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Tips for Naming

Characters Guide

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Do you have specific names in mind for your fictional characters? Before writing them in
stone, ask yourself these questions:

☐ Is there a story behind why your character's parents chose that name?

☐ Does the name fit the character’s background—what is the character’s age,
ethnicity, and geographic location?

☐ Does the name fit the genre and time period?

☐ Is the name easy enough for readers to pronounce?

☐ Did you avoid using names that sound too similar? (Starting with the same
letter, having the same ending sound, or rhyming)

☐ Did the character’s name shape who he/she becomes or reinforce any
qualities?

7 Character-Naming Sites
Random Name Generator - This generator contains English first and last names
based on the database of the US Census. If you need to come up with a quick name, try
this one. http://random-name-generator.info/

Social Security Popular Names Database - If you’d like to search popular names by
year, then check out the Social Security database. https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-
bin/popularnames.cgi
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Tips for Naming

Characters Guide

☐ Name Generator Fun - You can find a slew of real names and fantasy names
arranged by category. Need a princess name? A superhero name? How about a unicorn
name? You'll discover all that and loads more. https://www.namegeneratorfun.com/

☐ Nameberry - From Avery to Zephyr, Nameberry is the complete guide to thousands

of baby names. You can browse by style such as cool names, names with interesting
meanings, historic and vintage names, and more. https://nameberry.com/

☐ Behind the Name - Discover the etymology and history of first names including
African, European, Biblical, Ancient & Medieval, Literature, and more.
https://www.behindthename.com/

☐ Reedsy - Kickstart your story with this random name generator that has 1,000,000+
names to inspire you. Sort using filters such as language, gender, medieval, and
fantasy. https://blog.reedsy.com/character-name-generator/

☐ Fantasy Name Generators - Fairy names, vampire names, gargoyle names, evil
names, unicorn names, knight names. I could go on and on. It also offers other sections
such as place names. Need to brainstorm the name for an arcade, bakery, magic shop,
space station, or forest? How about an African town or a steampunk city?
https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/

You can also check out this video titled How to Name Your Characters:
https://youtu.be/rRFNX5FSFMA
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