WRITING SOFTWARE - Name Generators

Names are interesting things. The meaning of names is even more interesting. For instance, David comes from Hebrew and means "Beloved". Such is from the Anglo-Saxon word for "Tree Stump." So altogether my name means "Beloved Tree Stump." Probably not the name you would choose for the next Galactic Emperor.

Speaking of names, I am hopeless at thinking up names for my characters. Consequently most of the time I use the names of our dogs (past and present).

This is probably doing a disservice to my works of art as a carefully crafted name can add to your story, providing a layer of resonance and meaning. A characters name is one way of providing clues about your protagonists nature. A character named Bozo or Jeeves comes with a pre-populated personality, which you should probably avoid because it is too obvious (although I guess you could play with this - how about an evil Bozo who becomes the next Galactic Emperor? Who voted for this clown? Yuk Yuk Yuk).

Moving right along ...

So if you want to avoid using clichéd names for the folks that populate your stories, how about using a name generator? There are stacks out there. For Fantasy names try:

- The Fantasy Name Generator

If you are interested in the history or etymology of names try:

- Behind the Name

They also have a random name generator.

For the mother of all naming sites try Seventh Sanctum. The have everything from evil name generators to pirate ship name generators.

Happy naming!