How I Come Up With Character Names

Coming up with interesting but pronounceable character names for an imaginary world can be challenging. I will make up a name for a character that I think is unique, and then I google it only to find that it is a name belonging to an ethnic group in central Asia, or is slang for something inappropriate. If it is a name used by another fantasy author, then I try not to use it either.

It is almost impossible to come up with a name that is not already a word in another language. If the word meaning fits how I want to use it, then I use it anyway. For example, the word 'herida' is Spanish for the word 'wound.' It is also the name of a city in my imaginary country of Cerecia. The meaning of the word works out well for what happens there.

For the different countries and languages in my world, I have created some rules to help keep the names distinct from each other. The Artylian language uses a 'y' instead of a short 'i' whenever possible. The Cerecians use the 'sh' and 'ch' sound frequently and don't have an 'oo' sound.

While writing, I often leave spaces in place of new characters or locations and add them in after the first draft is finished. That way I don't get slowed down by trying to come up with new names. Writing should be a fun process, not a frustrating one!