What are your favorite ways to coming up with character names?

I usually take a key characteristic of theirs and dive into name meanings.
If it has to have a certain ring to it, I will probably adapt a "normal" name a little bit.

 

I use a mix of toponymy, etymology, and occupational names - a bit like how most real world names are formed, for people as well as places. Toponymy is very helpful for place names and for surnames. A lot of surnames originated from where people were born, or what their occupations were originally. So I try to keep that in mind when crafting any character or place, as I want the names to mean something rather than just sound pretty.

 

Depends it really kind of depends. For my book I have a small name bank with a set of rules. Certain cultures and ethnic groups have specific trends. I have a chracter whose name is a more of Hideyoshi from the Sengoku Jidai. My undead I just liked the name "Stasya" when I scanned for something that fit her previous life. In the case of my ancient Vampire I picked a culture she was and did my best to research the names that could have existed at the time. Her "surname" Agriskatta' is actually a title she got because she often wears Snow Leopard emblems so she was called the "White Cat" by others in her tribe.

Usually when it comes to games I glance at what -culture- I'm dealing with and if their linguistics feature a lot of naming rules. If I'm in a game about Norse Tribes I'll usually just use simple Patroynymics for making up a name.

 

I like smashing the keyboard and adding/removing letters until the name sounds nice. lol

 

A lot of the time I start with a specific ethnicity, culture, or ancestry and go from there, I usually have a beginning letter in mind as well. I use a lot of baby name books and online lists.

I love your keyboard smashing idea! I just tried it out and got some cool names. Lol!

 

I always go to babyname sites like Nameberry. They have some great different sorts of lists, and filters and things. If I want some old fashion style name? Yup, they have a list for that. Do I want a tradition name for X country? There is a list for that. DO I want something super modern? They got that too!

I will also write down names I really like that I come across in shows, books, movies, etc.

When I come to actually deciding the name though, the character's personality is so important. I have to choose a name that I feel truly fits the character, and not just a name I like. So my naming process can sometimes take just a few minutes, to even a few weeks. I try to never settle on a name until I find something that makes me stop and think "This is you".

 

I love to put my characters on a theme. For most of them, the name is fitting into their aesthetic somehow. But for others, I like to make up names by playing around with them or just slapping sounds together that I like. For one character, I played with the name Natalie and came up with Tanalei. For others that lack a grand theme or messing with a name, I find that they typically have a 'v' somewhere and/or a hard 'e' in it like Viviizier, Vrynn, and Esperviin.

 

I usually go on the meanings portion of baby names websites. Then I hide little personality details into their name. Little things that reflect them or make jokes if anyone cares to look them up.

Other times I just pick a name that doesn't start with their last name and avoids excessive alliteration. No Adam Adamson here. lol.

 

I like edgy names. Like Ebonywood Hellscythe. Adjective-Noun, Adjective-Noun is the way to go lol.

Besides that, for serious character names, I either mash letters together or look at baby names, ahaha.

 

I usually have a good idea of either their first name or their surname, then fit the other parts together like a jigsaw depending on time period, culture, class etc. I'm also a fan of giving characters embarrassing/slightly odd first names they dislike so they end up referring to themselves with a nickname

 

I might be a little weird in this regard, but I look up a list of names, pick out the ones I like, then I sort of... Go through them one by one while picturing my character to see which one I feel like would... Fit them better.

 

I used to frequent baby name sites to come up with new names, but it never really worked out too well for me. I don't usually go for names that have any deep or significant meaning to my character themselves. Usually very plain and boring names are what I enjoy going for, it's kind of my aesthetic at this point. I had a very serious, badass kind of secret agent dude with the name 'Carl Humphrey,' solely because I wanted to come up with the dorkiest name to give a secret agent.

 

Most often I use what pops in my head. Otherwise I look through baby name books.

 

I have a handful that I typically recycle but a lot of times I use babyname sites and look up by meaning or by like ethnicity if it applies

 

I use a combination, depending on my goal. Some characters just need a very specific name to work well. Others I can roll randomly and run with it. Both have their advantages (and challenges)

Sometimes I find someone that looks like the character I want to portray, and the only name that fits is the person's actual name. Perhaps I make a small adjustment or stylistic change, but I've been known to just straight up use the same first name or last name (but always in combination with another name)

 

Sometimes, I get inspired by a piece of media and take the name (though my characters are always different from the source of inspiration). Sometimes I trawl through baby names sites.

 

I'm a huge fan of meaningful names, so I will usually take a notable quality the character possesses and look for names in the native language of that character's country that represent that quality. If the character's country is made up, the origin of the name gets represented by the culture(s) the place is based on. For example, if a place is based on Celtic culture, I would be looking for a name from Scottland, Ireland, Cornwall or Wales. If the culture was based on Asia, I might search out a name from the most appropriate Asian country (the most appropriate might be determined by which Asian culture I thought suited their personality more, their background etc.)

 

I have it down to a formula at this point. Place of origin (or place that inspired the fictional setting) to get you a linguistic group, then scouring various sites for a name that both sounds good, has some thematic connections and isn't too cliche (so... don't name your werewolf Remus Lupin).

 

Sometimes I do use a name generator. Sometimes it does depend on character personality. I do have one that is a vampire and a merman, and the last name Secret Reef just came to mind. He is a creature of the sea and yet he has two secrets to keep.

 

I struggle with this SO hard. I usually end up googling and asking people for help in discord lol