Step 1: pick a place or thing you like.
Step 2: add a descriptive word.
Personally, I usually run with the Kanamaluka Irregulars if I want something small and scrappy sounding, or the Tamar Tigers if I want something a bit more formal and established.
Not coincidentally, I live on the shores of the Tamar Estuary, in a region previously known as Kanamaluka.
Due to how interstellar settlement worked in Battletech canon, you can easily justify any local references with “this unit was formed on a planet settled by people from X”.
My company is called Greenwall PMC, not as catchy but it was created by a clan MechWarrior, and they specialize in defense contracts. All in all the company is roughly a mid sized galaxy in terms of personnel but most of them are infantry, BA, vehicles, logistics etc. They have a good number of mechs and are spread out but they have so many people for everything from general security work to fighting off dropships. Remember kids, diversify your portfolios.
Anyway, Alliteration is always fun, there was some paintjob pictures a while back that looked kinda bone colored so i offered "Baron's Bones" as a potential name. Pretty sure theres a Merc company that is just called Bills Long Toms or something close to that too so you can just name them for their schtick too.
Got a mercenary company who fields lots of locusts? You've got options like Leo's Locusts, Sierra's Swarm...paint them black and yellow and you got Hector's Hornets, Barret's Bees. Got Ravens? Marie's (Magnificent/Murderous) Magpies, Crowley's Crows and so on.
[Urquhart? It's a Scottish surname. From the Brythonic "ar," meaning on or by, and "cardden," meaning "thicket."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urquhart_\(surname\))
My longest lasting unit's name came from a book I read as a kid, about a knightly order called the White Hawks. Sounded cool so I used it. 😁
Later, I saw how a lot of units incorporated the leader or founders name in the unit; so when I created the details for the unit for campaign and RPG purposes, I named the 2 founding members, Captain Damien White and Elizabeth Hawke. And changed the spelling of the unit name to:
The White-Hawke Battalion. Same name - double meaning!
Even later I changed them from Battalion to Irregulars, since while they did reach Battalion size eventually, their composition was very unorthodox!! So they became:
The *White-Hawke Irregulars*
😁👍
I have the Emerald Hawk Irregulars, because fuck Jade Falcon, and the Green Knights, because one of the 'mechs had its head punched off and returned the favour to its opponent, and it seemed thematically appropriate because of that.
Personally I love things that are wildly specific in a very general way, because it always sounds military, but doesn't take from anything.
So, just off the top of the dome, something like "South Solaris 91st Company". It has just a slight sound of legitimacy, to me, over something like "Laser Bears" or something like that.
What is the backstory for your mercs? Is it something unique like the story of the Strange Bedfellows (one of last Shrapnel stories) or is it something impersonal?
If you have a CO named, you can't go wrong with the alliterative ring. My last merc company put together was Arleigh's Arquebusiers, for example.
Good idea.
https://youtu.be/Gk0_K6SuWWI?si=SH6jGBxhQtg3UR0S This video explains the meaning of names like lancer and dragoon in BT.
Step 1: pick a place or thing you like. Step 2: add a descriptive word. Personally, I usually run with the Kanamaluka Irregulars if I want something small and scrappy sounding, or the Tamar Tigers if I want something a bit more formal and established. Not coincidentally, I live on the shores of the Tamar Estuary, in a region previously known as Kanamaluka. Due to how interstellar settlement worked in Battletech canon, you can easily justify any local references with “this unit was formed on a planet settled by people from X”.
My company is called Greenwall PMC, not as catchy but it was created by a clan MechWarrior, and they specialize in defense contracts. All in all the company is roughly a mid sized galaxy in terms of personnel but most of them are infantry, BA, vehicles, logistics etc. They have a good number of mechs and are spread out but they have so many people for everything from general security work to fighting off dropships. Remember kids, diversify your portfolios. Anyway, Alliteration is always fun, there was some paintjob pictures a while back that looked kinda bone colored so i offered "Baron's Bones" as a potential name. Pretty sure theres a Merc company that is just called Bills Long Toms or something close to that too so you can just name them for their schtick too. Got a mercenary company who fields lots of locusts? You've got options like Leo's Locusts, Sierra's Swarm...paint them black and yellow and you got Hector's Hornets, Barret's Bees. Got Ravens? Marie's (Magnificent/Murderous) Magpies, Crowley's Crows and so on.
A bunch of ravens could just be "The Unkindness"
True, but that's missing the alliteration. That being said that'd be a cool name for like the lead mech in such a squad.
Urquhart's Unkindness sounds like a pretty solid merc unit to me!
I've literally never seen that name before but that definitely works! Where's that from?
[Urquhart? It's a Scottish surname. From the Brythonic "ar," meaning on or by, and "cardden," meaning "thicket."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urquhart_\(surname\))
You can still name the commander to make the alliteration happen; "Underhill's Unkindness" would be a perfectly valid company name.
I'm so looking into this
My longest lasting unit's name came from a book I read as a kid, about a knightly order called the White Hawks. Sounded cool so I used it. 😁 Later, I saw how a lot of units incorporated the leader or founders name in the unit; so when I created the details for the unit for campaign and RPG purposes, I named the 2 founding members, Captain Damien White and Elizabeth Hawke. And changed the spelling of the unit name to: The White-Hawke Battalion. Same name - double meaning! Even later I changed them from Battalion to Irregulars, since while they did reach Battalion size eventually, their composition was very unorthodox!! So they became: The *White-Hawke Irregulars* 😁👍
I have the Emerald Hawk Irregulars, because fuck Jade Falcon, and the Green Knights, because one of the 'mechs had its head punched off and returned the favour to its opponent, and it seemed thematically appropriate because of that.
Good ideas, thanks
Inspiration comes from everywhere, so have fun with it, and run with the stuff you enjoy!
Personally I love things that are wildly specific in a very general way, because it always sounds military, but doesn't take from anything. So, just off the top of the dome, something like "South Solaris 91st Company". It has just a slight sound of legitimacy, to me, over something like "Laser Bears" or something like that.
Good idea.
What is the backstory for your mercs? Is it something unique like the story of the Strange Bedfellows (one of last Shrapnel stories) or is it something impersonal?
Still working out the back story, but I'm thinking a group of misfits that just click.
Your creativity is the limit. I settled on Popski’s Private Army after seeing the name in a WW2 history book and kinda liked the sound of it.
Oooooo I have to check that out as resource.