Names in Scrivener
I should probably start this post by mentioning that Scrivener for Windows is out now! I worked with some beta copies of the program and found them very good, though I haven't purchased it yet, since I've rearranged my working space and am writing exclusively on Macs at the moment.
One of the features available in both Win/Mac is the Name Generator. When I'm writing along, nothing stops me faster than needing a character and not knowing what their name is. There are various parameters in the Name Generator you can adjust for: ethnicity, gender, obscurity, etc. But what I didn't know until today is that you can import your own lists as .csvs and have them come up.
So, theoretically, you could make a spreadsheet of Klingon names and import them as a category if you were writing a Star Trek story!
I have a penchant for traditional names, so I loved the ability to import historical US Census names. Scrivener Windows already has a USA category, but if you have Scrivener for Mac and you dig this feature, you may want to download some of the name databases from the site below. I did so, and I found I needed to open them and alter them in Excel before I imported them to remove the gender and year category. YMMV.
To import lists in Scrivener App, simply open the Name Generator, go to the "gear" icon, and beneath the existing list of name list types, add the .csv you've prepared by clicking the "+" symbol.
Here's a blog with tons of US names from censuses and other sources.
One of the features available in both Win/Mac is the Name Generator. When I'm writing along, nothing stops me faster than needing a character and not knowing what their name is. There are various parameters in the Name Generator you can adjust for: ethnicity, gender, obscurity, etc. But what I didn't know until today is that you can import your own lists as .csvs and have them come up.
So, theoretically, you could make a spreadsheet of Klingon names and import them as a category if you were writing a Star Trek story!
I have a penchant for traditional names, so I loved the ability to import historical US Census names. Scrivener Windows already has a USA category, but if you have Scrivener for Mac and you dig this feature, you may want to download some of the name databases from the site below. I did so, and I found I needed to open them and alter them in Excel before I imported them to remove the gender and year category. YMMV.
To import lists in Scrivener App, simply open the Name Generator, go to the "gear" icon, and beneath the existing list of name list types, add the .csv you've prepared by clicking the "+" symbol.
Here's a blog with tons of US names from censuses and other sources.
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*snort* I didn't even see that one. (It might be Burngarner but it's sure hard to tell.) The US Census Surnames list is like 14,000 names long and there are some doozies in there.I would think you could make your own list of middle names and call them "surnames" so the computer knew how to combine them...I wonder if new parents would like a random list or if it would be a turnoff? What an interesting idea!
It says BuMgaRNer - that was actually my high school choir director's last name.
I find "Bumgarner" giggle-worthy too. Anything that begins with "Bum," I guess! Very juvenile of me, I know.
Totally adore this feature! I always get stuck on surnames, so this helps immensely. :) Bumgamer...
Yup. That's Bumgarner. Just went back to my original source, and a whopping 0.003% of the US population were Bumgarners in 2010. Bumgardner is also in there, since it was right at the 0.001% threshold I used when making the list.Glad to hear people are finding the lists useful. They're oddly fun to put together. I enjoy seeding randomizers for some reason.
Very useful, DL, thank you for putting them together and making them available! I'm particularly stoked about the massive surname list.Missy, I hear you...in Magic Mansion (which has an absurd amount of characters) the name generator was a really helpful tool.
We need one of these at work. I'm a midwife and the mums are always looking for name ideas. lol