How do you name your characters?

[puny]

okay... i'll do this to. heh.

Laleh

Spoiler:

with my little ronan-elf i went with a old joke from a very old elfgrouponly tabletop group in which boom, edgar, pinkpink and kickfoot also was a part of. the elfs name is a flirt with good old fun times. we used to sign a L with our thumb and indexfinger, hand over forhead (hehe) and say "lathrila-lathri-li-la" (or something like that) just to indicate that the following thing we were saying was in elven. Also the shortening of "Lathrillaleh" is Laleh, which is a wasy, nice nickname (aswell as a kickass artist from our town, youtube her "Laleh" hopefully you'll be amazed) the elf also, ofcourse have a middlename "Corellia" people names their kids after gods all over the world so why not flirt with the headhonco god? also, who didnt hate Corellia in swtor?) her surname Kevantander is just a awesome "puny really really liked names that starts with K... should start having a toon with the letter K somewhere on some kind of toon)

Deva

Spoiler:

as for Deva i just pressed random in the character creation out of "omfg, names are so hard" panic and stumbled over "Deva".. easy, nice, short, kinda paradoxal, it was a nice fit. as for the surname, Boom had already went through the "fuckfuckfuck... it needs a name!" with Rolo, it was just copypasting and highficing the bigbrother. Great surname boom! still loving it!

Anchra

Spoiler:

my old, shortlived bane priest. She defenitely couldnt have a soft and cute sounding name. im sure whores in skaug with some pretense of survivability doesnt name their bastards to "flower" "bambina" or "snow white". I had also recently read through an old Channel Divinity article for 4E about the origin of the point of Light version of Bane. apparently, in that distant alternative D&D universe he was a brother to Kord and some other lame dude that they killed and was originally called Achra (befor said unknown and unimportant brother got slain" i just added a little "n" to the mix. sadly, even bane clerics needs surnames.... *sigh* so i went back to a old favourite, flirted again with an old old tabletop group, this time a road of heaven dude a friend played, that had a kinda kickass very very faithy sire called Anwar the Shining-one (or something like that) it is a arabic name (i think?) with the meaning of peace/peaceful or somesuch. why not toss in a little almost contradiction (this time adding a little "e" to the mix, making it Anewar (who doesnt want the word "war" somewhere in their names anyway?)

that being said... i put down way to much time in trying to find the perfect name for toons... i have had many many toons with the wrong name, rending me unable to love, hate, despite and care for them in the short/long run. i hate picking names for toons, NPCs is a liiiittle easier... but not by far. the name still needs to be somewhat representative, a little hintish (for fun and ooc "hah.../omfgfuck")...
a part of me really really dont want to get kids. i can only imagine THAT namning horror and anxiety >.<

[kmj2587]

For me, the name is always the last thing I decide on, so I generally pick something appropriate to the home region that strikes me as being appropriate for the character and something that rolls off the tongue well. This works pretty well for humans at least.

For elves, I used to have a link to a site that had name tables for elves with prefixes and suffixes and their meanings listed, and I'd hack something appropriate together from that table. Since that site went down and I haven't found the tables elsewhere, I just pick something that sounds cool from a list on Candlekeep of basically every elven name mentioned in a canon source somewhere.

[vergin_sacrifice]

picking a name is by far the the most difficult part for me when it comes to character creation process, i hate it.

100% true. I literally spend more time on this than any other aspect of the character. Depending on race and class I do research on line as to something that I think is suitable to the race, background etc. But mostly it has to be something that I think sounds cool. I like to also keep it short and easy to type as a courtesy to other players.

Some examples:
Thoron -- wild elf ranger -- translates to Eagle
Cael -- wood elf ranger. Translates to "Arrow"

Pah, it isn't a properer Elven name without at least five syllables.

The way I see it, the only elves that have 5 syllable names with lots of apostrophes are the self important ones that are born in cities and think the more the name, the more the elf. For the wild elves, and wood elves, it is brevity that speaks volumes.

Example - Calil - Translates according to the angelfire site, to "faith's gift". I use that site, to come up with a name for elves. Of course, I do random if I have nothing in mind, but usually tweek a bit.

There is also a website with instructions for naming halflings, I use that to keep with the flavor. Rarely randomly generated, but what speaks to me for the character background I want to portray.
Examples, Violet Springflower, and Isabelladonna Rosemyrtle Sproutleaf.

I do not think so much, about how a character should have a name that defines them, as the personality of the character is not so much in my mind before the name is set. I try to think about who the major influences on the character are before naming, because in the end, it will be them who have chosen the name. Then, after I choose the name, I use what ever impact that name will have on them to help form the personality. Along with background. I can't play a character unless I can draw upon something of the background to help define what principles and thoughts will come to the situation. At least not play well and enjoy.

Isabelladonna Rosemyrtle Sproutleaf for example. I tell a story about how the aunts and uncles and grandmother all had influence in the naming, until the name was set to try to satisfy all of them. Of course, the nickname is just Bellie, something easy for game and people, because it's a mouthful.

I think the name is very important, and forms a core to the personality that develops. It can be tough, and if I can't find a name I'm happy with, I can't play the character.

[Galadorn]

I see a VS.

[danielmn]

With letters.

Usually a Capital letter, followed by lower case letters.

[Veilan]

With letters.

Usually a Capital letter, followed by lower case letters.

Really, you think this credible, danielmn?

[danielmn]

I am a master of naming things. I even know the whole alphabet!

[SCI-kick]

I like "tough" sounding, epic names (except for a hin, of course) that sound like the role... Here's some of my favorites from the past and present...

Goarus son of Goaric (northern human barbarian)
Bellock "Bell" Shadlun (dwarf thief locksmith)
Starno Gardenheel (halfling druid)
Amunhet (mulhorandi priest of Osiris)
Molok Melloque (eccentric human necromancer)

[Ronan]

Use EBoN, n00bs.

[chalksoul]

I usually go for old, usuallymythic, references

[Mikayla]

DH:

The threads that induce conceit get all the love.

Quoted for truth!

And since I am the veritable Queen of Conceit (in my ALFA persona anyway), here goes:

Sheyreiza Auvryndar/Valakasha: cribbed the first name from a name I saw in the 2e book on Drow of the Underdark that was similar to her IC mother's name (Shyntlara). Thats my recollection anyway - its been a decade. The House name came from the DM/in-game play, until I founded my own house - Valakasha is a contraction from the full name of the House, which was drow for House of the Dark Flower or something to that effect (its been a long time).

Vellya Alfarsdottir: Found a first name I liked on the "Viking Lady Answer Page" (a great resource for Viking related stuff) and then had to change it a bit because I screwed up the PC and needed a rebuild. The last name is pidgin Norse for "Elf's Daughter" and I chose that because Vellya was a half-elf bastard.

Lotus: Lotus was not her given name, but Lotus didn't remember her given name. I wanted a single name befitting her background - I won't go into that background here in detail, but the name had to be a little dark, a little mysterious, a little exotic and a little beautiful. Lotus was what I came up with.

Layla (aka Aliyah): Layla's real name, Layla, comes from the ancient Arabic poem (same one that inspired the name of Eric Clapton's famous song). Poetry was a major part of who Layla was, so it seemed appropriate. As for her nome-de-guerre, Aliyah, that came from Mr. Duncan if I recall correctly - it was a name he had suggested. Both Layla and Aliyah are Arabic in origin and thus somewhat appropriate to her Calishite background (though Persian names might have been even more appropriate - c'est la vie). Layla's other alias, Amira, came from Horatio (gonzo), and somewhere along the way someone called Layla a snake, which she actually took as a compliment, and then began introducing herself to strangers as "snake" when she wanted to be ornery.

So, thats how I named my PCs in ALFA.

[Brokenbone]

Jacobim Foxmantle?

Jacobim Mugatu. Well, plus a Selgaunt (Sembia) house name. And no crazy hair, frou frou dog or saying "Hansel, he's so hot right now." Nor a Todd.

[Veilan]

Mugatu.