How do you come up with names?

[LightPhoenix]

Generally, if I need to make up names, I first decide on a language that really defines the culture. For example, in a not so innovative idea, I'm using Gaelic for Elves. Then I usually find a word or two that describes the character best, or sometimes just a cool word, and alter it slightly.

Sometimes, if I'm really feeling inspired, I'll be a little more complex. For one civilization, names are all consonants, and vowels denote status, especially vowel dipthongs (inspired by Arabic looseness of vowels in names). For my dragons, I decided that for each age category they gain another word onto their name that describes their history. There's a mote-like Sylvan creature based loosely on Lantern Archons that speaks in musical tones, intervals, and chords rather than syllables.

 

[lonesoldier]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've been using RinkWork's Fantasy Name Generator by the way, I've found it pretty useful as well.

 

[Terath Ninir]

For place names, I use historical atlases. I am usually stealing a culture, so why not steal the place names? Most of the names have changed over time and, if you pick smaller places, you can easily get names that no one other than a scholar of the culture has ever heard of.

 

[was]

I keep lists..like if I'm traveling and see a town name that I like..usually just part of one..or if I come up with a name I like..I just jot it down on a piece of paper and then type into a list I keep in my computer

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

I use this list (link to Word doc), something from other lists I've accumulated, or make them up. I try to write down words that sound interesting and useful for character names. Things I misheard, words that other people mistype or misspeak, names other people have used, even wierd sources like ingredients from shampoo. Names that people use for their ID's on message boards or in posts talking about their characters.

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Place Names:

When a GM tells me that we are in the city of Gragg, capital of the kingdom of Gragg, I know I’m in for a rough time. How many capital cities share their name with a kingdom?

In England, only one county (Durham) even shares its’ name with its’ county town (Durham). But the locals all say ‘County Durham’ or ‘Durham City’ to differentiate between the two. My advice for place names. If you’re creating a land with shires, or counties then make up a suffix name (e.g. tarth) or simply use the English shire, so the town of Sleeford is county town of Sleefordshire (or Sleefordtarth). All you really need for place names, especially in Engish, is a series of suffixes, you can even pinch a history of invasions from place names.

Places were originally named in Old English, Norse, Scots, Welsh, Gaelic or Cornish, according to landscape features (topography), nature of settlement (habitat – city, town, village, fortifications) or the people or tribe living in the area, often combining two or three descriptive terms in one name. These names were then influenced and modified at various historical periods through language shift driven by socio-economic and political changes.

This list of suffixes (and some prefixes) is partly taken from wikipedia, but with some additions of my own. All are accurate for England and the Scottish borders, there are some Welsh ones (the ‘ll’s), but mostly border names.

aber, afon (avon), ash, ast, axe, ay, ey, beck, bex, borough, brough, burgh, (note these three are ALL pronounced boro'), bourn(e), brad, bre, bridge, brook(e), burn, bury, by (viking), canter, carden, caster, cester, chester, caer, castle, cheap, chipping, combe, cot, cott, cotte, dale, deanas, don, dun, exe, fax, field, fin, ford, glen, ham, head, hithe, hythe, hope, houses, hurst, ing, inver, isle, keld, kin, king, kyle, lan, lhan, llan, lake, land, lang, law, low, lea, ley, magna, mere, mon, mouth, nan, nans, nant, ness, nor, parva, pen, peth, pit, pol, pont, port, pyll, shaw, stan, stead, stoke, stone (this was probably once ???'s-ton), strath, street, sud, sut, swin, thorp, thorpe, thwaite (the last three are (IIRC) viking), tre, tilly, toft, tor, tun, ton, water, wick, wicke, worth, worthy, wardine.

Most english towns and cities (and many US/Canadian ones) use these. Lon-DON is in there and so is Wash-ING-TON (a small town in north east England - I believe the Yanks pinched the name ) Sometimes the names are used alone (STOKE) sometimes combined (Bas-ING-STOKE) but you don't need many to create a lot of english sounding place names. I suspect that it's the same for namy other nations.

There are a lot of rivers which share the same name: Avon, Derwent, & Ouse seem particularly popular.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Baby name book/sites, esp. ones that provide meaning. Mainly go with variants of modern names (usually proper or non-American versions of English names). Sometimes derive a new name by translating the meaning of the source name into a different language.

Use Tolkien's elvish languages for some names, recently--either create new names from the existing words, or use an obscure name mentioned briefly or only in an appendix (my Eberron PC is named Aravorn, after one of Aragorn's ancestors, IIRC). Also borrow from myth, legend, and literature.

Use the tried-and-true Gygaxian method: anagrams. Modify with some knowledge on phonetics, as well as use of Grimm's Law when viable.

Or, create names wholecloth (esp. for nonhuman/non-PC race beings). Sometimes it's a descriptive word (such as a mongrelman named Wretch), or a name used because it sounds right for the character (such as Skraketh the lizardfolk).

 

[Darklone]

On a related topic, I think it's fascinating how people often end up with the same pattern of names and how scientists have been able to define these patterns and draw conclusions about the person from it.

About myself: I noticed a tendency to use "a"s and "o"s in names. A lot. Other names just didn't ring good to me. So yes, I am horrible at making names.

So: Thanks to everyone who gave me a nice link!!!

 

[Ebonyr]

I get a lot of my campaign and npc names from fantasy-sci/fi novels, movies, etc. I twist them around a little bit. Sometimes I find really old fantasy novels from the 1970's and 80's and use their names .."yoinked"

 

[kaomera]

IKEA catalogue.