• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • #Help1Writer
  • Publishing
    • Publishing 101
    • Self-Publishing 101
    • Pitch Contests (soon)
    • Find an Agent (soon)
    • Publishers
    • Literary Magazines
    • Query Coaching (soon)
    • Editing Services
    • Conferences (soon)
  • Spotlight
    • Featured Authors
    • From Famous Authors
    • Short Stories
    • Poetry
    • Art
  • Contests
    • EWR Writing Contests
    • Other Writing Contests
  • Writing Lab
    • Writing Lab 101
    • Writing Prompts
    • Resources for Writers
    • Editing Services
  • Submissions
    • Guidelines
    • Submit to EWR
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise
  • Social
    • Hub
    • Email
    • Forums
    • Members
    • Register
    • Log In

EveryWriter

A New Community of Writers

  • Poetry
  • Short Stories
  • Book Publisher Listings
  • Literary Magazine Listings
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / Articles On Writing / Help Me Name My Character

Help Me Name My Character

I see the questions on Twitter about once a week: Can you please help me name my characters? What is a good Swedish name for a character? I see these questions in many variations, so I thought I would put together a list of sites that help you name and define characters.

I have used real people for inspiration for my character at times. When the “real” people find out about it, they are sometimes not all that happy. Sometimes when you write about someone and embellish, or simply changes their characters, the “real” person can get a bit grumpy. I learned, using sites like these name generators is a much better idea than using “real” people as my inspiration.

There are 5 of these. I have found the best sites to use are fake identity generators. I don’t think everyone uses them for writing. Some people might be using them for fake dating identities, is my guess, or if they did something that went viral on YouTube and want to change their life. I don’t know why you would need a fake identity, but these sites work great for characters.

There are 2 things I looked for in these sites: 1. How well they work/How helpful they are. 2. The quality of the sites. Many many of the sites I looked at were overrun with ads and popups. I tried to weed those out, but you will see some of them have a lot of ads. Low ad sites in this category were very hard to come by.

These are in order from worst to best. All of them are fun to play with, and some offer unique options, but I saved the best for last.

5.Fake Person Generator

This site does have a lot of ads. I only list it because it will let you pick states to generate names. So you pick age, state, gender, city, and it will give you a name. It has other options on the site, but this one will give you some interesting suggestions.

4.Fake Data Generator

This site does have a good amount of ads, but they did not obstruct my experience. A lot of sites were much worse than this one, but don’t get me started. The site will generate anything from fake lotto numbers (which I don’t see how they can be fake), to character identities. It will give you age, height, eye color, hair color and much more. It’s worth a try if you are in a pinch.

3.Writing Exercises

This is a UK site. Right now it only gives British last names, but if you click around on the site, you will find a character generator that will help you develop character backgrounds. It’s a little different than the other sites.

2.Masterpiece Generator

Here is a site set up to give you a wide range of ideas for your characters and work. It will give you suggestions on name, sexuality, personality, biography, cause of death and more. It’s a well-rounded site with a lot of options. Also, the ads aren’t too bad. They do not obstruct the experience.

1.Fake Name Generator

Here is the Generator I recommend. It will give you fake identities from around the globe including Hobbits. It gives you all the information you need for a detailed profile, and the site has very minimal ads. It looks like a real site instead of some kind of ad carnival. Really, if I’m looking for details I go here. It doesn’t give you personality traits, but it does give you a long list of details that helps you build a characters.

In the end, I don’t want a machine building my characters, but help on names, height weight, gives me a good place to start when I get stuck. Generators have helped me at times. I find that sometimes you did need a little spark for the idea to start. If you find them helpful, or you hate them, post a comment below to let me know.

If you have a terrible ethical conflict in using such sites, tell me that too.

0

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AMANDA THOMPSON says

    June 12, 2019 at 5:23 am

    Very helpful, especially if you are looking for Japanese or other foreign names.

    0
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Current Contests

Write On

Classic

Is There a Santa Claus 1897

Is There a Santa Claus 1897

The following, reprinted from the editorial page of the New York Sun, was written by the late Mr. Frank P. Church: We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: Dear […]

On Hanging a Stocking at Christmas by Charles S. Brooks

On Hanging a Stocking at Christmas (1920)  by Charles S. Brooks As Christmas is, above all, a holiday for children, it is proper in its season to consider with what regard they hold its celebration. But as no one may really know the secrets of childhood except as he retains the recollection of his own, […]

More Posts from this Category

Mission

Around our site

  • Poetry
  • Short Stories
  • Book Publisher Listings
  • Literary Magazine Listings
  • Classifieds

Short Stories

Literary Magazines

Book Publishers

EWR: All for 1 One for All

Spotlight

Footer

Other

  • Join us!
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Newsletter
  • Jobs
  • Forum
  • Questions

Categories

Search Users

Search for:

Newsletter

Copyright © 2021 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in