Finding Names for Characters and Places
One of the questions I constantly hear from new writers is “Where do you get all those names?”
Here are some of the resources I use.
For Characters:
- Telephone Books – especially if you can find one from the town where your story is set
- Credits – check out the end of a movie or TV show for tons of names to mix and match
- Online Generators – there are a variety of these to choose from
- Online Name Generator – a database of different generators, from character names to businesses and band names
- Behind the Name – you can choose from different countries, or even fantasy and mythologic names
- Seventh Sanctum -not only does this site have several name generators, it also has story ideas, prompts, and a “what-if-inator”
- The Character Name Generator – designed more for writers, with ethnic choices
- Rinkworks – a fantasy name generator with some fun choices like very long names, mushy insults, and bad names
For Places:
- Old maps – you can get lots of ideas from maps, and mix and match various names
- Online Generators:
- City and Town Name Generator – here’s a good little database that will give you various names for your cities, based on cities around the world – they’ve also got other generators on their site that you might want to check out
- Random Town (City, Village or Place) Name Generator – after you scroll past all of the explanations, this is a pretty nifty little generator
- Chaotic Shiny – you can pick from nonsense names or landmark names (or a combination)
- Inkalicious Pseudo-Elizabethan Place Names – gives you 100 place names at a time
- Squid.org’s Random Name Generator – gives you a long list of customizing options
- Fantasy Name Generators – only English towns, but the site also has other name generators you might like
Are there any other resources you like to use that I haven’t mentioned? Comment below!