Three words: Google Baby Names. Or, form a name based on the culture, if you're character is not of this Earth.
I usually chose the names of my characters based on their personality. For example, if I'm writing about a Japanese character that is extremely funny, then I will probably end up naming him ''okashi'' (means funny in Japanese). And then find a random last name in the Japanese name generator. Of course, most of the people who will end up reading my ''writing'' are not Japanese, so they will think that it's a name just like any other. But I always like having this ''deep'' meaning behind my MAIN character's names.
I am always amazed by what I learn on this forum. I had no idea there were websites for creating names. I google for names appropriate to the time I have based my story in. Somehow, naming a character Britney wouldn't have worked in 1665.
I have a list of names that I keep in my head for future use, mainly surnames. I'll come across interesting ones pretty much anywhere, might be online, in print, in the news, song lyrics, on TV, people I meet... I keep a mental note so I can draw on them when needed, though recently I had to name some minor characters in one of my MC's backstory, part of which takes place in Central Europe, so I created some surnames (place names, too) by taking personality or physical traits and running them through Babelfish in either Hungarian, Polish, or German. Worked pretty well.
I try to make up a lot of make them unique if possible but a lot is muddled words sometimes a name will just come to me and written down for future use
I think up all my names and if the name is a bit bizarre I check if the name means anything else just in case it means something horrible! I found out that one of my names I made up is the same name as a river in India meaning Amber River which is pretty cool, I love it when it works out like that
I will at times google baby names, and such if I'm going for a name of a certain meaning or ethnicity but most of the time I just grab random names off the top of my head. Hence why I have simple names like Tony, and Leo in with Danners, Bravo, Obed, Roland, Rolaf, Nico, and so on. Naming characters is the easy part naming lands,cities, kingdoms, towns...yuck. I mean I named a contentment Barthamew, so ya that`s my land naming abitlie.
I'm not gonna lie, the prospect of a continent named Barthamew just makes me want to read the piece said continent is in. I'd really be eager to see what their culture is like.
Many times the names just appeared on the computer screen with no thought from me. However, when that wouldn't happen and I'd be stumped, I would usually go to face book and look at the first name of the correct gender from my feed and use some form of that. Katherine would become Catie, and so on.
I usually pick my character names, but asking the first person I see (usually my wife) something like, "give me a name real quick." Then I insert the name, and usually if thats not the right one, it will come to me at some point throughout the story what it should be. That being said, I did this with my recently finished novel. I decided about half way through that maybe I could have chosen a better name. It would now be a lot of work to go through and change it, but I could do it. The bigger problem comes in the fact that I've thought about the protagonist for so long under this name, that anything else wouldn't feel right. Rookie mistake, I know. I need a better strategy. -_- --Spencer
I use name generator for most names... and some sites even let you specify which era/theme you want to name your character. Like fantasy names, Elf names, even tavern names... etc. For the main character, I go ask my coworkers, friends, for a name that inspired them and I find the one that I like best and most fit and go with that.
I like to create my character first. Build her or his personality etc and then find a name to match. For example there is a story I am writing atm and a character who uses thunder as an element is named Tirell which means thunder ruler.
Actually, I do this, too. If nothing jumps off facebook at me, I'll ask the next person I'm talking to. If I'm looking for the name of a bad guy, I'll ask the name of someone they can't stand. Then play with it. If they say Leo, my creep then becomes Leon, and so on.
Online name generators. Yeah, I can get a bit lazy, but I can rarely think of quick names on the spot.
I once wrote a book in which every character had a significant name related to their purpose in the plot. For example the main character was the hero so her name was Alexandra which means Protector of Mankind
Same here. I find it much easier to use a 'placeholder' name as I'm developing a character or in some cases I use a one or two-word description to remind myself which character I'm working on. (Example: I have a secondary character that is an evil king who locks the main character away, so I simply refer to him as 'Evil King' until I can think of a name I like. I prefer to come up with uncommon/unique names, primarily for main characters but also side characters sometimes. I use any variety of resources to get a 'starter name' and replace/flip-flop letters until I get something I'm satisfied with. If it sounds cool and feels like it belongs to the character, it works for me.
For a first draft I have 4 or 5 names for men and women that I use over and over again. Once I have a draft done and know exactly what the story is I put a bit more thought into but I don't really think names matter that much. As long as it fits with the time and place and it isn't John Smith or something equally dull then they are fine to me. I don't know if this is a good way of looking at it but thats my take.
Same here. They are names I read somewhere else and liked it. My male main characters always start as Hector and female ones as Thalia. Others are John, Nicholas, Henry and Bruce or Amelia, Cassandra, Elizabeth and Roxanne. I chose them because the first later of none of the names is the same, so I don't get confused about who is who. After that I give important characters meaningful names using behindthename and secondary ones random names from generators.
My characters usually change names several times from draft to draft. I'm a fan of made up names (though I suppose all names are "made up" and there's a chance the words I come up with are real names somewhere in the world). All my characters start off male and with nonsense names, to try to avoid stereotyping (it kills me that if I know I'm writing a female character I can so easily drift into writing a "female character"). Depending on the setting of the story, the character might get a more everyday name later on. My favourite source for names, to make sure that I'm picking something plausible but not clichéd, is our customer database at work. This person's first name with that person's surname: done. If you're looking for nicely diverse real-world names, I highly recommend university faculty lists.
I could never do that. To me, the name becomes part of the character, so I need a name immediately. I can't name a character Fred and then change it to Steve in the second draft - once he's Fred, his Fredness is an essential part of him and he will never be a Steve to me. So I need the right name as soon as I create the character.
This is a great thread, I can see why it's sticky. If it's historical or contemporary I like to use statistic based sources for names. The USA, Canada and the UK all publish statistics on names by birth year on their online statistics websites. If it's fantasy I like to use historic names from various parts of the world. I enjoy Welsh names in particular. For science fiction I tend to stick with normal human names and make up stuff for alien names.
Usually I'm a stare into space name generator but obviously within set parameters. If its contemporary fiction I'll use a contemporary name, nothing too unusual. If it's high fantasy I'll play around with syllables and see what sticks. If it sounds floaty and light it'll be an elfy name. If it sounds gruff or hardy it'll be a dwarf or barbarian name. If it sounds guttural it'll be an Orc or similar. For science fiction I tend to merge contemporary names with something plausibly futuristic sounding (think star warsy names eg skywalker, solo, calrisian etc).
