I am so sorry for the impromptu break! I just wanted to distance myself from social media for a bit but I realized that I don't want to ignore you! Again, my apologies :`3
From @melda0m3 we have: "how to name and why is it so hard? Especially for fantasy"
For our formatting: I am going to be explaining why names are so hard to come up with and then I am going to be giving my methodology combined with some other basic advice!
Why Is Naming So Hard?
Naming is complicated when it comes to characters since names are extremely important. Afterall, a character's title is one of the most repeated words within a story (ignoring obvious ones like "you" and "the")
A character's name has to be simulataneously ordinary enough that it doesn't just look like a random keyboard smash aka "crg xmnj" but also unique to the point where you haven't just written the name "james smith" for the billionth time.
This is especially hard for Fantasy since it lacks the history that tends to inspire most names. Most last names are often associated with occupation or physical characteristics since not everyone arriving into a different country had the same naming system.
It's also just hard to write a fantasy name that doesn't sound like it belongs in Tolkein's novels.
My Methods!
Most of my worlds don't exist in an entirely seperate fantasy land. It's often a lot of Urban Fantasy and, in general, more realism.
Because of this, I can often just steal a name from the real world. Then it comes down to deciding on nationality and heritage.
A character sometimes comes pre-packaged with a certain ethnicity in mind such as with Nariman Nahornyj whose ukrainian and kazakh heritage was due to his past being inspired by the Holodomor. Somtimes, I have an interest in a specific naming convention or I just felt like filling in some diversity that was desperately needed in my stories. For example: Nonkosi Tyali, my first Xhosa character!
When it comes to highly fantastical worlds, I tend to go onto fantasy name generators. Although, if I have a specific image in mind I sometimes just make my own "off the cuff" name. For example: Pronoia which is based off the word "Paranoia"
Then I make a decision based off of how the name sounds.
Is it religious sounding?
Is it playful or more serious?
What is the type of person that comes to mind when this name is said!?! There are cases where a manipulative character has a name that is the complete opposite of their vibe and cases where a name is more reflective of the person naming this character in-world.
If it's a chosen name, then this name will definitely give off a certain impression if the character wants to be perceived in a specific light!
in this list, there's any type of names (culturally mixed, mostly for english-speaking people though): typical first names, noun names, mythology names, etc.
i sorted them into three categories: androgynous, feminine and masculine.
if you have more ideas of names for trans folks, writers, etc, just lemme know! (Can also be not-so-cool names for the writers, we need them for the asshole side characters :3)
i update the list every time I have a lot of new name suggestions. this is not the newest version, but you can find it under the tag #updated name list on my profile.
(alphabetical list with 712 mixed names under the cut)
--- androgynous ---
Addie/Eddie
Aki
Alex
Alexis
Alli/Allie/Ally
Am/Em
Amethyst
Ares
Ari
Artemis
Ash
Asher
Aster
Azure
Basil
Beluga
Bennie/Benny
Bermuda
Bev
Beverly
Billie
Blair/Blaire
Calypso
Caramel
Cat
Cave
Celeste
Charlie
Chrissy
Coco
Crimson
Crow
Diamond
Edie
Eli
Ellori/Ellory
Emerald
Emerson
Emi/Emmie/Emmy
Evie
Finn
Forest/Forrest
Frances/Francis
Garnet
Gem
Goldie
Gray/Grey
Hayden
Hunter
Indigo
Jackie/Jacky
Jade
Jamie
Jess
Jessie
Jupiter
Lark
Lenny
Lori/Lorie/Lory
Lou
Louie
Mag
Maggot
Mars
Mauve
Max
Meadow
Mercury
Mika
Miko
Mizu
Moss
Neptune
Noah
Nori
Nyx
Ollie
Onyx
Opal
Paris
Quinn
Rafa
Rain/Raine
Raven
Reg
Remi
Remu
Robin
Rocky
Ronni/Ronnie/Ronny
Sage
Saturn
Shilo/Shiloh
Silver/Sylver
Sky/Skye
Snow
Val
Venus
Vin
Vinny/Vinnie
Wilson
Wither
--- feminine ---
Abby
Abigail
Adelaide
Adeline
Agatha
Aileen/Eileen
Aimee/Amy
Alana
Alena
Alessia
Alexa
Alexia
Alexandra
Alice
Alissa
Alli/Allie/Ally
Alura
Amalia
Amber
Amelia
Amelie
Amethyst
Amity
Andromeda
Anela
Angela
Angelina
Angeline
Angie
Anika/Annika
Anisa
Anita
Anna
Ann/Anne
Annie
Anastasia
Andrea/Andreea
Antheia
Arabella
Artemis
Ashley
Astra
Atlanta
Audrey
Aurora
Autumn
Azura
Bailey
Becky
Bella
Belle
Beluga
Bettie/Betty
Beverly
Billie
Brenda
Brie
Calypso
Candace/Candice
Caramel
Carla/Karla
Carmen
Carol
Carolina
Caroline
Catherine
Celeste
Celestia
Celina/Selena/Selina
Celine/Selene/Seline
Charlotte
Christina/Kristina
Christine/Kristine
Claire
Clara/Clarah
Chloe/Chloé/Cloe
Cindy
Cissy
Cora/Corah
Dana
Daniela/Daniella
Danielle
Dalia/Daliah
Daria
Darla
Debbie
Debora/Deborah
Delilah
Diamond
Diana
Dianne
Dora/Dorah
Dorothy
Eburia
Eclipse
Eda
Elena
Eleanor/Elenor
Elisa/Eliza
Elise
Elizabeth
Ella
Ember
Emerson
Emery
Emi/Emmie/Emmy
Emilia
Emilie/Emily
Emma
Esme
Esmeralda
Euphemia
Euphoria
Eva
Evie
Evelyn
Felicia
Fenya
Finya
Fia
Fiona
Francisca/Franziska
Freya
Fuchsia
Gaia
Georgia
Gina
Ginny/Jeanie
Hanna/Hannah
Harmony
Hazel
Heather
Hecate
Helena
Helene
Hera
Hestia
Holly
Hope
Iana
Irena
Irene
Iris
Isa
Isabel/Isabelle
Isabela/Isabella
Ivonne/Yvonne
Ivory
Ivy
Izzy
Jade
Janice
Jasmin/Jasmine
Jenna
Jennifer
Jenny
Joelle
Joelina
Jolene
Julia
Julianne
Julie
Juliet/Juliette
Juniper
Kaia/Kaya
Katarina/Katharina
Kathy/Katy
Kelly
Kira
Lana
Lara/Larah
Laura
Lauren
Laurel
Lavender
Lena
Leia/Leya
Levina
Levinia
Lia
Liana
Liara
Lilac
Lili/Lilli/Lilly/Lily
Lilian/Lilien
Lilith
Lisa
Liv
Livi
Livia
Liz
Lizzie/Lizzy
Loanne
Lola
Lorelei
Lori/Lorie/Lory
Louisa/Luisa
Louise/Luise
Luce/Luz
Lucy
Luna
Lydia
Maggie/Meggie
Meg
Madeline
Maira/Myra
Mara/Marah
Margaret
Marge
Marla
Marlene
Maria/Mariah
Marie/Mary
Marina
Mauve
Melanie
Melissa
Mellie/Melly
Meryem
Mia
Michelle
Milly
Mina
Minerva
Minnie
Miriam
Mona
Monica
Naira/Nyra
Nancy
Natalia
Natalie
Natasha
Nellie/Nelly
Nessie
Nina
Noelle
Nora/Norah
Nori
Nyx
Oliv/Olive
Olivia
Ollie
Paris
Pascale
Patricia
Paula
Peggy
Penelope/Pinelopy
Penny
Petunia
Philippa
Pia
Pippa
Polly
Poppy
Queenie
Ramona
Rania
Rebecka
Regina
Robin
Rose
Roxana
Roxanne
Ruby
Safira/Saphira
Sandra
Sara/Sarah
Sari
Serena
Silvia/Sylvia
Sofia/Sophia
Sofie/Sophie
Stella
Stephanie/Stephany
Tara/Tarah
Tatiana/Tatyana
Tess
Tessa
Tia
Tiana
Tina
Valerie/Valery
Vanessa
Vela
Venus
Vera
Veronica
Victoria
Viola
Violet/Violette
Viona
Vivian
Viviana
Willow
Xandria
Xenia
Yana
Yasmin/Yasmine
Zehra
Zoe/Zoé/Zoey
--- masculine ---
Achilles
Aiden
Aion
Alex
Alexander
Amon
Angelo
Angelino
Anthony
Anton
Arcturus
Ares
Asher
Audrey
Ben
Benjamin
Bennie/Benny
Benson
Bill
Billie/Billy
Bob
Bobby
Brendan/Brendon
Brian
Bruno
Calvin
Carl/Karl
Chad
Charles
Charlie
Chase
Chester
Chris
Chrissy
Christopher
Conan
Damian
Dan
Daniel
Dave
David
Davon/Devon
Dionysos
Don
Donald
Dorian
Dylan
Elia/Elijah
Elio
Eliot/Elliot/Elliott
Emerson
Emilio
Erion
Evan
Felix
Fred
Freddie/Freddy
Gian/Jan
Gus
Hannibal
Harald/Harold/Herald/Herold
Harry
Hendrick/Henrick
Henry
Hunter
Ian
Icarus
Jace
Jade
Jack
Jackie/Jacky
Jaden/Jayden
James
Jamie
Jasper
Jay
Jeremy
Jerry
Jimmy
Joe
Joel
Joey
John
Johnny
Jona/Jonah
Jonas
Jones
Julian/Julien
Julius
Jupiter
Justin
Kevin
Lance
Larry
Laurence/Lawrence
Lee
Lenny
Leo
Linus
Logan
Lori/Lorie/Lory
Louis/Luis
Louie
Lucc/Luke
Lucas/Lukas
Luigi
Marc
Marco
Mario
Mars
Max
Mercury
Michael
Mickey
Mike
Milo
Nathan
Neptune
Nick
Nico/Niko/Nikko
Noah
Noel
Oliver
Ollie
Orion
Paris
Pascal
Patrick
Paul
Pete
Peter
Philip/Philipp/Phillip
Ray
Raymond
Reg
Reginald
Regulus
Remi
Remus
Rick
Ricky
Rob
Robbie/Robby
Robin
Ron
Ronald
Ronni/Ronnie/Ronny
Rubeus
Sam
Sammy
Samuel
Saturn
Sean/Shaun/Shawn
Sebastian
Simon
Sirius
Stephan
Steve
Steven
Theodore
Thomas
Tim
Timmy
Toby
Tom
Tommy
Tony
Valentine
Victor
Vince
Vincent
Wilson
Yan
Zach/Zack
Zeus
If you want me to add meanings, origins, etc., just tell me ^^
origin + definition.
think gothic names. something dark, mysterious, or even "evil." if you see anything that you know is wrong, please let me know. i was careful in selecting which definitions i used, but alas, i am human.
female names: 84. male names: 65. gender neutral names: 21.
FEMALE - 84 NAMES
ACANTHA – Greek. “Thorn, prickle.” In mythology, she was a nymph beloved by Apollo.
ACHLYS – Greek, particularly through mythology. The name means “mist, darkness.”
ADDOLORATA – Italian. “Grieving.” It comes from the title of the Virgin Mary, Maria Addolorata.
AMARIS – Hebrew. “Promised by God.”
AMETHYST – Greek, English. a type of violet gemstone.
ANGUSTIAS – Spanish. Means “anguishes.” Like Addolorata, it comes from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Neustra Señora de las Angustias.
APHRA – Hebrew. “Dust.”
ARACHNE – Greek. She was the weaver who transformed into a spider after challenging the Goddess Athena.
ASIYA – Arabic, Urdu. “To be distressed, to be grieved.”
ATIENO – Luo (Kenya). The name comes from the masculine “Otieno” and means “born at night.”
AUTUMN – Americans call this “fall.” (It’s me, I’m American.)
BETHANY – English, Hebrew? “House of affliction,” “house of figs.” In Christian mythology, Jesus cursed a fig tree because it had no fruit. True story.
BRANWEN – Welch. “Blessed raven.”
BRÓNACH – Irish. “Sad.” It is drived from the Irish brón, meaning “sorrow.” Bronagh is the Anglicized form.
BRONTE – Greek. “Thunder.” You can thank the Brönte sisters.
CECILY – Latin. “Blind.” Is derived from the Latin word caecus which means “blind” or “dim-sighted.”
CHANDRA – Hindi. “Moon.”
CIRCE – Greek. She was an ancient Greek sorceress.
CLAUDIA – Latin. “Lame,” “disabled.”
CRIMSON – English. The color of blood, y’all.
DANIKA – Slavic. “Morning star.”
DEIDRE – Gaelic. “Sorrowful,” “brokenhearted.”
DESDEMONA – Greek. “Ill-starred.” She was the Shakespearean wife of Othello.
DOLORES – Spanish, Latin. “Sorrows.” Apparently, “Lola” is a diminutive. Other alternatives: Delora, Delores, Deloris.
DUANA – English. Feminine form of Duane, which was taken from the Irish name Dubhán. It translates to “little dark one.”
EDANA – Gaelic. “Fire.”
EHA – Estonian. “Dusk.”
ELVIRA – German, Spanish. “Truth.” Including because of the Mistress of the Dark.
EMILIA – Latin. Has several meanings, including: “to strive,” “to excel,” or “rival.”
ERIS – Greek. The goddess of strife and discord.
ETHELINDA – German. “Noble serpent.”
GARNET – English. From the word garnet for precious stone. It is derived from the word gernet which means “dark red.”
HECATE – Greek. The goddess associated with witchcraft and the underworld.
HESPERIA – Greek. “Evening star.”
ISRA – Arabic. Means “nocturnal journey,” and it is derived from سرى (sarā), which means “to travel by night.” In Islamic tradition, the Isra was a miraculous journey undertaken by the Prophet Muhammad. Alternate would be Israa.
ITZAL – Basque. “Shadow, protection.”
JINX – English. “Spell, charm.” You may have heard this name used in Arcane.
JOCASTA – Greek. “Shining moon.”
LAYLA – Arabic, English. Means “night” in Arabic. Variant: Leila.
LENORE – German, Italian, English, Greek? Perhaps means “light” or “torch.” Is often associated with Edgar Allan Poe.
LETHIA – Greek. “Forgetful.” It is derived from the River Lethe in mythology, known as the River of Forgetfulness in the underworld.
LILITH – Semitic Mythology, Assyrian, Sumerian. Means “of the night.” In Jewish tradition, she was Adam’s first wife, cast away and replaced by Eve as she would not submit to him.
LORALEI – German. “She whose singing lures men to destruction.”
LUNA – Latin. “Moon.” The Roman goddess of the moon.
MAHSA – Persian. “Like the moon.”
MALALAI – Pashto. Means “sad, grieved.” This was the name of a Pashtun woman who encouraged the Afghan forces during the 1880 Battle of Maiwand against the British. Other spelling: MALALA.
MALLORY – French. “Unfortunate.”
MARA – Norse (mythology?). “Bitter.” She is responsible for bringing nightmares to animals and people during the night.
MARY – Hebrew. “Rebellion,” “bitter.”
MAURA – Multiple conflicting options, such as Latin-speaking countries and Ireland.. Feminine form of Maurus, which means “North African, Morrish” in Greek. Irish definition describes this name as “star of the sea” or “bitter.”
MAZIKEEN – “Harmful spirits.” I know that there is a man who created this, but I try to only think of this character in Lucifer. The one that is friends with the main character… Lucifer.
MELANIE – English, German, Dutch. Derived from the Greek word for “black, dark.” Ukrainian variant, Melaniya. Georgian variant, Melano.
MOLLY – Latin. “Bitter.”
MORRIGAN – Irish. “Phantom queen.” She is the goddess of war, often symbolized by a crow.
MORTICIA – English? Unclear. “Mortician.” The Addams Family goth mother.
NAENIA – Latin. “Incantation, dirge.” This was the name of the Roman goddess of funerals.
NEKANE – Basque. “Sorrows.” It is an equivalent of Dolores.
NISHA – from the Sanskrit word meaning “night.” Seems to be used in a wide variety of cultures that use Sanskrit.
NYX – Greek mythology. “Night.” This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Chaos and wife of Erebus.
ODILE – French. “Prospers in battle.” This was the name of Odette’s evil Swan Lake twin.
OPHELIA – Greek. “Help.”
PERDITA – Latin. “Lost.”
PERSEPHONE – Greek. “Bringer of Death.” She was the daughter of Demeter, known as the Queen of the Underworld and goddess of vegetation.
RENATA – Latin. “Reborn.”
ROIMATA – Maori. “Teardrop.”
RUE – English. “To regret.”
SASKIA – Dutch, Germanic. “A Saxon woman” is one of the definitions. It has also been linked to the Germanic word sachs, meaning “knife.” One source said it could have Slavic origins, meaning “protector.”
SATURNINE – French, Latin, English. “Saturn; dark and gloomy.”
SENKA – Serbian, Croatian. “Shadow, shade.”
SHAHLA – Arabic, Persian. From an Arabic word probably meaning “dark blue.”
SOLANINE – A type of poison found in nightshade.
TANSY – Greek. Flower name. Means “immortality.”
TEMPEST – English. “Turbulent, stormy.”
THANA – Arabic. “Death.”
TRISTEZZA – Italian. “Sadness” or “melancholy.”
TUTA – Quechua. “Night.”
TWILA – English. Meaning unknown but seems to be based on twilight.
VESPER – Latin. “Evening star.”
VESPERTINE – Latin. “Of the evening.”
ZELDA – German. A diminutive of the name “Griselda.” It is often interpreted as meaning “gray battle” or “strong woman.” And, of course, the video game franchise.
ACHILLES - Greek. "Pain." Achilles was a famous hero from Greek legend, said to have been dipped in the river Styx by his mother to make him immortal. In Homer’s Iliad, Achilles fought bravely against the Trojans until he was killed by an arrow striking his only vulnerable spot – his heel. Have you read The Song of Achilles?
ADHAM – Arabic, Uzbek. “Dark, black.”
AKUJI – African (Yoruba). Means “dead and awake” and “bad deed.”
ALASTOR – Greek. “Persecutor,” “tormentor.”
ARES – Greek. “Bane, ruin.” The Greek God of war.
ASHOKA – Sanskrit. “Without sorrow.”
ASTAROTH – Hebrew. The grand duke of Hell.
ASTROPHEL – Greek. “Star lover.”
AZRAEL – Hebrew, Arabic. The Islamic angel of death.
BALOR – Irish. “The deadly one.”
BRENNAN – Gaelic. “Sorrow, sadness.”
BRONE – Gaelic? “Sadness.”
BURTON – English. “Fortified settlement.” This belongs to the one and only Tim Burton. Creepy.
CADELL – Welsh. “Battle.”
CADOGAN – Welsh, Irish. “Battle glory.”
CAIN – Hebrew. “Acquired,” or “spearer.” Included because this is the name of the murderous son of Adam and Eve in the Christian bible.
CALVIN – From the French word chauve which means “bald.” I wouldn’t do it…
COLA – Anglo-Saxon. “Charcoal.”
COLBY – English. Derived from Old Norse words for “coal, dark” and “farm, settlement.”
COLE – English. “coal/charcoal.” Nat King Cole anyone?
CORBIN – English. Derived from corbeau, French for “raven.”
DADE – Old English, possibly German? “Dark one.”
DAMIEN – Greek. “To tame” or “subdue.” Variation: Damian. You could think of one of the many Robins, or not. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.
DAVOR – Croatian, Serbian, Slovene. Meaning is uncertain, but it is possibly from an old Slavic word expressing joy or sorrow. It was also the name of a Slavic war god.
DONAHUE – Irish. “Dark fighter.”
DOUGAL – Scottish. “Dark stranger.”
DOUGLAS – Scottish, English. “Dark river.”
DRAVEN – Old English. “Of the raven.”
DUNSTAN – English, Anglo-Saxon. “Dark” + “stone.”
ELDRITCH – Most likely middle English. “Old.” Generally, people associate this with things that are weird, eerie, or otherworldly. You know, like the horrors that persist.
GADISA – Oromo. “Shade.”
GEDIMINAS – Lithuanian. Possibly means: “to mourn, to long for” and “to think, to remember, to mention.”
HADES – Greek mythology. “Unseen.” Dark god of the Underworld.
HANNIBAL – Hebrew. “Grace of Baal.” Anyone checked up on Will Graham lately?
HEMLOCK – English. “Poisonous plant.”
HUXLEY – English. “Inhospitable place.”
INGRAM – Germanic roots. “Raven of peace.”
ISRAFEL – Arabic, Hebrew. “Burning one.”
JABEZ – Hebrew. “Sorrow.”
JASPER – English? A reddish precious stone. The Persian definition is “treasurer.”
JETT – English. Either for a jet aircraft or an intense black color.
JOLON – Native American – Chumash. “Valley of the Dead Oaks.” This is a heavily cultural name.
KARA – Ottoman Turkish. “Black, dark.”
KAZIMIR – Slavic. “Famous destroyer of peace.”
LYCIDAS – Greek. “Wolf-son.”
MAHZUN – Turkish. “Sad.”
MARTEL – French, Latin. “Forceful person” or “hammer.”
MAURICE – French, English. “Dark-skinned” or “Moorish.”
MORTE – French. Legit means “death” so, would be great for a villain.
ORPHEUS – Greek mythology. “The darkness of the night.” He was the poet who went to the underworld to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice. Their tale is devastating. Another source said that this meant “beautiful voice.”
OTIENO – Luo. “Born at night.”
PERSEUS – Greek. “Destroyer.”
PHELAN – Gaelic. “Like a wolf.” Derives from the Gaelic name Ó Faoláin, which translates to “descendant of Faolán.”
PHOBUS – Greek. “Fear.”
RANSLEY – Old English. “Raven meadow.”
SAM – Persian. Means “fire” but comes from an earlier Iranian root meaning “black.”
SULLIVAN – English, French. Seems to have derived from an Irish surname which meant “eye” and “dark, black.”
TEIVEL – Yiddish. “Devil.”
THORN – English. “Prickle.”
TRISTAN – French. “Sad, sorrowful.” If looking at the Celtic roots, you could use “tumult” or “outcry.” The Welsh form is “Drystan.”
UBEL – German? “Evil.”
ULFRED – Old Norse, Old English. “Wolf of peace.”
VIGGO – Norse, Scandinavian in general. “War,” “battle.”
WILDE – English. “Undomesticated, uncultivated.”
ZALMON – Hebrew, Biblical. “Shady.”
GENDER NEUTRAL - 21 NAMES
ADRIENNE – French, Latin. “The dark one.”
AMAYA – Arabic, Japanese. “Night rain.” If used in Basque, it can mean “end” or “high place.” It also seems to be a place of great significance in Spain.
BLADE – English. “Knife,” “sword.”
BLAIR – Gaelic. “Battlefield.”
BRIAR – English. “Thorny bush of wild roses.”
CIAR – Celtic, Irish mythology. Derived from ciar, meaning “black.”
DUSK – Gonna say English for this one. “Sunset.”
EKUNDAYO – Yoruba. “Tears become joy.”
ELYSIUM – Greek. “Home of the blessed after death.”
EMERY – English. It was the Norman French form of “Emmerich,” which seems to say, “great king.” This can be a reference to the hard black substance called emery, which is a dark granular rock used to make an abrasive powder. It’s a really pretty rock if you look it up.
GRENDEL – Old English. “Shadow walker.”
KEIR – Irish. “Dark-haired” or “dark-skinned.” Derived from the name Ciarán.
LAMYA – Arabic. “Dark complexion.”
MASOZI – Tumbuka. “Tears.”
ONYX – Greek. “A shiny black gem.”
OZUL – Hebrew. “Shadow.”
PHOENIX – English. “Dark red.” You may think of the immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living several centuries, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes.
POMARE – Tahitian. “Night cough.”
RAJANI – Sanskrit. “Dark, night.” This is another name for the Hindu goddess Durga.
RAVEN – English. From the name of the black bird often confused with a crow. It is often associated with the Norse god Odin, and is revered by several Native American tribes on the west coast.
ROGUE – French? English? “Unpredictable,” mischievous.” You may know a character from X-Men with this name.
sources - I used behindthename.com, closeronline.co.uk, peanut-app.io, and of course, nameberry.com.
I was thinking about how all the babies born during an apocalypse would be named silly things like “Grace” and “Hope” so I figured I’d compile some of those types of names (with corny lines) for y’all.
Girl Names
Grace (“God’s grace has protected her”)
Hope (“because she is our hope for the future…”)
Faith (“she will be a symbol of our faith…”)
Mercy (God’s mercy has protected her”)
Promise (“she symbolizes a promise for a better future…”
⠀⠀the list uses names from the books a song of ice and fire, fire and blood, as well as any that may have been mentioned in some way by george r. r. martin himself. it should also be noted that some regions used to follow the trend of naming of dominant houses for naming their own children. for example, houses in the stormlands tended to use names similar to those of members of the baratheon family.
⠀⠀tips for choosing your character's name! in westeros, names are generally very important and can symbolise the future of characters. in addition, it's very rare for characters from one house to choose names from another house, which is why cersei choosing only lannister names for her children said a lot about the children, for example. not to mention that some names fall out of use when their first holder is considered a very controversial or perverse figure. with that in mind, you can choose names full of meaning for your character.
Hi I was wondering if you know of any good resources to get good vintage names that aren’t typical and boring (Fred, Edward, Alfred etc)?
Some of the names in the Santa letters are certainly peculiar and it made me wonder what kind of names those “vintage baby names” lists are leaving out 😜
Thanks! And happy new year 🎊
One place to get a good general overview of what names were like in a certain era is the Social Security Administration's lists of popular names that go back to the 1880s. The further down the lists you go the less common they get. However these are still all names that had at least a few hundred occurrences, so you're not going to have any Gloyds etc..
I personally always try to find names from primary sources (newspapers, census, vital records, etc.) as you're more likely to come across unusual names that don't make the top 200 lists.
Also keep in mind that name popularity varied greatly by location. Just because there were a bunch of Juanitas in Tulsa in 1930 doesn't mean there were that many in Boston.
Honestly if anyone is working on a specific project and needs names from a certain location/era (i.e. you're writing a novel that takes place in London in 1627) feel free to message me and I'd be happy to work with you to compile a list from primary sources. I love this stuff and will use any valid excuse to spend an evening digging through 17th century baptismal records.
I’ve been making a story and I’m really into it but for the life of me I can not come up with names for the three main characters. Any tips for coming up with good names?
OH the naming struggle. i know it well. i’ve stared at empty name generators like they were ouija boards. here’s my system (chaotic but functional) for pulling names out of the void that actually fit your characters:
🌑 vibe before name.
before even looking at name lists, figure out what kind of energy each character gives off. are they sharp and modern? soft and earthy? theatrical? quiet but intense?
→ write down 3 words for each character: a personality word, an aesthetic word, and a weird one (like “moth,” “nickel,” or “liminal”). THEN try to name them.
🌘 sound matters.
say the names out loud. whisper them. yell them like you're the love interest in a storm. you’ll notice rhythm, sharpness, or whether it weirdly sounds like someone you went to middle school with (instant no).
→ pro tip: don’t name all three characters with the same starting letter or syllable count unless it’s intentional. “Kara, Kael, and Kori” gets old fast.
🌒 steal like a writer.
scroll historical records. dig into mythology. nameberry. baby name sites. gravestones. street names. menus. foreign languages. botanical indexes. war generals. thieves from history.
→ if you want something really unique, mash up two names or words you like. ex: Elowen + Mira = Elira. Talia + Roan = Taran.
🌕 meaning is bonus, not mandatory.
yes, it’s cool if the name secretly means “sorrowful sword prince,” but vibe > literal meaning. name them something that feels like them. your anxious cryptid character doesn’t need a name that means “shadow.” they just need a name that sounds like it could’ve been whispered behind a curtain.
🌗 placeholder names are valid.
if you're stuck, give them temp names like “Knife Boy,” “Moth Girl,” or “CEO of Emotional Damage.” write the draft. once their voice sharpens, the real name will often show up and knock.
i hope that helps!! naming is weirdly personal, so trust your gut. you’ll know when it clicks 💛
some of the names may be used for either masculine, feminine, or androgynous characters, i just compiled them in the two categories. if you have any ideas to add, feel free to comment them and i'll do my best as to add them!
Just writing the first three letters of words and then putting them together, in a phrase or not, is a good name generation method.
Theman Thalivalo (the man that lived alone)
Inadia Theisagem (in a diadem there's a gem)
Agrelor Forhispeo (a great lord for his people)
Verdar Des (very dark desires)
Astrand Hishor (a stranger and his horse)
Offar Lannat (of far land's nation)
Ona Higthrofgol (on a high throne of gold)
Nocoi Orlan (no coin or land)
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