Gargoyle Name Generator (2024)

FAQs

Do gargoyle names have to start with G? ›

Abel opened it to discover a gargoyle egg. The egg soon hatched, and a baby gargoyle spilled forth. Abel wanted to name it Irving, but Cain wouldn't hear of it. He said that gargoyle names must always begin with the letter G, such as Gazpacho, Gormagon, Gladstone or Ganymede.

Unusual animal mixtures, or chimeras, did not act as rainspouts and are more properly called grotesques. They serve as ornamentation but are now popularly called gargoyles.

Names. Historically, gargoyles did not believe in the necessity of names, and generally did not have them themselves. On rare occasion, the leader of a gargoyle clan would be given a name by the humans they protect.

Demona. Demona, once known as Angel and also known as The Demon, is a female gargoyle.

Grotesques are often mistaken for gargoyles, probably because most are similarly hideous, even though they never gargle. These grotesques, like gargoyles protect the building from water, only without spouting water.

Perhaps the most well-known gargoyles in the world hover on Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Technically known as grotesques (true gargoyles have waterspouts as mouths), these monstrous creatures glare ominously down on the City of Light.

Because gargoyles looked the way they did it was believed to frighten away evil spirits and protect the building and whatever was inside from harm. Since Gargoyles were mainly found in grand churches and castles they were seen as protectors and not evil.

Grotesque are often called gargoyles, although the term gargoyle refers to figures carved specifically to drain water away from the sides of buildings. In the Middle Ages, the term babewyn was used to refer to both gargoyles and chimerae. This word is derived from the Italian word babbuino, which means "baboon".

Some believe gargoyles on a church were meant to ward off evil; it's also possible that the gargoyles symbolized evil spirits, monstrous entities, and damned souls. The thinking was that the church offered spiritual safety for those who accepted its authority, but outside the church was spiritual danger.

Victor, Hugo, and Laverne are major characters in Disney's 1996 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. They are a trio of anthropomorphic gargoyles belonging to Notre Dame Cathedral. Since Quasimodo's arrival in the bell tower as an infant, the gargoyles have served as his best friends and guardians.

What do gargoyles symbolize? ›

Both gargoyles and grotesques have been attributed with the power to ward off evil spirits, guarding the buildings they occupy and protecting those inside.

Gargoyles are waterspouts that are designed to throw rain water away from the outside wall of a building.

The term gargoyle comes from the French gargouille—the noise of both water and air mixing in the throat. In English, we know this as gargle. Gargoyles were originally designed in 13th century French architecture as a means of disposing of water.

The difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque is easy to remember. A gargoyle is a decorated waterspout that projects from a roof and carries rainwater away from the walls of a building, protecting it from damage, whilst a grotesque is a decorative carving that has no functional architectural purpose.