List of magicians in fantasy

Famous magicians in fantasy fiction include the following.

For witches, see List of fictional witches.

Fairy tales, myths and legends

Merlin, from the British mythology surrounding King Arthur, is an example of a well-known wizard.

Atlantes, an evil sorcerer in the Matter of France
Baba Yaga, a sorceress in Slavic mythology similar to a witch
Circe, Greek sorceress
Farmer Weathersky
Fitcher in the fairy tale Fitcher's Bird
Fioravante in the fairy tale Cannetella
Gwydion in Welsh mythology
Jannes and Jambres from Hebrew theology.
Maestro Lattantio in Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi
Medea in Greek mythology
Merlin - the famous wizard from Arthurian legends and their modern retellings.
Morgan le Fay - an enchantress in both the Matter of Britain and the Matter of France
The Telchines - four wizards of ancient Greek myths.
Väinämöinen - the grand wizard of Kalevala
The master in the fairy tale The Thief and His Master
The master in the fairy tale Master and Pupil
The magician king in the fairy tale Penta of the Chopped-off Hands
The witch in the fairy tale Prunella
The witch in the fairy tale The Canary Prince
The old woman in the fairy tale The She-Bear
Jafar in the fairy tale Aladdin
The witch in the fairy tale The Bird of Truth
The witch in the fairy tale Esben and the Witch
The wizard in the fairy tale The False Prince and the True
The wizard in the fairy tale of The Wizard King
The magician in the fairy tale The Glass Coffin
The magician in the fairy tale The Magician's Horse
The witch in the fairy tale The Old Witch
The witch in the fairy tale The White Dove
The witch in the fairy tale Rapunzel
The troll witch in the fairy tale The Twelve Wild Ducks
The magician in the fairy tale Water and Salt
Fairy tales about good and bad wizards are collected in A Book of Wizards by Ruth Manning-Sanders

Written fiction

Abhaydatta, the wizard/healer from the fantasy series The Conch Bearer, created by the author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Adbaldar from Domdaniel in Robert Southey's oriental poem Thalaba: the Destroyer
Aes Sedai, female wielders of the One Power from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. They are human beings born with either the spark of the ability in them or the opportunity to learn (2% of total population). Aes Sedai is an Order, not the general name for a female Channeler. Aes Sedai were once an Order of both men and women but this has changed because of historical events.
Alex Verus, a mage/diviner in Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus series
Alice Deane, Tom's Mam and various antagonists in the children's fantasy series The Wardstone Chronicles
Allanon, a wizard also known as a druid and historian, from the Shannara series created by Terry Brooks
An anonymous magician in The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany, who dispenses magic and threatens the other characters by tricking them into giving up their shadows
Anton Gorodetsky, main protagonist and narrator of three of the four Night Watch novels by Sergei Lukyanenko, a Light Magician for the Moscow Night Watch (although in the film version of Night Watch he was presented as a seer instead of a magician). Initially merely a moderately powerful magician, by the later books of the series he became a Higher Magician, one of the most powerful.
Archimago, an evil enchanter in The Faerie Queene
Asha'man, male wielders of the One Power from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. They are human beings born with either the spark of the ability in them or the opportunity to learn. As with the Aes Sedai the Asha'man is the name of an Order and not the specific name of a male Channeler.
Bayaz, wizard from Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, who is referred to as "first of the Magi".
Belgarath, created by David Eddings as a leading character for The Belgariad series of fantasy novels (also called 'Belgarath the Sorcerer' or 'The Eternal Man').
Ben Adeaphon Delat (Quick Ben), a Mage of reputation in the Malazan books of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Bloyse, also known as Blaise, Blaze; Merlin's master/instructor in the Arthurian tradition
Channeler, a wielder of the One Power in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. Different titles are given to Channelers of different gender and in different cultures.
Chun the Unavoidable, Mazirian the Magician, Rhialto the Marvelous, and others in Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories
Chrestomanci in Charmed Life and sequels by Diana Wynne Jones
Dallben is a magician in The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
In the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, wizards are numerous, and can be found, among other places, in the Unseen University. One of the predominant wizards in the series is Rincewind, although he only uses magic on extremely rare occasions.

The Dean of Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is not named, but is a senior wizard and recurring character.
Mustrum Ridcully, Archancellor of Unseen University throughout most of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
Ponder Stibbons, Head of Inadvisably Applied Magic at Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels
Rincewind - strictly a "Wizzard" (it says so on his hat) and the wizards of Unseen University - from many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels
Eric, from Eric by Terry Pratchett

Elric of Melniboné - often called a sorcerer or a wizard - from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné and its sequels. Other notable magic users appearing include, Yyrkoon (Elric's cousin), Theleb K'aarna and Jagreen Lern (Both human sorcerer's of the Pan Tang isles), Rackhir The Red Archer (Warrior Priest of Phum), and The Dark Lady Myshella.
Eridanus, Nequam, Djutoris and others - from the Guptara Twins' Insanity Saga (Conspiracy of Calaspia and sequels)
Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando - from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - called Wizards, but are really supernatural beings called Maia. In the Middle-earth legendarium, "wizard" is a term applied only to the five members of the Order of the Istari. While other practitioners of magic exist in Middle-earth, they are never referred to as wizards. No purely human character has power to work magic. Other powerful figures not named as wizards include the Sorceress of the Golden Wood, the Witch-king of Angmar, and the Necromancer.
Goblin, One-Eye, Silent, Tom-Tom, The Lady and The Ten Who Were Taken in Glen Cook's The Black Company
Ogion and Ged (Earthsea) (Sparrowhawk) from Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea book series, the most well-known of which is A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968
Gereth Yaztromo, a major wizard in the world of Titan, which was created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone
Grubbs Grady from Darren Shan's Demonata, a magician, werewolf and part of the Kah-Gash
Gideon, a 13th-century wizard in the Hatching Magic series by Ann Downer. Other wizards in the series include Iain Merlin O'Shea, Harvard professor, Margery MacVanish, and Septimus Silvertongue.
Gorice XII, King of Witchland in The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort, and all other non-Muggle male characters from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and its sequels are called wizards. The female practitioners of magic (such as Hermione Granger and Lily Potter) are called witches.
Harry Dresden, a Wizard up for hire for investigating crimes The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
Howell Jenkins in Dian Wynne Jones book Howl's Moving Castle
Hugo Rune, mage, mystic, Guru's Guru, The Man Himself. Appears in the Robert Rankin novels. Never pays his bills. He gives the world his genius, all he asks it that the world cover his expenses.
Iucounu the Laughing Magician, in Jack Vance's Dying Earth series
Jonathan Strange, Gilbert Norrell, and the Raven King, John Uskglass, from the novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Joseph Curwen from "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by H. P. Lovecraft
J. Wellington Wells ("a dealer in magic and spells"), the eponymous Sorcerer of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, who also features in two books by Tom Holt
Queen Jadis, also known as The White Witch, in The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Carter and Sadue Kane, Zia Rashid, Iskander, Julius and Ruby Kane, Amos Kane, and other mortal characters from The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan are magicians.
Kvothe, the red-headed lead character in "The Kingkiller Chronicle" novel trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss
Maugraby from Domdaniel in the continued story of the Arabian Nights by Dom Chaves and Cazotte
Mauryl Gestaurien, last of the ancient Galasieni race of C. J. Cherryh's Fortress series
Mr Majeika, protagonist of a series of children's books that bear his name in the title, later adapted for television
Michael Scot, protagonist of Michael Scott Rohan's The Lord of Middle Air, historical figure and an ancestor of the author
Merlin, the wizard, associated with King Arthur, also in Spenser's The Faerie Queene
Morgon, the riddlemaster of Hed in books by author Patricia A. McKillip
Nathaniel a.k.a. John Mandrake and other magicians from The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, the sorcerous advisors for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, in Fritz Leiber's Swords series. They are (apparently) unhuman, and they aid (in other words, complicate the lives of) the two rogue heroes. Sheelba is noted as being female in Knight and Knave of Swords.
Nysander í Azusthra Hypirius Meksandor Illandi, High Thaumaturgist of the Third Orëska, the Wizard head of the Watchers, a group of spies dedicated to preserving the royal line of Skala, in Lynn Flewelling's The Nightrunner Series novels Luck in the Shadows and Stalking Darkness. Other magic users in the series include the Wizards Thero í Procepios and Magyana, the Necromancer Vargul Ashnazi, the alchemist Charis Yhakobin, and many more including the Tamir Triad.
Count Otto Black and evil wizard and arch foe of Hugo Rune, in several books by Robert Rankin including The Brightonomicon and Retromancer
Polgara the Sorceress in The Belgariad
Prospero in The Tempest by Shakespeare
Proteus, converted from Greek god to magician in Spenser's The Faerie Queene
Pug, also known as Milamber, the wizard protagonist of the fantasy books by Raymond E. Feist
Richard Rahl and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander, wizards, central characters in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
Randall Flagg, an evil entity from Stephen King's epic The Stand. He often appears as a "wizard" in the author's other works, notably in the Dark Tower series as Walter o'Dim (The Man in Black) and Marten Broadcloak (Steven Deschain's magician). He also plays the part of the antagonist in Eyes of the Dragon as "Flagg," King Roland's advisor.
Various Sith sorcerers in Star Wars
Various characters in the ongoing Skulduggery Pleasant series of children's books by Derek Landy
Silvanus Carolinus, one of the AAA+ rated wizards from Gordon R. Dickson's Dragon Knight series, mentor of the main character Jim Eckert
Schmendrick the Magician from Peter S. Beagle's novel The Last Unicorn
Professor Slocombe in The Brentford Trilogy by Robert Rankin. He appears as an aged, wise magician who often supplies much of the exposition about the various enemies present in the series, and was apparently Merlin in the distant past
Sonea, Rothen, Akkarin, Dannyl and others in The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. The series centres around a "Magician's guild", and most of the characters wield magic.
Tayschrenn, High Mage of the Malazan Empire in the Malazan books of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Thoth-amon in The Phoenix on the Sword, Tsotha-lanti in The Scarlet Citadel and Yara in The Tower of the Elephant, examples of evil wizards from the stories about Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard
Väinämöinen in Kalevala
Walter Irving Zumwalt, AKA Wiz, a computer programmer from Silicon Valley summoned to a parallel universe to battle the Forces of Darkness. He is the main character in Rick Cook's Wiz Biz series, the first volume being Wizard's Bane.
Will Stanton, Merriman Lyon, Miss Greythorne, Farmer Dawson and other members of The Light (called Old Ones) as well as The Rider and other members of the Dark, among others, featured in Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising Sequence
The Wizard and The Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The wizard is a stage magician pretending to be a genuine wizard. In the 1939 movie version the wizard was also a fake. However, in later Oz stories, he studies magic with Glinda and becomes a genuine wizard.
Wizard Whitebeard in Martin Handford's Where's Wally? series, often the instigator of Wally's travels
Wodehed, Flaggatis, Maghatch, and others in the Welkin Weasels series
Young Wizards: Diane Duane describes wizards as emissaries of "the One" (God), who take an oath to use powers beyond the comprehension of a non-wizard in the service of life, to keep entropy, personified as a Lone Power, under control and therefore delay the demise of the universe. They are said to still exist in the present day, but due to negative public perception, work undercover.
Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, and Pang Tong, although not truly mentioned in the story, a magician who called on mystic powers to aid them in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Dungeons & Dragons

The role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons by TSR, Inc., later bought out by Wizards of the Coast and then Hasbro, has several settings in which novels have been written. See also Category:Fictional arcane spellcasters (Dungeons & Dragons).

Greyhawk: Wizards of Greyhawk include Mordenkainen, Bigby, Drawmij, Evard, Leomund, Melf, Nystul, Otiluke, Rary, Tasha, and Tenser.
Forgotten Realms: Wizards are featured in many of the Forgotten Realms fantasy novels and RPGs. The most famous wizards are Elminster and Khelben.
Dragonlance: Raistlin Majere was a very powerful mage in the Dragonlance fantasy series. Other mages in Dragonlance include Magius, Palin Majere, Par-Salian, Dalamar and Fistandantilus among (many) others. Fizban is the mortal avatar of the god Paladine from the Dragonlance fantasy novels.
Mystara: Countless Wizards exist on Alphatia, such as Haldemar of Haaken, Terari and Empress Eriadna, while some notable wizards of the Known World are Étienne d'Amberville, Demetrion Karagenteropoulos, Bargle the Infamous, Claransa the Seer, Jagger von Drachenfels, Dolores Hillsbury, and Kol XIV.

Comics and animation

Avatar One of the prophesied twins born in the post apocalyptic movie Wizards. Avatar, the good son, is human and seeks a passive life of non-aggression in order to avoid responsibility for the bloodshed and despair prophesied. He defeats his evil brother Blackwolf, who tries to take over their world machinery gleaned from an old Nazi war reel.
Blackwolf The evil twin of Avatar, who uses magic to create Nazi machinery from an old projector and war film. Blackwolf's disastrous attempts to assassinate his brother compel Avatar to marshal forces against Blackwolf, leading to the ultimate confrontation.
Babidi, from the Dragon Ball Z series, an extraterrestrial wizard whose father Bibidi created the demon known as Majin Buu.
Doctor Fate is a sorcerer and superhero in stories published by DC Comics.
Doctor Strange is a superhero and Sorcerer Supreme appearing in the Marvel Universe.
Doctor Doom is a supervillain appearing in the Marvel Universe.
Henrot, Necross the Mad, the Flame Jewel Wizard, and Charles X. Claremont are all wizards in the Cerebus universe.
Huckleberry Yiucko (his nickname is Huck) is a wise teenage medieval wizard and Daishiko, Maude, Keishin, Hana and the Kinghs's master in the upcoming Dark and Light Elemental Ages from Warlords comics by Marie-Eve April-Dufour.
Shazam, the ancient Egyptian wizard who gives Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family their powers.
Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia are the main protagonists and mages of the manga/anime series Fairy Tail.
Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon series mentions two wizards; one named Lazaar who had slept for centuries until his computer of magic spells was stolen, forcing the title character to retrieve it for him with his famous speed as collateral, and another named Naugus who creates an alternate dimension known as the Void, only to be double-crossed by Robotnik and trapped inside it. Naugus also appears in the comic books based on the cartoon, wherein he was shown to be able to control the elements of wind, fire, water, and earth before being robbed of his intelligence, now wielding a form of shadow magic, allowing him to slip in and out of shadows at will.
Tim Hunter, the young wizard in the Books of Magic comic by Neil Gaiman and others.

Wizardmon of the Digimon series is one example of the few Wizard-type Digimon.
There are at least two wizards in The World of David the Gnome. The first is Tiraland, a mischievous little wizard who could turn rocks into gold. Then he stole all the gold from the king. The second is Pondent do Rey, a human wizard and friend of David's. He lives in the Himalays, and he has many magic mirrors.
Lina Inverse, of The Slayers is a young sorceress and heroine of the series who is extremely powerful. She is able to cast many varied spells with a high degree of proficiency, ease, and power (most take no more than a couple of seconds to cast; many are instant). She specializes in black magic, which is unusual for a protagonist. She also has the unique ability to draw power from the Lord of Nightmares to use spells made from chaos itself. In addition, she has access to a few limited healing and protection spells. Her abilities are significantly more varied than most wizards/sorcerers/mages appearing in fiction.
Zatanna in the DC Comics universe.
Wiccan and Enchantress in the Marvel Comics universe

Television and film

Astoroth, the medieval wizard whose spells are central to the plot of the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Balthazar Blake, wizard from The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Catweazle of the British TV series with the same name. A magician fleeing from the Normans to modern England.
Sorcerers and sorcery are a staple of Chinese wu xia fiction and are dramatically featured in many martial arts movies.
Max Russo, Alex Russo, and Justin Russo are all wizards in the Disney Channel original series Wizards of Waverly Place.
Serinda Swan portrayed the magician Zatanna in the Smallville television series, episode Hex.
Sabrina Spellman, her family and various others in the movie Sabrina the Teenage Witch and its later television adaptations. Interestingly, the term "witch" is used for both male and female spellcasters.
Chris Halliwell, Wyatt Halliwell, Prue Halliwell, Piper Halliwell, Phoebe Halliwell, Paige Matthews, Patricia Halliwell, Penny Halliwell, Melinda Warren are witches in the television series Charmed.
Tim the Enchanter from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Jafar from the 1992 Disney movie Aladdin .
Samantha Stephens, the main character of the 1960s and early 1970s television series Bewitched.
Ursula the Sea Witch in Disney's The Little Mermaid.
In the Halloweentown series the main characters Marnie, Dylan and Sophie Piper find out that they, their mother and grandmother are magical.
Jax Novoa, Agamemnon, and Diego are all wizards in the sitcom Every Witch Way. Jax is mischievous, while Agamemnon works at the Witches' Council, with Desdemona, an antagonist, and Diego is a Kanay, which can control elements.
Queen Elsa from Disney's Frozen.
Willow Rosenberg, a main character from Television Series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Willy Wonka from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as well as the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and a brand of candy is mentioned as a magician.
Winifred Sanderson, along with her sisters Sarah and Mary are three witches resurrected in Salem, MA after being "dead" for 300 years in the 1993 film Hocus Pocus
Zordon, a main character in the 1990s Power Rangers series.
Tom Clarke and his grandmother Ursula Crowe in Wizards vs Aliens
Cedric the Sorcerer from Sofia the First

Video games

Crispin is the wizard that helped King Graham in the King's Quest computer game series created by Roberta Williams and produced by the game company Sierra Entertainment.
Manannan and Mordack are two evil wizards featured in the King's Quest series.
Mondain, Minax and Exodus opposed the player in the first three Ultima games.
Ad Avis, Aziza, Erana, Erasmus, Henry the hermit, Zara, Keapon Laffin and a few others are all wizards from the game series Quest for Glory.
The antagonist of the Zelda series, Ganondorf, is a warlock.
Khadgar, Medivh, Jaina Proudmore and Gul'Dan are all prominent wizards of the WarCraft universe (the latter being of the warlock variety).
In the Kingdom Hearts series, the Disney Character Donald Duck is portrayed as the magician of King Mickey's Court.
Marisa Kirisame, the secondary protagonist of Touhou Project, as well as Patchouli Knowledge and Alice Margatroid, who sometimes appear as playable characters or bosses.
Tohsaka Rin,the secondary Heroine of Fate/Stay night
In the Dragon Age series, mages are common place and the player can even choose to play as a Mage. Notable mages are First Enchanters of a country's Circle of Magi, Morrigan, Anders, and countless others.
Ariane, The sorceress from RuneScape.
Lezard Valeth, A secondary villain in Valkyrie Profile, he becomes the main antagonist in Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria.
Ultimecia, the main antagonist of Final Fantasy VIII. A sorceress who lives in the future, her goal is to enact time compression. This would allow her to become an omnipotent goddess with the power to recreate reality and existence. Throughout the story, she possesses other sorceresses such as Edea Kramer, Adel, and Rinoa Heartilly.
The Elder Scrolls games and lore contain many notable wizards, examples being: Mannimarco, Neloth, Zurin Arctus, Shalidor and Divayth Fyr.

Note

In some fictional and game settings, wizard or a similar term is the name for a "race" or species, not just a job title.

For example:

"Black Mages" and "White Mages" and occasionally even "Red Mages" and "Blue Mages" in the video game series Final Fantasy.
"Demon Sorcerers" in the TV show Jackie Chan Adventures
In some of the Legend of Zelda series, some antagonist magicians appear as beings called Wizrobes. They can appear as a hooded bird or simply an old man with a cane.
In the Harry Potter series, "wizards" are a race of people distinct from their non-magical "muggle" counterparts. When wizards and muggles interbreed, their offspring are said to be "half-blood," which have powers apparently equivalent to full wizards.