The eternal struggle of naming characters, cities, worlds, and why it’s the hill I will die on

[RuinKissedRaven]

The Eternal Naming Struggle: A Writer's Lament
A rant, a confession, and a cry for help from the trenches of worldbuilding.

Me: Just need a quick name for this side character.
Also me: Spends 3 hours deep in baby name forums, ancient mythology, and old demonology texts.

"Why not just name him John?"

JOHN??? In MY grimdark fantasy world where the moon bleeds and people barter souls for bread??
Please be serious.

I need something that sounds like it could both stab you and seduce you.
Something like… Velkharion?
No, that's too much.
Vel? Too little.
Velkhan? Ugh. Now it sounds like a Star Wars planet.
Back to the drawing board.

---

Don't even get me started on cities.

"Oh this town only shows up once?"

Yes. And it still needs a name that evokes sorrow, forgotten glory, and possibly smells like moss.

Me trying to name my fantasy world:

• Can't sound like a Skyrim mod
• Can't be a word already in Elvish
• Needs a subtle pun
• Also must sound like it's been whispered in prophecy for 1,000 years

---

Honestly, I've rejected more names than most people reject dating app matches.

I meet the name, I vibe with the name, I google it—and find it's already the name of a Pokémon gym leader.
Heartbreak. Again.

And the worst part? The one name I loved?
Already taken.
By my own character from a different WIP that I forgot about.

---

So tell me, fellow name-gremlins:

Where do you find your names?
Because I'm currently scavenging from:

• Baby name sites
• Gravestones
• Botched Latin
• Random syllables whispered under my breath like a curse

Anyway. Naming is hard.
If you've got a great method, drop it below.
If you're suffering like me, we suffer together. ​

#WritersLife #AmWriting #Worldbuilding

 

[paradyme]

It's been said that there are only two truly challenging problems in computer programming:

• Naming things
• Cache invalidation
• Off-by-one errors

On a more serious note, when naming characters for slice-of-life style stories set in the present day, I'll first determine the age of my character, then work out their year of birth, and consult the US Social Security Administration for statistics on popular baby names for that gender in that specific year. If the work is set somewhere else in the world, there are similar resources available.

But for fantasy stories? Man, that rabbit hole goes deep, but what I'd recommend is having a sense of the different cultures/nations/tribes/ethnicities in your world, and then for each one, taking the alphabet and DELETING several sounds from it. For instance, the English "th" is absent in many real world languages, Arabic lacks a sound equivalent to the English "p", Japanese has something that's a little like an "l" and an "r" but not exactly equivalent to either, so come up with your "reduced alphabet" for a given culture and then see what names you can construct with the sounds that are left. It's a neat little trick for creating consistent sets of names that feel like they came from one place.

You can also come up with specific romanization rules for the sounds that are left. Tolkien famously uses "c" to represent the "k" sound in Elven languages, and banishes the letter "k" altogether, allowing for Elven names to visually look "softer" on the page. In many ways, when it comes to literature, I think the aesthetics of how a name is written are more important that how it would conceivably be pronounced, at least until you get signed for a massive movie deal or something, but by then, it can be someone else's problem.

 

[Sync]

Your local corporate directory can be a good start - just do a mix'n'match of names and things will start to stick.

However, I sometimes find that the Fantasy Name Generator site can be quite useful. Sure, often-times it spits out what can amount to a random collection of letters along a vague theme, but you'll find gems in there that you can use and/or adapt to your needs.

 

[Siph]

Though I do value the choice of a character's name, I'm not set on that name necessarily being unique; more often than not, I draw inspiration from other fictional/mythological characters I like, even if they're nothing like the character I'm looking to play. I sometimes recycle names from previous RPs, too, but I avoid playing two identically named characters at the same time.

Granted, when it comes to NPCs I don't mind not giving them a name at all: realistically, if he ever even introduced himself, our main characters would've already forgotten what the weird poultry farmer was called by the time they left that one village with the weird poultry farmer. It's more convenient both ICly and OOCly to just call him the chicken guy.

 

[Passion]

Oh my goddddddddddddd, I hate naming things in RP. Characters, towns, artifacts, made-up holidays/events, and you name it (ha). 90% of the time, since I'll never truly decide, I settle for something and hope it grows on me. Sometimes it does... or other times I'm not too lucky. Once there was a kingdom I named Yirin, to realize it sounds like "urine" after it was way too late, lol. The whole RP it was driving me nuts, haha.

I usually look at generators or even baby name lists, then combine names, change letters, or pick one. Sometimes I'm quick, other times I spend forever on it/never really happy. I usually just try to pick something quickly so I can just move on. My time and effort is better spent elsewhere in the RP process.

 

[skoll.the.mockery.]

Oh, this one hits home...

Honestly, I have a few characters named John and one character literally named John Doe because I am so, so bad at names. SO bad.

 

[echo]

If struggling for names, I will usually use those handy-dandy baby name lists. If it is a specific time period, or if I am needing something that is unique to a region, I'll type that into the good'ole Google search bar and just go through the lists until something appealing catches my eye. I enjoy the old-fashioned names, so I've got quite a few characters named "Evelyn" or some variation, as I enjoy the nickname of "Evie". Fantasy Name Generator, as Sync posted above, I'll use once in a while for cities/regions/tribe names, but it's glitchy AF, so it's when I am in desperate need of a name.

Dunno if that helps, but there've been a few excellent suggestions. I wish you well on your writing journeys!

 

[Nazgul]

If I am absolutely stumped I usually look up names of foreign famous people and then combine names and surnames until I find some combo I like.

However, I am also a big fan of naming people with generic names. If you cut both my hands off right now, I could still count the amount of times I've met someone with a crazy name on my hands. I can't count the amount of times I've met a 'Jan', 'Klaas' or 'Pieter' even if you gave me double the amount of hands I have right now (two). As funny as it is to name your character John Warhammer, I do think it helps with grounding your character.

Unless you're writing a literal demon that destroys worlds for funsies, then a name like Uzguz the Mourned Starkiller, Slayer of Wenches and Worlds might just be about right, but I don't really usually write about that stuff.

 

[song]

So tell me, fellow name-gremlins:

Where do you find your names?
Because I'm currently scavenging from:

• Baby name sites
• Gravestones
• Botched Latin
• Random syllables whispered under my breath like a curse

yes. generators are wonderful for place names.

but also... sometimes it's a vibe. if its a modern story i go with what sounds right or fun in my head. if i look it up on a name meaning board and it fits, then even better.

BUT. if it's not modern, i do it based on name-meanings, geographical inspirations, or mythological characters. i also like a name that tells a story because i come from a culture that has a lot of superstition around names. as for storytelling:

i have one character for a starter i'm working on right now where mc's preferred name is a short-form of her mother's name. her mother's name is based off a mythological welsh queen who was known as an intelligent and kind ruler. mc on the other hand???? is none of those things, but carries her mother's name and her burden of maintaining her legacy.

the real challenge for me is naming the damn thread though.