in name only.... [Archive] - Wizards Community

in name only.... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
emerald_knight_13
11-08-04, 09:46 PM :confused: I've been playing D&D for at least thirteen years, but there is one thing I have always had trouble with. How do you come up with a good name? :nonono:

Allow me to provide one example from my history to show how bad it has been at times.

I was starting a new campaign and rolled up my character. Because of time constraints we only rolled up characters. When we met next week I still had no name for my character, so the DM decided I had to play a character with amnesia. :banghead: Incidently, this was never cured before the character died. :uh-huh:

So, still plagued by the difficulty of coming up with names, I ask you. How do you come up with names for your character? :mymy:
BloodGod
11-08-04, 09:50 PM Take real life names and switch letters around. Take cartoon character names or video/computer game character names and distort them so that they're your own.

-BG
TheRedRobedWizard
11-08-04, 09:51 PM Honestly, I don't have any problem coming up with names.

They just appear in my mind. First step is to pick a letter for each name to start with.

Then, just make something that sounds (race)-y. Wherein you replace (race) with what race you're playing.

Example:

I have picked the letters J and R.

I am playing a male Valenar Elf.

Jolraethal Rithan.

Example 2:

I have picked the letters Y and H.

I am playing a female Gold Dwarf.

Yachik Harokkan.

-TRRW
zambuka
11-08-04, 10:06 PM In an interview this morning Terry Pratchet mentioned he gets most of his ideas for names straight out of the phone book.

You could try the same.

I just generally take fantasy names and mung them up a bit.

On occasion I use alcoholic beverages for inspiration. eg, Stolichnaya Vodka becomes Stochaya Voika. Barcardi Rum becomes Baraci Durm etc

Inspiration for names can come from anywhere really. Just pick up a street directory and have a look at some of the street names, you can get some really wierd names from there.

Edit: or maybe not the street directory if most of the streets in your area are on the numbers grid eg 3rd street, 5th street etc
Son of Khoron
11-08-04, 10:33 PM :confused: I've been playing D&D for at least thirteen years, but there is one thing I have always had trouble with. How do you come up with a good name? :nonono:

For change in spelling only:
Take real names and add an extra letter and change one or more letters
I like to change anything that sounds like an "ee" to a "y" or "j"
"y" becomes "i"
add an "h" to any letter after the first

Dean becomes Dyn (if male) or Dyna (if female)
Kelly is now Khel (if male) or Khelli (if female)

New names:
Spell ordinary names backwards or transpose first and last lettters and apply the change in spelling rule:

Dean -> Nead -> Nydh (if male) or Nyda/Njdha (if female)
Board_Rider
11-08-04, 11:12 PM On occasion I use alcoholic beverages for inspiration. eg, Stolichnaya Vodka becomes Stochaya Voika. Barcardi Rum becomes Baraci Durm etc

Classic.
:pint:

You could find a name generator on Google. Or spell names differently or backwards.
Example
Bob becomes boB...works like a charm!
CPAtheFat
11-08-04, 11:18 PM Been playing awhile myself and still have problems with names too. In my current adventure the PC's are on a subquest from an Elf merchant named Mitch. Forgot to come up with his name in prep so had to make it up on the spot. Guess I'll use bar Khoron's suggestion and make it Mytch. Looks a touch better.
Erus
11-08-04, 11:24 PM some of my favorites come from english ---> latin translators.

ie: Erus (LE Monk)
Oprimo (Earth speced wizard type)
Xarian
11-09-04, 01:08 AM Pick archaic names that are still in use, such as Erik, Magnus, etc. Throw in foreign surnames (German and French sound the best IMO).

I personally don't like the 'random name' approach. More often than not they come out as names that are annoying to think about let alone pronounce - why do you think so many people have simple, easy to pronounce names?
The_EvilDungeon_Master
11-09-04, 01:14 AM What I do is usually start with the Race.
What kind of names does that race have? What letters are usually in those names?
What do you want the name to sound like?
Do you want the name to start with a certain letter?

etc.
Sukugaru
11-09-04, 01:30 AM My main approach so far has been to take regular names and change them around a bit. Sometimes they change a lot.

Examples:
Steven becomes Sivan (m) or Siva (f)
Bob becomes Bobador
Thomas becomes Toma
Woas
11-09-04, 12:03 PM Ever Changing Book of Names (http://ebon.uni.cc/)

Hasn't failed me yet.

I use it for humanoid names, monster names, last names, city names, geographical names, animal names...

Turn it on to 'Generate 10 names per click' and seriously, every click gives me at least one good name.
CzarGarrett
11-09-04, 12:47 PM I tend to almost associate sounds with various races.

Il, Al, ien - Elvish
Th, Kh, gar - Dwarven, Orc
Gi, Kn, tib - Gnome

and so on.
Thorak
11-09-04, 01:29 PM I usually hammer a random generator for a half-hour or so until something I can change into something workable comes out. And yes, it takes that long.

Though sometimes I cheat. My current character, a Paladin called Valdemar, took too long to make up the first name for. So his last name is Mycharion. My-Char(acter)-somethingtomakeitsoundbetter.
Gamebird
11-09-04, 03:55 PM I use Tolkien's language summary in the back of the Silmarillion for Elven or Fey names.

For other names we have a multi-cultural baby name book. My current campaign uses Welsh, Celtic and Norse as name-types, with the caveat that the name can't be one in common usage today. My character is named Bronwen. The cool thing about this is that you also get what the name means, which makes it easier to craft a name that fits the character. Bronwen means strong. I made up the last name of Bruinsdottir (bear-daughter).

And yes, the phone book is a good source. Just look up and down the rows until you see something uncommon.
Wyrd One
11-09-04, 04:45 PM I pull mine from the middle of words around me... I almost never have a name picked out when the new campaign is starting. In these cases I look around at the things around me and pull a name from the middle of its letters.

Examples:

ChARACter
HeINEKen
CAPS LOck
Visual BASIC

No need to mix letters up or any of that, just find a good sounding name in the things around you.

Wyrd-One
ganda1f
11-09-04, 04:57 PM I used to have real problems coming up with names.

Now I usually wind up generating my character first, then thinking 'OK - what would this guys parents call him?'

Sometimes this has interesting results (a halfling-raised half-orc called 'Tacit Ironskirtle') sometimes much more forgettable results (I named an Elven mage 'Jaelyn Windstar' then spent the next year of real-time reminding my fellow players what I was called).
Darth K'Trava
11-09-04, 06:05 PM I couldn't really tell you how I get mine as they're all from my imagination. Only two have I modified popular hip hop artist names ('cause they're the best to modify) and came up with Shatira and Ashalanti. The rest I did on my own. And came up with:

Shadarra
Kamera
Rozhena
Valsherina
Keldaren (male)

Real world name:
Wilhelm (backup never played- brother to a pc I did play)

Swiped from another character:

Kendrik (from Kendrik Larsen my fav pc story I read off these boards) became brother to Wilhelm.
fractal
11-09-04, 10:22 PM If you want a truly random method...

Roll 3d4 +1. That's the number of letters in the name (modify to taste).

For each letter, roll 1d6. 1-3, it's a consonant, 4-6, it's a vowel.

If it's a vowel, roll 1d6. 1=A, 2=E, 3=I, 4=O, 5=U, 6=Y.

If it's a consonant, roll 1d20. 1=B, 2=C,...10=M, 11=N,..., 19=X, 20=Z.

Voila! You have a new, almost certainly unique, name. Abbreviate to a nickname that the other characters can pronounce, since they're not truly familiar with the nuances of your culture.
Edymnion
11-09-04, 10:42 PM Just keep your eyes and ears open, you'll find good names.
For example, I had a college biology lab today, and we were discussing embryology, and the structure of the developing zygote.

One of the structures within a zygot is the archenteron, a cavety that eventually becomes the digestive track for the animal. Pronounced Arch-en-ter-on.

Now, doesn't that strike you as a perfect name for a city of wizards and magic?
"You stand on the outskirts of a mighty city, who's gleaming white walls encircle soaring towers and architecture that would be impossible to craft by hand. Welcome, to the city of Archenteron, the city on the edge of forever!"

And, unless you've got biology majors in your group, none of them are going to know you just named your city after something's **** cavity. :)
green_yawgmoth
11-09-04, 10:44 PM I like Seeker95's naming idea. Find something that has a lot of manufactured ingredients. Something by Hostess, or a pop of some kind work well. Pick one of those ingredients. swap the syllables around. You now have a name.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.gif
CzarGarrett
11-10-04, 01:15 PM I am the Evil Lord Sodium Perchlorate! All bow down to me!
Edymnion
11-11-04, 06:20 PM I am the Evil Lord Sodium Perchlorate! All bow down to me!Ah, but if you drop some syllables, change some stuff around, you'd get the Evil Lord Sohm Pekorat.
DrMorganes
11-12-04, 12:58 AM I second Edymnion's suggestion. Good fantasy names are everywhere: books, movies, road signs - everywhere. Ferinstance:

I was driving the other day and ran across the following sign on the highway:

"Moline
Dorr

X miles"

I grabbed the pencil on my sunvisor and hastily scribbled "Molin Dorr" on the back of an envelope. Molin Dorr struck me as a good name for an arcane caster. I've stol - er, borrowed names whole-cloth from a wide variety of fantasy and science fiction novels (Tad Williams' trilogy Sorrow, Memory, and Thorn is a GREAT resource for this, and not as commonly known as Tolkein) and movies. I keep a list for future reference, as well as make use of the Everchanging Book of Names.
Thoronmir
11-12-04, 11:52 AM Long, long ago, I read the Silmarillion. Many of the names I’ve used in the quarter-century since have come from the Glossary in the back of that book. I’ve also picked up names from tons of resources over the years.

“Thoronmir” (which I’ve used for more than two decades) came from combining “Thoron” (meaning “eagle”) and “mir” (meaning “jewel”) from the Silmarillion. I’ve created scores of names in that manner.

I also look to Latin and Ancient Greek for inspiration. The primary region of my last few campaigns has been “Solumbria” which was derived by bastardizing “solum” (the Latin word for “soil”).

One name that has garnered me plaudits from my friends was my Halfling Rogue named Filmore Pocketsful. That one just came to me one day.

Back when I was playing D&D on a regular basis, I kept a list of names. If I heard a name I liked, I added it the list to possibly use later. Some names I just thought up off the top of my head. I also use a book called “A World of Baby Names” … it has male and female names sorted by nationality and ethnicity, and gives origins and meanings for each name. Its listing of Old English names is quite helpful. But I’ve also used Asian, Arabian, Jewish, Irish, etc., depending on the situation.
Stuntman
11-12-04, 04:17 PM In the past I worked with printers and fonts a lot and I found a few cool names in the list of font names. I make sure I pick ones that are not well known.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
emerald_knight_13 11-08-04, 09:46 PM	:confused: I've been playing D&D for at least thirteen years, but there is one thing I have always had trouble with. How do you come up with a good name? :nonono: Allow me to provide one example from my history to show how bad it has been at times. I was starting a new campaign and rolled up my character. Because of time constraints we only rolled up characters. When we met next week I still had no name for my character, so the DM decided I had to play a character with amnesia. :banghead: Incidently, this was never cured before the character died. :uh-huh: So, still plagued by the difficulty of coming up with names, I ask you. How do you come up with names for your character? :mymy:
BloodGod 11-08-04, 09:50 PM	Take real life names and switch letters around. Take cartoon character names or video/computer game character names and distort them so that they're your own. -BG
TheRedRobedWizard 11-08-04, 09:51 PM	Honestly, I don't have any problem coming up with names. They just appear in my mind. First step is to pick a letter for each name to start with. Then, just make something that sounds (race)-y. Wherein you replace (race) with what race you're playing. Example: I have picked the letters J and R. I am playing a male Valenar Elf. Jolraethal Rithan. Example 2: I have picked the letters Y and H. I am playing a female Gold Dwarf. Yachik Harokkan. -TRRW
zambuka 11-08-04, 10:06 PM	In an interview this morning Terry Pratchet mentioned he gets most of his ideas for names straight out of the phone book. You could try the same. I just generally take fantasy names and mung them up a bit. On occasion I use alcoholic beverages for inspiration. eg, Stolichnaya Vodka becomes Stochaya Voika. Barcardi Rum becomes Baraci Durm etc Inspiration for names can come from anywhere really. Just pick up a street directory and have a look at some of the street names, you can get some really wierd names from there. Edit: or maybe not the street directory if most of the streets in your area are on the numbers grid eg 3rd street, 5th street etc
Son of Khoron 11-08-04, 10:33 PM	:confused: I've been playing D&D for at least thirteen years, but there is one thing I have always had trouble with. How do you come up with a good name? :nonono: For change in spelling only: Take real names and add an extra letter and change one or more letters I like to change anything that sounds like an "ee" to a "y" or "j" "y" becomes "i" add an "h" to any letter after the first Dean becomes Dyn (if male) or Dyna (if female) Kelly is now Khel (if male) or Khelli (if female) New names: Spell ordinary names backwards or transpose first and last lettters and apply the change in spelling rule: Dean -> Nead -> Nydh (if male) or Nyda/Njdha (if female)
Board_Rider 11-08-04, 11:12 PM	On occasion I use alcoholic beverages for inspiration. eg, Stolichnaya Vodka becomes Stochaya Voika. Barcardi Rum becomes Baraci Durm etc Classic. :pint: You could find a name generator on Google. Or spell names differently or backwards. Example Bob becomes boB...works like a charm!
CPAtheFat 11-08-04, 11:18 PM	Been playing awhile myself and still have problems with names too. In my current adventure the PC's are on a subquest from an Elf merchant named Mitch. Forgot to come up with his name in prep so had to make it up on the spot. Guess I'll use bar Khoron's suggestion and make it Mytch. Looks a touch better.
Erus 11-08-04, 11:24 PM	some of my favorites come from english ---> latin translators. ie: Erus (LE Monk) Oprimo (Earth speced wizard type)
Xarian 11-09-04, 01:08 AM	Pick archaic names that are still in use, such as Erik, Magnus, etc. Throw in foreign surnames (German and French sound the best IMO). I personally don't like the 'random name' approach. More often than not they come out as names that are annoying to think about let alone pronounce - why do you think so many people have simple, easy to pronounce names?
The_EvilDungeon_Master 11-09-04, 01:14 AM	What I do is usually start with the Race. What kind of names does that race have? What letters are usually in those names? What do you want the name to sound like? Do you want the name to start with a certain letter? etc.
Sukugaru 11-09-04, 01:30 AM	My main approach so far has been to take regular names and change them around a bit. Sometimes they change a lot. Examples: Steven becomes Sivan (m) or Siva (f) Bob becomes Bobador Thomas becomes Toma
Woas 11-09-04, 12:03 PM	Ever Changing Book of Names (http://ebon.uni.cc/) Hasn't failed me yet. I use it for humanoid names, monster names, last names, city names, geographical names, animal names... Turn it on to 'Generate 10 names per click' and seriously, every click gives me at least one good name.
CzarGarrett 11-09-04, 12:47 PM	I tend to almost associate sounds with various races. Il, Al, ien - Elvish Th, Kh, gar - Dwarven, Orc Gi, Kn, tib - Gnome and so on.
Thorak 11-09-04, 01:29 PM	I usually hammer a random generator for a half-hour or so until something I can change into something workable comes out. And yes, it takes that long. Though sometimes I cheat. My current character, a Paladin called Valdemar, took too long to make up the first name for. So his last name is Mycharion. My-Char(acter)-somethingtomakeitsoundbetter.
Gamebird 11-09-04, 03:55 PM	I use Tolkien's language summary in the back of the Silmarillion for Elven or Fey names. For other names we have a multi-cultural baby name book. My current campaign uses Welsh, Celtic and Norse as name-types, with the caveat that the name can't be one in common usage today. My character is named Bronwen. The cool thing about this is that you also get what the name means, which makes it easier to craft a name that fits the character. Bronwen means strong. I made up the last name of Bruinsdottir (bear-daughter). And yes, the phone book is a good source. Just look up and down the rows until you see something uncommon.
Wyrd One 11-09-04, 04:45 PM	I pull mine from the middle of words around me... I almost never have a name picked out when the new campaign is starting. In these cases I look around at the things around me and pull a name from the middle of its letters. Examples: ChARACter HeINEKen CAPS LOck Visual BASIC No need to mix letters up or any of that, just find a good sounding name in the things around you. Wyrd-One
ganda1f 11-09-04, 04:57 PM	I used to have real problems coming up with names. Now I usually wind up generating my character first, then thinking 'OK - what would this guys parents call him?' Sometimes this has interesting results (a halfling-raised half-orc called 'Tacit Ironskirtle') sometimes much more forgettable results (I named an Elven mage 'Jaelyn Windstar' then spent the next year of real-time reminding my fellow players what I was called).
Darth K'Trava 11-09-04, 06:05 PM	I couldn't really tell you how I get mine as they're all from my imagination. Only two have I modified popular hip hop artist names ('cause they're the best to modify) and came up with Shatira and Ashalanti. The rest I did on my own. And came up with: Shadarra Kamera Rozhena Valsherina Keldaren (male) Real world name: Wilhelm (backup never played- brother to a pc I did play) Swiped from another character: Kendrik (from Kendrik Larsen my fav pc story I read off these boards) became brother to Wilhelm.
fractal 11-09-04, 10:22 PM	If you want a truly random method... Roll 3d4 +1. That's the number of letters in the name (modify to taste). For each letter, roll 1d6. 1-3, it's a consonant, 4-6, it's a vowel. If it's a vowel, roll 1d6. 1=A, 2=E, 3=I, 4=O, 5=U, 6=Y. If it's a consonant, roll 1d20. 1=B, 2=C,...10=M, 11=N,..., 19=X, 20=Z. Voila! You have a new, almost certainly unique, name. Abbreviate to a nickname that the other characters can pronounce, since they're not truly familiar with the nuances of your culture.
Edymnion 11-09-04, 10:42 PM	Just keep your eyes and ears open, you'll find good names. For example, I had a college biology lab today, and we were discussing embryology, and the structure of the developing zygote. One of the structures within a zygot is the archenteron, a cavety that eventually becomes the digestive track for the animal. Pronounced Arch-en-ter-on. Now, doesn't that strike you as a perfect name for a city of wizards and magic? "You stand on the outskirts of a mighty city, who's gleaming white walls encircle soaring towers and architecture that would be impossible to craft by hand. Welcome, to the city of Archenteron, the city on the edge of forever!" And, unless you've got biology majors in your group, none of them are going to know you just named your city after something's **** cavity. :)
green_yawgmoth 11-09-04, 10:44 PM	I like Seeker95's naming idea. Find something that has a lot of manufactured ingredients. Something by Hostess, or a pop of some kind work well. Pick one of those ingredients. swap the syllables around. You now have a name. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.gif
CzarGarrett 11-10-04, 01:15 PM	I am the Evil Lord Sodium Perchlorate! All bow down to me!
Edymnion 11-11-04, 06:20 PM	I am the Evil Lord Sodium Perchlorate! All bow down to me!Ah, but if you drop some syllables, change some stuff around, you'd get the Evil Lord Sohm Pekorat.
DrMorganes 11-12-04, 12:58 AM	I second Edymnion's suggestion. Good fantasy names are everywhere: books, movies, road signs - everywhere. Ferinstance: I was driving the other day and ran across the following sign on the highway: "Moline Dorr X miles" I grabbed the pencil on my sunvisor and hastily scribbled "Molin Dorr" on the back of an envelope. Molin Dorr struck me as a good name for an arcane caster. I've stol - er, borrowed names whole-cloth from a wide variety of fantasy and science fiction novels (Tad Williams' trilogy Sorrow, Memory, and Thorn is a GREAT resource for this, and not as commonly known as Tolkein) and movies. I keep a list for future reference, as well as make use of the Everchanging Book of Names.
Thoronmir 11-12-04, 11:52 AM	Long, long ago, I read the Silmarillion. Many of the names I’ve used in the quarter-century since have come from the Glossary in the back of that book. I’ve also picked up names from tons of resources over the years. “Thoronmir” (which I’ve used for more than two decades) came from combining “Thoron” (meaning “eagle”) and “mir” (meaning “jewel”) from the Silmarillion. I’ve created scores of names in that manner. I also look to Latin and Ancient Greek for inspiration. The primary region of my last few campaigns has been “Solumbria” which was derived by bastardizing “solum” (the Latin word for “soil”). One name that has garnered me plaudits from my friends was my Halfling Rogue named Filmore Pocketsful. That one just came to me one day. Back when I was playing D&D on a regular basis, I kept a list of names. If I heard a name I liked, I added it the list to possibly use later. Some names I just thought up off the top of my head. I also use a book called “A World of Baby Names” … it has male and female names sorted by nationality and ethnicity, and gives origins and meanings for each name. Its listing of Old English names is quite helpful. But I’ve also used Asian, Arabian, Jewish, Irish, etc., depending on the situation.
Stuntman 11-12-04, 04:17 PM	In the past I worked with printers and fonts a lot and I found a few cool names in the list of font names. I make sure I pick ones that are not well known.