I always go to Babynames.com it's a great site. I usually go to the "Advanced" search and fill the small form out to find the perfect name for my character.
"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." ~Toni Morrison
Doing a quick google search on baby names is always helpful.
Plus, when I think of a character, I first think up their personality and then search for names I associate with that. I used block-like, harsh to the tongue names for villains and sweet, lip-using names for the good guys. So clearly I'm not to name a good character Vicki Hunt, or my bad character Gracie Tissel, etc.
(And yes, I'm fully aware those names sounded very lame. Spur of the moment, ok? XD)
-If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you! -"Careful with that light at the end of the tunnel, it might be another train coming."
I usually like exotic or unusual names for my characters - I have an awesome Celtic Names Book which I refer to, otherwise baby names websites. Once I looked up "evil baby names" and got loads of results
I think that the best way to fin baby names is from the Writers Digest book called something like Book of Character Names. It has names catagorized by every nationality, so if your character is Arabic, you cna find a name (and a surname) that is from there.
“If you don't think there is magic in writing, you probably won't write anything magical.” - Terry Brooks
It really depends for me on what kind of story I'm writing. Most of my stories tend to have a basis in the real world, so I google most common/popular baby names, so I can find a name that's realistic. I've found this site to be really helpful:
Right now though in the story I'm working on I just picked names I liked the most, regardless of how realistic they are and of the fact that this takes place in the real world. My two main characters are named Ruby and Kieran so...
Whenever I go about thinking of a name, I first contemplate the intended traits of the character---whether they are shy, rebellious, evil, etc. Then, I take this information and enter it into a search engine in some context of, for example, "names meaning rebellious." There's always a plethora of hits and choices to choose from. You can narrow it down based on nationality, i.e. "Irish names meaning -----" or gender, etc.
Eh...it works for me.
"On rare occasions he showed flashes of stagnant intelligence. But his brain was so rotted with drink and dissolute living that whenever he put it to work it behaved like an old engine that had gone haywire from being dipped in lard." ---Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary
I often use the site Seventh Sanctum to help me, because its got lots of themed generators, so you could search for Elf names or Superhero names, y'know, really specific stuff like that
It also has generators that give you the first few words to a start of a story or a brief description of a character, to help spark off your writing.
...we're only good for the latest trends...
I walk on wounds that seldom prove to slow me down
'Writing is a cop-out. An excuse to live perpetually in fantasy land, where you can create, direct and watch the products of your own head. Very selfish.' ~ Monica Dickens
When I need to find names I normaly go on a baby names site and go through the names. However in order to see if it suits my characters i either imagine/write a scene using that name or look up its meaning and see if it is anything like that character. But if you look up a name meaning use a different site because you'll get something different.
For Example: My name on baby names sites almost always means God Is Gracious, however look it on a name meaning site and I get Wise Little Owl.
Hope this helps =D
You got it, You got it, Some kind of magic, Hypnotic, Hypnotic, You're leaving me breathless -Paramore, I Caught Myself
Well, usually the names just appear in my mind, totally without explanation. But when I can't decide I look at those baby names sites. My favourite is www.listadenomes.com.br The site is all written in Portuguese, so even if you need any help you can e-mail me or something... (The first thing to do is click in the "Pesquisa de nomes" box)
It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives. "This is calm, and it's doctor!" (My DR. Reid -- Best line ever)
