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First and foremost: this is not a naming thread. Well, okay, it is but that doesn't mean you can come in here and ask me or anyone else to name your character(s).

I'm putting this thread together because I want to adress some questions and trends that I have noticed lately when people name their characters.

I would like to say, before we start, that this is simply my opinion and should not be taken as concrete rules that all must follow. If you disagree with what I say: hey man, that's cool. Let's get some coffee sometime.

But first, let's do this.

I want to give my character a name with meaning, but I can't think of anything good. What should I do?

I probably sound like a broken record, but Behindthename.com is an excellent source for names; especially when you want a name with meaning. You see, the website has a search engine built in that allows you to search their extensive name database for names that have the meaning you're looking for.

I want to have a Japanese name! Can I use an English to Japanese dictionary?

It's not a good idea. The words you pull out of said dictionary are, likely, not real names. I would recommend using this website which not only has popular female and male first names, but also surnames, which is very helpful. If you must have your character with a Japanese name that has meaning try Behindthename.com again or even 20000names.com which allows you to search by nationality and gives descriptions for each name.

I want my character to have a name straight out of mythology. What should I do?

My favourite source for such things is the Encyclopedia Mythica which is easy to navigate and has a very large database, explaining the significance of each of the terms/names. It even allows you to search by mythology (i.e. Greek, Roman, Norse, etc.)

Ahhh! I have no idea where to start and I'm very particular with my names! What do I do??

I've been there. What I do is pick a letter - say "o" - and search through behindthename.com or suchlike for names that I like the sounds of that start with that letter. If I don't find any, I pick a different letter and start again.

Another method is picking names I hear in real life. For example, two of the characters in my fanfic are named after real life friends.

What about last names?

Last names are trickier, but there are plenty of resources. The phone book is a good one. Taking a stroll through a grave yard is another, although a tad morbid. Taking names you've heard in everyday life or the last names of friends or other people you know are fine too.

If all else fails: random name generators.

Can I just ask the Writers' Forum for help?

I would not suggest asking us in the WF unless you're at the end of your rope and absolutely desperate. I say this because it's your character, your story, and it should be your work. I also say this because we have on average three of those kinds of posts per day and its getting really old.

If you must ask us, please don't give a vague description like: "I want a name for a girl who has the power of wind and who is nice." I mean, if those are the only guidelines you actually have, then you can just use a random name generator.

Even if you do give us a full profile of the character I garuntee at least five people are going to point you in the direction of naming sites or name generators.

A better idea, all together, may just be to ask one of those baby naming forums. They're probably more disposed to help you out then the cranky WF people are. wink

Okay. What random name generator should I use?

Seventh Sanctum is the perfect resource for all kinds of random generators. It has a fantasy name generator, an evil name generator, a heroic name generator and much more. Just keep using those generators until you find something you like.

Can I make up my own name?

That's not something I can really answer. Mainly because there are millions of names; why in the name of spork would you need to make up one of your own? But I can also understand that people may want to make up their own names if the character doesn't come from Earth or if they just want to be unique.

If the character is a human and you do decide to make up a name for him/her then just make sure that it's pronounceable and maybe even have the character/narration mention that the parents of the character are odd people with odd tastes.

My character comes from (name of country) from (long ago time period). What should I do?

Something you should be doing anyway: research. Do a bit of research into the time period and country and if you can't find much, find a forum that specialises in the subject you're looking up and ask them.

What things should I avoid doing when naming my character?

There are a lot of things, sadly. Avoid giving your character a "cutesy" first name and last name combination, like Crash Landon, unless it's for quirky reasons (i.e. the parents of the character are insane and have a bad sense of humour or some such thing).

In that vein, don't give your characters cheesy names like "Deamon Hellfire the 666th" unless you're writing a parody.

A good rule of thumb is "if you need a pronounciation guide for your name, it's probably not any good." There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, such as the character is not a human and therefore has a complicated native language or if their names are foreign, such as "Thuy".

Another thing to avoid is random apostrophes. Luckily, I don't see this very often so I don't think I need to worry.

Cramming in as many vowels as possible into a name or using substitute vowels that just look odd is not a generally good idea. For example: Maekynzi is just silly. I bet you can't even tell what that was supposed to be before I mangled it with vowels.

Avoid overused names, like Sakura or Raven.

If you would like better examples of what to avoid, then read through the pages on Bad Baby Names. It's educational and hilarious.

If anyone else would like to add to this list/thread/faq/whatever, they are free too. I've probably missed a lot topics.

Hey, thanks so much!!! You wouldn't believe how much trouble i go thru thinking of names domokun !! This will make my work much easier and i can finally finish up my book. biggrin thank you!! heart

Thank you. I think if I see another "Name my character" thread, I would tear my hair out! Which is not much to tear! wink

Nicely done ^_^
You mentioned all the websites I find useful for these situations, except perhaps Baby Names. It isn't nearly as good as Behind the Name, but for people who basically want a one-word answer as to the meaning of a name (Sarah = princess, for example) and the culture it originated from (Gaelic, African... very general), then it's pretty good. It's a start, at any rate.
Doesn't Behind the Name have a mythology section too?

Yes, it does, but I thought if I kept recommending it people would start to think they paid me off or something surprised

Besides, I do prefer the Encyclopedia Mythica.

Missie: I've never heard of that website before but thanks for the suggestion! *bookmarks it*

To the questions of surnames, I remebered this thread. Hopefully it might help someone.