Naming the Paranormal Character (or) Why I Can't Name My Alien Billy-Bob
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Faraday

I won?t name my children.

If I do, there?s a good chance that my offspring will hit puberty while I?m still sorting through lists looking for The Perfect Name. Alternately, I?ll panic and do to the child what I did to my first dog--saddle it with every name which appeals to me. Sticking a dachshund with a name longer than she was didn?t do more than cause snickers at the vet?s office, but doing something similar to my offspring might result in my being featured on Jerry Springer. So, my husband?s going to be the one stuck making the final decision. But while that precaution ensures I won?t be the target of our children?s wrath, I don?t have any way out of naming my own fictional characters.

The numerous name-the-baby lists on the Internet helped when I wrote fiction based on a contemporary or near-futuristic Earth, but those were little help when I needed names for otherworldly shapeshifters or characters from non-Earth or non-Western European derived cultures. Even a name nerd like myself could see calling my exotic alien shapeshifter Austin or Taylor wasn?t going to help my readers suspend disbelief. Other writers suggested workable alternate spellings for common names, but my best attempts took more time than I wanted to spend them and generally came out much like Mxyzptlk, only less readable.

More searching uncovered lists of names for use by gamemasters designing campaigns for roleplaying games. These were a little more helpful, but searching the lists was still more time consuming than I wanted it to be, and too many names were drawn directly from the worlds of other people.

Finally, at the end of one list, I discovered a link which took me to a fantasy name generator. Bingo! While that particular generator wasn?t precisely what I was looking for, additional searches turned up other generators with the flexibility I desired. Even when the generators used the language rules of already-created worlds, there was no fear of accidentally encroaching on someone else?s creative territory, as there was with the lists.

The first benefit to using a name generator was also the most obvious -- being able to find appropriate names quickly. The types of names a generator can provide depends on the complexity of the script used to create it and the amount of information in its database. Some only generate names based on gender and/or culture; others allow additional information to be specified, such as the first letter of the name or the number or pattern of syllables in it.

One or two generators supplied all the names I needed for a work in progress without having to surf the web and comb through static name lists. Eliminating that distraction was a huge timesaver for me, especially when it came to naming walk-on secondary characters. Also, because the generators typically apply one set of language rules to each name database, the lists they produced sounded as if they all derived from a common culture. As a result, worldbuilding became easier and faster. I could even pick a name generator for each imaginary culture in the same fictional world and use it for people, animals, cities, and so on.

Naming characters still isn?t a painless process for me, but it?s down to a minor annoyance. I still don?t feel quite safe naming my children, though. I don?t think they?d appreciate a selection from ?T, 3 syllables, female names: Tancr?de, Taneya, Tangerine, Tanina, Tareja, Taresa, Tarina, Tatiana, Tatjana, Taunya, T?ana, Tefanig?.

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Links to Name Lists:

For those who don?t like generators or who prefer a static list, these are a few you can try which aren?t in the usual contemporary name-the-baby mold.

http://www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/
Kate Monk apparently no longer runs this, but parts of the master naming list are still being maintained by the successor webmaster. This list is broken down into various contemporary and historical Earth cultures.

http://www.kaeori.net
This list is being updated by the website owner, but the old list of names is still intact. The master list features unusual names from around the world, but another list of zodiac-based names is also provided.

http://www.kabalarians.com/cfm/surf-by.cfm
This was once a great resource for unusual names and claims to have over 700,000 listings. However, membership is now required to access the full database of names, and there are more than a few names which sound either less than authentic (i.e. ?Wazzup?) or unsuited to gender (as far as I know, Felicia has always been a girl?s name).

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Links to Name Generators:

http://www.babyzone.com/babynames/nameinventor.asp
This generator uses the Baby Zone?s list of names as a database, then analyzes the names and recombines the elements into new names. While you can uncover some interesting futuristic-sounding names here, you do have to wade through a number of Mxyzptlk-ish names to get them. No download or installation is required, but for the sake of your sanity, consider the use of a pop-up killer. (Google has one available on its toolbar, if you don?t have one already.)

Example: Ormiamofe, Gaiandik, Gun, Sher, Gucon, Hauia, Udenahidr, Pelerene, Kieram, Pamon, Vish, Ylfys, Giew, Iffo, Byndan, Onn, Erylelee, Oudrlleb, Usin, Qudenc

http://www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm
Software developer August Kleimo includes as a sample of his work a generator which produces random American names based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The generator parameters can be set to generate up to 30 first name/surname pairings at a time which are common (1) to obscure (99). No download or installation is required.

Example: (Five names, 50 setting) Jone Uhlir, Pura Macchi, Larita Zenzen, Melodee Tuffey, Toi Antaya

http://meilleursprenoms.com/sonsetsyl/sonsetsyl.htm
This is a French website with a generator tool which can be set to generate both male and female names. You can specify any combination of gender (male, female, or either), the first letter, the last letter, and the number of syllables (one to five or more). Some names are more appropriate for Earth-based contemporary worldbuilding, but enough unusual ones are included which could be useful for futuristic works, in particular. The drawback: the site is in French, but not terribly hard to figure out, regardless. No downloads or installations are needed.

Example: (Partial list, using first letter T, 3 syllables, female names) Tancr?de, Taneya, Tangerine, Tanina, Tareja, Taresa, Tarina, Tatiana, Tatjana, Taunya, T?ana, Tefanig

http://dilloscape.com/generatorz/cng.htm
The plus of this particular generator is that you?re able to specify consonant/vowel patterns and the number of letters in the name. The drawbacks are that only one name is produced at a time, and a lot of those are gibberish. However, no download or installation is needed. A medieval-style and odd insult generator are elsewhere on the same site.

Example: (5 letters, CVCV combination) Kajed, Vorim, Jeheb

http://spitfire.ausys.se/johan/names/default.htm
Fantasy based names, some generic, plus others which draw from the language rules of Tolkien?s Sindarin language, Katherine Kerr?s world of Deverry, Babylon 5, and Felana. The choices get limited after a few repetitions, but no download or installation is needed.

Example: (Partial list, mixed male fantasy) Alireband, Acaug, Priannor, Ethalip, Wicayric, Miech, Nilamar, Pigold, Voekon, Kardop, Herranwan, Umund

http://www.squid.org/tools/random/index.php
Squid?s webtoys include a variety of both fantasy-appropriate names and names from a few obscure cultures not covered in the other cultural-based generators. No installation or download is needed.

Example: (Using Ahaggar cultural generator) Kadda, Tamka, Anefba, Masgo, Melda, Tamenchaket, Ahagsoro, Bamgar, Garjer, Anefdi, Melma, Tesja, Joskan, Madibi, Kansi

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/  pound/
Chris Pound?s Language Machines have incredible potential. Pound has been kind enough to post dozens of scripts which may be used to generate both names and phrases for various language. The main drawback? It requires the know-how to run the scripts. For those who can?t, Pound provides a sample list for each script. The sample lists are updated daily, but the variety is obviously limited, and some of the scripts produce names which are too humorous for average writing use. Also, for some unknown reason, the site is not always available.
Example: (Partial list, English female name samples): Sarenni, Veristi, Danie, Kim, Karine, Denna, Alen, Coureah, Krie, Krin, Emilene, Carieth

http://ebon.pyorre.net/
I can?t say enough good things about The Everchanging Book of Names (EBoN). The base platform and core books were written by Sami Py?rre and are shareware. Others have used Py?rre?s platform to create additional ?books?, or database information, which may be added to the generator. The unlocked version is a great blend of historic and current culture name generators, plus an extensive list of generators which use rules from various movie, book, RPG and television series cultures. Names from searches can be saved to a Word file for future reference. There also seems to be a much lower occurrence of gibberish or silly names than other generators. However, while the shareware version will provide a limited number of names for free from the core books, the registration key costs $10.00 US, payable to Py?rre through Amazon. The generator must be downloaded and installed, and each book must also be downloaded and unzipped. The response time for payment was quick, and anyone who can unzip a file can handle the additional books.

Example: (List of 10 from the Westron (Tolkien) book) Baram, Rangul, Rannur, Pharan, Tanaran, Karan, Niasi, Lana, Branda, Azira

http://www.fantasist.net/namegen.shtml
Courtesy of The Fantasist, a site produced by J.K and Anne Hoffman. Hoffman has used Chris Pound?s script to build generators which pull from historic and modern cultures as well as fantasy/science fiction worlds such as Glorantha, Barsoom and Melnibon?. Of particular interest are the scripts which combine Latin with a number of Oriental languages plus Barsoomian and Melnibon?an. No download or installation needed, but the generators can be glitchy. Elsewhere on the site, Hoffman has a dialect maker and a fantasy story sparker generator, plus a number of links to help anyone who wants to build a language as well as just generate names.

Example: (Barsoomian) Saleea Tarta, Va Kojaha, Siva Naleno, Kanai Ptan, Ka Toranu

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php
Steven Savage?s Seventh Sanctum is the granddaddy of all name generators! Savage?s tools cover everything from vampire names to Diabloesque names for evil creatures, and the site also carries links to most of the best generators on the Web. No download or installation needed. However, some of the names can be on the silly side, tend to gibberish, or both. Use of the generators is free, though courtesy donations are solicited.


Example: (Vampire) Sergei Gallowsraven, Xavier Allegheri, Cassiel Winters, Raphael Montgomery

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Princess Pocahontas Scheherazade Snowflake Trixie Marie Athena Petunia Woof-Woof the First lived a long and pampered life, although she answered only to Woof. Ms. Faraday?s current animal children are Llindith, Dalghryn, Khaeless?e, Vladimir the Red, Mikey (aka Winston Churchill) and Daisy Mae. She does not claim responsibility for the latter two names.