Whatsername?

Gladwyn Partha (M)

Natalie Maddison (F)

Grigori Savva (M)

Venyamin Terenti (M)

Antje Arwa (F)

Kaelea September (F)

Sigrid Krysten (F)

Herodotus Srecko (M)

Carol Barrie (M)

Aleksandra Purga (F)

Frankie Tabassum (F)

Have you ever sat there wondering what your character's name was?  I have - many times.  I've sat with magazines copying first or last names that I liked, I've flipped through phone books, I've used baby name books and websites.  So I'm always interested in fun websites for names. 

Above are several names I got from a random name generator at Behind the Name: The Etymology and History Behind First Names. 

I was out looking for name Generators and when I found this one I really liked it.  It gives you the option of getting a first name only, a first and middle name, a first name with two middle names, or a first name with three middle names.  Then you can also look specifically for male or female names - or if you're open to anything you can keep go with neutral or ambiguous names.  Next you have a choice of where (geographically) you'd like your name to be from.  You have the option to select any number of countries or leave the generator open to names from all over the world.  There are also categories for where the names come from (e.g. mythology, ancient civilizations, literature, history, etc.) or you may choose to make the name something that would sound like the name of a fairy or a witch. 

I've really over simplified the options on the "Behind the Name" name generator so I'll give a few examples.

First off I selected Chinese-German name and it produced the name: Ming Wolfram.
Then I asked for a Irish and witch as a combination and received: Suibhene Corngall.
When I asked for a hillbilly-rapper name I got:  Billy-boy Cornplanter.

Maybe most of them are not the names that I would actually use to name my characters but it's fun to play with and it give some good ideas if you're really at a loss for names.  You can always just generate a few and see if you like any.  It only generates given names so put it up to one first name with three middle names would maximize the number of names you would see each time it generates a new name.  I've enjoyed it.

Language is a Virus also has a name generator, a few of them in fact.  The first I've linked to currently gives you no options as far as the type of name that would come up.  The plus side to this generator is that you don't have to navigate back to the previous screen if you want to see a new random name.  Just keep clicking 'Generate Name' until you see something you like.  On this site I came up with names like:  Marlie Honey Kaycee, Creola Queenie Jalen, and Butch Anakin Lovie.  The site also has a Character Name Database in which you can set some parameters  I asked for an 'A' name for a girl with Hebrew origins and got 43 results - Aaliyah, Abbie, Abby, Abigail, Abra, Abrianna, Adah, Adamina, Aderes, Adin . . .


Some very pretty names.

Then there's Wizards.com where you can get a name for your Dungeons & Dragons character.  They ask you several questions including the fist and last character of your first name (E & H), the first letter of your last name (S), male/female (female), race (gnome), class (random), profession (random), noble/commoner (random), is the character famous (random).  The result was:

Eiliries Silvershaper
(Female Gnome Loremaster)

Also known as...
Eiliries the Loremaster
Lady Eiliries
Lady Silvershaper
Lady Eiliries Silvershaper the Loremaster
Lady Eiliries Silvershaper the Hero
Eiliries Silvershaper the Whitesmith

It sounded pretty cool to me.  I accept!  --Love the idea of being a loremaster!

There are several others out there and I've listed a few more below, so have fun exploring!

Fantasy Name Generator (Some fun options)
Seventh Sanctum (Includes links to several other specialized generators)
The Character Name Generator (First and last names)