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Sorcha ● Forsythia (forsythia) wrote in rp_tutorials,
@ 2011-12-20 01:26:00

Entry tags:

resources: character creation, resources: general

Character Name Resources
While neck-deep in what is proving to be a difficult name search for a couple of new characters, I came across some new-to-me naming resources. Since I can't possibly be the only person who sucks at naming characters via imagination alone, I thought I'd share.

French Surnames - You might be able to find lists here for other nationalities, but I have no clue how since I found this through Google.
Baby Names World - Use the page linked to find various nationalities/origins. For more options, click the "browse by category" tab.
Onomastikon - Provides plenty of given names and a few surnames for different regions and countries.
Baby Name Train - When you choose a category, it automatically takes you to the boy names. Browse those or click "Baby Girl Names" (toward the top).
Think Baby Names (Girl) - Female names by origin.
Think Baby Names (Boy) - Male names by origin.
Baby Names and Stuff - Plenty of names, divided by categories such as origin, gender, and popularity.

Note that I used all of these sites with Firefox and NoScript. None of them required script permissions in order to function decently (though a couple appeared rather ugly as a result). Therefore, I have no clue whether invasive or unwanted advertising and/or scripts may be on these sites.

(Post a new comment)

	helloworld 2011-12-20 08:05 am UTC (link)
	behindthename.com is my favorite! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	forsythia 2011-12-20 08:09 am UTC (link)
	I'll have to check that one out, too. Thanks! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	crazypanda 2011-12-20 04:37 pm UTC (link)
	babynamegenie.com is fun (and my personal favorite), and you just need to have the baby's last name. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	forsythia 2011-12-21 03:05 am UTC (link)
	I already have that one in my bookmarks, so I didn't think to put it on my list. But yeah, it's one of my faves as well when I'm not looking for a name from a specific nationality. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	enamoured 2011-12-20 10:10 pm UTC (link)
	Behind the Surname is a sister site to Behind the Name, and it is soooo helpful. And then there's the US Social Security Administration's list of most popular baby names, which can sort by year. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	forsythia 2011-12-21 03:00 am UTC (link)
	Thank you so much! I've been looking for some good surname resources to help with character naming. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

nonespared
2011-12-22 03:13 pm UTC (link)

Too lazy to swap out of my RP journal but I have a ton of links, some outdated. But I'll happily share whatever seems good:

→ 16th & 17th Century Anglicized Irish Surnames from Woulfe
→ About Greek surnames & even more
→ Russian surname creation
→ About.com's Surname Finder & Germanic Surname Lexikon & Polish Surname Meanings & Origins
→ Irish Surname Search
→ Ancestry.come (fill in a surname and sometimes it pops up with something)
→ British Surname Website
→ Origins and Etymology of Italian Surnames
→ Sicilian Surnames Search Engine
→ Italian Surnames
→ Some information on Turkish surnames
→ Common Welsh Surnames
→ Origin and Meaning of Doukhobor Surnames
→ List of Scottish clans
→ Czech surnames
→ List of common Chinese surnames (About Cantonese Names)
→ 19 Most Common Chinese Surnames or Family Names
→ Origin of Chinese Family Names (Surnames or Last Names)

And I think those are the most usable right now. Sorry if that seems a bit all over. I'm groggy sdflkj

If anyone knows if any link isn't that stellar, do share! I know someone once told me behindthename.com can sometimes be wrong. So definitely wiki and google any name from there to be sure of accuracy.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	nonespared 2011-12-22 03:21 pm UTC (link)
	We need an edit function on IJ but: → Muslim Name & Meanings → Browse Arabic Surnames → Browse Muslim Surnames → Browse Greek Surnames → 20000 Names → Bad Baby Names → Babynames.com → English Names & Meanings → Medieval Names Archive Ok, I think I am done now. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	forsythia 2011-12-22 03:26 pm UTC (link)
	Where would you like your internet delivered? <3 Thanks so much for sharing all of those; I can see right now several are relevant in my current name search. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	nonespared 2011-12-22 03:42 pm UTC (link)
	dsfkdsj ♥♥! Just happy to help out! I'm crazy about details and researching things. So if my hoarding sites can ever be good for someone else, excellent. :D Happy sifting! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	hammertech 2011-12-22 07:41 pm UTC (link)
	This is fantastic! (Reply to this)

	badgerz 2011-12-26 01:56 am UTC (link)
	My favorite for finding names that go together for families: Nymbler. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	potter 2012-02-04 08:04 pm UTC (link)
	i was just going to recommend this! great resource. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2016-02-20 06:22 am UTC (link)
	Late to the party but: Nameberry (http://www.nameberry.com) (Reply to this)