D&D 5E NPC names

[The Grassy Gnoll]

When coming up with names for NPCs, especially on the fly, I have often struggled.
As an example, when pushed, I panicked and said a monster's name was Waangkor.
Now, the flaw may not be evident for Americans, but it's a bit of an own goal.
The DM screen has a three-syllable name generator table but it's a little vanilla/elvish for my tastes.I saw on a thread (can't remember which, I think it was an oooold one), where someone suggested raiding football (ie soccer) for names.
As a Brit, I have to say, the NFL is a treasure trove for this. Case in point: Barkevious Mingo.
I am SO having him as a recurring NPC. But not too easy to parse the whole of the NFL in an instant for something suitable when you need to name Guard 3 or Shopkeeper 2.
Question is: where/how do you guys find inspiration for names at short notice? Any advice?

 

[exile]

I use a book called 'Baby Names from around the World.' For surnames, I usually do an internet search along the lines of "medieval Italian surnames." When naming on the fly, I just sort of hope for the best.

 

[Queer Venger]

buy an app, there are lots of them, or for dwarves, here you go:

 

[Kobold Stew]

Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names.

Enjoy.

Mod Edit: Link Removed. EN World does not support blatant copyright infringement. So, unless you are the copyright holder, that means no redistribution of material covered by copyright. That generally means, even for OGL stuff, you can't just redistribute the book in its entirety. Sorry. ~Umbran

 

[Shiroiken]

Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names.

Enjoy.

Seconded.

Additional suggestion: have a list of names ready that you can just look at to use (write down which ones are used or cross them off to avoid repeats). When done well, it keeps the Players guessing as to who's important and who's a nameless NPC.

 

[bedir than]

I'm the one that suggested soccerway.com for names. Here's a selection from Albania, I chose it at random. Normally I know some cultures that I associate a region or race with and use those.

Player Team
X. Sukaj Partizani
P. Olayinka Skënderbeu
Erick Flores Kukësi
J. Adeniyi Laçi
Jean Carioca Kukësi
R. Arapi Skënderbeu
E. Çela Laçi
S. Danaj Tërbuni
M. Fukui Tirana
E. Hoxha Teuta
V. Hristov Skënderbeu
E. Karabeci Tirana
A. Krymi Vllaznia
G. Lika Tirana
Mateus Kukësi

That's a trove of potential.

Vllaznia Mateus Lika would make a fine high elf.

 

[Henry]

This reminds me of the Key and Peele skits on American Football player names:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gODZzSOelss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDp...fclZDj8VUGdgLSIoZ7ecYxspu8ZIWGFjNxEJWB9N0MpqA

For myself, i always include a page of notes with my prep of a bunch of randomly generated NPC names sorted by race and gender. It really helps to be able to note this on the fly, and when i use a name, i jot a quick note to remind me who i used it for, and between games do a more detailed write up in case the players want to visit that NPC again.

 

[HEEGZ]

When I don't make up a name on my own, I will frequently google a name generator, or baby name websites. Tons to choose from.

However!

Last month I realized that you can break down the 26 letters of the alphabet into 6 vowels and 20 consonants. So, I roll 1d6 and 1d20, like this:

1 A
2 E
3 I
4 O
5 U
6 Y

1 B
2 C
3 D
4 F
5 G
6 H
7 J
8 K
9 L
10 M
11 N
12 P
13 Q
14 R
15 S
16 T
17 V
18 W
19 X
20 Z

So sometimes I use these for quick initials for first and last names. Sometimes I just roll once and decide whether to use the vowel or consonant result first. Sometimes I roll many times and then see what sort of name I get from the results. Kind of fun to use the dice to roll random letters for random names.

 

[Gilladian]

First, I have chosen a language to draw place and personal names from for each country in my campaign world. So Greenvalers have Saxon names, and Miranians have Latin names. Dwarves and elves draw from Tolkien's languages, and hobbytlan use English plant and flower names. Catfolk and Lizardfolk have specific sound-combinations that frequently appear in their names. This gives me a basis to draw from, and I have a few lists pregenerated. Saves me from having henchmen named Bob and George... unless I WANT them to be named that, of course...

 

[Psikerlord#]

Seconded.

Additional suggestion: have a list of names ready that you can just look at to use (write down which ones are used or cross them off to avoid repeats). When done well, it keeps the Players guessing as to who's important and who's a nameless NPC.

I used to have a list of 10 names (half male half female) at the start of each session and picked one as needed. These days I play a fair bit via roll20/FG and use random name generators instead (in browser - like don jon - if you do a search you'll turn up heaps of them). Not only can you get instant lists of names, you can also get basic descriptions/personality traits etc.

Course, once you start down the random generator path... you cant stop at just one!

I also use various other generators eg: for minor loot (pick pockets and looting bodies after a random fight), secret door ideas, trap ideas, and random encounters. It's pretty cool having all these kinds of instant ideas available at a click mid-session. Makes it feel like you can easily improvise any side quest the players might take an interest in.