How to Break Bad Naming Habits?

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Hi, I'm Archpaladin Zousha and I play way too many characters whose names start with the letter "A."

How do I break this bad habit and begin developing an appreciation for names that start with other letters? They just feel so...unattractive...:smallredface:

[Zhorn]

At character creation, roll 1d20+1d6
Count up that many letters in the alphabet (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc)
Whatever you land on, start the name with that letter
Since the lower result you can get is 2 (1+1), you'll not start with an A.

[GravityEmblem]

When the Clone Wars animated series was being made, Captain Rex was going to be named Alpha, after a character from the comic books released between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. But since most of the main characters already had names starting with A (Anakin, Ashoka, Artoo), they renamed him to Rex.

So, call your next character Rex.

[gijoemike]

When the Clone Wars animated series was being made, Captain Rex was going to be named Alpha, after a character from the comic books released between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. But since most of the main characters already had names starting with A (Anakin, Ashoka, Artoo), they renamed him to Rex.

So, call your next character Rex.

That is awesome to know. We all came to love Rex, the clone out of 1000's of clones.

[Faily]

Hi, I'm Archpaladin Zousha and I play way too many characters whose names start with the letter "A."

How do I break this bad habit and begin developing an appreciation for names that start with other letters? They just feel so...unattractive...:smallredface:


Some years ago, I noticed I had a tendency of having names ending in -a, or -iel for elven characters. So the first step is certainly to be aware of this!

What I did was to look more at cultural groups that my character belonged to, and then look at real-life languages/names that might suit well to that culture. Like playing a Sarenrae-priestess from Qadira in Golarion, I looked at Arabian names and deliberately picked something that didn't end in -a or -iel. (Raani)

Sometimes I'd instead look specifically for names with a special meaning, looking through various name-lists in various languages. (Hemali means "to bring wealth" and is a prosperous name to give your daughter)

Or I'd just lift a name from a book, anime, comic, tv-show, or movie where I liked the name or the character. (Rutile is not only a gemstone, but also a character in Land of the Lustruous)

One time I chose a name that was a virtue, as my character belonged to an order of religious knights who gave up their real names to model themselves after a particular virtue. (Mercy)

So for your next character, not only do you choose a name that doesn't start with the letter A, but choose a goal for the name. Choose one or more of the following:
- A name shared with a character you really like from another story/form of media.
- A name with a special meaning in the character's language or culture.
- A name that you imagine someone else would've chosen for them (you can alternatively ask for ideas from other players in your group?).
- A name that conforms to their society's expectations (if they're a paladin, maybe they have also given up their birth-name and choose to name themselves after a virtue in their philosophy).

[Saintheart]

Leonard Nimoy speculated a reason why Gene Roddenberry chose names like Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Picard, Riker, and so on: because the hard occlusive 'k' in the name makes them strong-sounding names.

Try listening to the sound a letter makes and seeing if it induces a particular feeling in you. Play into that feeling.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I do have a goal in mind for naming a character I'm mulling over: he's a drow orphan who was adopted by a family of dwarves as a baby, so I want a name that sounds suitably dwarfy, but I also don't wanna resort to tired old names like "Bjorn," "Alberich," "Regin," "Urist" or ANYTHING from Tolkien; NO "Dwalins," "Balins," "Kilis," "Filis," "Doris," "Noris," "Oris," "Oins," "Gloins," "Bifurs," "Bofurs," "Helgar Bomburs" and ESPECIALLY no "Thorins," "Gimlis" or "Durins!" :smallannoyed:

[MoiMagnus]

I do have a goal in mind for naming a character I'm mulling over: he's a drow orphan who was adopted by a family of dwarves as a baby, so I want a name that sounds suitably dwarfy, but I also don't wanna resort to tired old names like "Bjorn," "Alberich," "Regin," "Urist" or ANYTHING from Tolkien; NO "Dwalins," "Balins," "Kilis," "Filis," "Doris," "Noris," "Oris," "Oins," "Gloins," "Bifurs," "Bofurs," "Helgar Bomburs" and ESPECIALLY no "Thorins," "Gimlis" or "Durins!" :smallannoyed:

You could chose a kind of stone (or precious stone, or metal), and modify it a little to form a name from it.

[Faily]

I do have a goal in mind for naming a character I'm mulling over: he's a drow orphan who was adopted by a family of dwarves as a baby, so I want a name that sounds suitably dwarfy, but I also don't wanna resort to tired old names like "Bjorn," "Alberich," "Regin," "Urist" or ANYTHING from Tolkien; NO "Dwalins," "Balins," "Kilis," "Filis," "Doris," "Noris," "Oris," "Oins," "Gloins," "Bifurs," "Bofurs," "Helgar Bomburs" and ESPECIALLY no "Thorins," "Gimlis" or "Durins!" :smallannoyed:


We can maybe assume that the dwarves have Germanic or Norse sounding names. So let's think about what dwarves would call a drow-child, and find something in those languages.


Erlend means "foreigner" or "outsider". Because the character could still be considered an outsider?
Rune means "secret". Maybe the character is a secret of the ones raising him?
Sigurd means "one who is victorious" (or rather it is one of the possible meanings of the name). It could be the name given to him as his dwarven family wants him to be victorious in battle.
Trygve means "trustworthy". This could be a name given to show that despite the character being a drow, he's someone to be trusted by other dwarves.

Norse also has animal-based names like Ulf (wolf) or Bjørn (bear).

We can also look at names of deities for other ideas with meanings:
Bragi which is connected to the word "poetry".
Nótt, while a female name, means "night". A bit on the nose maybe considering a drow's appearance.
Tuisto. It's a bit of a complicated meaning, but basically can be explained as "double" or "twin", or "[a god] born of the earth". I like the meaning this one can have - as an adopted child, he was "born of the earth" rather than from the mother of the family (while could also reference to the fact that drow come from beneath the earth/underground). It could also then be a reference to their double-heritage as it were, being born drow but raised dwarf.

[GravityEmblem]

I like to mix and match Tolkein-ish dwarf named. Dwonin, Dwili...in fact, just take any Norwegian-sounding name and put a Dw in front of it. Dwunther, Dwolaf, Dwadalvard, Dwaldemar...

[Psyren]

Aren't both Dwarven and Elvish based on Welsh? I'd pick a word or two from that that fit with the character's backstory or personality, and modify them slightly.

[Lord Raziere]

Hi, I'm Archpaladin Zousha and I play way too many characters whose names start with the letter "A."

How do I break this bad habit and begin developing an appreciation for names that start with other letters? They just feel so...unattractive...:smallredface:

I have a solution this:
behold fantasy name generators.com, for all your name generation needs (https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/)

look the name category that interest you, click it, then generate names you like and add those to a document of all the character names you want to keep while ignoring any you don't. there are so many I'm pretty sure you'll find something that isn't A-starting. its the tool I use when I need to generate names with less work. just make sure one of the personal criteria you have when you look them is names that don't start with A.

[P. G. Macer]

Aren't both Dwarven and Elvish based on Welsh? I'd pick a word or two from that that fit with the character's backstory or personality, and modify them slightly.

If we’re talking Tolkien, only one Elvish language is based on Welsh (can’t remember which), while the other is based on Finnish. Tolkien’s Dwarvish, meanwhile, is based on Hebrew.

If one goes that route and one wants to have a meaningful name, I recommend behindthename.com (http://behindthename.com)


I have a solution this:
behold fantasy name generators.com (http://fantasyneamegenerators.com), for all your name generation needs

look the name category that interest you, click it, then generate names you like and add those to a document of all the character names you want to keep while ignoring any you don't. there are so many I'm pretty sure you'll find something that isn't A-starting. its the tool I use when I need to generate names with less work. just make sure one of the personal criteria you have when you look them is names that don't start with A.

I love that site, and can second the recommendation. In addition to generic dwarf and dark elf names, it also has generators for D&D and Pathfinder dwarves and drow.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I managed to find a non-A name that looks good to me! "Skávær" is the name of a dwarf from Norse myth and it means "The good-natured one," which is a good themed-name for a good-guy drow!

Thanks for all the advice, I'll hang on to this info for the future!

[Jay R]

Hi, I'm Archpaladin Zousha and I play way too many characters whose names start with the letter "A."

How do I break this bad habit and begin developing an appreciation for names that start with other letters? They just feel so...unattractive...:smallredface:

I tend to choose names from specific cultures that fit the character. I've had characters named Theseus, Endora, Morgan, Nabonidus, Eiddileg, Fflewdder, Luther, Robin Banks (a hobbit thief), Cornelius, Jean-Louis, Gwydion, Adaf, Bleddyn, Eilonwy, Galadon, Felix, Doli, Ornrandir, Gustav, Pteppicymon, Gwystyl, Telerion, and Phoebus.

Each name was chosen from a meaningful culture, or put together from a meaningful language.


I do have a goal in mind for naming a character I'm mulling over: he's a drow orphan who was adopted by a family of dwarves as a baby, so I want a name that sounds suitably dwarfy, but I also don't wanna resort to tired old names like "Bjorn," "Alberich," "Regin," "Urist" or ANYTHING from Tolkien; NO "Dwalins," "Balins," "Kilis," "Filis," "Doris," "Noris," "Oris," "Oins," "Gloins," "Bifurs," "Bofurs," "Helgar Bomburs" and ESPECIALLY no "Thorins," "Gimlis" or "Durins!" :smallannoyed:

The following list is from the Elder Edda. Tolkien used many of them; just choose one he didn't:

"Nye, Nide, Nordre, Sudre, Austre, Vestre, Altjof, Dvalin, Nar og Nain, Niping, Dain, Bivar, Bavar, Bambor, Nore, An og Anar, Ae, Modvitner."

"Veig og Gandalf, Vindalf, Torin, Tekk og Train. Tror, Vit, Lit, Nar og Regin, Nyrad, Radvid. There all the dwarfes are mentioned."

"File, Kile, Funden, Naale, Hepte, Vile, Hannar, Svior, Billing, Brune, Bild og Bure, Frar, Hornbore, Fraeg og Lone, Aurvang, Jare, Eikenskjalde."

"Now all the Dwarfes in the flock of Dvalin until Lofar are counted - listen - Those who travelled from the Seabottom's Stones over the Dyndvangseat to the sandy soil."

"There were Draupner and Dolgtraser, Har, Haugspore, Hlevang, Gloin, Skirfer, Virfer, Skafid, Ae."

"Alf og lngve, Eikenskjalde, Fjalar, Froste, Fid og Ginnar. Until the end of the World one must always remember the descendants of Lofar, whom I listed here."

[Vahnavoi]

I came here to tell you to just use Behind the Name, as a nuclear solution to all your naming needs.

But, once you acknowledge names are at their root actual words with meanings, you can also just do the meaning first and then let practice smoothe out what they're called.

For example, you can name your character "Winds of Change", then in use other players will shorten it to "Windy" and boom, there it is.

[Grek]

1d20
Prefix
Suffix

1Glim-ing

2Flos-urt

3Glov-old

4Thad-ic

5Biv-ril

6Lob-lum

7Karst-artan

8Rhy-oyl

9Lim-erb

10Dorn-most

11Stal-vil

12Clast-ling

13Auru-motte

14Wynn-ston

15Sump-lier

16Melk-ry

17Orn-yon

18Plin-cob

19Voln-vring

20Woz-fall
Are you perhaps a Plining? A Wynnoyl? A Karstyon? A Stalerb? An Ornartan?

[anthon]

pick some random mythology and start reading until you see a name you like. Then start scribbling down names you like from that genre. I have a tendency to add lots of L's and K's to my names. You can also try the Precious Stones/Jewel list, the exotic flowers list, or roll 1d3 for vowels and 2d4-1 for consonants.

Attach the AE together, the OE together, or the EI together, to make cooler vowels.

Examples: Aeon. Eidolon. Oedipus. Greek is fun.

[ezekielraiden]

Hi, I'm Archpaladin Zousha and I play way too many characters whose names start with the letter "A."

How do I break this bad habit and begin developing an appreciation for names that start with other letters? They just feel so...unattractive...:smallredface:

Use random name generators. Intentionally avoid any name that begins with A.

[Duff]

There's 19 consonants in English (counting y). Roll d20 for which consonant your name starts with. 2- = a vowel (roll d6, d6 takes you back to consenants).
Roll 1st letter.
Decide if the next letter should be a vowel or a consonant and roll d20 or d6.
By the time you've got 5-6 letters you probably have enough to turn it into a name
Remember, you don't have to keep a complete unpronounceable mess, treat it like an acronym, add or ignore sounds to make it easier to say.


And feel free to add sounds not included in English. Someone in a group I played with played a nixie with a name spelt Plut. Make a sound as close to a large drop of water falling musically into a pool as you can