# Fantasy Names



## Black Dragon (Sep 3, 2011)

Building on the discussion on naming everything, how do you go about creating original fantasy names for characters?

What are your favorite resources or tips for coming up with unique fantasy names?


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## Johnny Cosmo (Sep 3, 2011)

I try to keep mine down-to-earth, with no flowery or 'elegant' names. That might be because I don't really do elves or any type of 'divine' races. I like to alter very normal names, just slightly, so they still look and read the same. And this is not in the same way that people might alter a name to make it sound magical or graceful, most often I do the opposite since my world is quite realistic.


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## jackitsu (Sep 3, 2011)

I have a problem coming up with names for my fantasy and usually have placeholders until I finish (though I rarely do...)

When I actually do stick names in there I do try to keep the names similar for region or race, as appropriate.  I read somewhere something like (paraphrasing) If you have a character named Tom he probably won't come from the same town as someone named Jerly'ndraical because it just doesn't make sense, for continuity and such.


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## Johnny Cosmo (Sep 3, 2011)

Unless it's has multi-cultural community, like many places do...


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## jackitsu (Sep 3, 2011)

Very true.   Cities you have way more leeway, or anywhere else you have a more melting pot atmosphere.  Anywhere sort of closed off from the world, xenophobic, elite societies (etc etc) with few people leaving or coming then I would say its likely they'd have similarish names.


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## Ophiucha (Sep 3, 2011)

Depends on the story, mostly. Sometimes I do just enough conlanging that I can make up words in the language, and I come up with names from that. Usually based on names from another culture. Like, the conlang could be a pseudo-Russian derivative, and the names can all be transliterated from Arabic or something. Usually I only do this if the story has two+ cultures as its model (if it's only one, I'll probably just use real names - or at least words - from that culture).


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## pskelding (Sep 3, 2011)

Take a walk through the phone book, there's soo many cool real names that you can use.  Or mix up 2 or 3 letters in a real name and get a cooler new name!


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## Hans (Sep 4, 2011)

Black Dragon said:


> Building on the discussion on naming everything, how do you go about creating original fantasy names for characters?
> 
> What are your favorite resources or tips for coming up with unique fantasy names?


Depending on the region where that name is from I usually have some ideas how it should sound like. My usual approach then is to get some suggestions from a password generator (aptly named APG) and work from there.

A often used tool in the German worldbuilder community is a program called Kwegbalze. (You can google it. The name is pretty unique.) It currently is rewritten as Lyreword, but Lyreword hasn't seen a release yet.


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## Shadoe (Sep 4, 2011)

For my last story - yes, fantasy, taking place on another planet - I had the following character names through the entire writing process: Armstrong, Dietz, Herman, Harmon, Smith, Jones, Ken, and Zelda. I didn't get around to giving them "real" names until after I'd finished editing.


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## Digital_Fey (Sep 4, 2011)

I have this weakness for names ending in -an, -in and -en...no idea why. Usually my mind tends to generate names by stringing together syllables that I like, but when that fails I just grab a book of Celtic or Norse mythology and go through the index. The Mabinogion is particularly good with long lists of names that have no characters attached to them at all. Sometimes a bit of tweaking is necessary, but I find that a good starting point.


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## mythique890 (Sep 4, 2011)

So far my stories are based in 'this' world, so I spend a bunch of time on name websites.  In my WIP, a group of characters are from Wales, so they have Welsh names.  The MC, however, is American, so I named her whatever I wanted.

The one time I did try to make up a name (for an elf) I ended up looking up information on Tolkien's elves and coming up with something similar, because those elegant, majestic images were the ones I wanted to evoke.

I don't know if it's because I studied linguistics in college, but I tend to be picky to the point of insanity when it comes to made-up names.  That's why I can't do it.


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## AnotherGeek (Sep 5, 2011)

I often take language books and screw with words that makes sense for what I want the person to mean.


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## rainbow (Sep 12, 2011)

I have a problem with names and usually change them a fair few times before I am satisfied


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## Allyssianne (Sep 12, 2011)

I tend to string together a few letters that sound good if they're not from this world.  I end up with names like 'Daian', 'Valn', 'Erescent' and 'Arancore'.  Unfortunately, I tend to overuse the 'a'.


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## Slumbering.Chaos (Sep 14, 2011)

I cannot use placeholder names. The name is so much of the character to me, that I HAVE to have a name for them, or my writing becomes flat.

I have used the phonebook before - not a bad resource at all.

I also own several "baby name" books - these can be pretty handy. My favorite is a Celtic name book that gives tradional celtic names and what those names mean. I really like having an underlying meaning to the name which for me adds another layer to the character.

Lastly, I work in customer service in a call center, and I write down interesting names as I come across them.


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## Johnny Cosmo (Sep 14, 2011)

I'm the same as Slumbering.Chaos, in both that I like to have a name as soon as possible, and that I like my names to have meaning.


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## sashamerideth (Sep 14, 2011)

I had a character called $name1, because I didn't know what to call him.  But when reading it to someone, instead of using that name, I called him Bob, and it stuck.


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## Dreamer (Sep 14, 2011)

When naming my characters or the world in which they live, I normally try to come up with names that fit my story line.  I have 
however been in the midst of writing and have a name to hit me that I like much better than what I had already been using.  That is the joy of drafts, they can be edited, lol.  My names for my characters are not normally something that comes from way out of 
left field.  A lot of them usually have some basic origin and I play with the spelling to give it more of a magical sound, but still 
something that my reader is able to pronounce easily.  At times if I am really stuck I will get online and do searches for a certain 
word that may identify with my character, then change it some to sound more like a name I might use.


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## Vandroiy (Sep 19, 2011)

I use some existing names to make them easier to memorize, however, I always use some kind of background pattern when making them.

Using their origin on the map helps. I have some areas that have classical names, as in Latin, German, Japanese, and others that have exotic names, but still logical sets of pronunciation used. I have a preference for names that can be spelled in Japanese, or have a Germanic sound, but there is also an area where I only use English sounds, or an area that likes using harsh two-syllable names.

To give an example, "Sterleon" is the name of a city; the word can be easily pronounced in English, but it does not really exist -- first Google hit is a domain-grabber. I would not use that name unless there is some relation to that "English-sounding" area.

It's a strange try to mix the known with the fantasy and add to variety. Hopefully, the reader won't associate too much with the way names sound at one place or another.


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## SeverinR (Sep 30, 2011)

I guess I posted on this topic in another forum.

For humans I use names that were popular back in the time period. (use SCA name sights, I have picked common names with different spelling or totally unique names. (My Pen name is from this list, Severin, Severous, Severonus. It was not from HP, did not even realize it was in HP until the third movie) 

For elves I commonly go to a combonation sight that provides prefix names with suffix names.
Elven Names  (one Mc- Aritae- Ari-silver; tae=love Aritae-Silver love, her sister Katia(Ka=dragon tia=magic)

I have used Seven Sanctum's random name sight,
I have even used generic generators, but in 25 names I pick one or two.

My names never have any meaning to the person they are now, except for nicknames.  They might have meaning to their parents like the examples I mentioned.  People are named before they chose a path in life, unless it is customary to change theri name when they reach adulthood.
The examples given: Silver love is the mage, and Dragon magic is the weapons master.


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## The Blue Lotus (Sep 30, 2011)

Names to me have a special connection with the characters, thus I spend a lot of time naming mine.
I use names that are uncommon but still used in the region that the story takes place in. 

For 
example, Nitesh is one of my MC's (India) Means Lord of Dance. Which to me means a happy-go-lucky type person who enjoys life to its fullest. 

Xīng on the other hand, means Sing. Someone who studies and works hard to prefect her skills. (Taiwan.)

Trinity (self-explanitory) {American} hyper obsessive personality but also very kind with a huge heart and a fierce desire to protect those she loves.

But then again I spent 8 months picking out my sons name too...


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Oct 1, 2011)

The people of HurkyulÃ«s (also known as the orange people) like names that include their word for man for males like HÃ«radÃ¯n, HanudÃ¯n, FÃ«ordÃ¯n etc. They also like HÃ«ra because it means strong, so HÃ«radÃ¯n means Strong-man. The blue people (aka OrÃ¯tans) have a strange habit of doubling the /ee/ sound if it is in the first syllable example: Fiira, Diijra, Biirien etc. As for the HauldwÃ¯n (aka lizard/dragon people) named themselves very complicated names like AnÃ¯nuanÃ¯nan, LÃ¯lolÃ«thia, BrienÃ«rbÃ«noi etc. more to come later.


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## Noda (Oct 5, 2011)

I tend to pull the names  use from history. From people you never hear about in history.


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## Emeria (Oct 5, 2011)

I don't really have a universal naming system I use, but a lot of the male characters have a ' in their name somewhere.  Ish'tar is a half-dragon fire mage, though his mentor has a name that you might see belonging to someone in this world (Nat'iel - short for Nathaniel - Winters, almost always called "Nate" or "Master Winters").  To be honest, most of the names of the minor characters come from letter combinations that I think sound cool when I'm half asleep or something like that.  Or it's just because the main character decides to call them that.


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## KingArthur (Oct 7, 2011)

I like to make it fit the people i'm writing for and make it easy to read but pick unusual names like Jayin, Anais, Akireyu and Temis


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## Fiain (Oct 14, 2011)

For me, all my names have to be based on the culture and the language of the area my characters are from. I'm not saying that I create a whole langauge or anything like that, but lets say I'm writing about a character who is from a country who's architecture is Arabic-like, the culture is Arabic like, the language they use is Arabic like...then of course, my character's name will sound Arabic-like. I think that sometimes, authors don't put enough thought into what actually makes a name; behing a character's name is the entire cultural and liguistic history of their people. In my "head", I simply try to imagine what the culture of my characters looks like, what their language sounds like, and what real-world (if any) cultures I have based their culture on, and go from there. Where it gets really fun is when I try to fuse a few real-world cultural groups together to create my fantasy culture lol.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Oct 14, 2011)

In my WIP, commoners typically have English/Scottish/Irish/Welsh/Gaelic names, and nobles typically have Eastern European/Albanian/Ukrainian/Uzbek names. (One nation was conquered by another, and the conquerors became the ruling class.) But the naming is sort of a vestige; it's been 500+ years since the conquest, and the nation has its own merged culture now.


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## Gryffin (Oct 15, 2011)

I have learned a lot reading this thread. Names are important to me. I have to have the right name that I feel speaks for a character. I tend to look at baby name websites for some ideas and if I really feel like it, I will try to put new spins on popular or well-known names.


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## Queengilda (Oct 15, 2011)

I do like to get a easily pronounceable name.  I want my readers to be able to remember the name, so it has to be a little different, but not so different that they can't tell their friends about it.  I will often take an old name from years ago, before they standardized the spelling of English names, and rework it just a bit, to get a new name.  Or I add a whole new syllable to the end or beginning.


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## Shadoe (Oct 15, 2011)

Have you ever had someone read your story then comment on it and you didn't know what they were referring to because they mispronounced the character's names?

I had that happen once, and I don't think I made any of the characters' names unpronounceable.


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## Codey Amprim (Oct 20, 2011)

Honestly, I'll sit there sometimes (when the occasion calls for this, aka- extreme boredom) and just mix and match words or letters until I come up with something that sounds fluid and interesting. That's how I've come up with a number of names sadly enough, but it works! Trying to stay regional while coming up with brand-new original names can sometimes make it easier, as you already have a general sense of what you product should look and sound like; plus, it adds believeablility and authenticy to a work in my opinion.

So the next time you're flying or doing something (bored in lectures) find a word somewhere and put it into a fantasy mold, you'd be surprised what you'd come up with.


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## subdee (Oct 28, 2011)

I used to look around the internet for name generators which didn't do much for me so I gave them up.

My mind works wonders coming up with names that sound like they alone could describe the character. If that fails, looking through mythologies of the world does wonders!


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## Devor (Oct 28, 2011)

I find the names that I come up with fit into a certain style, and if it doesn't I'll look at it and think it's just wrong.  That's great when I'm writing for a custom fantasy setting, as they feel natural and connected, and it's terrible when I'm not.

One of my works is supposed to take place in a real-world mythology, and naming the endless cast of characters in the style of a strange, real-world language is literally holding me back.  I find that once I find a name the character and their personality takes shape immediately, so even typing in filler names is ruining my sense of progression.

I think I need to just pick randomly from a list of real world names and run with it, and when I get used to the names maybe it'll get easier to pick and choose the right ones.  I dunno.


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## Terra Arkay (Oct 28, 2011)

The names I choose are abnormally magical but they've got deeper meanings to them, I tend to avoid fantasy names like Gandolf and Vendreveden. Instead, I choose names similar to Terra and Sora, names like Xavia and Seren since my story shall take place on an alternate version of Earth for a bit before moving onto another planet.


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## Zak (Oct 28, 2011)

I usually go to Google Translate and type in something about my character and translating it to another language and use that. I usually use Latin.


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