Who else spends a thousand years coming up with character names?

[Kiof.5710]

I have used 'Kiof' as character names (and for two starships) since creating it in the summer of 1982 as my first D&D character.  I also keep a notepad of interesting potential names on my phone to act as seed ideas for future needs.  Generally, before I create the character, I have an idea of the name I want to use, then I have to make it fit within the game, depending on if it is used.  I've been surprisingly lucky over the years to have to make minimal changes to naming ideas.

[Moira Shalaar.5620]

I have a surname that I use across all the characters I create which helps for name uniqueness. I start with my character concept, say a condition/bleed/poison ranger or a minion necromancer then I look at foreign (to me) languages for words in that range, and then occasionally tweak the word to make it sound slightly more like a name and off I go. I have yet to have one of my character names come up as already used. 

[TwistedAlga.4235]

On 7/23/2023 at 8:05 AM, circuitnerd.5863 said:

Surely I can't be the only person who spends ages to come up with a character name right? I've been sitting here trying to think of something now for over an hour. Pretty soon the game is gonna kick me out of character creation. 🤣

Ohhh yeah for sure.... but I found a brilliant idea 11 years ago to take a gemstone name as for each character's surname, so I can set whatever firstname I want for my character. It's the easiest thing for me I've ever done cuz it's sooo hard to come up with names otherwise, XD

[Widebody.5071]

It's good to know about different people from different regions and know the names the use.

[Lanfear De Noir.9127]

I find it easy to come up with names... if a name isn't available, I try a different spelling of that name and I usually get what I want that way. EG: I wanted Jinx as a name, it was taken (of course), so I spelled it like this... J I N X X X... It was available. All capital letters with a space in-between, it worked.

I have seen names like 'Bean' spelled Beene, Been, Beane.  Just try different spellings, it works and most people understand the incorrect spelling and are even amused at your wit. 

Maybe you could...

• Pick a Theme... What is your character's profession/role? What do you want your character to look like?  Choose a name that suits your theme.
• Pop Culture...  is always a good place to go to for names.
• Mythology... There are great names in mythology. Like Hercules, you could try spelling the name like this... Herk Youlees
• Make a name up... I took 2 words and made the name... Heartsfear (it wasn't taken so I took it. She is a warrior).

Just get creative. There are some fun names out there.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Lanfear De Noir.9127

[Forgotten Legend.9281]

Lol... I just renamed a 10 year old character...

[Strider.7849]

On 7/22/2023 at 11:05 PM, circuitnerd.5863 said:

Surely I can't be the only person who spends ages to come up with a character name right? I've been sitting here trying to think of something now for over an hour. Pretty soon the game is gonna kick me out of character creation. 🤣

I have this problem in every game. Names are important to me for being able to immerse in my character - even if I cant design the character exactly how I like it due to limitations of the game, the name creates that extension for me in a way that i feel represents me. Often times I'll even remake characters (repeatedly) because the name doesn't fit the way I wanted it to be or I don't like the way it looks. I used to be a very high tier and recognized PvPer in a different (old but popular) game and short, one-word, names were both expensive to purchase from other players and signified someone who was probably a very capable PvP player - this horrible habit stuck with me ever since.

The unfortunate thing is when MMO's have been out for many years, getting these names is near impossible. I tried to create a character recently and just gave up after spending a full day of one of my days off work, trying (and failing) to get a name I liked. 

[Zavijah.2695]

Guilty