Finding Character Names [Archive] - Wizards Community

Finding Character Names [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
TheItalian
06-08-04, 01:16 PM Does anyone know of a good online resource for D&D style names? I used to have a good webpage but it is now gone. I like having lists of names to choose from, as making my own up has resulted in the other PCs turning it into something else. I also like having it for picking up NPC names quickly when I DM.
Vaettyr
06-08-04, 01:50 PM There's a program floating out there somewhere called Name Mage IIRC that's pretty good. I don't have a link or anything, but a quick google search should probably pull it up. It lets you generate as many names at one time as you want, so you can pick the best, and has a pull down menu for styles of names, such as Drow, Norse, Tolkein elves, etc.
ashera
06-08-04, 02:10 PM I usually just steal from litterature. I read a lot more than the others I play with, so most of my names are original to the group
Umar
06-09-04, 09:48 AM Of course,there's always the wacky notion of making up your own.... I don't buy into the notion that there are 'D+D style names',as everyone I've ever played utilized different sources of inspiration. I only wish I'd thought of Gut-Boy Barrelhouse,a dwarven fighter given in the 1st Ed DMG:)
There is a little pamphlet out there called 'The Everyone Everywhere List of NPC Names',which gives names appropriate to any real-world geographical region,and is a good starting point.
But everywhere you look can be a good source,and BTW,how a name sounds can be more important than knowing what it means;Tolkien might've been a linguist,but the majority of us RPG's are not. So go with what sounds cool,and if your character names suck,have fun with it(my first AD+D character was a Gnome named Cornballa--in light of his crappy ability scores,and the fact that due to the 1st Ed level caps on demi-humans,the PC was a walking joke anyway,so why not give him a goofy name?).
My current character's name,Umar,is named after an old 'Doctor Strange' villain;I've used everything from The Bible to song titles to name PCs and NPCs over the course of time. Just keep your eyes and ears receptive to things that look/sound good to you,and soon your fellow players will say,'That's an excellent name!',because it will say much about who your character is.
hekker
06-09-04, 09:52 AM When looking for a computer program, you might look for EBON or the Everchanging Book of Names. You can choose different styles and then generate names (like dwarvish (tolkien), welsch, etc etc). You can also add your own styles (althoug this is rather complicated)
KangTheCallipygian
06-09-04, 10:17 AM I have trouble thinking up original names too... Left to my own devices, my PC's would probably all be named after Star Trek villains if truth be told (see below). Which is why I'm happy to say that PCGen has a decent name-generating capability, and can be downloaded off the net (easily found with a search on "PCGen") for free. You can generate both first and last names randomly from various lists of different types of names, similar to some of the sites/programs others have mentioned above, though you can only view one name at a time. And it's a not-bad character generator program to boot, though every version I've seen has had at least a few bugs... Oh, and the more recent versions don't have any of WotC's accessory book material; just the stuff in the SRD, AFAIK.
But the name generator works fine!
I'm not selling this very well, am I? Oh well, it's not like I'm on commission...

Kang
(Yes, named after a Klingon originally; not a Simpsons alien with a co-pilot named Kodos, which BTW is also also a Star Trek villain's name, oddly enough)
JoshRodriguez
06-09-04, 11:59 AM If you have lots of money and no self-respect or judgement there is actually a book (20-30 bucks) called Gary Gygax's Book of Names or something like that. It does clearly state that Gary Gygax desires that you purchase it in the title.

[edited because proper grammar is important sometimes]
Twisted Puppy
06-09-04, 12:58 PM There is a new d20 sourcebook produced by 3am Games (http://www.3amg.com/) , called Westbrook. It contains an NPC name generator, scads of NPCs, and some other stuff useful in a campaign.
Damien_Hiro
06-10-04, 04:42 PM I have always found that to find a good Orc name I hit my friend Shorty in the junk when he is not looking. I then write down the glutturral sounds he makes before puking. Gulgh, Hulph and Skou are among my favorites. Now for elven names I take a relatively heavy empty liqour bottle and smash it over my forehead. I try to write for help on my handy notebook and when I come back around Voila a new name. Elpame, Sonova and Calforaelp are great elven names that roll off the tongue. Now dwarven names are a bit more difficult. I take a ham hock and place it in a crockpot for six hours with potatoes. I then stuff as much as I can into my mouth, the heat begins the creative process. I beleive that is how R.A. Salvatore got Dagnabbit, but I prefer names like Mutton, Frigginot and Burndmimoff. I enjoy coming up with my own names and I hope that helps you with creating your own. Feel free to try any of the above techniques.
Larcen26
06-16-04, 04:12 PM http://rinkworks.com/namegen/

There...that is exactly what you are looking for...

The interface takes a little getting used to but it is definately a good program...

The best part of it is that you can work with it to make something along the lines you are looking for...

For example...I wanted a nice dignified Cleric name...for no real reason I wanted it to begin with C, and I usually like two syllables...and I got one of my favorite character names...Cerlin.
Unleash
07-07-04, 11:52 AM Originally posted by Damien_Hiro
Elpame, Sonova and Calforaelp are great elven names that roll off the tongue. Now dwarven names are a bit more difficult. I take a ham hock and place it in a crockpot for six hours with potatoes. I then stuff as much as I can into my mouth, the heat begins the creative process. I beleive that is how R.A. Salvatore got Dagnabbit, but I prefer names like Mutton, Frigginot and Burndmimoff. I enjoy coming up with my own names and I hope that helps you with creating your own. Feel free to try any of the above techniques.

:heehee

Phonetics + D&D = instant fun.
theprince
07-08-04, 06:08 PM Use latin... my thief is named "Angius In Hebra" meaning "snake in the grass".

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
TheItalian 06-08-04, 01:16 PM	Does anyone know of a good online resource for D&D style names? I used to have a good webpage but it is now gone. I like having lists of names to choose from, as making my own up has resulted in the other PCs turning it into something else. I also like having it for picking up NPC names quickly when I DM.
Vaettyr 06-08-04, 01:50 PM	There's a program floating out there somewhere called Name Mage IIRC that's pretty good. I don't have a link or anything, but a quick google search should probably pull it up. It lets you generate as many names at one time as you want, so you can pick the best, and has a pull down menu for styles of names, such as Drow, Norse, Tolkein elves, etc.
ashera 06-08-04, 02:10 PM	I usually just steal from litterature. I read a lot more than the others I play with, so most of my names are original to the group
Umar 06-09-04, 09:48 AM	Of course,there's always the wacky notion of making up your own.... I don't buy into the notion that there are 'D+D style names',as everyone I've ever played utilized different sources of inspiration. I only wish I'd thought of Gut-Boy Barrelhouse,a dwarven fighter given in the 1st Ed DMG:) There is a little pamphlet out there called 'The Everyone Everywhere List of NPC Names',which gives names appropriate to any real-world geographical region,and is a good starting point. But everywhere you look can be a good source,and BTW,how a name sounds can be more important than knowing what it means;Tolkien might've been a linguist,but the majority of us RPG's are not. So go with what sounds cool,and if your character names suck,have fun with it(my first AD+D character was a Gnome named Cornballa--in light of his crappy ability scores,and the fact that due to the 1st Ed level caps on demi-humans,the PC was a walking joke anyway,so why not give him a goofy name?). My current character's name,Umar,is named after an old 'Doctor Strange' villain;I've used everything from The Bible to song titles to name PCs and NPCs over the course of time. Just keep your eyes and ears receptive to things that look/sound good to you,and soon your fellow players will say,'That's an excellent name!',because it will say much about who your character is.
hekker 06-09-04, 09:52 AM	When looking for a computer program, you might look for EBON or the Everchanging Book of Names. You can choose different styles and then generate names (like dwarvish (tolkien), welsch, etc etc). You can also add your own styles (althoug this is rather complicated)
KangTheCallipygian 06-09-04, 10:17 AM	I have trouble thinking up original names too... Left to my own devices, my PC's would probably all be named after Star Trek villains if truth be told (see below). Which is why I'm happy to say that PCGen has a decent name-generating capability, and can be downloaded off the net (easily found with a search on "PCGen") for free. You can generate both first and last names randomly from various lists of different types of names, similar to some of the sites/programs others have mentioned above, though you can only view one name at a time. And it's a not-bad character generator program to boot, though every version I've seen has had at least a few bugs... Oh, and the more recent versions don't have any of WotC's accessory book material; just the stuff in the SRD, AFAIK. But the name generator works fine! I'm not selling this very well, am I? Oh well, it's not like I'm on commission... Kang (Yes, named after a Klingon originally; not a Simpsons alien with a co-pilot named Kodos, which BTW is also also a Star Trek villain's name, oddly enough)
JoshRodriguez 06-09-04, 11:59 AM	If you have lots of money and no self-respect or judgement there is actually a book (20-30 bucks) called Gary Gygax's Book of Names or something like that. It does clearly state that Gary Gygax desires that you purchase it in the title. [edited because proper grammar is important sometimes]
Twisted Puppy 06-09-04, 12:58 PM	There is a new d20 sourcebook produced by 3am Games (http://www.3amg.com/) , called Westbrook. It contains an NPC name generator, scads of NPCs, and some other stuff useful in a campaign.
Damien_Hiro 06-10-04, 04:42 PM	I have always found that to find a good Orc name I hit my friend Shorty in the junk when he is not looking. I then write down the glutturral sounds he makes before puking. Gulgh, Hulph and Skou are among my favorites. Now for elven names I take a relatively heavy empty liqour bottle and smash it over my forehead. I try to write for help on my handy notebook and when I come back around Voila a new name. Elpame, Sonova and Calforaelp are great elven names that roll off the tongue. Now dwarven names are a bit more difficult. I take a ham hock and place it in a crockpot for six hours with potatoes. I then stuff as much as I can into my mouth, the heat begins the creative process. I beleive that is how R.A. Salvatore got Dagnabbit, but I prefer names like Mutton, Frigginot and Burndmimoff. I enjoy coming up with my own names and I hope that helps you with creating your own. Feel free to try any of the above techniques.
Larcen26 06-16-04, 04:12 PM	http://rinkworks.com/namegen/ There...that is exactly what you are looking for... The interface takes a little getting used to but it is definately a good program... The best part of it is that you can work with it to make something along the lines you are looking for... For example...I wanted a nice dignified Cleric name...for no real reason I wanted it to begin with C, and I usually like two syllables...and I got one of my favorite character names...Cerlin.
Unleash 07-07-04, 11:52 AM	Originally posted by Damien_Hiro Elpame, Sonova and Calforaelp are great elven names that roll off the tongue. Now dwarven names are a bit more difficult. I take a ham hock and place it in a crockpot for six hours with potatoes. I then stuff as much as I can into my mouth, the heat begins the creative process. I beleive that is how R.A. Salvatore got Dagnabbit, but I prefer names like Mutton, Frigginot and Burndmimoff. I enjoy coming up with my own names and I hope that helps you with creating your own. Feel free to try any of the above techniques. :heehee Phonetics + D&D = instant fun.
theprince 07-08-04, 06:08 PM	Use latin... my thief is named "Angius In Hebra" meaning "snake in the grass".