So, you’re writing a thing, and you need to name a character. And, as we all know, naming a character is a giant pain in the ass. I offer this list of shit I use pretty regularly, for this purpose.
Behind the Name (The etymologies are weird as fuck, in a few places, but it’s great if you’ve got a name and need to find other names that are from or derived from the same culture/language)
Behind the Surname (BTN for family names)
Academy of Saint Gabriel Medieval Names Archive (This is the go-to for medieval names in Europe and the Near East. Hardcore scholarship and a distinct lack of fucking around.)
Kate Monk’s Onomastikon (The original internet name resource.)
The Soldier in Later Medieval England (Actual names from English military rolls around the Battle of Agincourt)
England’s Immigrants (Non-native residents of England, 1330-1550)
Celtic Personal Names of Roman Britain
Mapping the Medieval Countryside - People (People appearing in English inquisitions post mortem, 1418-1447)
Wiktionary’s Index of Biblical Names
Ancient Names Galleria (The weird shit is here. If you need Akkadian or Phoenecian names, those are totally covered.)
Trismegistos People (Names extracted from the Trismegistos Texts – mostly names from Graeco-Roman Egypt.)
Personally, I use the shit out of Trismegistos People, England’s Immigrants, and the Ancient Names Galleria. If you’ve got good sources I didn’t hit, feel free to add them in a reblog. I’m always looking for more good name resources. (And almost all of what I have is Europe and the Near East, with a little North Africa.)
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