How to build an unforgettable kraken name
The kraken isn't just "a big octopus": it embodies human fear of deep ocean, where nothing you saw above works. Its name should convey that otherness. Good names use long vowels (aa, oo, uu) and consonants evoking water or creaking (kr, gr, ph, th). "Kragorr the Ship Devourer" works because the very sound suggests something enormous moving underwater.
The epithet should suggest antiquity and scale. It's not "the Giant Octopus" (descriptive), it's "the Ancient of the Abyss" (mythological). Krakens exist from before humans, and names should reflect that cosmic chronology. Lovecraft sets the pattern with Cthulhu as "the Sleeper of R'lyeh": doesn't describe what it does, suggests what it is. Your epithet should evoke geological eras, not specific actions.
The oceanic realm anchors the monster in mythic geography. "of the Cursed Sargasso Sea" beats "of the ocean". Specific places generate mystery: a concrete sargasso exists, has known curse, sailors know to avoid that route. Pirates of the Caribbean uses this well with "Davy Jones' Locker", specific place with own culture among sailors. Your oceanic realm should have associated legends DM or narrator can deploy.
Krakens by mythology and game system
In Norse mythology, the kraken (Hafgufa) is giant whale, not squid. Appears in sagas as creature so enormous sailors mistake it for island. If your campaign respects Norse tradition, names should sound like Lyngbakr, Hafgufa, Jormungandr. If you follow modern version popularized by Pontoppidan in 1750 (giant squid), you have more creative freedom with tentacles and abyssal eyes.
In D&D 5e, the kraken is CR 23 with storm and telepathic abilities. It's final boss, not casual encounter. For a lone one, the name must be living legend: "Vaethor the Submerged Dreamer of the Cursed Sargasso Sea" gives narrative weight proportional to CR. Sailors should whisper the name in fear. If your kraken appears in session 50 after appearing in rumors since session 5, the name has time to load meaning.
In Lovecraft's Mythos, great old ones like Cthulhu, Dagon and Hydra are cosmic krakens. Their names are intentionally unpronounceable (R'lyeh, Cthulhu) because they suggest pre-human language. If your campaign is cosmic horror, you can use names with apostrophes and rare consonants: "Y'thaalon", "C'tharix". Sunless Sea and Bloodborne use that style for krakens and leviathans. But respect balance: too-rare name becomes involuntary joke.
Common mistakes when naming krakens
First mistake: names too descriptive. "The Tentacular Octopus of the Sea" isn't kraken name, it's zoology description. Krakens are mythic entities, not squid species. Their names should have weight of minor deity or ancient demon, not animal. Moby Dick solves this with "Moby Dick" as proper name the reader learns without descriptor: the monster becomes cursed person, not species.
Second mistake: kraken as repeatable threat. If three different krakens with similar names appear in your campaign, you lost singularity. Krakens should be unique like ancient dragons: only one per known sea, and its name is regional legend. Better one unforgettable kraken than five generic. If you need multiple sea monsters, mix types: a kraken, a leviathan, a hydra, not three krakens.
Third mistake: ignoring sailor culture. Sailors have own nomenclature for monsters: "the Old Man of the Sea", "Davy Jones", "the Flying Dutchman". Those names have guild folklore. If your kraken lives among pirates, it should have sailor nickname ("the Old Man of the Pit") besides formal name ("Vaethor"). That duality enriches worldbuilding: nobles say ancient name, sailors say nickname, and confusion generates memorable scenes.
Memorable krakens in pop culture
The most famous modern cinema kraken is probably from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. No proper name (just "the Kraken") and that works because the monster is Davy Jones' pet, not protagonist. If your kraken is weapon of greater villain, may not need individual name. But if final enemy by itself, needs own identity.
In literature, Tennyson's "Kraken" (1830) is short poem where the creature sleeps in abyss from before time and will only awaken to die with the world. That image of sleeping kraken is what Lovecraft picks up in Cthulhu. If your kraken follows that archetype, names should suggest ancient sleep: "the Submerged Dreamer", "the One Who Waits in the Deep".
Modern video games have diversified the trope. Sea of Thieves has nameless kraken as random event. God of War has "Sea Snake" Jormungandr with explicit mythological name. Subnautica has "Reaper Leviathan" with descriptive terrifying name. Each style (anonymous, mythological, descriptive-terrifying) serves different tones. For your campaign, first decide what narrative role the kraken fulfills before choosing name style.