorian by the late 1980s (lack of phones only began to describe the issues). When asked about it, I couldn't even recommend it to the asker's age-appropriate sons, even though I loved the books as a boy.

[CharonsHelper]

I took mine from The Mad Scientist Club (https://www.amazon.com/Mad-Scientists-Club-Scientist/dp/1930900538), but didn't expect anyone to catch on.

- the Mad Scientist Club was a Sputnik-era book about teenish boys who ran around doing "scientific" pranks. The tech level was believable in the 1970s (consumer tech hadn't changed in terribly obvious ways), but might have well been Victorian by the late 1980s (lack of phones only began to describe the issues). When asked about it, I couldn't even recommend it to the asker's age-appropriate sons, even though I loved the books as a boy.

Yeah - unfortunately a lot of sci-fi doesn't age well, even if it's goofy sci-fi.

I've read a couple of Asimov's later books, but when I tried to go and read Foundation a while back I just couldn't get into it. I mean - the whole premise was the creation of a library of all info... which is a really weak-sauce version of the internet. But that was just the most obvious.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

"Professor" and "Baron" are also acceptable ways to make someone a little more menacing.

Or engineer. It sounds like someone who can competently apply their evil knowledge.

[Anonymouswizard]

Yeah - unfortunately a lot of sci-fi doesn't age well, even if it's goofy sci-fi.

I've read a couple of Asimov's later books, but when I tried to go and read Foundation a while back I just couldn't get into it. I mean - the whole premise was the creation of a library of all info... which is a really weak-sauce version of the internet. But that was just the most obvious.

Yeah, the lack of IT in old science fiction really hurts it. I remember reading Galactic Patrol, most of it was fine but there was one bit where the characters had to rig up an autopilot and I was screaming 'just use a computer program' before realising it was pre computers.

FWIW, once you get past the second story in Foundation the idea of creating a library of all information disappears, it was only a justification to get he Foundation to the edge of the galaxy. After that the main problem is the occasional mention of computing by hand and all the microfilm.

At least it's not Skylark of Space and it's sequels, which literally say 'science is for men, arts and child bearing is for women'.

[Jay R]

John MacAubrey, Ph.D., known as ...

Dr. MacAbre

[GAAD]

Feel free to go corny with it!

I have a mad scientist character by the name of The Master. As in, last name Master first name The.

[Professor Chimp]

You could go the usuale route of naming him Herr/Doktor 'vaguely German name that preferably has a Von in there and ends in -stein"

Or, you could do something a little more interesting.

Give him a really mundane and unassuming name like James Andrews or such. Give him an appearance to match as well as a personality and behaviour that is very 'every day good guy', at least in public. With proper setup, it'll make the reveal that it was him all along more memorable.

After all, someone can turn out a complete monster without any prior indication, as proven time and again by vicious serial murderers, horrid dictators and generally really unpleasant people across history.

[Beleriphon]

You could go the usuale route of naming him Herr/Doktor 'vaguely German name that preferably has a Von in there and ends in -stein"

Or, you could do something a little more interesting.

Give him a really mundane and unassuming name like James Andrews or such. Give him an appearance to match as well as a personality and behaviour that is very 'every day good guy', at least in public. With proper setup, it'll make the reveal that it was him all along more memorable.

After all, someone can turn out a complete monster without any prior indication, as proven time and again by vicious serial murderers, horrid dictators and generally really unpleasant people across history.

Herr Doktor Heinrich von Doomstein.

[Jay R]

His name is Alphonse Clarence Plumington III.

There's a reason he turned evil.

[LibraryOgre]

A friend of mine always named Good Wizards after famous engineers, and Evil wizards after famous mathematicians.

[Beleriphon]

A friend of mine always named Good Wizards after famous engineers, and Evil wizards after famous mathematicians.

That by itself made me look up famous engineers and now my game shall have a Kingdom of Brunel with royal wizard named Isambard. Or have spells get better names like Sikorsky's Impossible Flight.

[huluadventure]

Dr.Robo


{{scrubbed}}

[antipodeF]

When in doubt, Luke Nounverber names are always fun and memorable. Larry Ironstrong, Franklin Manstabber, Jonathon Badpain, etc. If it's just for a oneshot, it doesn't need to be terribly serious.

In general, I tend to name my characters with "iconic" sorts of names to make them easier to keep track of. I don't usually go Luke Nounverber for player characters, but the surname barely matters. I tend to just string together syllables Japanese-style til it sounds decent. The first name is all that matters. So far I've had Solomon Sunaki, Maverick Musabu, Victoria and Valerie Valkedi, and for a Star Wars game, Liliana L'irinette. (cause you gotta throw apostrophes around or you won't fit in. : P) You don't need to have the surname alliterate with the first name, but I like to, because it makes it easier to remember which surname goes with which.

[Yora]

Make that a Doktor and give them a (vaguely) german (sounding) name and you should be mostly set.:smallamused:

Bonus-points if the name fits his modus operandi and/or is death/destruction related.

I've can't remember any mad scientists who isn't German. Except Doctor Doom, I believe.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

A friend of mine always named Good Wizards after famous engineers, and Evil wizards after famous mathematicians.

Now that's a naming convention I can get behind.

[Calthropstu]

It's a one-off. Have fun with it. Dr Bowser is going to unleash his koopa army.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

If your mad scientist has a clear specialty, you can always relate it to that. If not then general menacing names work but you can tie them back into your characters themes. For example, if I made a mad scientist and decided to name him "Professor Oroboros" I'd decorate all his devices with snake iconography even if what they actually did wasn't related to snakes in anyway.


I've can't remember any mad scientists who isn't German. Except Doctor Doom, I believe.
He's not technically German, but he's Eastern European, which means he's playing to a lot of the same stereotypes. He even has a 'von' in his name.

[Nemesis67]

I tend to look to mythology with mad scientists.

The Horsemen, Death, War, Pestilence, and Famine as a group of specialists working in one organization.

Prometheus, the Titan who gifted man fire.

Hephaustus, the craftsman of Olympus.

More computer/gadget oriented ones can pull from networking terms. Proxy, Skeleton Key, etc.

[FreddyNoNose]

Doctor Clockwork.

[Bohandas]

Name must start with "Doctor".

or "professor"

[Bohandas]

I've read a couple of Asimov's later books, but when I tried to go and read Foundation a while back I just couldn't get into it. I mean - the whole premise was the creation of a library of all info... which is a really weak-sauce version of the internet. But that was just the most obvious.

Wasn't it specifically the creation of a library of all knowledge that could survive the collapse of civilization? That's more like a Long Now Foundation project than the internet

[Rockphed]

Wasn't it specifically the creation of a library of all knowledge that could survive the collapse of civilization? That's more like a Long Now Foundation project than the internet

In which case things like microfilm/microfiche work better than electronic storage media. Of course micro-engraving on gem-stones works even better, right up until somebody decides that the gems are worth more as gems than as information storage media. What you really need is some way to ensure that only people who want the information break open the vaults.

Of course, they end up creating a new civilization to guard the knowledge instead of the old civilization dying out and taking knowledge with it, so it is a slightly moot point.

[daniel_ream]

I've always liked the proto-MCU approach: the scientists are just normally named guys, it's the tabloids *cough*J. Jonah Jameson*cough* who give them the silly names because that's what tabloids do.

"What's this crackpot's name, anyway? I want it in big type, front page!"
"Solezhitznayov."
"Sole -**** now? Nah, no one can pronounce that. He's making all these droid things, right? Droidmaster!"
"I don't think 'droid' will pass corporate legal."
"<harrumph>Robot Jock?"
"He's a scientist, not a football player."
"Mr. Roboto! No, Doctor Roboto! Doctor Robotnik! He's Russian, right? Perfect! Print it! 'Doctor Robotnik Menaces Manhattan!' "
"Corporate legal again."
"Dammit, Urich, what do I pay you for?"

The mastermind in one of my superhero games was Dr. Spyrios Apoucoulos, so of course the tabloids called him Doctor Apocalypse.

[Rockphed]

I've always liked the proto-MCU approach: the scientists are just normally named guys, it's the tabloids *cough*J. Jonah Jameson*cough* who give them the silly names because that's what tabloids do.

"What's this crackpot's name, anyway? I want it in big type, front page!"
"Solezhitznayov."
"Sole -**** now? Nah, no one can pronounce that. He's making all these droid things, right? Droidmaster!"
"I don't think 'droid' will pass corporate legal."
"<harrumph>Robot Jock?"
"He's a scientist, not a football player."
"Mr. Roboto! No, Doctor Roboto! Doctor Robotnik! He's Russian, right? Perfect! Print it! 'Doctor Robotnik Menaces Manhattan!' "
"Corporate legal again."
"Dammit, Urich, what do I pay you for?"

The mastermind in one of my superhero games was Dr. Spyrios Apoucoulos, so of course the tabloids called him Doctor Apocalypse.

Obviously he needs to be "The Megabot Master" so J Jonah Jameson can have a completely alliterative title. Next week's title will be "Big Bot Breaks Bronx", "Robot Quells Queens Quiet", "Brooklyn Burned By Baddie", and "Staten Island Sees Invasion". Then, just to round things out "Jersey Joins Disaster Juju".

[Bohandas]

Real names should be as boring as possible, to contrast with their bombastic supervillian names. Lord Voldemort was just Tom Riddle.

Make the real name be a common name in whatever country the villain's from, and you should be set.

No it should hint at their theme like a batman villain (ie the Riddler is E. Nigma, the Joker is Jack Napier, Mr.Freeze is Dr.Freeze, etc)