5 Tips For Finding The Right Names for Your Story

When writing fantasy worlds with sprawling cities populated by unique characters, fantastical concepts, and dangerous creatures, there’s one obstacle that often gets in the way. Naming it all. Finding the right names can be a challenge, particularly major characters or story elements that you want to get just right. There are literally endless possibilities, but that makes choosing the right names even harder!

Sometimes certain names do just spring to mind, and that’s a very lucky thing. However, in many cases that’s just really not the case. To make matters worse, it can be hard to really flesh out certain things without having a name to start with. These five tips have helped me navigate this “nameless” roadblock.

The Little Green Notebook where I kept most of my pre-writing notes, particularly name brainstorming

1.     Think of What Kind of Sounds You Want

When I try to think of a name, whether it be a character, country, organization or creature, I try to think of what kind of sound I want it to have. Should it sound powerful, whimsical, affluent, or creepy? Are there certain letters or sounds that you feel would work best? Having an idea of what kind of sound would best fit whatever you are trying to name is a really important place to start.

Considering any real-world influences can give you an even bigger hint. Perhaps you’re writing a character that’s from a country inspired by Spain. Then looking at Spanish names can give you a more solid idea of names that work. Even if you don’t want to use a specific name, you can make alterations, like changing some letters or combining it with another name, to make it your own.

2.     Break Down Syllables

Once I know where I want to start, I try to get more specific with what kind of sounds I’d like to go with and break them down to syllables. Usually, I take words that evoke a certain feeling or think of different syllables and break them down to see what sounds best. I then write these in a notebook and experiment with making changes.

Now this is where things can get tricky! Once I have an idea what kind of sound I want a name to have, I look for syllables that match. To do this, I take words or existing names that evoke a certain feeling. Then I write these in a notebook and experiment with mixing and matching syllables.

For example, I try putting different syllables together, and move the order around. If I kind or like one combination, but it doesn’t quite work, I might play around with what letters I use, or maybe I’ll change the ending or the vowel in the middle. If I’m still not satisfied with whatever concoction I come up with, I go back to the drawing board.

While this might not seem very efficient, it does help me get my mind going and think about what direction I want for whatever I am trying to name.

3.     Take Inspiration from Real World Names

If you’re writing something set in the real world, then you’re in luck! You can easily draw from a deep well of existing names. While selecting the right names might still be a bit tricky, at least you don’t have the added step of making sure it fits in your fictional setting. On the other hand, a story set in a medieval fantasy inspired world featuring a sorcerer named Ricky might be a bit jarring for some readers (unless it’s a comedy).

However, that’s not to say fantasy writers can’t also look at real names. This is where things can get pretty subjective, because some real names might work in one person’s fantasy world, but not another’s (Sorry, but Kyle probably isn’t a name I’d find in mine). Still, some names that are more antiquated or unique might actually find themselves more at home there. For example, the main character of my story is Dayne and it feels, at least in my opinion, perfectly natural there.

If I decide I’d like a character to have a more fantastical name, then I use a similar approach the above point. I take real-world names that I think evoke a certain aspect that works with that character and then try to alter it or tailor them to perfectly fit that character. 

For example, a key character in my story has the name Selyr, which I came up with through using this method. This character is very whimsical, with magic being a core aspect to her character. Naturally, I wanted her name to reflect this to drive this aspect home, even at a subconscious level.

When thinking of real names that could fit, I found myself drawn to the following ones:

Celene

Serena

Celeste

Then when considering words that evoked this sense, I thought of:

Serene

Ethereal

Effervescent

Iridescent

So I played with certain combinations and decided I liked the “Se” sound of the listed names, and I liked the “r” sound from the words in the bottom list. Eventually I settled on the name “Celere.” However, while I liked the name when spoken, I wasn’t quite happy with it on paper. So I made some tweaks, changing the “C” to an “S” and the way the “ere” was written to “yr” and finally got “Selyr” as the final name of the character.   

4.     Use Working Names Until You Figure it Out

If you’re really stuck in the story with finding names or want to just get into a story, it can be really helpful to use working names. Sometimes they even stick and you can’t imagine the character or place having any other name. Other times, it’ll buy you the time to really work on your story, flesh out the character and use the information you’ve developed to find a name that really works.

If you’re really stuck with coming up with a working name, then simply use a real-world name. Call your sorcerer Ricky or your main character Kyle if need be. At least you’ll have a bit of a laugh when looking back at older drafts, and you’ll have a funny story to tell when you finally get your work published! What really matters is that you don’t let names stop you from making progress.

5.     Use Certain Words for Organizations or Places

Not every made-up name needs to come from scratch. For example, names such as Winterfell or The Night’s Watch, rely on taking terms and putting them together to evoke a sense of place or purpose. It’s also a good idea to help prevent bogging down the reader with too many new terms to keep track with. Trying to come up with a name for something, like an order of knights, a reptilian creature, or city district might work better with this type of name.

This too can be a bit tricky, especially if you get so used to fabricating fantastical sounding names. But the process is pretty much the same. How do you want the name to sound? If it’s a place, what kind of atmosphere do you want it to have? If it’s an organization, what is its purpose or reputation? Answering some of these questions can give you an idea of where to start.

Once you answer these preliminary questions, then it’s a matter of picking the right words. If there’s any symbolism or particular motifs related to the place or organization, then it’s even better! Play around with different variations of the same word, maybe something more antiquated, maybe a descriptor, such as raven, in place of black, there’s a lot of possibilities!