How do you come up with names?

[WasatchWind]

I've been thick in the weeds with coming up with names for characters, places, etc. for my fantasy world Treyidal.

Just curious, how do y'all come up with names? Do you do what I do most of the time and just smash sounds together, do you assemble some underlying rules? Or do you go full Tolkienesque conlang and make a language with grammar and history?

 

[LotsChrono]

I've been thick in the weeds with coming up with names for characters, places, etc. for my fantasy world Treyidal.

Just curious, how do y'all come up with names? Do you do what I do most of the time and just smash sounds together, do you assemble some underlying rules? Or do you go full Tolkienesque conlang and make a language with grammar and history?

I look at the character's description, mannerisms, and personality, and make a fitting name based on all of that. Well, most of the time its like that. Sometimes, I make a name opposite of what you'd expect them to be called, simply because its interesting, catches attention, or makes the character more memorable. One of my characters, a super tomboy who fights with her fists, is called 'Elsa'. Like, you would imagine 'Elsa' as a pretty girl dressed in fanciful clothing, not a slum-born fit girl who punches and tinkers with machinery and walks around with shorts and her abs exposed. Though, her full name is 'Elsa Mont', so the 'Mont' part balances out against the 'Elsa' part, because, come on, 'Mont' is not exactly a classy last name.

 

[CadmarLegend]

I've been thick in the weeds with coming up with names for characters, places, etc. for my fantasy world Treyidal.

Just curious, how do y'all come up with names? Do you do what I do most of the time and just smash sounds together, do you assemble some underlying rules? Or do you go full Tolkienesque conlang and make a language with grammar and history?

I go on baby name websites.

 

[Blackout]

For me, I just think up random names that somehow works. If I'm stuck, I'll just use name generating websites and modify the names I find there

 

[LordAstrea]

Personality, meaning behind names, what sounds nice and how it might pertain to the overall story or even significant event. Maybe the parents thought up the name based on something that happened in their lives.

 

[ForestDweller]

Name generators and combining them as I see fit. Whatever name I have in my head.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I roll things around in my head until something sounds right. I often change character names between the draft and edit phases.

 

[DubstheDuke]

I usually base people's names on their personality or position. If they're a monster, I make up something that sounds slightly inhuman. If they're a noble, I make up something that sounds fancy and prestigious. If they're a peasant, I give em a short, regular name. Depends on the character.

 

[Daitengu]

Depends. If there is a cultural theme similar to RL history, I go with names from that culture.

If I have to be original I'll translate a descriptive name into that language if it's in keeping with the culture. Asian and pre-Abrahamic names are often originally from things. Like snow in yuki in Japan. Or Fen from norse Fenrir.

If for a city/town I mash two words together. Like Hirschberg. Hirsch for deer and berg for mountain. German btw.

From history and linguist study, those are the typical origins of names. Abrahamic being different in that they are often taken directly from religious scripture.

Many cities are also named from an extinct tribe once found at that location. Or from to once ruling nobility. Wichita, wellington, Roanoke.

In the US the city and town names all come from these naming conventions.

Tolkien already invented languages for all the races in his stories. So if I were to make elven or dwarven cities, I would use the local resources as a guide, and use the many online translators to change it to that culture. Example: elvish silver mountain valley city. tyelpe for silver. Nan for valley. Mash them to Tyelpenan.

 

[Kilolo]

i decide the personality first, then looking for the noun or adjective that giving the impression of them, then use my weeb intuition to make the name easier to pronounce.

ex:
a mature academic scholar boy >> college = Kalego
a princess with bright personality along with high spec & capability >> gold (aurum), star (etoile) = Aurielle
a spoiled girl but bringing smile to others >> pastel = Pastel (it's already good enough, so i didn't change the pronounce)
a strong warrior with prideful personality & bulging muscle >>giant, buffalo = Givaro


my rules is no rules, so.

 

[CL]

Depends. If there is a cultural theme similar to RL history, I go with names from that culture.

If I have to be original I'll translate a descriptive name into that language if it's in keeping with the culture. Asian and pre-Abrahamic names are often originally from things. Like snow in yuki in Japan. Or Fen from norse Fenrir.

If for a city/town I mash two words together. Like Hirschberg. Hirsch for deer and berg for mountain. German btw.

From history and linguist study, those are the typical origins of names. Abrahamic being different in that they are often taken directly from religious scripture.

Many cities are also named from an extinct tribe once found at that location. Or from to once ruling nobility. Wichita, wellington, Roanoke.

In the US the city and town names all come from these naming conventions.

Tolkien already invented languages for all the races in his stories. So if I were to make elven or dwarven cities, I would use the local resources as a guide, and use the many online translators to change it to that culture. Example: elvish silver mountain valley city. tyelpe for silver. Nan for valley. Mash them to Tyelpenan.

Etymology is your friend.

 

[Deleted member 29316]

I come up with whatever gets stuck in my head.

 

[NotYourTypicalMan]

generator

 

[Deleted member 45782]

I got to Behind the Names and Behind the Surnames for research into cultural names.

Usually I try googling just for a bit to get a better idea what to name. I prefer not to use a random name generator, because idk what the meaning of the name is. The names I want to incorporate from various cultures I want to have some meaning, and a random name generator might not say what it actually means, or how even good that name it is really to other people within certain cultures (like imagine you choose a name that sounds nice for a heroic character, but then it actually means coward)…

Of course, this can be very different from the type of names you seek cause it really depends on what you want to do for your story...

If I don't really care, I name them some random simple name. 1, 2, 3....
Like Sam, Dan, Mike...(those are actual character names from a story of mine on hiatus)

Actually...I'm not good at coming up with names or things on the spot. If I don't really felt like I care much for them, I give random names like just names after objects, names that are just simple words, names that are one syllable-like....etc.

 

[xluferx]

Usually names are given according to their meaning and character traits. There are a lot of websites to chose names but occasionally I do create names like Eindurwall, (city name) mixing separate words from diferent languages

 

[yunano34a1]

Think of an adjective, look at various translations, cherry-pick what sounds good, then mispronounce it

PROFIT

 

[Sylvie]

Nice thought process.....

i decide the personality first, then looking for the noun or adjective that giving the impression of them, then use my weeb intuition to make the name easier to pronounce.

ex:
a mature academic scholar boy >> college = Kalego
a princess with bright personality along with high spec & capability >> gold (aurum), star (etoile) = Aurielle
a spoiled girl but bringing smile to others >> pastel = Pastel (it's already good enough, so i didn't change the pronounce)
a strong warrior with prideful personality & bulging muscle >>giant, buffalo = Givaro


my rules is no rules, so.

A person who hates lolis >> Kill lolis = Kilolo ?

 

[Kilolo]

A person who hates lolis >> Kill lolis = Kilolo ?

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[WasatchWind]

I have made up some names, and I am wondering people's thoughts on them.

The names are for merfolk.

Aren (merboy)
Mae (full name Maewell, his sister)
Ceridi (mermaid)
Scute (merboy, is a nickname)
Nahel (merboy)
Melie (mergirl)

Do y'all think these names sound good? Are they better than just crappy cliche fantasy names?

 

[CL]

I have made up some names, and I am wondering people's thoughts on them.

The names are for merfolk.

Aren (merboy)
Mae (full name Maewell, his sister)
Ceridi (mermaid)
Scute (merboy, is a nickname)
Nahel (merboy)
Melie (mergirl)

Do y'all think these names sound good? Are they better than just crappy cliche fantasy names?

I could imagine somebody calling Maewell also Well or Welly. It would be like the nickname for Rebecca being Becky.