Would this break a fantasy setting for you?

[Wednesday Boy]

I've found using the Jedi mind trick helps make people accept your modern name in a fantasy setting. Luke and Old Ben never grated even though they were along side Jabba, Boba, and Lando.

 

[rogueattorney]

I think the OP's example might be a bit of hyperbole.

If you were to change...

...the PCs were under a quest given by Queen Latifa, to save Philadelphia from the the Detroit Lions, and needed Steven Hawking's help to get the Oscar trophy from the dread warlord Donald Trump...

to...

The PCs were under a quest given by Thor to save Prague from the Mongol Horde, and needed Copernicus' help to get the Holy Grail from mad Emperor Nero.

Isn't that doing the same thing, but with less ridiculous stand-ins? I wouldn't have a problem with that. One of the reasons I prefer using real-world mythology for my campaign settings is that everyone knows Thor, Zeus, and Ra. It makes for good shorthand.

 

[rogueattorney]

I think an excellent example of how to straddle this fence can be found in Glan Cook's The Black Company series, at least the first few books. The initial campaign takes place in "The Jewel Cities", where every city is named after a gemstone. Every member of the company leaves behind his real name and takes on a pseudonym or nickname, like Silent, Croaker, Big Bucket, etc etc. The main villians are "The Ten Who Were Taken", massively powerful wizards again nicknamed after some feature, such as Shifter, The Hanged Man, Soulcatcher, etc. There is also a nice plot element dealing with "true names" that helps to tie a lot of this together.

It made reading the books fast and easy, with no confusion about characters or places, and I never once felt it wasn't "fantasy".

I did a similar thing in one of my campaigns. I took the idea from X2 Castle Amber, and had each principality in my campaign named after a substance - Amber, Silver, Iron, Granite, etc.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think an excellent example of how to straddle this fence can be found in Glan Cook's The Black Company series, at least the first few books. The initial campaign takes place in "The Jewel Cities", where every city is named after a gemstone. Every member of the company leaves behind his real name and takes on a pseudonym or nickname, like Silent, Croaker, Big Bucket, etc etc. The main villians are "The Ten Who Were Taken", massively powerful wizards again nicknamed after some feature, such as Shifter, The Hanged Man, Soulcatcher, etc. There is also a nice plot element dealing with "true names" that helps to tie a lot of this together.

It made reading the books fast and easy, with no confusion about characters or places, and I never once felt it wasn't "fantasy".

Of course, that very thing made me eventually chuck that trilogy. It felt far too "cute."

 

[Beginning of the End]

Male names that would break the bank, Brad, Lance, Futaqua, Leroy and Ralph.

This is why the topic gets weird. I mean, Ralph can be traced back to Old Norse. Bradley goes back to Old English. Various forms of Lance can be found all over the place (it goes back to German and French among others). Leroy is a bit more problematical as a first name (dating back to only the 19th century), but it was a French surname for centuries before that.

Futaqua, OTOH, is completely made up, AFAICT, making it exactly the sort of "fantasy name" alternative to these "real world" names that shatter people's suspension of disbelief.

I did this with David Eddings because there was no way i could read a book no matter how good with the main character called Sparhawk.

Another case in point: Sparhawk is also an actual, historical surname dating back to at least the Middle Ages. I'm completely baffled that you would find a character named Sir Sparhawk such an unforgivable sin in a fantasy novel.

 

[RPG_Tweaker]

I have two friends who create the most cringe-worthy names.

One picks "goofball" names: Waldo Stefenpepper, Bartholomew Buttlebottom, Mallomar the Mighty... or too "pulpy": Hawkraven, Starella, or Mack Steel.

Another makes "shtick" names: Robin Holmes, Will Dicker, and Harold "Harry" Sachs.

 

[Scott DeWar]

I had a character named Saldron Ecks-when enver in trouble he was supposed tobe referred to as Ecks. I always wanted to leave a mark with him as I wanted Ecks to mark the spot.

 

[S'mon]

These days I dislike "random collection of syllables" names, whether fantasy or modern, and generally try to avoid them.

Some modern names are not appropriate for a fantasy world due to their specific real-world connotations, OTOH many modern names have ancient roots which people may be unaware of, eg 'Paris' is not just a city in France.

I most commonly use real-world culturally appropriate names; I'm most comfy with Norse names which have just the right mix of familiarity and exoticness. For alien fantasy cultures I may have to resort to random syllables but I'll still pay attention to the feel of the name with the culture's naming conventions; with Guthrakk and Arvondir you can tell which one is likely the elf and which the orc.

 

[NewJeffCT]

"If the PCs were under a quest given by Queen Latifa, to save Philadelphia from the the Detroit Lions, and needed Steven Hawking's help to get the Oscar trophy from the dread warlord Donald Trump, they'd remember that freaking campaign."

If I saw/heard those sorts of names, I would think it's a joke campaign and not take it seriously. I would think most people would be there thinking what is next -when is Princess Kate going to ride in on her unicorn, followed by rescuing Brad & Angelina from the evil necromancer Steve Buscemi, etc. You'd end up being disappointed if an NPC was not a celebrity. (Though, I did hear that Trump's hair is an artifact of unusual significance, only the Hair of Mel Kiper comes close in its power)

While it's not my cup of tea, I think modern names are fine for humans. However, I would draw the line at Sarah Smith the elf or George Green the dwarf - I think I'd stick with the typical fantasy names for non humans.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Try a phonebook from a major city, especially one from a country whose culture (past or present) somewhat resembles that of a PC you're naming and I guarantee you'll find a good 'un.

And check this out:
NAMES:Amazon:Books

I've used phone books to great effect - I'd XP you for the suggestion, but I need to spread more around again first...

I've also worked for big corporations many times, and I've scrolled through email directories and found last names that work well as fantasy first names. I'll just pick a random starting letter, type it in outlook and I'm brought to names starting with (for example) "P" very similar to a phone book.