Names can be a great source of wordplay and puzzlement. Here are 73 riddles about names to entertain and challenge you. See how many you can get right!
1. What 5-letter name becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Answer: Short. Adding two letters makes it Shorter.
2. The more there is, the less you see. What is it?
Answer: The letter ‘e’. The more e’s in a word, the less you see the letter e.
3. What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age.
4. What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Answer: Short. Adding ‘er’ makes it shorter.
5. What 5-letter word has 6 when there are 2?
Answer: Dozen. Take away the ‘d’ and ‘z’ and you have ‘ozen’ or ‘6’.
6. The more you take away, the larger it becomes. What is it?
Answer: A hole.
7. What word looks the same backwards and upside down?
Answer: SWIMS. It’s a palindrome that’s rotationally symmetric.
8. What word begins and ends with an ‘e’ but only has one letter?
Answer: Envelope.
9. If you have me, you’ll want to share me. If you share me, you won’t have me. What am I?
Answer: A secret.
10. What starts with ‘e’ and ends with ‘e’ but only has one letter?
Answer: An envelope.
11. What belongs to you but other people use it more than you?
Answer: Your name.
12. The man who invented it doesn’t want it. The man who bought it doesn’t need it. The man who needs it doesn’t know it. What is it?
Answer: A coffin.
13. What gets wetter the more it dries?
Answer: A towel.
14. What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter ‘M’.
15. What 5-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Answer: Short becomes shorter when you add ‘er’.
Riddles about First Names
16. What first name means “bitter” but sounds sweet?
Answer: Mary – derived from the Hebrew name “Miriam” meaning bitter.
17. Which popular male name means “spear holder” in German?
Answer: Roger – from the German name Rüdiger.
18. Often found on birth certificates, what first name comes from the Greek word for “new”?
Answer: Neo.
19. Sharing its name with a popular fruit, what Hebrew first name means “He will laugh”?
Answer: Isaac. In Hebrew, Yitzchak means “he will laugh.”
20. What common girl’s name comes from the Greek word for “leader” or “heroine”?
Answer: Helen – from the Greek word helene meaning torch or corpos.
Riddles about Last Names
21. Often seen near bodies of water, what last name means “riverbank”?
Answer: Rivers.
22. Common in Sweden, what last name comes from a word meaning “small bay”?
Answer: Lindquist – from the Swedish word vik meaning small bay.
23. Belonging to many famous composers, what German last name translates to “brook”?
Answer: Bach – from the German word for brook or stream.
24. What Scottish surname comes from the Gaelic word for “son”?
Answer: MacDonald – Mac means son in Gaelic.
25. If your last name means “lives by the holly trees,” what is your last name?
Answer: Holm – an Old Norse surname referring to someone living near holly trees.
Riddles about Fictional Names
26. Often found in the Shire, what last name belongs to a famous Hobbit?
Answer: Baggins – the last name of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
27. What’s the first name of the boy wizard famous for his lightning scar and bravery?
Answer: Harry – as in Harry Potter, protagonist of the book series.
28. Which dystopian protagonist shares her last name with a type of bird?
Answer: Katniss Everdeen – the heroine of The Hunger Games.
29. What’s the first name of the Little Mermaid in the Hans Christian Andersen tale?
Answer: Ariel.
30. Often found at Hogwarts, what last name belongs to a clever witch?
Answer: Granger – Hermione Granger’s last name in the Harry Potter series.
Riddles about Pairs of Names
31. Stuck between a piece of bread, what first name matches jelly?
Answer: Peanut – as in the classic sandwich.
32. What first name goes after “peaches” in a classic rhyme?
Answer: Herb – from the phrase “peaches and herb.”
33. Sharing its name with a state, what last name goes after Florida?
Answer: Orange – as in Florida orange juice.
34. Which former president shares his last name with a type of gourd?
Answer: Bush – referring to George Bush and a bush that produces gourds.
35. Which Dutch name goes before “and Gretel” in a famous fairy tale?
Answer: Hansel – the brother of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel.
Riddles about Rhyming Names
36. Which first name rhymes with the place you hang your coat?
Answer: Jack – which rhymes with rack.
37. Which first name rhymes with a flightless bird?
Answer: Rick – rhymes with chick.
38. Which famous author’s last name rhymes with “filter”?
Answer: Dr. Seuss – his real last name was Geisel, rhyming with “weasel.”
39. What masculine name rhymes with the number 11?
Answer: Brett – rhyming with “eleven.”
40. What last name rhymes with “classes”?
Answer: Glasses – a literal rhyme.
Riddles About Letters in Names
41. Which letter is silent in the last name “Knight”?
Answer: The K – it’s pronounced “nite”.
42. Which letter is doubled in the girl’s name “Hannah”?
Answer: N – there are two N’s in Hannah.
43. Which letter is repeated three times in “Susanna”?
Answer: The letter N.
44. Which popular last name is spelled with 2 D’s in a row?
Answer: Addams – as in The Addams Family.
45. Which letter do Stein and Einstein have in common?
Answer: E – they both contain “ein.”
Riddles About Long and Short Names
46. Which common male name is just 3 letters long?
Answer: Bob.
47. Sharing a name with a legume, what 4-letter girl’s name is extra short?
Answer: Bean.
48. What 13-letter last name belongs to a famous actress and inventor?
Answer: Hedy Lamarr.
49. What long first name can be shortened to Meg or Peg?
Answer: Margaret.
50. With 5 syllables, what girl’s name means “bitter” in Hebrew?
Answer: Naomi.
Riddles About Boy’s Names
51. Sharing its name with denim pants, what boy’s name means “God is gracious”?
Answer: Levi.
52. What popular boy’s name means “supplanter” in Hebrew?
Answer: Jacob.
53. Which boy’s name means “army ruler” in German?
Answer: Derek.
54. What classic boy’s name comes from Greek words meaning “victory of the people”?
Answer: Nicholas.
55. Which biblical boy’s name means “he will laugh” in Hebrew?
Answer: Isaac.
Riddles About Girl’s Names
56. What girl’s name means “beautiful” in Persian?
Answer: Jasmine.
57. Derived from the name of an Amazon warrior, what girl’s name means “man’s strength”?
Answer: Andrea.
58. Which girl’s name means “pure” in Latin?
Answer: Candida.
59. What girl’s name comes from Greek words meaning “blooming or blossoming”?
Answer: Anthea.
60. Sharing a name with a Nordic goddess, what girl’s name means “divine strength”?
Answer: Audrey.
Riddles About Last Initials
61. Which letter do the most surnames start with in the US?
Answer: S.
62. Which letter is shared by President Johnson and President Jefferson?
Answer: J – referring to Andrew Johnson and Thomas Jefferson.
63. Which last initial indicates a son or daughter in Irish and Scottish names?
Answer: O – as in O’Neil and O’Connor.
64. What letter is commonly doubled in both first names and surnames?
Answer: M – as in Emma, Aiden, and Commins.
65. Which letter do surnames meaning “son of” often start with in Eastern Europe?
Answer: V, as in Vadersen and Valker.
Riddles About Name Lengths
66. How many letters are in the full name Barack Hussein Obama II?
Answer: 18 letters.
67. How many letters are in Justin Bieber’s full name?
Answer: 13 – Justin Drew Bieber.
68. Not including spaces, how many letters are in Jennifer Lopez’s full name?
Answer: 13 – Jennifer Lynn Lopez.
69. How many letters does Prince’s real full name contain?
Answer: 16 – Prince Rogers Nelson.
70. Not including spaces or dashes, how many letters are in Jean-Claude Van Damme?
Answer: 18 letters.
Riddles About Occupations
71. If your last name means “sawyer,” what’s your occupation?
Answer: Carpenter – a sawyer is someone who saws wood.
72. If your name translates to “shepherd,” what do you raise and herd?
Answer: Sheep. A shepherd herds sheep.
73. If your last name means “miller,” where do you work?
Answer: A mill. Millers operate flour mills and grain mills.
Conclusion
How did you do with these name riddles? Names are a great source of wordplay and puzzle-solving fun. From fictional characters to rhymes to meanings, names reveal their mysteries when phrased as clever riddles. Share these entertaining puzzles with fellow riddle-lovers and get lost in the wordplay!
