Looking up character names is the worst, yay, nay or both?

[Bella_Artz]

Doing so right now and not sure if it's cause I'm in an uncomfortable position or just cause I'm not finding what I want.

My naming process goes by either meaning in relation or how good it sounds.

How do y'all go about this? I might need some help.

[darthmongoose]

Nowadays, I usually look up names. It's how you can tell Errant is a reboot of a comic I originally came up with in my teens, because there's a character called Sarin, which is a type of nerve gas, and one called Subo, which apparently means "spoon feed" in Tagalog.

Back then, I came up with these names that were just cool sounds tied to this invented runic language, and I'm still on the fence as to whether for the reboot I should have renamed them, but Sarin is Sarin to me, it'd just feel odd if she was called something else and... well, in Japan, my name, Kate, or 'keito" means like "woollen yarn" (which allows for a funny pun where "keito no boushi" means both "Kate's hat" and "a woolly hat" and "Kate's woolly hat" becomes "Keito no keito no boushi). Apparently Sarin is a name in some South asian cultures so.... I dunno... It's probably fine, but gets annoying wise-asses being like "that's a nerve agent!" now and then.

[cherrystark]

I usually don't look up names when I write characters. If there is a specific culture, I'm trying to write for, then yes, I will. I don't want to pick an English name for a character and find out it means a swear word in that culture. Right now, I write and rewrite the character until I find the right name for them.

[Lensing]

My brother and me used to play with those kid toy characters and they had names from A-F,
Anton, Berti, Conny, Det, Edi, Fritz and I did the same thing when I wrote a story and named
characters from A-Z. The side characters like a taxi driver also has a name, he is Xaver and orignally
from Bavaria Germany.

I search for good sounding names all the time, especially the ones that can be used in german and
english, I try to make them fit to the character. Everyone has different feelings about names of course.
I like female names which end on an A, I don´t know why but probably because my mums name ends on an A.
Some names feel good for a certain characters but that´s also very individual. Someone who is called Benjamin
sounds like someone who is vulnerable and can be a bit of a nerd, but that´s just me, when your school bully
was called Benjamin you will have a different opinion.

[powerplantanimations]

Puns are the way to go. If I want to name foreign characters, I go to my friends from different countries. I try to make them all alliterative to make them "pop out" more.

I forgot what Naota Nakaoka or Nikado Nigaki mean. That was a little difficult for my friend since we were limited in the amount of names. I wanted it to roll off the tongue.

[NickRowler]

I will sometimes go on those baby names sites and look up names by gender, first letter, culture, or meaning.

Sometimes I will come up with names off the top of my head and look up if they are real. That is sort of how I ended with less common names like Rahm or Zanna. But sometimes I create names so weird that they aren’t really connected with any culture, like Zombra, Nu-Mun, or Shoo-Fly.

I think the most struggle I had naming a character was one who used to be called Tuna. I ended up making a list of possible names… Tony, Tonn, Tunny, Twn. I ended up just calling him Tune.

[AxemanRifflord]

Maybe I could be a little less reliant on what first comes to my head, like “John,” “Tim,”“Smith,” “Jones,” etc. There are some rare names out there (but I’m keeping them to myself).

[JoshRaed]

I did it once because I had a one off ghost for a ghost story, and needed a name for who they were the ghost of.

Specifically names from the 50’s.

Ironic because the most important character in that script was still nameless up until like right now.

[Bella_Artz]

Wait how's that possible? Genuinely curious btw.

[JoshRaed]

I don’t know. I just didn’t think of one.

[VersusVII]

I gave my characters firsts name I liked and then I tried to match a proper surname or a meaning to them.
Noah Circus is named like that because I liked the name and at that time I was reading the circus arc in Kuroshitsuji. Then I tried to justify his surname by being a sort of error in the registry office who wrote it wrong (probably for Cyrus). The idea came when a friend told me his grandfather had Jew origins but couldn't find many proof because the surname was probably changed to save himself or as a mocking during the ww2.

For Timothy, a secondary character, I looked what where the common surnames in Switzerland, especially the italian part.

[RedLenai]

Something I do that usually ends up being way better than I expected... is that I usually pic names because I think they sound neat or just think they are pretty, and then I search for the meaning.

Usually I'm surprised at the fact that the name indeed has something to do with the character's personality or their role in the story (This is talking about my oc's an ideas I have in mind , not the webcomics I work for)

For example... I have a character that is meant to be a fighter, a busybody who "wants to hunt a happy ending" for another character who he thinks deserve it, besides loving this other character dearly and trying to give them hope. I named him Liam because I always loved the name and it simply stuck, later when I searched the meaning it was:

Liam is an Irish name meaning "strong-willed warrior" and "protector." It's a shortened version of the Irish name Uilliam (which came from the Frankish name Willahelm) meaning "helmet of will." Liam is also a fun, modernized alternative to the traditional boy name William.

Which made me very happy since it matched who the character was, totally accidentaly of course.

I personally don't like to focus too much on the meaning of a name since otherwise I may end up with a non... "pretty name" that later would be way too peculiar for any character. Like, I have one named Balwinder and tbh It's... one of the names I like the least, poor boy xD

[LouisWinter]

I take normal names and mix them around. if you use them enough. they'll grow on you.

[Katzalcoatl]

I create different naming systems depending on my Novel. This helps avoid repeating names over different novels.

In one novel I look for medievalish names. The Main cast however gets names with deeper meanings related to what they will do in the story.

On my second novel I use sarcasm and satire as a naming system. Most of my names are related to videogames. Which is a huge topic in my second novel.

[Kuma]

I try to think a naming convention before starting, so I have a guide about how to name characters. At times I use other languages with some alterations, or just what it sounds good.

A good rule of thumb is that names need to be easy to pronounce. If you can't even say the names of your characters, then you might need to change them.

[allenT]

I only visit name sites if I need an extra clarification, it's not a must.
I like made up names ever since I drew my childhood comics. A lot of them don't have any meanings but i just like the names they're stuck with me.

For my current series I want my character names be easily translatable phonetically to alternative language such as Chinese. 'Maor' is 毛兒 (fur child), 'Amin' is 阿民 (folk/people), Tery is 泰力(great strength) Not all of them are like that though, 'Bounder' straight up comes from "boulder" "grounder" "chowder"...names that have '-er'. I didn't know 'Bounder' actually means 'dishonourable man' but it kinda fits ironically-- he's a guard that looks like a bad guy.

[XiuLyn_12]

Yes, I hate naming characters!
I want to give my characters names that reflect their personalities, but I'm not creative at all!
While this isn't how it's done, it's how I usually name my characters. I google a name for (their personality). For example, a name for nice people, etc.
I know, I'm not creative at all, lol!

[yondoloki]

I really hated naming characters, until I gave up on random ass sounding fantasy names (I was never good at it and the names I came up with were crap), and delved into real names and their meanings. Now I love it and can spend evenings just delving into names and their meanings. Its so satisfying when you dig up THE ONE NAME that just fits! <3

My process depends on the importance for the character.
Main characters I spend YEARS finding the right one, changing it up as I go along. Initially i just stole names from other books I had read, then tried to make a madeup spin on it, but then realising I sucked at that went online and found similar sounding names, that fit the setting and story.

Minor characters I can go for a personality trait/what sounds good or just hit random on a generator.

Sometimes the name comes first. Say I knew I needed a wife for a character, and I then look up names, I find one I like that has the meaning fx. "curly haired" and well, guess the character has curls now.

Two websites fuel my rabbithole dives:
Behind the Name - Has a huge database of names from all over the world, and a sister site for surnames. Also has a random name generator.

20.000 Names - Currently my favorite. Has a bit more esoteric names than Behind the Name I find (like ancient egyptian names), plus special categories for fx. flower names, sacrifical names, villain names, names with comedic meaning etc.

Bonus shoutout to Fantasy Name Generators - Everything from tolkien elven names to a tavern name generator, for fantasy and scifi and anything really. Just a good promter / source of inspiration, if you don't care for irl names.

[TroyVSTheWorld]

Oh man, I love reading name meanings and employing that as part of the characters
Me, personally, I like classic English/American names, I don't wanna be another white person who invents names lmao

[candiedcotton]

I go with simple and easy to remember names. I'm not fan of complex names or names that I have to spend five minutes trying to figure out how to pronounce.