Thinking up names

[Dunno]

No, seriously, am I the only one who struggles to think up original names? I've really tried for a long time, but recently I just gave up and I copy names from /core/macros/names.cfg. I also tried typing random letters and then adding vowels, but that always left me unsatisfied. Anyone else has some ideas they'd like to share?
I made this graph for this topic, and apparently it made it to the frontpage...

[Sapient]

There are some fantasy name generators online. What I would do is, take a whole afternoon and just keep cycling through the name generators. Whenever I found one that sounded cool, I would write it down and modify it a little, then add it to a text file that I save for such purposes. Also whenever I am studying a foreign language, like Greek or Hebrew which I sometimes use during my bible research, I will write down any cool-sounding words along with their definitions. So next time I am writing a story and need a good fantasy name, I just open the text file and take one off the list.

One time I was playing a very directionless Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and the GM was horrible at coming up with names on the spot. So whenever he needed a new name and he was taking too long, I would just roll a D20 and take some syllables out of the number and turn it into a person or location's name. We actually came up with some very memorable results that way, and it added some humor to the campaign.

[Dugi]

When I was to make up first names, I called the main three characters after four names I thought to sound cool from four (unrelated) stories (with no relation between each other), a bit changing the spelling. Then I named one Argan (without knowing about Shadowmaster's work) and questions came, Is it the same Argan as in IftU?, I had to ask Shadowmaster what does he suggest (after having played IftU). Then I made up a few names, either from some words that described them (elvish sorceress and later super necromancer Lethalia) or just by hitting the keyboard and then editing it to be pronounceable. Later, I started giving most less important characters funny names, usually with relations to some existing things, mostly in other languages (I named a necromancer Mal, and because it means Evil or Bad in french, I named another necromancer in that scenario Mauvais, that is a synonym; or I named an evil general Zelyezin, that would be Железин in Russian, a reference to Stalin, as стал/stal means steel and железо/zelyezo means iron). By the end, I gave it up totally, using the game's random name generator (generate_name=yes) to generate names even for important characters (using simply ids to refer to them, like scenario4_ally), but it also came to naming demons, first I used a half of demons mentioned in christian stuff and then I made a list of names for a random name generator also for demons.

[Astoria]

I usually use the wesnoth generator until I find something that sounds good.

[zookeeper]

I got a few name generators bookmarked (some also do place names, ship names, etc):

http://rinkworks.com/namegen/
http://www.squid.org/rpg-random-generator
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php
http://www.mythosa.net/rpggen/

I usually just browse lots of names until I find some which are good and either use them as such or modify them slightly.

[Telchin]

I agree that I have a problem with making up names, most characters in my UMC have either randomly generated or overly descriptive name. I usually rely on the Wesnoth's random name generator, at least sometimes I've playtested a new scenario with generate_name=yes in description of some enemies, then I noted the randomly generated name in the .cfg files. For other names in my UMC (spoiler for those who didn't play it):

Spoiler:

• Inky, Beaky, and Squiddy - these names are stolen from the scenario The Rise of Wesnoth from the campaign of the same name. They aren't meant to be the same cuttlefish (as my campaign takes place after TRoW), I just liked those names and couldn't make up something better. Note that Dead water also has a cuttlefish named Inky, so it's probably a common cuttlefish name
• Master Sea Head - this is what I meant by overly descriptive name above. He is simply the head all those tentacles from the deep are presumably attached to, lives in the sea and is Inky's mentor (I meant "master" as in "old master", not as "lord").
• Gaaa - a giant clam that only speaks by repeating her name. I actually got this idea from one user (IIRC, Maiklas3000). Note that she is refered as female, but real giant clams are hermaphrodites.
• Lich-Lord Ravyan - this is a reference to Lich-Lord Jevyan from the above mentioned TRoW and is justified in-story by Ravyan being Jevyan's disciple. AFAIK I took the Rav- part from Mal-Ravanal from Eastern Invasion, but there is no relation between those two (Inky's Quest takes place between TRoW and SoF).
• Flamy - this one is a fire-breathing squid, so his name has similiar structure to those of Inky, but with emphasis that he spits flames instead of ink.
• Sosarix - the end of this name is from Inarix from Son of the Black Eye, but there is no direct relation between those two. I just used a name of the only Saurian character I remembered from mainline Wesnoth and added some letters "s" because Saurians (as well as Nagas and Drakes) in mainline campaign tend to ssspeak with hissssssing. Of note is that Sosarix himself is a Saurian who doesn't hiss (other Saurians and Nagas in the campaign do) and is not related to calling SOS.
• Eternal Slave - another overly descriptively named charater. He is Ravyan's loyal spectre, who is fully awared of his boss's stupidity, but can't disobey (hence slave) and when he dies Ravyan raises him again (hence eternal).
• Radaigl and Radarth - two dwarvish brothers who detect your units spreading a flood, so I gave them names that begin similiarly as "radar". The rest of their names are syllables from names of Aiglondur and Angarthing from The Hammer of Thursagan.
• Bling - this is a reference to the term "bling-bling" meaning expensive jewellery, as this character is a troll shaman and those wear more ornate clothing than the rest of their kin. The name sounds similiar to typical trollish names anyway.

[Gambit]

Every time I start a project.

[ancestral]

Your saving grace is you can always change your characters’ names, just like you can change their stats. So if you aren’t fully satisfied, or if you are still trying it out, you don’t have to commit to it forever.

[Crow_T]

A dirty little secret: http://www.amethyst-night.com/names/index.html

Scottish/Irish names are a good place to start, where else can you find real names like Dubhghlas, Raghnall and Scrymgeour?

[artisticdude]

One trick that I employ is taking an existing word/name and spelling it backwards. Naturally most of the time that result will require some tweaking to get it to a readable (or even pronounceable) form, but it can often give you an excellent starting point. I also try to look at words from other countries and cultures, since that can help you diversify your name choices.

Another consideration is the kind of culture/development the character you're naming is from. For instance, the elves might have much lighter, more vowel-oriented names, while the dwarves might have heavier, and more consonant-oriented names, etc. You can see the same thing in real-world languages, i.e. French and German. In fact, you could even try and find a real-world culture/language that is similar to the culture you want to create, and base the names/language on that. This 'separation of cultures based on language/spelling/sound' can distinguish the two races/cultures and adds a subtle element of reality that IMO really helps sell your setting to the reader.

[Dixie]

I usually try to identify a few defining characteristics for the place/character I am trying to name, then pick a name with a related meaning, either from real names, words in other languages, mythology, etc.

[sur.nhm]

I'm simply unable to come up with normal names most of the time. I tend to either go hunting in a foreign language's dictionary, or use a random name generator. That said, every time I encounter a name which is a cool-sounding Hebrew word, I tend to have uncontrollable giggle fits, because people tend to choose... unfortunate words. Like that company called Tsumi (which is slang for attention in Hebrew and 'sin' in Japanese).