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Devilsfuge
2014-01-13, 06:47 PM
Ok so I am planning on making a new character to play D&D 4e with a gaming group in college. I have planned out the characters stats, history and personality but I have ran into one simple problem.

I can't think up a name for my character.
So I want to know any tips people have for creating names for their characters.

Also for anyone curious this is the second character I have ever made and he is a Psionic Shardmind.

NikitaDarkstar
2014-01-13, 07:00 PM
Personally I just use a name generator along the lines of the seventhsanctum ones, wizards of the coast one or whatever you happen to prefer for the first name. After that google last name generator and you'll get a pretty useful one for family names.

Another option is a baby names website that has a search by meaning function. Look up meanings you like and pick something that sounds good.

*shrug* that's how I do it anyway, just keep going until something that sounds right pops up/something pops up that can be modified until it sounds right.

Angel Bob
2014-01-13, 07:59 PM
I generally use Google Translate to translate a relevant word/phrase into another language with the right "feel" for the character; I often cycle through several languages before I find a word that just sounds right. Then I do a little tweaking/pruning if necessary. For example, I wrote up an NPC native to the Shadowfell who had seen untold horrors in her time; for a name, I typed in "horror" to Google Translate and cycled through a few languages. Hungarian gave me "Griezel", which I found to be an entirely appropriate name for her.

Of course, if the name in question is for a devil or demon, I just consult Wikipedia's "List of theological demons" article for a whole host of good names. Some of them have already been appropriated by D&D (Orcus, Asmodeus, Demogorgon, and Haagenti come to mind), but the rest are up for grabs, and they all sound pretty fierce and intimidating. "Orobas" was the perfect name for an osyluth chess-master and manipulator, just as "Xezbeth" was a magnificent choice for a brutal guardian demon relentlessly seeking the artifact she craved.

Rondodu
2014-01-13, 08:43 PM
I tend to use “not-clever” first names. Theodore or Églantine are perfectly able names for a character, and sometimes James or Mary are too.
I like stupid play on words (obvious ones in settings that fits, less obvious ones in in settings that don’t).
Not that easy, but I love to take one important element from my character, take a somewhat rare or constructed word which matches and turn it into a name.
Or the nick name route. Especially ridiculous “self-given” nicknames. So that the other players characters give you a new one.


Some example of each:

A character of mine was named “Manolo”. Just plain “Manolo”.
A GM of mine always had characters named “Philippe Boîtenpoil”, which is French for “haired box”. Well, for “Philip Haerdbocks”). For a less idiotic setting, I had a character named “Ivéa Kremn”, as in “Crème Nivéa”, Nivea Cream. Yes, we are shameless. Yes, it’s ridiculous. But you actually remember those.
The best name fitting that category is a sample character from a game I love: Nitouche Pérégrine — a Sainte Nitouche (litt. Saint Who-doesn’t-touch) being a falsely prude girl, Pérégrine coming from the latin meaning “stranger”, and being closely related to Pilgrim. Nickname “Callipyge”, “With nice buttocks”. The character, of course, is a young and cute travelling girl.
Technically, Manolo demonic name (go Reds!) was “The Demolisher”. Complete with awfully inaccurate Portuguese accent. Because he loves to break stuff. With its sledgehammer. Or his head.

Kitten Champion
2014-01-13, 09:45 PM
Thus far I've been using names from Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, although never the main characters.

A few that I've picked:

Ennil El
Kyral Mekirel
Rosamia Badam
Bask Om
Meriol
Riddhe Marcenas
Tiel Noembleux

The franchise's inventiveness and lack of cultural specificity is appreciated for an ambiguous fantasy reality.

mucat
2014-01-13, 09:50 PM
If I need a name in a hurry, I figure out a nationality and profession that match the "feel" of the character, and then go to Wikipedia and look up one of those long lists such as "Russian Composers," or "Italian Female Scientists".

If I want real-world-sounding names, I then pick first and last names from two different people on the list, change a syllable or two to "file off the serial numbers," and run with it. If I want more of a fantasy-sounding name, I will find a few names I like, then mix and match syllables until it sounds like a person's name, but not like anyone I've heard of on Earth.

Kaun
2014-01-13, 10:13 PM
I have naming tips for NPC i use all the time, i don't know if they will help but hey... can't hurt.

Keep the first name short (or both names IMHO), preferably one syllable. Makes it easier for players and the GM to remember.

If you are using a more "exotic" name. Write it down, show it to someone else and ask them how the pronounce it. If they pronounce it way different to you, scrap it, because it will just end up causing confusing.

Name people after stuff like Boat or Door or Pen. This is also awesome for helping other people to remember the name. I had a Major npc Duke Rail in my last game. NPC was never even seen by the players, only got mentioned a hand full of times in 10 sessions. But they always remembered it.

Give them a weird/interesting nick name. One previous example was "The Dead Bull". Nick name was never explained but they always wanted to know more about that guy. Be cautioned though, its easy to try for weird/interesting and miss completely.

Airk
2014-01-13, 10:29 PM
Keep the first name short (or both names IMHO), preferably one syllable. Makes it easier for players and the GM to remember.

For a PC, it's okay to make a long one, but you should pick on that you can easily extract a 'nickname' from; It's fine if your name is Mordranthir, but be prepared to get called "Mord" a lot.

The missing bit of info from this post, I think, is "Is there a particular setting?" because that would give you a starting point - usually if there is, a character will have a homeland or something where there's a rule of thumb for names ("These guys all have Latin sounding names!") Otherwise, just look at the 'sample' names for your race (listed in the same general area as your racial bonuses and special abilities :P ) - that should give you an idea of what sort of 'sounds' characterize the race, and you can work from there.

TheCountAlucard
2014-01-13, 10:33 PM
Myself, I love titles and sobriquets and nicknames. They convey a certain legendary feel about the character, and really aren't very different, historically, from how some folk were actually named.

Other common sources of (last) names came from one's family ("Johnson" was literally John's son, et cetera.), or profession (Smith, Miller, Tanner, Fletcher).

Jay R
2014-01-13, 10:35 PM
When planning out a fantasy character, I usually have a specific culture in mind as a start. So I pick a name from that culture. My last bard was Gwydion, my last Parisian rogue was Jean-Louis, my last hobbit thief was Robin Banks. (I'm kind of proud of that one.)

My current elf, being somewhat based on the Elfquest elves, is Treewalker.

Shyftir
2014-01-13, 11:05 PM
Seeing as we are talking about a Shardmind a name with an apostrophe could be okay. Normally such things are obnoxious but for such an alien creature it could be okay.

Try using a softer first half of the name with a hard ending.

Enshi'rak, Shon'Lien, Dorsh'elit

Rhynn
2014-01-13, 11:23 PM
Baby name sites. Thousands upon thousands of names. Pick a language that sounds suitably foreign to you and your cohorts (or is appropriate to the relevant setting/fantasy culture/etc.), pick the right gender, et voila.

I find Slavic names are pretty cool for generic vaguely European fantasy, on average.

Devilsfuge
2014-01-14, 08:38 AM
Thank you fro the suggestions and help.

I have decided to name my character Vitreus, which I got when put crystal into google translate.

Also should have mentioned earlier but I think its a generic D&D setting. Though we havn't seen any other shardmind yet which could make a difference.

ElenionAncalima
2014-01-14, 09:05 AM
I'm always a fan of generators. If I want something fantastical, there are lots of name generators for elves, dwarves, ect. if you google it. If I want something more realistic, I am a big fan of Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/random/?number=2&gender=m&surname=&all=no). It lets you pick a country of origin..so you have a lot of control over the feel of the name. I just keep refreshing until I find something that I like.

I will also often find names based on the characteristics of the character. For instance I am playing a pacifist monk called Frieda Concord (both names mean peace).

Also, it may be worth asking your GM if he has any naming conventions in mind. You probably don't want to be playing a character named Vercingetorix in a world full of people named Steve and Mary (or vice versa)....or maybe you do. :smalltongue: That could create some fun role playing moments.

starwoof
2014-01-14, 09:15 AM
I have a different method for thinking of names based on the race in question. For elves I grab either a v, t, a, or hard c and go from there. I like elves with names that sound pretty, so I usually just try to sound out a nice name. The elf I am playing now is named Ryvan Vanelon.

For half-orcs I like hyphens and rough sounding letters. Bonus points if the name is hard to pronounce because it has too many g's and d's together. Try saying Uglag Gro-Grudlag five times fast.

For dwarves I go right to the name generator in Races of Stone and pick something cool sounding. Last name will likely have beard or hammer in it.

For any kind of monstrous or obscure race I will go read everything I can find about them before thinking of a name. When I was researching hobgoblins for an evil game I discovered that they actually have complicated and well structured names. All hobgoblins have a given name, a last name consisting of their father's name and ending in 'kon, and a clan name. So my hobgoblin cleric is Muaag Khatijad'Kon of the Hand Shatterers. I got those names by entering my name and then my dad's name into a goblin name generator. I picked Hand Shatterers because that sounds really painful.


Actually, to be honest that's how I do most names. Google "X Fantasy Race Name Generator" and either hit random 10+ times or type in my name and hit enter. Sometimes the name is the basis of the entire character, sometimes my name is Redbeard the Dwarf, because I can't think of a name and I have a red beard IRL.

The Oni
2014-01-16, 04:19 PM
I like meaningful names, especially in other languages.

One of my characters was Fu-naji-anki, which in (probably mangled) Japanese is something like "Fated Sea Road." Fu-naji was a goldfish hengeyokai who had to track down an major artifact because he decided he'd rather use his shapeshifting to sneak into the local daimyo's estate and fool around with his daughter than keep watch over the thing. Naturally that included travel by sea.

Another is my barbarian/homebrew class Rubedo Arkensang - Rubedo being a Latin alchemical term for "redness" 'cos he's a tiefling, Arkensang derived from the French arc-en-ciel ('arc in the sky", as in a rainbow.) Ark-en-sang would be "the arc in blood," 'cause he uses a flying blade and with his combat reflexes he's basically a walking death-helicopter.

One of my friends is playing an Ifrit named Jean Enfait. I suggested Enfait because it's a French statement of contradiction, because he's a Tattooed Sorcerer - and his familiar is an ice elemental. So he's a Ifrit covered in ice tattoos.

I also had an Orc ranger named Jaeira Fellhammer and a half-Orc fighter named Zadjidan Zera. Jaeira never even used hammers; the names just sounded cool - what do you expect, they're Orcs!

Oh, and my PFS character is a Monk/White-Haired Witch named Jacques of Braids; it's a dumb pun, but Fable fans might get a kick out of it.

Jay R
2014-01-16, 06:30 PM
I was once running two dwarves, seeking revenge on the dragon who had slain their five brothers. Felix was expansive and jovial; Doli was dour and unpleasant.

Only if you processed the names in other languages would you recognize them as Happy and Grumpy.

Magesmiley
2014-01-16, 06:45 PM
There's always the classic method that the game's creators used a lot: make an anagram.

Winter_Wolf
2014-01-16, 06:48 PM
I'd have to ask what kind of cultures and names are already in use the in the campaign world. Is the PC a part of that region or from "far away"?

For example, assuming something like Russia, a local could be called Sergei, or Andrei, or Ivan; but there's not much likelihood of finding a local named Hitoshi, Daisuke, or Tomohiro (probably not even on Sakhalin).

'Cause verisimilitude.

Rhynn
2014-01-16, 07:10 PM
Here (http://www.wizardawn.com/rpg/tool_names.php) is a nifty RPG name generator. It has the distinction of being the only generator (as far as I know) that can generate Holmesian D&D names. Everyone's game can benefit from names like Fanha Falgramova, Choram Fultreb of the South, and Fumrinkraver!

TuggyNE
2014-01-16, 08:01 PM
I was once running two dwarves, seeking revenge on the dragon who had slain their five brothers. Felix was expansive and jovial; Doli was dour and unpleasant.

Only if you processed the names in other languages would you recognize them as Happy and Grumpy.

Did they adventure with a young female human druid? :smalltongue:

Kesnit
2014-01-17, 10:06 AM
Find a game system/world that you like and take names from that.

I am a huge fan of the WH40K world. So when I need to name a PC, I pick the Space Marine or Traitor Legion that best fits the idea for that PC. Then I look up characters from that Chapter/Legion and use that. (For example, for a Skyrim character who wears heavy armor and fights unarmed, I took a name from the Iron Hands. For a rogue-ish type for a tabletop game, I went to the Raven Guard.)

CoffeeIncluded
2014-01-17, 03:26 PM
I like to use puns in my PC names, or little wordplay tricks. Here are three examples:

1. A female druid named Lana and her male riding dog animal companion named Alan.

2. Jadeite Nocrius, a green-haired elf necromancer with a somewhat cruel and sarcastic sense of humor. Nocrius comes from the Latin word for pain.

3. Natalia Bolts, the trap, lightning, and mechanical-device obsessed dual-wielding rogue with a massive speech impediment that may or may not stem from a childhood head injury. She's also a bit mentally unstable. And as for the first name, what do you call a situation or person that's crazy? That also goes with metal bolts?

Scootaloo
2014-01-17, 03:42 PM
I tend to just roll syllables and tones around in my mouth until I get something fitting. It helps if you're good at pronouncing sounds not found in English, like Æ, Ø, or Þ (all three extremely helpful in a game set in the dark age!)

you can use this trick with "regular" names to make familiar-yet-exotic names. Just think of what sort of accent your character and her people might have, and flip a standard name through it a couple of times. Say you've got an elf, and don't imagine they use hard frictals or glottal sounds. The standard names Minerva or Eugene can become Minyera and Eowin. if Dwarven does the opposite, Alice and John become Halege and Chonn (or you could flip them around for Minderra and Huchin, Alea and Soin.) This is pretty organic, since this is exactly how the variety of real-world names developed (Jack, Jaques, Iago, Yakov, Ian, Jacob, these are all the same name!)

I've also plagarized names on occasion. My current bard character had her name lifted from Jean Auel's (rather abysmal) books - Roshario. Another name I frequently used comes from the old magic: the gathering comic books, the Fallen empires issues - Tymolin.

Rhynn
2014-01-17, 03:57 PM
sounds not found in English, like ... Þ

As in thorn, as in "th" ? Þat's an extremely common sound in English... it's just Þat the single letter was eventually replaced wiÞ "th" in most languages Þat used it.

Scootaloo
2014-01-17, 04:46 PM
As in thorn, as in "th" ? Þat's an extremely common sound in English... it's just Þat the single letter was eventually replaced wiÞ "th" in most languages Þat used it.

Depends on which language. Eth (Ð) and Thorn are both less aspirated than the english th, one leaning more towards "D" and the other towards "T". It's a subtle distinction, but it's there - think of how many english dialects and accents replace "the" with "de" and you get the idea :)

Raimun
2014-01-17, 06:44 PM
Sometimes I just come up with a name. I'm just like: "Whoa, that's an awesome and heroic name."

Sometimes I don't. When that happens, I usually think of what kind of a name I would want. Greco roman sounding? Northern flavor? Tolkienesque? Plain english action hero/western name? Do I want an elegant name for an elegant finesse-type or primal name for a primal brawler?

Then I hit appropriate name generators, until I find a name that both meets the above parameters and sounds cool. Most often I tweak them a bit. Switching/adding/erasing letters and so forth.

Then I realize I need to come up with a surname as well and I decide he goes with first name basis or is simply named as Coolname the Adjective.

I'm usually more creative when I'm thinking about codenames or non-serious names so I don't have processes for that.

Beleriphon
2014-01-18, 10:11 AM
For dwarves I go right to the name generator in Races of Stone and pick something cool sounding. Last name will likely have beard or hammer in it.

Hammerbeard Beardhammer, he who hammers beards with the beardiest hammer of them all!

Raimun
2014-01-19, 11:16 PM
Hammerbeard Beardhammer, he who hammers beards with the beardiest hammer of them all!

"It's because he has a beard and a hammer, you see?"

starwoof
2014-01-21, 11:44 AM
"It's because he has a beard and a hammer, you see?"

No joke, one of the characters a friend of mine is currently playing is a dwarf named Axebeard Beardaxe. He has an axe head hanging from his beard that he can make attacks with. :smallbiggrin:

eulmanis12
2014-01-21, 12:19 PM
A D&D party that I was part of at one point:

Human Ranger: Archebald Fletcher.

Dwarven Barbarian: Smackbeard Von Painhammer

Elven Cleric (vow of pacifisim): Emma Nancy

Halfling rogue: Dexter Wheresmywallet

NickChaisson
2014-01-21, 12:21 PM
I'm rather fond of this (http://www.behindthename.com/random/) name generator. Hope it helps ^_^