Do you base the name on the character's traits, or vice versa? Do you pick a name because it sounds cool? A variation of a normal word or name? Steal it from somewhere else?

Do tell, do tell.

A name with a meaning? Well... Yes. Sometimes. In some cultures, names are specifically designed to have a meaning - blessing for the kids that you give them to, 'nomen est omen' and so on. You find that in fantasy and in real life alike.

Giving a name according to character traits and/or vice versa, though, is not something I'm terribly fond of. Not unless it's a nickname, if at all possible, pinned onto the character by some third party. Though, I do admit I'm guilty of doing it sometimes. ;)

Otherwise, I string together random syllables and go with the combination that pleases me most. (Keeping in mind the cultural conventions surrounding the characters. My non-humans *all* have monosyllabic names.) I avoid last names like Moonsomething, Somethingblade, and so on and so forth, like the plague, and wince every time I see them.

And as far as names with meanings go, as I said, in certain cultures names are specifically given to kids in hopes kids will be either protected by them or become mroe like their names. For instance, the name Wolf (Vuk in Serbian) used to be given thinking that wolves will consider such a child their kin, that the child will be strong like one and possibly protected by them, too. However, not all "wolves" turn wolves. WOuld be interesting, in fact, to have a really jinxed character named "Lucky" for instance. yeah, cheap example, but gets the point across, I think.

Terry Pratchett's done this, with a family who names their daughters Chastity and Purity, their sons ** and so on. It was a passing, quirky mention, but amusing.

A good book on linguistics will usually have a chart of the syllables used in each language. It's pretty easy to just slap together the syllables and make your own name that still retains the flavour of the culture.

I avoid last names like Moonsomething, Somethingblade, and so on and so forth, like the plague, and wince every time I see them.

No kidding. It's especially bothersome when elves are known as 'moonflower' or 'malice' outside of their elven speaking culture. Most names have some historical meaning but...

Really, it just depends on my mood at the time.

Unless, of course, there are already naming conventions in the universe that I'm playing with. I'll rot in a firey pit before I give a Tolkienian elf a name in something other than Sindarin or Quenya, for example.

The nice thing about FR is that any method of coming up with a name seems to apply. Realms authors seem to do a mix themselves.

Woo hoo! Freedom! ^_^

Berz.

No kidding. It's especially bothersome when elves are known as 'moonflower' or 'malice' outside of their elven speaking culture. Most names have some historical meaning but...

I've never gotten over Malice's name. I mean, the hell? If her name means "malice" in common, shouldn't it be in a Drowish word or whatever gibberish Salvatore comes up with and passes off as part of a cohesive language? If her name *is* Malice, as in the Common word for it, then... why? Why'd any drow name her daughter in Common? (Or Undercommon, as it may be.)

Then again, Salvatore's the same guy who slaps names from (much better) literature all over his hack jobs willy-nilly. (Wulfgar from Beowulf, Artemis from Greek mythology, Tintagel from Arthurian, Elbereth and Luthien from Tolkien, and so on. Some people may think this is respectful homage; I just think it's retarded.)

http://www.angelfire.com/rpg/drowcampaign/drowlanguage.html

Actually, as a drow name "generator" it isn't at all bad. I've been using it all the time lately. Quite handy, and especially when I'm out of inspiration.

I have developedm my own world adn have decided on general cultural backgrounds for each nation. Using that as a starting point, for both people and communities I use names from that cutlture/nationality. For example, my elves are all Celtic, so for the most part I will use names from Celtic lore, mythology, and history. My Empire of Urhal is Russian based, so I simply looked up Russian names on the internet and went from there. I have a couple of different sites I use, but this one offers a wide range of both modern and medieval names:

http://www.gamingeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/

Anyway, giving names according to the culture is the whole point, no? In that same vein, I wouldn't mind an elf called "Moonsomething" as long as it's *elven* spelled. On the other hand, an elf named "Bob" would be pretty ridiculous. ;)

Btw, Mike, I just tried that link, but it's not working.

Maybe I typed the link wrong, but try gaminggeeks.org and see wher eit takies you. Or maybe look up Kate Monk on google or something...

In a capmaign I'm running (or used to run anyway), one PC is a female elevn ranger named Rudy. Essentially, the name menas: "Yeah, I had a human adventuring companion once and I wanted my kid to bear his name and... Dammit, I was hoping for a boy!" So technically, yeah, even Bob might fit... if you can swallow it without coughing too much. ;)

Thanks for the link. I'll try it out.

edit: Tried it, and it's still not working. Think it might be broken.

Oh crap, I'm a two-bit hack!

I have one elf character with a name that I later found out marks her as an uber-Sue: 'Selena Shademoor'. Yeah, go ahead and hang me.

I was already nearly finished the story when I learned how bad a name it was, and had a fit over whether or not I should change the name to something more bearable. In the end I figured spontaneously changing it wouldn't be a good move for me.

Still, I recently thought of a way to work the stupidity of that name into a minor plot point that could resolve its irregularity... but I ought to put some more thought into this. Blargh.

To be absolutely fair, I've used "Ravensong" as a place name in my original fantasy (because, well, it used to be a necropolis where lots of ravens were kept. As sacred birds to pick corpses apart in funerals). My characters will just have to live with names made of random syllables.

But, I decided that the little bit of cheese was a part of the setting. Other names in the setting include Lyssa Greymalkin, Aolis, and Selket, which only make the cheese increase, but ce la vie. As for places, there's a small island off the southern coast of the continent with two major cities on it; Flaim and Marmo...

At least it's supposed to be cheesy, being a comedic fantasy setting. ^_^;

Berz.

Course, sometimes I just fiddle around with ordinary names to make them sound a little more fantasy-y. Like Alizebeth instead of Elizabeth. All I did was switch two letters around. Looks cool, though.

I've done that before, giving characters' last names that hint toward what happens to them. I think I've since stopped doing that now.

A few examples: (*Slight spoilers for my story 'Upon this Fateful Day'*)

Treysen (Treason - guy betrays his Order)

Ponn (Pawn - poor guy gets possessed, manipulated, and sacrificed)

I generally try to keep fanfic names to the pseudo-culture of the world, which can be rather strange with some of the shameless mixing that goes on in video games (i.e. knights fighting alongside ninjas). For something different outside of fanfic I just switch out letters, extend the syllables, run them through my mental Babelfish, etc. and jot down the results - I even have one character whose name originated from a Monster Rancher monster, but in a story context it's a one-letter tweak of his mother's name. I also have a Regin, who I shamelessly abducted from the original mythological context.

Favorite name of the day: Alluquere

-BoA.

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