How do y'all make up "fantasy names?"

[Naruzeldamaster]

Nicknames also help with that. So a character like Averzaphyyris would just be called Ave or Averz or Avers by everyone in the story except when that character states their full name.

You can also use palindromes for names, those are fun, Ace Attorney does that quite a lot.
There's also Pun names. for example, an Elf named Jon and a bard named Sina and when they appear a particular trumpet theme plays...

 

[xena]

Well, I mix real languages for sounds, tweak spellings or steal naming rules from cultures instead of names.

 

[KATutin]

I'll tend to use name generators and then play around with inserting or removing letters, moving them around. Have them read aloud to see if they hit the ear right.

 

[jhmcmullen]

Depends in part what kind of story it is.

If it’s a very short story and it doesn’t need much in the way of world-building at all, sure, a name generator and fiddling until it sounds right.

Let’s assume this is straight secondary world fantasy with world-building and the whole bit; we’re not doing pun names here. Generally, I decide on whether the structure of the language, in a broad sense. An agglutinative language often has very different names, for instance (Hawaiian as an example). What kinds of sounds are common — does the language have a lot of harsh consonants (to English speakers) or are they softer? Have I already defined words that would be appropriate?

And all of that needs to be checked if it sounds the right way to modern English ears. I don’t care if “Marrjuh Rinn” means “Slayer of Demons,” it sounds like “margarine” and for a straight story, those are the wrong connotations.

 

[Super Fantasy]

Try relating words to names, a character might be rather introverted and shy,
You could name her "Shyera",
Or simply think of interesting sounding names that are perhaps rarely used,
"Neremia"
"Arvaria"
Think of some common names,
"Delilah"
And change the letters around a little,
"Deliliava"
There is all kinds of names and the like to try out,
Add some personification,
"Shelly"
"Shellyvera"
"Nervy" A lady who is often nervous,
To me, a fantasy name could be all kinds of things.
Simply mix and match

 

[D. Gray Warrior]

I usually just make up gibberish that I think sound somewhat alright as a name.

I did name one character after Soren Kierkegaard just because I needed a name on the spot, and Soren is a cool name.

 

[Adam Scribentis]

Remember the golden rule, it's not a fantasy world if there's not at least one character with a 'normal' sounding name lol
(it's not an actual rule but a lot of video games do it)
The realistic named character can be something like bob or jill, but it also can be something more fantasy-leaning like Elliot

A lot of my characters have fantasy names but the main protagonist is just Sinbad, yup, Sinbad, no relation to the mythological character at all

How do y'all make up "fantasy names?" like seriously. Some sounds cool and some ends up being too goofy.
Mind you, I'm NEW to the fantasy world, so I just do normal names.
I write medieval romance/fiction. So, most of my words are of Latin origin--yet they aren't as "Magical" or doesn't really give of that vibe.
So, if anyone has any suggestions, would love to hear it!

I used mostly English-based names, some newly coined. Objections from nitpicking readers are anticipated and disarmed in the foreword, where it is explained that English names and wordplay in the dialogue are supposed to be translations or adaptations out of the ancient language that the characters spoke.