Coming Up with Fantasy Names for Your Stories

We know sometimes it can be difficult to come up with fantasy names for nouns in your writing. We run into this problem all the time! This week, we’ll share some of our tricks for solving this problem. We hope you enjoy and find something useful!

Fantasy Name Generators

Using a fantasy name generator can be an excellent starting point, especially to get the juices flowing. We love this one and use it often because you have so many options to choose from! For example, you can specify names from different real places like Korea, Egypt, and Norway, or use specifications like elven, dragon, and selkie names, and many more! 

In this example I went to Fantasy & Folklore, then Orc Names:

Look Up Name Meanings

When you look up the meaning of regular names, you will find the origins and how the name changed throughout history and in different countries. Often they list medieval names, which make great fantasy names! The various spellings of some of the names can look fantasy-like too. For example, Clever looked up her daughter’s name, Allison, and got the name idea of Aalis from the old French origin. Try looking up your own name and comment with your favorite fantasy name version!

Keep a List 

Often you will come across interesting names in your day-to-day life. It can be helpful to keep a list of names you like for when you need a character name later. You can also add unique spellings of common names to the list. If you are diligent, you’ll end up with quite a long list. That way if you’re ever having a block, you can use the list to grab a name or even spark new ideas!

Experiment with Letters

One way to make a name seem like one from a fantasy world is to change up the letters in the name. You can try switching up vowels or add/take away letters from names you like. This can be a really fun creativity exercise! For example, WTF really enjoys using the letters a, r, n and y to adjust any name giving it a more fantasy feel. Using Raven as a starting word, adjust the letters for something like Ravyn or Ravalyn!

What Do You Think? 

Which of these ideas are you going to try? How do you come up with names for your fantasy stories? Let us know in the comments!

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Thank you so much for reading!
–Clever & WTF