Agreed, it's kind of annoying when people give foreign characters very wrong names. It's okay if it's explained in the story in a way that makes sense, but mostly when it happens it's just because the writer was being lazy.
I like this site. It has names from everywhere, even ancient Egypt. http://fantasynamegenerators.com/
I hold my character in my mind and then I pick a name that just FEELS like that character. I don't know how else to describe it but that's what I do.
Well, usually I don't name a character based on what kind of person they are. After all, they only become that kind of person when they grow up, and they get the name before they grow up. I name the characters based on their parents' personality (if I thought about the parents). Or I just go with something that is culturally logical in the setting (and sounds nice). In one fantasy work I have, people give their children names of flowers, gems, colors and such. One set of parents thought that "if flowers are okay, other plants are okay too". They came up with Pumpkin and Carrot. The siblings really don't like their names, but it made complete sense because of the low intelligence of the parents and the cultural habits. It also had interesting repercussions for their childhood and the fact that nobody takes them seriously when they introduce themselves. This way, the name influences the character. Mind you: they're only minor characters. I wouldn't dare give them such names if you have to read about them every page.
Perhaps less decorative than flower names, but so much more to them! Those are characters that you can get your teeth into! Mind, look at some of the names that Shakespeare uses: Peter Quince, the carpenter Snug (no first name is given), the joiner Nick Bottom, the weaver Francis Flute, the bellows-mender Tom Snout, the tinker Robin Starveling, the tailor
Name choosing is so hard! I find flitting through baby names one letter of the alphabet at a time so long and dull especially as I don't know what I'm looking for. I find a good way to come up with name ideas is to watch the credits at the end of films. Hundreds and hundreds of names come up! All different, some familiar, some unusual and all starting with different letters. Even the assortment of last names is helpful.
I find this name problem fascinating. Since I started writing I have always just taken almost the first name that pops into my head and they seem to work fine. I've had lots of test readers who ask me how I find such good names .... I think the whole thing is totally psychological. People read the name and match the personality and think oh what a great match, when it is really just random. The idea that there is anything remotely meaningful in a name is appalling nonsense in my personal humble opinion - no offence to anyone intended. The only area where I refer to sources are when it is an issue of ethnicity/nationality, and I always pick the ones easiest to pronounce and type.
I agree it's just a name but if it's a character you love and adore for some people it's more than that. It's the name they're going to be stuck with forever. It's kind of like naming a baby. You don't just go with the first name that comes out your mouth. And anything that does pop into your head you have to think about whether that's a good enough name. It all depends on the writer. For some people naming is easy, for others, not so much.
A good way to do it is to first choose your location. Then, find an online phone book of that region and look at the last names and their particular origins (German, Italian, etc...) Then go from there. Another way is to keep it simple and just make the names up. There are no rules in writing save 2: 1.) You must write. 2.) You can only use a semi-colon once in your career.
A WWII short story I wrote recently (during the summer) featured a couple of German soldiers...one of them ended up being named after a member of the German World cup squad, called him Feldwebel Kramer...somebody googled the name, and found that he was a pilot in the Luftwaffe, what a coincidence that he should have the same first name...except that Feldwebel is a rank, equivalent to Sergeant.
I use behindthename.com I am working on period fiction based in Europe and involving multiple nationalities. It works well for finding both first names and surnames that are specific to the nationality. It's helpful expecially because I am able to look up first names and surnames from any given nationality separately as well. I put them together based on how they sound to me, rather than using a generator. I tend to look at where I need a name from and make lists of names from there, and refer to my list when I need a character. Currently I have lists for English, German, Italian, French, Dutch, Austrian, and Russian. It's a system that works well for me. I find that there's a lot I can decide about a person after having a name.
With me, as I'm writing a fantasy series at the moment, I tend to just start stringing together letters until they sound somewhat like something pronounceable. Sometimes I just throw in a real name every now and again.
For me, when I'm naming my heros or villains I like to to use names that are more than two syllables long. This way they tend to stand out more and are more noticeable on the page. For run of the mill characters I actually use friends and families names but perhaps change the first letter or add a letter on the end.
Character names for me is something that comes after the story. I worry more about character development. Once finding that I find it easier to imagine a name to fit their type of persona.
I use the old Kemetic/ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses a lot, so that is already done for me For most characters it's a really random keep on trying approach. I'm very harsh on myself when picking names that sound good to me so it's quite difficult at times. Nicknames make it far easier at times though. Examples of names and how I got them: -Fark'rar: I named this King of the Nilans (in the story, the Nile is named after his people, it's a tad bit odd in the story to be honest) after a character in a series of albums by a one man band named amnaeon. His name is from Fothcrah, a Proamate (7 feet tall alligator/turtle hybrids) high priest of the Temple of Knowledge in the city of Eair'tra. This name came from me mishearing that name once and I heard Fark'rar (pronounced Far-krawr). -Percival: another character in the same series as Fark'rar. His name is based off Percival from Lord of the Flies. They have otherwise nothing similar to each other. -Selnex: this name was utterly random and invented after two hours of furious concentration on a computer screen cursing my inability to come up with a name. Sort of like using the x at the end with a lizard's name. He is a dragon by the way. -Narthan: a badass, axe-wielding Lycanian (Lycanians look similar to werewolves) who has a very big soft spot for his prince, Prince Varex (a Helvex: a 7 foot tall snake/insect hybrid. He has fur instead of scales though since he's part Lycanian). His name comes from Narthois, another thing from amnaeon. This time it's a kingdom name though. -Lepidus: his name comes from the Pontifex Maximus Lepidus. Why did I pull his name from a religious leader? I have no idea. He attempts to get revenge on the person who he believed to have murdered his parents (although she is actually his mother) when she was responsible for the death of only one of them. It's a whole ugly affair. He actually manages to summon Apophis (the Egyptian chaos serpent god) who gets axed in the face by Nartharn and retreats back into the portal like a coward. -Ralxia: I have no idea where I got this name. Maybe from Ralts in Pokemon? Origonally this character was named Ralx and was male, but I have decided I want to have at least one straight main character at some point. She is Lepidus' girlfriend and eventual wife. She also kicks major ass as a General. Sorry if that was long, but having some examples always helps. I pull from Greek, Egyptian, Roman, and Persian names.
I use to use a generator, or go through my list of fantasy names, but I have picked enough names now that I have gotten quite good at making them up or just thinking of them. Often I will search for words in another language that relate to the character and change them a bit, making a unique name.
I like google translation, but mostly i just "feel" what the characters name is. I let the characters name themselves in my mind. As they are actual people who live in my min in the world that i ccreate for them. A rather metaphysical notion but it is my process.
Honestly, for me, the names aren't so much important as are the characters themselves. I have started a new work by creating names from etymologies and than anglicizing them, but I don't put too much effort on them. I wish I did, but names are just placeholders for the people we wish to speak about.
I usually mix and match the names of friends and relatives based on the personality and background of the character. That trick helps ground those characters before me in the early stage of writing, before they've really taken on a life of their own.
Like Hillary Clinton I keep a list of people that cross me. THEN DESTROY THEM IN PRINT!! How I get the names of the less reputable characters. Just kidding, kind of.
I tend to use something like behindthename.com. This site also helps to give you an idea of a potential background to a character
Used to be you could go to a telephone book to find names but in this day, it can sometimes be difficult to find a telephone book. Online, I might go to a baby name site or if I'm looking for a last name, I'll Google sir names for whatever part of the world I want my character to be from. Sometimes a character's name might change before the story is finished too. It's not always easy finding the perfect name.