How do you overcome the "improvise a character name" problem?

[Fauchard1520]

Every GM has been there. We've improvised a character, given them a colorful description, and even adopted a slightly-different vaguely-British accent for the occasion. The RP is flowing naturally, and everyone seems invested in the fiction. Then a player asks the dreaded question.

"What's your name, friend?"

Cold panic sets in. The mind goes blank. In that horrid moment, all you can think is, "Don't say 'Bob.' Don't say 'Bob.'"

So how do you personally combat this problem? Do you always have a tab open to a name generator? Do you brainstorm names ahead of time and add 'em to improvised NPCs at need? Or is there some trick to getting good at improvising appropriate names?

(Comic for illustrative purposes.)

 

[BookTenTiger]

I use the GRRM method of combining two common names.

Thomas + Ryan = Tymas
Paul + John = Palun
Samantha + Lauren = Laurantha

Etc

 

[J.Quondam]

I take the first name that pops into my head, but turn it backward to form something truly exotic! Works beautifully every time.
Except when I end up with "Bob."
Again.

 

[overgeeked]

Prep a list of names and have it handy. Mark them off as you use them and note which NPC it belongs to now. When you get about 1/4 of the way through the list, clear the used ones and generate more at the end.

 

[MGibster]

Prep a list of names and have it handy. Mark them off as you use them and note which NPC it belongs to now. When you get about 1/4 of the way through the list, clear the used ones and generate more at the end.

When I'm thinking ahead, this is what I do. I still get caught offguard at times, and I usually come up with a pretty mundane name for what would normally be no-name NPCs.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I just make up a name. I've never had trouble naming characters. I understand some people do, but I've got a knack for it.

 

[aramis erak]

Every GM has been there. We've improvised a character, given them a colorful description, and even adopted a slightly-different vaguely-British accent for the occasion. The RP is flowing naturally, and everyone seems invested in the fiction. Then a player asks the dreaded question.

"What's your name, friend?"

Cold panic sets in. The mind goes blank. In that horrid moment, all you can think is, "Don't say 'Bob.' Don't say 'Bob.'"

So how do you personally combat this problem? Do you always have a tab open to a name generator? Do you brainstorm names ahead of time and add 'em to improvised NPCs at need? Or is there some trick to getting good at improvising appropriate names?

(Comic for illustrative purposes.)

For Pendragon, Tolkien, and L5R, I've got lists of names by culture and gender, and use a python script to randomize them. Am doing setup for T2K list as well.

 

[Tonguez]

Robert = Robard = Rebor = Robarth = Rob = Bobarth = Bobard = Bobo = Trebor = Terbor = Trobart = Torbert = Trobard = Trob - Bort - Boret - Borat - Dorbet - Dored - Drobard etc etc

but yeah, never had an issue with thinking of names. Otherwise just read lots of baby name list from different countries eg Ghanaian babynames

 

[Mannahnin]

Keep a name site open in a tab, or keep a physical list of names like Overgeeked mentioned.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Another technique I use is to just start off with a syllable. You can relate it to the job, theme, or description of the NPC. Then add in one or two more nonsense syllables. Like this...

"The smithy introduces himself as..."

(Hm, smithy, anvil, an...)

"Anton."

Or Anwar, Anson, Anders, Androven, Anorus, etc.

 

[John Dallman]

I'm not good at improvising names, so I go to some effort to pick names in advance for everyone I can foresee the players talking to. Kate Monk's Onomastikon is very useful for picking culturally appropriate names.

 

[edosan]

A list of names edited for plausibility and pronouncability (that's a word, right? sure)

 

[dragoner]

Random Name Generator

This random name generator can suggest names for babies, characters, or anything else that needs naming.

www.behindthename.com

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I do that as well sometimes, using the example names in the PHB.

I use the GRRM method of combining two common names.

Thomas + Ryan = Tymas
Paul + John = Palun
Samantha + Lauren = Laurantha

Etc

I think the secret to coming up with names on the fly is knowing the world. For my homebrew, I knew that most names use double-vowels. So if I need a random name, it's easy enough to just think of Daav, Taalor, Ariin, etc. For the Theros campaign I'm currently running, it's easy enough to find a list of ancient Greek names and pull one from there.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Every GM has been there. We've improvised a character, given them a colorful description, and even adopted a slightly-different vaguely-British accent for the occasion. The RP is flowing naturally, and everyone seems invested in the fiction. Then a player asks the dreaded question.

"What's your name, friend?"

Cold panic sets in. The mind goes blank. In that horrid moment, all you can think is, "Don't say 'Bob.' Don't say 'Bob.'"

So how do you personally combat this problem? Do you always have a tab open to a name generator? Do you brainstorm names ahead of time and add 'em to improvised NPCs at need? Or is there some trick to getting good at improvising appropriate names?

(Comic for illustrative purposes.)

This has gotten a lot easier for me the longer I have GM'd but one tool that always helps me is to have a standard list of names for all the languages, places, etc in my setting, along with common titles. Usually naming conventions vary by region in the settings I make but just as an example if there is a place where surname and personal name are standard, having a list of about 20 surnames and 20 personal names is pretty helpful. One thing I've generally moved away from is the idea in fantasy that each name ought to be unique. You can have unique names but you don't have to, its more common for names to be standard or have some kind of logic underpinning them. That actually works out better because the naming conventions don't sound random to players, it ends up being easier for them to make characters that way.

 

[MNblockhead]

Living in different countries and reading a lot of fiction helps me come up with names. My problem is taking notes while DMing and remembering the names I come up with on the fly.

In my homebrew world, different cultures have different naming conventions and, for some of them, it is helpful to have a number of pregenerated names to pick from. For kitchen sink WotC and third-party settings, I don't overthink it.

 

[Stormonu]

Making names isn't the problem for me, remembering them is.

As for sources, I've pored over baby name books and hit a few themed name generators in the past (German names, Roman names, etc.). Overall, I've got a pretty good list in my head to draw from.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I try to prepare a physical (we don't have a computer at the gaming table) list of appropriate names. In a campaign set in Manchester, I actually pasted a few names from a phone directory of Manchester I had found online to provide credible English names. My players are too fond of asking names of NPCs to detect their level of plot importance, so I must be ready to provide a name outright like it was a very important NPC that I just made up...

It's more difficult when doing fantasy gaming but trying to give a theme to each part of the world or to each culture can help building list of non-immersion breaking names ahead of times.

 

[Bohandas]

For names of supernatural beings I dumped a bunch of names from fantasy literature, religion, and demonology into a markov chain generator to generate appropriate sounding new names. The same basic technique also works for planet names and pharmaceuticals.

 

[Hriston]

I use a generator on fantasynamegenerators.com that's appropriate for the character. I generate a list of names and roll a d10.