Names have meaning because of the individual. Yet it’s so hard to pick one out of hundreds in order to describe a character. Believe me, I know. I spent a day sifting through my Pinterest inspiration board and am overwhelmed by the number of names that can be given to a prince, murderer, and everything in between. To make life a little easier, I compiled the most fascinating names I found and know below.
Think there’s a name that should be added? Leave a comment and I’ll update the list.
Traditional
- Alan
- Albert
- Austin
- Bartholomew
- Beckett
- Benedict
- Benjamin
- Bill
- Bowie
- Bronson
- Calvin
- Cameron
- Camden
- Casper
- Charles
- Christian
- Clay
- Clinton
- Cole
- Corey
- Dan
- Darwin
- Dave
- Derek
- Don
- Douglas
- Duncan
- Edmund
- Edward
- Einstein
- Eugene
- Felix
- Finn
- Floyd
- Flynn
- Frank
- Frederick
- Gage
- George
- Gideon
- Grant
- Grey
- Harris
- Hendrick
- Henry
- Holt
- Indy
- Isaiah
- Israel
- Jack
- James
- Jasper
- Jeremiah
- John
- Jonas
- Jonathan
- Joseph
- Jude
- Kane
- Kyle
- Lance
- Landon
- Liam
- Lincoln
- Luther
- Lou
- Mac
- Marcus
- Mark
- Martin
- Miles
- Milo
- Nash
- Nathan
- Oliver
- Otis
- Otto
- Peter
- Phineas
- Quentin
- Quinn
- Reuben
- Robin
- Rome
- Samuel
- Sebastian
- Shepherd
- Sonny
- Stetson
- Terrance
- Theodore
- Thomas
- Tim
- Victor
- Wallace
- Walter
- Watson
- Wells
- Weston
- Wilde
- William
Inventive
- Alastair
- Almon
- Angus
- Armond
- Arrow
- Ash
- Axel
- Benton
- Berkley
- Bough
- Braun
- Ceril
- Chip
- Clarence
- Clyde
- Cyrus
- Damon
- Dante
- Darius
- Desmond
- Dunn
- Everett
- Fergus
- Gilbert
- Hawthorne
- Heath
- Hondo
- Horatio
- Irving
- Jasper
- Kahn
- Kalek
- Kaladin
- Kendrix
- Knox
- Kol
- Leith
- Lennox
- Lucian
- Lupus
- Magnus
- Maverick
- Niko
- North
- Orion
- Orlo
- Orville
- Plink
- Phoenix
- Quade
- Rowan
- Ruskin
- Rhodes
- Seb
- Tobias
- Trench
- Ulysees
- Vaughn
- Vladimir
- Wade
- Warren
- Winslow
- Wolfe
- Wren
- Wright
- Yen
- Yuri
- Zayan
- Zayden
- Zeke
Fantasy
- Ambrose
- Aurelius
- Erat
- Evander
- Griffin
- Horace
- Ivor
- Jynn
- Kelso
- Lyndon
- Mechel
- Percival
- Pluto
- Quinn
- Xero
- Calix
- Espen
- Evander
- Archer
- Ender
- Hannes
- Lain
- Mikko
- Priel
- Rhory
- Rune
- Tiago
- Koa
- Lance
- Roan
- Tieran
- Wylder
- Zephyr
- Odin
- Zeus
- Cornelius
Wanna Craft Your Own Names?
My editor dislikes the fact that I craft bizarre names basically for a living. However, creating your own is enjoyable.
Your primary problem will be pronunciation. You could make a joke about getting the name wrong or have a pronunciation chart in the back, but the suggestion my editor gave me is to spell the name in a way that people are forced to say it correctly.
For example, my sci-fi novel has a character named Mechel. Most likely when you read that, you thought “meh-kel” (“muh-kel” works too). We’re taught in elementary school to sound out letters in certain ways; writers can use this to their advantage. Spell based on pronunciation, test it on other people, and you’ll have your own unique name.