I have an unusual relationship with character names, probably because I have such a poor memory (as Electra likes to point out). Quite frankly, I don’t particularly like the process of coming up with names. As the saying goes, you don’t know how many people you dislike until it’s time to name your child. Or character. Plus, once I finish the book I forget the characters’ names within a few days at most (which makes reading Game of Thrones exhausting).
My way out is to name people after their role in the book. For example, in Runaway Smile we meet the boy and his mother. Neither has a name beyond that. Similarly, many characters in A Heaven for Toasters are called “The Professor,” “The Captain,” etc. Easy to remember, if not so easy to write, as I always struggle with capitalization.
When I do need to come up with a name, though, I have toyed with several online name generators, as I explained back in 2014.
Now, the Passive Guy has shared news of the Name Generator. This is a free online tool that features about 100 name generators, including a Character Name Generator, a Fantasy Name Generator, and even a Story Generator!
The Name Generator
- Are you about to create the best character ever? Have you already created one? The Character Name Generator allows you to create a name with up to five components, so a name can be short and sweet or double-barrelled and swanky. With over 220,000 names in their database, you can also specify language, nationality, and other factors to give your character the perfect name.
- Whether you’re trying to write a character list for an epic voyage, creating a group of witches for a children’s book, or just trying to name your pet unicorn, the Fantasy Name Generator finds the perfect epic name for you.
- Want to write a customized short story really quickly? Choose a style, opening, and type of ending, name your character, choose a few adjectives, and the Story Generator writes a tailor-made story for you!
Onomastikon
If these are not enough, check out Kate Monk’s Onomastikon, a collection of names from around the world that was initially intended to help provide character names for live role-players. It includes short historical backgrounds, male and female first names or personal names, and surnames or family names, organized by country and period.
Medieval Names Archive
If it’s Medieval names you’re interested in, what better place to find one than the Medieval Names Archive? This collection of medieval and Renaissance names is intended to help historical re-creators to choose authentic names.
Happy writing!
Reblogged this on Bridgitte Lesley Publications.
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They are interesting resources indeed. I always try to remember to put names into historical context. Almost no man was named Darren in the 1920s. And very few men are named Albert these days. The same applies to female names of course. Then there is social class to consider, especially when dealing with the British system.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That is so true! Thanks for pointing it out, Pete!
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Reblogged this on s a gibson.
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Good stuff!
There are also lots of lists of names around the Web, including names from various ethnicities, languages, and regions. One can browse through them, looking for ones that sound appropriate for your character. For example, there is a list of lists, no less, here: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Writing_Adolescent_Fiction/Character_names. (Don’t ask me why Wikipedia thinks there’s a difference between names for adolescent and adult fiction.)
If you’re wondering whether a name you’ve just made up exists, or what a name means, or where it comes from, don’t forget the Behind the Names site: https://www.behindthename.com/. It even gives the frequency of name use by time period, which is helpful for avoiding the pitfall beetley.pete warns of.
I did a pair of posts myself a couple of years ago on choosing character names: https://rickellrod.com/2018/03/25/the-naming-of-names/ and https://rickellrod.com/2018/04/10/a-character-by-any-other-name/.
Rick
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Many thanks for sharing your resources, Rick!
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That looks like a very useful facility if one writes a lot of fiction! Cheers, Jon.
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Agreed! Thank you, Jon 🙂
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Reblogged this on Wilfred Books and commented:
Is it a chore finding character names for your fiction writing? Use one of these free online name generators!
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I browsed the web for names for my characters in Vengeance of a Slave. I needed Roman, Germanic and Ancient British names. The first two were easy enough, but finding Celtic names from the period was impossible. I ended up using Welsh names, with a couple of Scottish ones.
I couldn’t use your technique, Nicholas. They all needed names.
For fantasy, I often take two modern names, break then in half and then sandwich half from one to half of the other. E.g. Davrael, a character in my Wolves of Vimar series, comes from David and Michael.
Other times, a name will jump into my head fully formed, as it were.
I will definitely keep this email for the times I’m completely stuck, however.
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That’s such a smart idea, using two halves to form a new name! Thank you, Viv 🙂
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Reblogged this on Marina Costa and commented:
Very interesting!
I use sometimes certain generators too, but for medieval names the San Gabriel Academy was the best.
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Thank you for another great resources, Nicholas. I love your way of namefinding like in “A Heaven for Toasters”. With a lot of acting persons its difficult to keep all names in mind, if you are not reading the book or at least one chapter at once. Thank you for this too. Have a beautiful weekend! Michael
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So glad to hear you like it! I always worry about that 🙂
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Hello Nicholas! For chapter reading, or have some delays between, in my opinion its the best. I am also not very good in remembering too many names at once. 😉 Enjoy your weekend. I hope you are far away from the so called Midicanes. Michael
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Ach, the TV spent all week warning us of “Janus” (the storm’s name). When it actually arrived, it was more like a drizzle with a few moments of real rain.
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Thanks God, for this. Here in the past it was the same. Lets hope the name of the storm has really these two sides.
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A techie friend of mine made a goblin name generator for me back when the website was new. I still use it for various fantasy names.
http://jaqdhawkins.com/name.php
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Awesome! Thanks for sharing the link 🙂
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