I’ve written about choosing the right character names before but I get a lot of views from people searching for ideas for character names, so I figured I needed to do something about that.
Choosing names for your characters isn’t always easy and sometimes you just need someone to tell you what to do so you can stop overthinking it and start writing. You can find countless lists of just first names or just last names everywhere on the internet, and I wanted to take one thing out of your to-do list and have a list of interesting first name/last name combos.
You can use these character name ideas however you want – you can take them as they are, you can combine them or change them as you feel inspired to do. Let me know if you have any requests for specific types of names and I’ll whip them up for you!
If some of these names are already used by characters you know or actual existing people, that’s 100% not intentional. I apologise for my ignorance and will repent accordingly.
Please note: Most of these names are suited the best for English-speaking characters simply because I write this blog in English. If you’d like to submit a list of cool name ideas in your language, I’d love to include it and even include a link to your socials in addition to your name 🙂
Tips for choosing character names
You can read more extensively about this in the other post about character names, but here are quick tips for choosing the names:
- Characters with similar names can confuse your readers so try to avoid too many similarities
- Pick names that are appropriate for your story’s location and time
- Choose names that are easy to read and to remember and that sound good when you say them out loud
- Unforgettable characters need names that have main character energy
- Your characters can have nicknames in dialogue, but you should stick to just one name in the narration
With that out of the way, here are some character name ideas you can use.
Character names that sound cool
Some names just have a cool ring to them, don’t they? Sometimes it’s the rhythm of the syllables and sometimes it’s just a fun combination of sounds that makes a name cool and interesting. Here are some names like that:
- Scout Cromwell
- Jamie St. James
- Quinn Ledger
- Raquel Ravenscroft
- Ariel Windermere
- Leticia Lovelace
- Elodie Youngblood
- Chance Whittaker
- Harlow Dubois
- Levi Rose
- Percy Goforth
Non-English character name ideas
Here are some character name ideas for characters that aren’t from English-speaking countries. The world is a big place and this is just a tiny list written by one person, so feel free to submit your own list of names so we can have more diversity.
- Otto Majuri (Finnish)
- Elviira Korppi (Finnish)
- Ravindra Sharma (Indian, specifically Hindu)
- Freja Ek (Swedish)
- Algot Dahl (Swedish)
- Andrus Tammi (Estonian)
- Amena Altattan (Arabic)
- Albrecht Ketelsen (German)
- Claudette Klein (German)
- Astrid Liljestierna (Nordic)
- Eva Petrova (Russian)
Character name ideas inspired by nature
Although there are sections for fantasy names and witchy names, I wanted to have a list of just nature-inspired names whether it’s first or last names, or both. Try some of these ideas for your characters who like to stop to smell the roses:
- Petronella Nightingale
- Lily Lancaster
- Dahlia Tinsley
- Wren Hawthorne
- Poppy Briar
- Marigold Gandor
- Primrose Pierce
- Peregrine Ellery
- Lumi Lark
- Azalea Garnet
Trendy character name ideas
I know “trendy” is a weird way to describe a name since trends are always changing while a person’s name usually stays the same, but when I was making this post, I came up with a few names that sounded like popstar or influencer names and I wanted to include them in this list:
- River Nova
- Sage Soleil
- Dove Summers
- Laura LaVeau
- Harper Ellis
- Lilith Rain
- Kit Steele
- Romi Riot
Quirky character names
Sometimes you just want a quirky character name that you soon won’t forget and that has this air of whimsy around it. Here are some quirky name ideas for your characters who are just so random:
- Kitty Kincaid
- Effie Lightfoot
- Trixie Quinn
- Jax Zinnia
- Xan De Rosa
- Lexi Li
- Fig Marlowe
- Ruby Gold
- Titania Clove
Character names for fantasy novels
Fantasy novel character names get a bad rap sometimes and not completely without reason. Names with superfluous – or should I say S’Perfluous – apostrophes and names that are nothing but scrambled letters have become sort of a joke and you might want to steer away from them.
To get interesting fantasy novel names, you could use old names, combine names and words in different ways or change regular names just a little, just to give you some ideas. You can also use some of these name ideas for your magical characters:
- Danise Raven
- Liliann Flyforth
- Silviya Silverthorn
- Morgani Werrick
- Anisa Magebearer
- Izara Wolff
- Aster Cedarhill
- Avelina Falconsbreath
- Kenric Aspentender
- Honora Ravister
- Silke Nightt
I’ve got far too many name ideas for this genre, so stay tuned for an entire blog post about fantasy name ideas.
Ideas for science fiction character names
You can come up with great names for your science fiction characters the same way you would do with fantasy: take a regular name and turn it a little to the left. If you’re writing dystopian fiction, you might have characters with really descriptive nicknames or names that they’ve given themselves.
Unlike in fantasy where names can be swirly and remind you of nature and olden times, scifi character names are more likely to sound more harsh and they can allude to the times that the characters are living in rather than a distant past.
Here are some scifi character name ideas I crafted especially for you:
- Trick Nevis
- Nix Keely
- Ellipse Ryder
- Helix Moon
- Fixy Ferris
- Genny Highlane
- Nate Spectre
- Tilly Prism
- Twyla Nyx
Crime fiction character name ideas
When you’re writing crime fiction, you don’t want to use silly or obviously crime-y names, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a couple of names sprinkled in that clearly say this is a badass character on their way to cause shenanigans. Check out some of these character name ideas for crime fiction:
- Helen Harbinger
- Tallulah Stonebreaker
- Waylon Sharpe
- Dev Savage
- Winter Hardy
- Rolf Viotto
- Grim Cavendish
- Scarlett Hart-Stone
- Mac Maverick
Romance novel character name ideas
If you’re writing modern romantic fiction, you probably don’t want to name your characters something pompous like “Aurora-Rose Truelove” and “Jack Strongshoulder” or something else that probably belongs in a book with Fabio on the cover. (I’ve never actually read any of those books, so I deeply apologise if I’m misrepresenting them.)
Still, you might want to choose a name that somehow represents the fantasy of being loved or fits your character’s personality. Here are some ideas that you can steal from me like you stole my heart:
- Ally Hollingsworth
- Benjamin Langford
- Joy St. Clare
- Nixie Merriweather
- Billie Birdsong
- Flynn Diaz
- Rosamund Snow
- Marissa Knott
- Eulalia Parrish
- Shoshana Adelstein
If you are a romance writer, do check out my romance novel outline template or the enemies to lovers outline template.
Dark character names
If you’re writing something dark and moody, you probably don’t want all your character names be “Killer McDeath” or something, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a character or two with a name that fits the mood of your story. It’s just about the vibes.
Whether you’re writing horror or a dark academia story, here are some character name ideas for the darker side of fiction:
- Agatha Vesper
- Lyra Starke
- Persephone Fox
- Mara Morrigan
- Tristan Hallows
- Midnight Swann
- Maxine Morte
- Fatima Mace
- Ellery Blood
- Magnolia Calloway
Witchy character name ideas
Whether a name is witchy or not is generally a matter of vibes, so you can take or leave any of these witchy character names depending on if they feel suitable for your character or not. I just think these names are definitely best said over candlelight:
- Elisa Evergreen
- Virginia Grey
- Guinevere Wildfire
- Willa Clearwater
- Aviana Oak
- Euphrosyne Lockwood
- Muriel Blackstone
- Calla Wormwell
- Penny Firesinger
- Nellie Bramblewood
- Katinka Abernathy
These were all the character name ideas for now! If you’d like to see more, or if you’d like to submit a list of cool names from your language/culture, please let me know in the comments or send me an email to hello(at)protagonistcrafts.com.
Protagonist Crafts is a blog about writing fiction, written by a published author and creative writing teacher. You can find more writing tips and inspiration in the blog and you can get the best author tools at Writer Lifestyle on Etsy.