One of the big questions writers run into is, “What should I name my character?”
There are good reasons to take character naming seriously. If an agent or editor is reading a query letter, or if someone in a bookstore is reading the back cover of a book, the characters’ names are one of the first things they learn about the story. If the names sound wrong or silly, it’s a turnoff. If they sound appealing and authentic, it can make a person want to read more.
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That’s why I’ve done a lot of research to create character name lists for medieval stories, Regency stories, and more. (I have a few more of those lists in Master Lists for Writers.)
I’ve also done research on “likeable” names for this list of names for female main characters (not that they always have to be likeable!), and I’ve made a list of names for romance novel heroes.
You can probably tell that naming is a particular interest of mine. When I’m naming my own characters, I want to feel like the name suits both their background and their personality.
Here are a few online resources I use a lot to get name ideas for characters! Bookmark or pin this post for ready access to all of them.
For American characters, 1879 to the present:
Social Security Baby Names
This is where I go all the time for character names. If you want a realistic, ordinary character name, you can go to this site, put in the year your character was born, and pull up the top 50 or 100 baby names for that year.
Looking for something more unusual? Pull up the top 1000 baby names from that year, and start at the bottom of the list.
For last names of American characters:
Mongabay
If you want something fairly average and readily believable for a last name for your character, click on the link above. It’ll take you to the 1000 most popular last names in the United States according to the 1990 census.
Of course, demographics have changed since then. I would guess that some names have since broken into that top 1000, and some names on this list have moved up in ranking. But not to worry: this website also gives you deeper stats in case you want to peruse the top 5,000, 10,000, or 100,000 last names.
For characters from all over the world, present day:
Students of the World, Penpal Stats
If you’re naming a character from another country—which I am doing all the time in my Manus Sancti books—this website is pure gold.
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For historical names, fantasy names, and more:
Lowchen Australia
This site is actually for naming pets, but it’s a treasure trove of lists of names. Want Maori names? Celtic names? Faery names? Ancient Roman names? Names related to the moon? Would you like to play around with over 100 name generators? This page is your gateway to all the links. (Warning for casual racism: “gypsy” is a slur, and a few other terms are questionable.)
Are there websites you recommend for character naming? Do you want to tell us about your own approach to this part of writing? Tell us all about it in the comments! Thanks for reading, and happy writing!
I’m bookmarking this post. How helpful, especially the link to names from countries that aren’t in North America/Europe! Thanks.
I’m so glad you liked it, Lydia!
Amazing, Bryn. You’ve created a master class and provided the answers too.
Oh, you are way too kind, Bryan. 🙂 Thank you! Thanks for reading!
My favorite way of finding secondary character names is to watch the credits from a movie (even foreign movies can be great for this if your character lives outside the US), and take the first name and drop it down to the last name of the person underneath it, then take their first name and drop it down to the person on the next line. I do this mentally as the credits roll and when I hit upon a name that resonates, I write it down. This way all the names are unique and some are surprisingly perfect.
PJ, this is so clever! I love it! Thanks for sharing your secret. 🙂
Love your Master Lists for Writers and this blog is very helpful. I really enjoy picking names for my characters. I have a folder full of lists sitting in my rack on the desk that is dedicated just to Names. It is fun choosing on that resonates with my characters and the personality and background I am trying to achieve. Thanks for another great post. Have a wonderful day.
It sounds like you and I are a lot alike when it comes to naming, Cheryl! Thanks for commenting. Have a great week!
Weird names that you have to stop and figure out how to pronounce drive me up the wall. I am of the opinion that a name should be simple and roll off the tongue. When it came time to name a companion female wolf I went to the 1000 name list and picked out about 50 plus a few boy names. I started eliminating them to about 20 and show the list to a friend who picked out 6, but I ended up using a Roma girls name, Nuri.
Hi, Donald! Oh gosh, I am so glad you brought that up. I hate hard to pronounce names. (The exception is if the characters are from another culture in which all of names are going to be tricky for me to pronounce.) Nuri is a great name!
Thank you, Bryn, for this information. I usually use a baby name search site. When I was working on my Inuit picture book I wanted to make sure I picked the best names possible and found several sites to help with those names (although not a baby name site). I love to research names and find the best one for each character and find out what was popular for that year if the story is historical. I’ve also created an Excel spreadsheet to help me keep track of each characters’ names for each story so that I don’t end up using the same one.
Hi friend! Oh, the Excel spreadsheet is SUCH a good idea. I may need to do that. Hope you’re having a good week!
So many great suggestions here! Thanks Bryn! And thanks to other contributors. I’ve been known to play with license plate letters while I’m at a red light – add vowels or consonants. I got one character’s name from my friend’s genealogy. One of the coolest names was on a name tag of a ten year old boy on a field trip, Daquandre. I asked him for permission to name one of my dragons after him. He agreed. And then another boy on that same field trip asked, “can you name a dragon Isaiah?” So now I have names for two dragons, but I hope Isaiah will forgive me for spelling it “Izaya.”
Sometimes I do a google search for the names I’ve chosen just to make sure I haven’t chosen something inappropriate or over used.
Oh wow, Daquandre is such a cool name and a great name for a dragon! And awww, I love Izaya. 🙂
I try not to give the name too much thought as it pertains to the personality or experiences of the character. The name meaning used to be more important to me, but I found it to be inauthentic. Since most people can’t see the future, they generally can’t name their children based on what they’re going to grow up to do with their lives. I also don’t want really common names, because everyone knows a Bill or a Sarah, and they all have preexisting feelings about these people. When you hear the name Mateo, I want you to think of Mateo Matic, not some real person, or a character that I didn’t create. I use the random renamer function on http://www.behindthename.com. I generally set it it to give me five names (first, three middle, and surname) so I have a good spread. Then I keep regenerating until I find something that I like. I sometimes limit the search to a certain nationality, but I often let the randomness guide the story. I’ve even suddenly discovered two people I thought were previously separate characters were actually the same person, because their names are related, and it’s fun to find out how to draw a story that connects this person to different points in their life. I look for flow and cadence, and it sometimes makes sense to make a name up (aliens and the like) but I don’t limit myself to Western names my audience is already comfortable with. Not only is it not my job to make you feel comfortable when you read my work, but I think it’s my job to make you feel uncomfortable.
Hi, Tav-El! Thanks for your thoughtful post. And I didn’t know about that random name generator. Nice!
One of my favorite sites is https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/ . I found it originally for table-top gaming and role-playing, but it’s definitely handy for writing, too. It has just about any category you’d want–names of people (including different languages and nationalities, real and fantasy), pop culture, places, magic items, descriptions, and so on.
Ooh, that does look really good. Thanks for sharing!
I like to use Behind The Names. It allows you to make lists of your favorite names from the site, so it is also a good way of keeping track of who’s in what story if you are forgetful like me.
I am going to have to check this out, Raya! It sounds so useful.
I’m personally a huge fan of https://nameberry.com. The advanced search tool is a lifesaver and you can find names from all sorts of cultures and ethnic backgrounds.
Hi, Nicole! Ooh, I haven’t looked at that one in a long time, and it is a good one. Great suggestion!
Never had a problem with names myself as my characters tell me who they are. But it does look an excellent resource so will know where to come if any character refuses to introduce themselves 🙂
I often use my own goblin name generator for naming Fantasy characters. http://jaqdhawkins.com/name.php
For human characters, I just use a search engine (ecosia.org plants trees with profits) for popular names of a given year and/or culture.
I’m trying to find a name that resonates for a lazy, charming, stuck up prince who seems nice but turns out to be a piece of crap