How to Give a Character a Unique Name

Change name to last name. First and last names often sound very different, so if you reverse them, it breaks tradition and makes the character a little different.

• Examples: Anna Joey, Robert Gideon, Paul Michael.
• This is a gentle and reasonable way to create a story with a context close to the time we live in. Some names that can be used as first and last names include: Curtis, George, Paul, Jordan, Logan, Dylan, Wilson, Kerry, Owen, Keith, Austin, and Oliver.

Search names from multiple sources. You can view the crew list of a TV show or movie; You will encounter many rare names and unusual combinations. When walking, cycling, or driving around, pay attention to street names. You can also borrow the name of a foreign city, a distant nebula, or a rare plant.

• This approach helps you filter out names that apply to many genres of literature, as well as names for male and female characters.

Find strange names from books. You can look up names in the phone book or in a naming guide. Especially the books about naming children often have a variety of names and variations.

• For example: Razilee, Kadiah, Joval, Jantanie, Keryl, or Kaline.
• If you’re looking for inspiration on both names and characters, browse through the mythological books in the library; Unless you already have a clear vision (for example, the character is based on Athena), it is not advisable to name the gods in Norse, Greek or Latin mythology. Also make sure the name is pronounceable. Keryl, Razilee, and Genoviah are names that can be pronounced with a little effort, but no one wants to try to pronounce a name like Kazlistynez, no matter how unique it is.

Create names from words. Writer JK Rowling, is said to have named some of the characters in Harry Potter by writing down characteristics that describe the character, then using anagrams to create the name. There are many other methods that allow you to create names. For example:

• Mix common names together. From there, Sarah and Josephine could become Josah and Saraphine; Garrett and Adrian will become Adriett and Garran;…vv
• Try different name variations. For example, Mikhail is another variant of Michael, Gaebriel is equivalent to Gabriel, etc
• Rearrange your name (or a friend’s name). If your name is Bob Smith, you can reverse it to Omi Thibbs, for example. Eileen’s friend could be Neelie, Annabel could be Belanna, etc
• Anagrams of common words. For example, “laugh” could be Gal Uh and “jump” could be M Puj. You can also use this method to create character names that match their personality. Well then, the inversion of “laugh” (laughs) – Gal Uh suits a character who is a comedian, the inversion of “jump” M Puj will suit a character with the ability to jump high.

Generate a random name. If you want your character’s name to be unique, then don’t think of the name based on familiar things anymore, create something completely new. This makes perfect sense if your story is in the sci-fi or fantasy genre. In addition, you can create names for the characters but alternate in them with a character with a traditional name, helping them to become different from other characters.

• Type out a random string of characters in a text editor, then pick a bunch of characters that look promising, then rearrange them to a name you like.
• Or you could cut letters from a magazine, toss them in the air, and then pick out a name based on how they fell to the ground.

Named after a character you admire. But don’t be too obvious, you should not copy an existing name of a character in another work.

• For example, if you want to name the character Katniss Everdeen, don’t take the name entirely because it’s not only uncreative but also violates copyright laws. Instead, split it up as “Katherine” instead of “Katniss”, or “Dean” instead of “Everdeen”.
• You can mix celebrity names to create new names. Example: Justin Bieber combines Kate Alexa into Jexa Kelbeir.

Edit or read word camps. Take a word or phrase and recite it to form a new name.

• For example, you can pronounce “like this” (like this) as lykkethez. Then, select a cluster of letters to produce the final result. For example, from “lykkethez” we would have Kethez, Ethe, or Ykke.
• Type lyrics that stick together to create interesting combinations. For example, ‘All we are the wind’ can yield names like Llwea, Arei, Isdus, Hewin, etc.

Change the gender of the name. Change the male name to a female version, or change the female name to the male version.

• Remember that not all names can change gender flexibly.

Name lookup. If you use an online name generator (usually for parents who want to name their children, but still useful for you), you will most likely come up with some good names that match the character.