Character Naming Resources

20,000 Names

http://www.20000-names.com/index.htm

African Names

http://www.namesite.com/namesite/mainpage.html

Afrocentric Names

http://www.swagga.com/name.htm

Alfabette Zoope Name Lists

http://www.zoope.com/about/about_names.html

Good lists of names and meanings, including many non-western names.

Arabic Names, Masculine

http://www.ummah.net/family/masc.html

Arabic Names, Feminine

http://www.ummah.net/family/fem.html

Authentic Ancient Egyptian Names

http://www.geocities.com/wally_mo/names.html

Contains extensive lists of male and female names, but no meanings.

BabyCenter: Baby Name Search

http://www.babycenter.com/babyname/index.html

Searchable by name, type of name, country, or meaning. (Slow.)

BabyNameAddicts.com

http://www.babynameaddicts.com

"We have over 51,000 names, with meanings, origins, popularity graphs, surveys, and more! Pronunciation, full search functionality, and more are coming in early 2005."

Baby Name Genie

http://www.babynamegenie.com

If you're absolutely stuck trying to generate names for your characters, try this "genie," which will come up with a first and middle name based on the last name that you provide. (Great if you think "Layton Chad" would be a good name for a baby... or a character...)

BabyNamesHeaven.com

http://www.babynamesheaven.com

Baby Names List

http://www.babyhold.com

An extensive resource of over 25,000 given names, including their meanings, categorized by origin/culture or by ABC. We also offer an advanced search option, and a name suggestion tool.

Baby Name Network

http://www.babynamenetwork.com/

Baby Names of Asia and the Pacific

http://www.heptune.com/ocnames.html

Baby Names of Ireland

http://www.babynamesofireland.com/

Babynology

http://www.babynology.com/

Lists of names, some with meanings and some without, from around the world. Some of the lists look good; others have some rather dubious entries. Still, a lot of info here!

Behind the Name

http://www.behindthename.com

History and etymology of first names from around the world, including Biblical names.

Biblical Baby Names

http://www.biblical-baby-names.com

Biblical Names for Baby Bible

http://www.ballina.net/babynames/

Biblical Names, List of

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Biblical_names

This list is taken from Hitchcock's New and Complete Analysis of the Holy Bible by Roswell D. Hitchcock, New York: A. J. Johnson, 1874, c1869. NOTE: I've reviewed a number of Biblical name lists, and have found that meanings given in this particular work do not always agree with many other lists, so I'd recommend cross-referencing.

Cal Poly Pomona Name Pronunciation Guide

http://www.csupomona.edu/~pronunciation/

Guide to pronouncing names from a variety of languages; search by language or country, or search the lists for pronunciations.

Chinese Names

http://www.mandarintools.com/chinesename.html

This site enables you to generate Chinese names based on desired characteristics, and gives links to other good name and language sites.

Cool Baby Names

http://www.cool-baby-names.com/

This site has a number of interesting categories in which to search, such as Biblical names, Shakespearian names, flowers and plants, colors, animals and birds, etc.

Edgar's Name Pages

http://www.geocities.com/edgarbook/names/welcome.html

Currently boasts info on 1000 names. A useful feature is the lists of "top names" for different periods and locations.

European and Arab first names

http://www.vornamen-liste.de/index_eng.html

Name collection with emphasis on European and Arab first names. Presently offers only an extensive list of names; promises eventually to expand into a database that lists the country and meaning behind each name.

Hungarian Names 101

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1336/magyarnames101.html

Hungarian Feminine Names

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1336/magfem.html

Hungarian Personal Names of the 16th Century

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1336/magyar16.html

Indian Baby Names

http://babynames.indobase.com/

Indian Baby Names and Their Meanings

http://www.indiaexpress.com/specials/babynames

Irish Names

http://www.namenerds.com/irish/

Irish Names, Traditional

http://web.ncf.ca/bj333/HomePage.boys.html

Last Names Meanings Dictionary

http://www.last-names.net/

Meaning-of-Names.com

http://www.meaning-of-names.com

Nearly two million names and over 45,000 meanings and histories.

Medieval Names Archive: English, Old English, and Anglo-Norman Names

http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/english.shtml

Excellent lists of names from a variety of periods); well-researched and definitive.

Medieval Names Archive: Names from Other Countries

http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names

Names from cultures and periods around the world.

The Name Machine

http://www.thenamemachine.com/

Ranks the popularity of names over the past 100 years.

The Name Site

http://www.thenamesite.com

Search for meanings of individual names, or browse the database of over 5000 names.

Name Yo Baby

http://www.nameyobaby.com

Another baby name database.

Parenthood Web

http://www.parenthood.com/babynames.html

Allows you to search for all names on file for a particular region.

Quick Baby Names

http://www.quickbabynames.com

20,000 searchable baby names and their meanings, with popularity charts based on US statistics, and "a nifty little name "filter" that makes choosing a baby name a whole lot easier."

Random Vocabularies/Name Generation Page

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pound/

Generate names or words, or invent a language.

Sikh Names and Their Meaning

http://www.sikhs.org/names.htm

Think! Baby Names

http://www.thinkbabynames.com

Resource on names for writers. Provides the meaning, origin, history, religious significance, and popularity of first names.

Character Naming Sourcebook

The Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames

The Oxford Dictionary of First Names

The Secret Meaning of Names

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