I tend to use
Behind the Name for actual names; academic accuracy is not critical in what's basically just a bit of a lark. I also had older links such as
this reconstruction of Scythian vocabulary and names and some stuff that no longer exists anymore, unfortunately. Other stuff that I haven't used as much but apparently bookmarked at some point are
YAFNAGEN and
Squid; heavens only know why. A joke in the other thread reminded me of Rinkworks, which also has a
name generator which, while its base templates tend to require multiple passes to come out with something usable, has some pretty decent stuff that can be done with its advanced generator.
If I need a fantasy name, though, I'll tend to take some real word or name and corrupt it slightly (so
rue becomes Ruya or Arevik becomes Arevi). I'll also try to tie it to the character somehow, just as you are, either in a fitting or ironic sense. For instance, in the RP forum right now, I'm playing Mirella Bergerie; Mirella likely derived from "to admire" or "to look" and Bergerie from the French
berger for a shepherd, the latter fitting for a cleric and the former ironic for someone who is very much in the background. Mashing together words is also something I heartily recommend, especially for surnames; that's where I picked up Risentide, Feiwright (both adjective-noun, albeit with a shift for "fey" to "fei"), Eirlys (Given name, and poaching from French to boot), and Bruinfel (which had everything to do with the fact that I had been reading on garden path sentences lately). Foreign languages, especially Slavic family, are also quite worthwhile.
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Topic: Name Depository (Read 1916 times)