Whilst passing the time over a few pints with an English chum of mine the other day our conversation turned to English Pubs and their most interesting names. (Notice how I sound all English there?)

It’s always seemed to me that, unlike pubs and bars here in the States which are named mostly for their location or owners, English pubs get their monikers by jamming together two seemingly unrelated nouns – one or both of which of which is/are usually animals (e.g. “Swan and Trumpet”, “Dog and Pen”, “Moose and Squirrel”, etc.).

My new English friend tried to explain that this naming convention was one steeped in tradition, and that all the names had real significance.

“Bollocks,” I said. (Actually, I used the American version, but you get the point.) “English pubs get their names from guys who’ve had a few pints and are simply writing down the first two items to come to mind – probably inspired by the shapes of the stains on the wall.”

Sure, English pub names are more fun than “Hennesey’s Pub”, or “Fifth Street Tavern”, but naming them isn’t some dark art revealed only to the island dwellers living south of Hadrian’s Wall.

“In fact,” I said, “I can throw together a random word generator that’ll spew out English pub names with no effort at all.”

So I did. And now you can reap the benefits.

If you’ve ever wanted an English Pub (or several) with a really good English Pub name, now is your chance. Simply use my super-duper-English-Pub-name-generator, and as quick as you can say “Bob’s your uncle”, you’ve got yourself an authentic English Pub name. (Sorry, beer, building and football hooligans not included.)

Enjoy!

» English Pub Name Generator
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