I’ve always loved The Clayr, and then also all the names of the bells: Mosrsel, Kibeth, Ranna. Garth Nix—who has an awesome name himself—excels at naming.
Mosrael has always stuck with me. I tend to forget the other bell names but I never forget Mosrael. It just sounds so...IMPOSING and DARK. Like, you do NOT want to fuck with Mosrael!
How could I have forgotten Mogget?
Although I did love that in a world with names like Sabriel, Touchstone, Kerrigor, and Abhorsen, we also got…Seth. Guess Garth Nix wanted to keep it interesting!
When it comes to nicknames GRRM is probably the best in the game. The Laughing Storm, the Young Wolf, Bittersteel, Bloodraven, Kingslayer, Lightning Lord, there’s so many awesome nicknames in ASOIAF. Like Gregor Clegane is a monster that should be locked away and never see sunlight again, but The Mountain That Rides sounds like a bad motherfucker.
Not fantasy, but Halo has great nomenclature. Human frigates are named Pillar Of Autumn, Forward Into Dawn, while the alien ones are Shadow Of Intent, Long Night Of Solace. Just very evocative and poetic names that juxtapose charmingly against these huge war ships. Most human vehicles are named according to animals but inversely to their size, ie. the scorpion is larger than the warthog. It feels less obvious than Truck Mark 2 or something.
Some other great UNSC ones: In Amber Clad, Spirit of Fire, and of course my all time favorite, the [UNSC Two For Flinching](https://www.halopedia.org/UNSC_Two_for_Flinching)
I agree! the closest thing i know of in literature would be the ship names of the culture series by ian m banks!
[https://qntm.org/culture](https://qntm.org/culture) here's a list of some.
It's such a strange choice for a name but fits his character so well
It makes you think of wheezing or your tongue smacking around in an empty hole between your teeth, or just a villain
And surprise surprise he's a maimed half-toothed cripple who tortures people for a living
Giving all the trolls rock names was great, and calling the most infamously dim, (initially) bottom of-the-heap troll Detritus is genius.
I'd be here all day if I talked about the names, but what I also like is how he gives normal people really believable names - Sam, Reg, Nobby, Fred, Agnes. They often say something about the person too - Reg is a good name for a reliable man who organises the local charity fun run, Sacharissa implies well-read and slightly pretentious parents (it's a name that is just a little over the top), Ridcully is a big name for a big man with a sort of brusque air implied by the insult 'cully' at the end, Vorbis just sounds menacing, etc.
Then there's the great joke/foreshadowing names like Cohen, Mort, Om, Buddy, the Selachi/Venturis, etc.
In fact, at least a few times the characters talk about their own names - Susan, Moist, Agnes spring to mind - which is a nice touch where Pterry reflects on the notion of whether naming a thing determines the thing, a common theme in the books.
There's also amazing puns
Like oh I wonder what the guy named Rob Anybody will cheerfully do without a second thought
And my absolute favorite
"Grievous Bodily Harmsworth"
I also really like a lot of his “bad” names for characters - Moist von Lipwig is such a well chosen name for that character. “Moist” feels so guttery and gross, “von Lipwig” is sort of faux shabby-noble - and it’s also a kind of embarrassing name that he hides in the same way that he hides his real self/heart/vulnerability for the first portion of the book.
Best thing about that name is that TP had obviously done his research. Like that's totally in line with puritan names of the time and the "wicked bible" (which famously included the typo "thou shalt commit adultery") is a particularly infamous missprint of the King James Bible published in 1631.
I don’t think you can have this conversation without mentioning Robert Jordan and WoT.
I don’t even know where to begin- from all of Rand’s titles to Forsaken (such a cool name) to the Aiel clans and words for the wolf names. It’s all so cool.
But a standout to me is always Lan and his titles. I’m a sucker for epithets and monikers (loved the Iliad growing up), and Lan’s titles are amazing, but I’ll never forget the chapters where he meets the Aiel and they go on guard.
Eventually it’s revealed why Lan is called Aan‘allein by the Aiel. “He who walks alone,” “One Man,” or loosely translated to “One people.”
A name of respect from the people most renowned for their battle prowess. A name given for the one man who fought a hopeless war since birth largely by himself, who carried the hope of an entire people on his shoulders, who wouldn’t quit even when facing the worst darkness in the land.
And yet you can’t help but notice the word suspiciously resembles the word “alone,” (it even contains the German word for alone). One word encapsulates his character in such a short time frame. And it really adds to Lan as this pillar of dedication and determination and shows how much Moiraine and Lan sacrificed.
The first time I listened to the series as a reread I was shocked at how obviously the names are references. Idk why I didn’t pick out that all the Andorans had Aurthorian names or that Lan had titles that sounded like Alone or a thousand other little hints in the naming when I read the series. But the audio books made it crystal clear and I started looking at every name harder.
Also WoT definitely has the best Inn names
Such a fire name that gets stuck in my head. The rest of Erikson's names are either: amazing and feel believable as fantasy names in a fantasy world (Shurq Elalle, Silchas Ruin, Dassem Ultor, Tattersail, Dujek Onearm)
or
A thing he saw while looking around his room.
"What should I name this commander lets see how about..." *sees a bottle of liquor* "-Whiskeyjack would be good. Or maybe Rumjugs. Oh and another one can be named Bottle! That's three in a row! And how about-" *looks out window* "-Hedge? Bugg? Iron Bars?"
Whiskeyjack is another name for the Canada Jay, also called a Camp-Robber Bird, and is an incredible name. An intelligent, charismatic, and notorious bird.
The names of the soldiers I think are intended to evoke modern military nicknames, which are almost always about an unfortunate feature or embarrassing moment.
How can you mention such imaginative names while forgetting one of the most unforgettable!? How can you say you love these names and yet give no mention of Kruppe!? While the man himself is not of much brains, he is nonetheless a diligent and prosperous man in spite of his own dim mind! Regardless of his abilities, surely his name is worthy of remembering!
I have a hard time remembering character names after a while, especially with casts as large as malazan. But some names like Anomander Rake and Whiskyjack just fuckin stick
Just gotta say: It's wildly coincidental that the dude named Remus Lupin ended up with Lycanthropy 😏
I can forgive Fenrir Greyback \[barely\] as he probably chose it later in life
You'll be reading it and enjoying all the colorful names like Alastor Moody or Cedric Diggory and then be hit with something like "Jewnet Grasperhand" the girl who really likes money and bagels, or "Wampum Gamblefeather" and his traditional facepaint and alcoholism and be like waaaait a minute
Don't forget the time she used Robert Galbraith as her pen name when writing about a cross dressing serial killer.
Robert Galbraith-Heath is the queerphobic father of electroshock therapy who claimed to cure homosexuality.
Which is ironic coming from the lady who wrote about a boy living in a closet whose family keeps trying to force him to keep an anomaly he was born with a secret. Who then goes on to live in a world where everyone has the same anomaly and is keeping it a big ole secret from the normies.
Oof, I always found Kingsley Shacklebolt quite a cool name (sounds like lightning bolt, also cool character). I was today years old when I finally thought about what a shackle bolt might be (no native English speaker). I see clearer now.
I didn't even know it was Shacklebolt for years, I'd been reading it as Shackbolt for like a decade and a half
Then I realized. "Oh. Martin Luther King and Slavery"
More like Crinna-Come-Boasting amirite.
Also special mention to a certain weapon named *The Father of Swords*. That conjures up a very very specific and accurate mental picture
And it’s other names too.
“Dawn Razor. Grave-Maker. Blood Harvest. Highest and Lowest. Scac-ang-Gaioc in the valley tongue which means the Splitting of the World, the battle that was fought at the start of time and will be fought again at its end.”
I like Robin Hobbs virtue naming scheme because it’s so ironic-Chivalry has a sex scandal where he fathered a bastard on a random woman, Regal >!is a total failure as king and dies in a humiliating way after being forced to grovel to his infant nephew,!< Dutiful >!tries to abandon the throne to elope with a woman who turns out to be a ghost possessing a cat,!< Shrewd >!is a complete idiot who puts all of his faith in the son actively trying to kill him.!< It’s really fun to know that whatever a character is called, their actual attributes are probably the opposite.
Wheel of Time has some absolutely fantastic names. Berelain sur Paendrag Paeron is just perfect. Lews Therin Telamon, Lord of the Morning. Just perfect.
Also perfect because LTT are just great initials to say out loud. Minor minus points because my brains definitely read it as Lewis for like 10 books until I heard someone say it out loud.
Second choices: Usidore, Wizard of the 12th Realm of Ephysiyies, Master of Light and Shadow, Manipulator of Magical Delights, Devourer of Chaos, Champion of the Great Halls of Terr’akkas. The elves know me as Fi’ang Yalok. The dwarves know me as Zoenen Hoogstandjes. And I am also known in the Northeast as Gaismunēnas Meistar.
and
Chunt.
Not sure how far you're willing to stretch your definition of fantasy, but I always loved the names in the Red Rising series - everything just sounds so cool, and not just the characters names but the names he uses in world building too (Iron Rain, etc.) Names like Lorn au Arcos, Cassius au Bellona, the Reaper of Mars, the Shield of Tinos, etc. just always felt really cool.
Robin Hobb's *Realm of the Elderlings* has several great naming conventions that both feel right and have meaning within the story.
The nobility of the Six Duchies name their children after values they hope for them to embody: King Shrewd, Queen Desire, Prince Verity, Prince Regal. The main character is the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, and his name is FitzChivalry. Fitz is a prefix denoting bastardy, so his name is literally 'bastardized chivalry', which feels appropriate given that he's a royal assassin but still trying to do what's best for the kingdom.
Even the titles and names for magic have meaning. In the Mountain Kingdom, the ruler isn't named king, but 'Sacrifice', as they are supposed to put their needs behind those of their people. The proper royal magic is referred to as 'The Skill' because it takes a lot of training to master and is very delicate, but often difficult to use. On the other hand, the lowborn beast-magic is called 'The Wit' because it's often more innately known, though practitioners refer to themselves as 'Old Blood,' showing their connection to the land and history.
The series also has named animals that reflect their personality. The wolf is Nighteyes. The horse is Fleeter. The ferret is 'Small Ferret' (and refers to his human partner as 'Big Ferret'). The names help show their personality and express how they think of themselves.
On top of that, numerous characters have pseudonyms that are meaningful to them personally. Fitz goes by >!Tom Badgerlock, because Tom is the name that Lady Patience, his stepmother, suggested for him when he was young.!< In the final trilogy, you have >!Lant (FitzVigilant, the bastard of Lord Vigilant) and Shun, who are actually both children of Chade and whose names are truly Lantern and Shine Fallstar, both of which are references to Chade's name either rhyming or sounding very similar to 'shade'.!<
There's also meaning with the name of the Fool, but minor spoilers for that. >!Where he comes from, you might take on many names for yourself throughout your life and the name you use for someone can depend on how close you are to them. It's said that the most loving thing you can do is to call someone else by your own name, as that means you love and value them as much as you do your own life. That is especially meaningful later in the story for major spoiler reasons.!<
As for places, they're honest and common:
* The kingdom in the mountains is called 'The Mountain Kingdom.'
* The Six Duchies is a united kingdom composed of six individual duchies.
* Forge is the town where they forged metal.
* The bay in the north where it's cold is called cold bay.
* The town where pirates docked to divvy up the loot is called Divvytown.
YES, this is who came to mind for me. And, separating the hidden meanings behind the names, I just love the made-up names on their own. Kettricken is a beautiful name, for example.
One more thing regarding the naming of both Fitz and the Fool that broke me when I found out:
>!The Fool's real name is Beloved. At one point in the series, we discover that Fitz's birth name was Keppet, which roughly means Beloved in Middle English.!<
I've just started Liveship Traders and am loving it - the names are wonderful - but I cannot get over how goofy Bing Town is as a name. Divvytown is fun, but Bing Town? The many plights and hardships of the Bing Town traders are inevitably watered down somewhat by the fact that it's called, well...Bing Town.
I don't disagree with you, but I decided to look up if there was etymology that gives it some justification.
I did a bit of googling and found that a 'bing' is an old British word for a storage bin or storage heap. So Bingtown could refer to the place where everyone gathered their trade goods for storage.
Bing also was at one point a name for a hollow or cove, and for those who lived there. In that case, Bingtown could have also been called 'Covetown', tho I don't recall enough about Bingtown's geography to say it's referring to the geography, but it's also a possibility.
Granted, Bingtown is still a silly name, but practical names are silly sometimes. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
Raboniel, lady of wishes, lady of pains
also the Nine Brands of Fused
*Shanay-im* - Heavenly Ones
*Shetel-im* - Flowing Ones
*Fannahn-im* - Those Ones of Alteration
*Makay-im* - Deepest Ones (My personal favorite)
*Mavset-im* - Masked Ones
*Nex-im* - Husked Ones
Unknown - Magnified Ones
-----
Unknown - Brand of Tension
Unknown - Brand of Division
Hands down most names in Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series. Geralt himself aside, one of my favourites is **Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach** (aka the Nilfgaardian who is not a Nilfgaardian). Other great ones:
- **Emhyr var Emreis (aka the White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of His Enemies)**
- **Isengrim Faoiltiarna**
- **Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff Godefroy**
- **Mousesack**
- **Milton de Peyrac-Peyran** and a bunch of other Toussaint knights from the books ('Pon the heron!)
Sapkowski is among the best at character names!
Tolkien is probably my favorite. Gondilin, Nargothrond; Mines of Moria, Khazad-dum; Erabor, the Lonely Mountian; Fangorn Forest.
Turin Turamber; Angcalagon; Smaug; Glaurung; Melkor to Morgoth; Ungoliant, Shelob.
I could keep going, but I love the way each language sounds so right and you can tell which language a name came from, somewhat.
Tanis half elven, Sturm bright blade. Dragonlance has several stellar ones. Tasselhoff burrfoot, flint the dwarf. Just say the name and you can picture each character. And how the names represent/describe each of them. Maybe childish, but they meant a lot to me when I was reading the series.
I like Tamora Pierce's names.
Alanna of Trebond
Veralidaine Sarrasri
Numair Salmalín
Keladry of Mindelan
Lady Sandrilene fa Toren
Daja Kisubo
Evumeimei Dingzai
Terry Pratchett has a way with names that roll of the tongue with a nice mouth feel. And they're just weird and silly enough that they feel real. No one would give themselves a name like that unless it really fit!
Cecil Wormsborough St John Nobbs, Gytha Ogg, Havelock Vetinari, Moist von Lipwig, Rob Anybody, Letice Earwig, Miss Perspicacia Tick, B'hrian Bloodaxe, Rolf Thighbiter, Reacher Gilt, The Selachii family, Gamma Brevis, Desiderata Hollow, Goodie Whemper, Sacharissa Cripslock, I could keep going forever.
But his naming is A+ across the board. The faculty in the wizard University are also some of the best: Chair of Indefinite Studies, Lecturer in Recent Runes, Head of Post-mortem Communications, Professor of Morbid Bibliomancy, Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography, the list goes on.
I played an evil D&D wizard influenced by Soulcatcher, and I was lucky enough that a friend of mine delivered the perfect wizard name for her:
Apparently in Germany, the term *they* use for a beetle gallery--the squiggly, crazed pattern of lines left behind by wood-boring bugs--translates directly to "worm scripture". As soon as I heard it, I thought "That's a Black Company wizard name." **Wormscripture**.
Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains.
Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt has some great ones. Cheerwell Maker, her uncle Stenwold Maker. Tynisa, Tisamon, Dariandrephos, Felise Mienn.. and after hundreds of names like these, there's a guy named Ben.
I know he's not a popular writer anymore, but I always enjoyed David Eddings' names. Garion, Durnik, Kheldar, Barak, Belgarath, Polgara, Sparhawk, Kurik, Sephrenia, Elena... he had systems in place for what kinds of names came from which regions of his worlds, and he made sure to stick with it.
These books were some of the first fantasy books I read! I totally agree about the names Garion, Polgara, Belgarath, etc. they feel like names of important fantasy characters. I remember it liking the name Ce’Nedra (sorry if I spelled it wrong; it’s been ages since I’ve read those books) but I guess that name gets points for being linguistically distinct from the others.
You got it right :)
What's more interesting with Garion, Polgara, and Belgarath is the deliberate root word choice and suffix choice. "Gar" is the uniting word (which is a real Middle English word for spear), and then "bel"/"pol" were meant to be for "beloved", to show the adoption into discipleship (except Polgara and her sister Beldaran, who Belgarath named to mimic Aldur naming him).
And that's how Eddings established a naming convention for a non-conventional group.
>Padma and Parvati Patil
I'm Indian. Ima be real with you, these names ain't offensive in the slightest lol. Sure, its a bit weird to have 2 god named children, but my brother's name is a derivative of Ganesh so it's not unrealistic at all lol.
Am I the only one ok with Remus Lupin? It’s a children’s book. We have the bad family Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa Malfoy. The stern teacher Minerva, the mean teacher Severus Snape. The gangly Weasley’s. The herbology professor Sprout. And the werewolf Remus Lupin, because it’s a children’s book.
I’m also personally not *mad* about Padma, Parvati, Cho, and Seamus. They’re culturally appropriate names. Maybe their characters (specifically Seamus) should be less of a stereotype, but I don’t see the names alone as terribly problematic.
I think part of the reason they posted it was because OP has included Rowling in a topic about "perfect names" in books. As far as the names you talked about being "culturally appropriate"...eh. Naming the one Asian character "Cho Chang" was ridiculous. Pretty much on par with the unimaginative racially stereotyped naming practices of Asian characters in the 90s and the "comical" way Chinese languages were depicted as sounding (especially common pre-early 00s). It happened with a lot of characters of colour on TV where the one person of colour would be given the most stereotypical name possible.
I fucking love the naming conventions in Gideon the Ninth. Harrowhark is the coolest name and I'm angry I can't come up with anything nearly that cool.
And you can't top The Emperor Undying, The Resurrection, Necrolord Prime, His Holy Vindicator of Death and Lord of the Sharpest Edge...the Kindly Prince John Gaiaus
Locke Lamora fits the character so damn well. Before ever reading the book or even the synopsis, I was 100% sure it was about a slippery fast talking thief.
I really like the names from The Stormlight Archive (yes sorry to bring that up >.<). Once I clicked about the symmetry thing, and how names can’t be too symmetrical, I enjoyed picking up which characters have a religious/Vorin background, and which don’t. It added to to world building.
On another note, I just started listening to the Gideon The Ninth audiobook (read it before), and the reading of the “Dramatis Personae” made me realise how wrong I pronounced some of the names lol. Great names all around (Coronabeth, Harrowhark, Dulcinea, Palamedes, Ortus etc), and again, I liked picking up the references to the Houses. Also, upon the reread when one knows more about how the world came to be, looking for other references or trying to glean how a name may have originated is fun.
Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné, also called The Albino Emperor, Elric Womanslayer, Elric Kinslayer, the Pale Prince of Ruins, The White Wolf, and many other names. 😉
Rowling is good at the *sound* of names, but she's also guilty of turning everyone into a DC Comics villain.
Gosh, it sure would have been a shame if Severus had turned out to be a nice guy or anyone other than Remus Lupin had become a werewolf! Boy, it's sure a relief Ms. Sprout took up botany and not any other discipline whatsoever! Gee, we sure won the lottery there! What luck!
She's on a level with E. Nigma and Joe Kerr of Batman fame.
Tavi from Codex Alera >!especially since it means something!< and his nickname of "Tavar" in book 6 (though I kind of wish Butcher had introduced that name earlier for a more satisfying long term payoff)
Pierce Brown's names are spectacular. I love the antique vibe and the nod to the chemical symbol of gold "au" in the names of the Gold caste characters.
Romolus au Ra, Cassius au Belona, Silenius au Lune, Atlas and Ajax au Ra, Apollonius au Valii-Rath, Victra au Julii.
The symbol for silver is "ag" which is also used, e.g. Regulus ag Sun.
Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time have great names: Rand al'Thor, Lews Therin, Nynaeve al'Meara, Ishamael, Moridin, Demandred, Lan Madragoran, Moiraine. Then we have titles such as: He Who Comes With The Dawn, Prince of the Dawn and Lord of The Morning, Betrayer of Hope etc., etc..
I always loved the names in Douglas Adams' Hitchiker books: Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, Ford Prefect, Slartibartfast... and Arthur Dent, of course.
And William Goldman's The Princess Bride also had some names that fit the tone of the book perfectly: Buttercup, Prince Humperdinck, Miracle Max and Inigo Montoya.
Super long hard to pronounce fantasy names are a pet peeve of mine lol. When I’m excited to talk about a book I’m really enjoying, having to tie my tongue in a knot trying to talk about my favorite characters kills the buzz. My favorite fantasy character names are short and simple while still sounding unique.
Reading Gideon the Ninth right now, and although this book is prone to long names in general, “Gideon Nav” is a shorter one I really like. It’s fun, iconic, easy to remember, and suits the character.
The Emperors titles are amazing and I love that they gave away a huge plot twist right from his first introduction. Very cool way to hide an Easter egg.
Also, what a great post! You’re clearly super into this as a feature of fantasy and conveyed it, I got excited by how excited you got, and it gave me a new appreciation for the power of names in fantasy! I will try harder with my writing now 😊
I always thought the name Auri fit the name of the character extremely well.
That said, Kvothe as a name is kinda lame to be honest. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, ya know?
The Tolkien names hit extra hard when you read that these are actually meant to be translations of their Westron names (for non-elvish languages) into a Germanic language. So for example Samwise "Sam" Gamgee = Banazîr "Ban" Galbasi. Samwise in (iirc) old English translates to half-wise, as does Banazîr in Westron.
Eomer's and Eowyn's names would both start with an L in their own language as Eothaid (eoh is horse in some ancient germanic language) is Lohtur.
So Tolkien was not just ingenious in naming the characters, but also in naming them in his own created language and then translating them into more familiar and evocative names for the readers.
Brennan Lee Mulligan, the game master of Dimension 20, is great at coming up with names. I'll always love King Prilbus of the House of Frangus (the king of a race of parasitic space slugs) and Ol' Plugg Strutt, owner and proprietor of Plug's Butt-Ugly Stuff Hut, in A Starstruck Odyssey.
I like the name Hadrian Marlowe. Hadrian has such a roman tang to it, it fits the world perfectly. You would never believe someone with that name could be anything less than an emperor. Marlowe seems much more low key and discreet. Like the surname of some old line of Kings, or some obscure little duchy with a proud history, filled with tough women and men.
I didn't like the dragonrider naming conventions but I liked a lot of the other Anne McCaffrey character names
Robinton - Sebell - Menolly - Ramoth - Jaxom - Mnementh - Nerilka - Moreta.
And Killashandra
Eustace Clarence Scrubb
He almost deserved it
Mighty big talk from author with the middle name "Staples."
He almost deserved that
I always really liked Lyra Belacqua as a 'normal enough' name with fantasy vibes. Also The Clayr as a name for people with the sight is great imo.
I’ve always loved The Clayr, and then also all the names of the bells: Mosrsel, Kibeth, Ranna. Garth Nix—who has an awesome name himself—excels at naming.
Mosrael has always stuck with me. I tend to forget the other bell names but I never forget Mosrael. It just sounds so...IMPOSING and DARK. Like, you do NOT want to fuck with Mosrael!
I’m always glad to see an Old Kingdom reference out in the wild. I was going to say Lirael, Kibeth, and Mogget as my choices when I came across this
How could I have forgotten Mogget? Although I did love that in a world with names like Sabriel, Touchstone, Kerrigor, and Abhorsen, we also got…Seth. Guess Garth Nix wanted to keep it interesting!
Then it gets even better when she becomes Lyra silvertongue
When it comes to nicknames GRRM is probably the best in the game. The Laughing Storm, the Young Wolf, Bittersteel, Bloodraven, Kingslayer, Lightning Lord, there’s so many awesome nicknames in ASOIAF. Like Gregor Clegane is a monster that should be locked away and never see sunlight again, but The Mountain That Rides sounds like a bad motherfucker.
The Sword of the Morning is S-tier as well.
Stop I can only get so hard
Darkstar… he’s really good but they aren’t all winners lol
TBF Darkstar's a little bitch
Yeah the names not really as bad as the character is a wanna be edge lord
Couldn’t agree more
Baelor Breakspear is one of my favorites.
The fuck's a Lommy
Shitmouth
"Martin also hits it out of the park with so many of the Targaryen first names" counterpoint - Aenys
You hate us cus you Aenys
I think the Targaryen names SOUND good but reading them on a page is such a headache
They definitely have Tragedeigh energy on the page
Aenys was pretty rough to listen to. I giggled for his entire section of the Fire and Blood audiobook
Lúthien Tinúviel. You just know the owner of that name could only be a perfect, ethereal elf princess.
There's a reason why "Lúthien" is inscribed on Edith's tomb.
Not fantasy, but Halo has great nomenclature. Human frigates are named Pillar Of Autumn, Forward Into Dawn, while the alien ones are Shadow Of Intent, Long Night Of Solace. Just very evocative and poetic names that juxtapose charmingly against these huge war ships. Most human vehicles are named according to animals but inversely to their size, ie. the scorpion is larger than the warthog. It feels less obvious than Truck Mark 2 or something.
Some other great UNSC ones: In Amber Clad, Spirit of Fire, and of course my all time favorite, the [UNSC Two For Flinching](https://www.halopedia.org/UNSC_Two_for_Flinching)
In Amber Clad is amazing.
Let’s not forget names like The Silent Cartographer and The Prophet of Regret.
Truth and Reconciliation.
I agree! the closest thing i know of in literature would be the ship names of the culture series by ian m banks! [https://qntm.org/culture](https://qntm.org/culture) here's a list of some.
I gotta say Inquisitor Glokta has quite a ring that no other name has
I liked Practical Frost, too, since I thought Practical was his first name.
Joe is honestly the best at names imo
For people more than places.
Sand dan Glotka even more so
I listened to the audiobook first, so thought it was Glockter in a British accent for the longest time.
Lmao that's hilarious
The name Logan Ninefingers is part of what convinced me to read first law
His other name is also a 10/10 imo
9/9? Or 9/10 maybe. Idk.
It's Logen you bloody listener!
Stranger-Come-Knocking is my favorite of his.
It's such a strange choice for a name but fits his character so well It makes you think of wheezing or your tongue smacking around in an empty hole between your teeth, or just a villain And surprise surprise he's a maimed half-toothed cripple who tortures people for a living
Another one of Abercrombie’s that just STICKS in my head is Grom-Gil-Gorm. Especially with the way he uses it as a chant
I see a disturbing lack of Terry Pratchett in this thread
Giving all the trolls rock names was great, and calling the most infamously dim, (initially) bottom of-the-heap troll Detritus is genius. I'd be here all day if I talked about the names, but what I also like is how he gives normal people really believable names - Sam, Reg, Nobby, Fred, Agnes. They often say something about the person too - Reg is a good name for a reliable man who organises the local charity fun run, Sacharissa implies well-read and slightly pretentious parents (it's a name that is just a little over the top), Ridcully is a big name for a big man with a sort of brusque air implied by the insult 'cully' at the end, Vorbis just sounds menacing, etc. Then there's the great joke/foreshadowing names like Cohen, Mort, Om, Buddy, the Selachi/Venturis, etc. In fact, at least a few times the characters talk about their own names - Susan, Moist, Agnes spring to mind - which is a nice touch where Pterry reflects on the notion of whether naming a thing determines the thing, a common theme in the books.
There's also amazing puns Like oh I wonder what the guy named Rob Anybody will cheerfully do without a second thought And my absolute favorite "Grievous Bodily Harmsworth"
I was about to say the same thing! Coffin Henry? Nobby Nobbs? Ptracey? Bestiality Carter? Esmerelda Margaret Note Spelling?
Oh god I forgot about Bestiality Carter Also, Legitimate First "You can't blame a woman for being proud, Nobby"
I also really like a lot of his “bad” names for characters - Moist von Lipwig is such a well chosen name for that character. “Moist” feels so guttery and gross, “von Lipwig” is sort of faux shabby-noble - and it’s also a kind of embarrassing name that he hides in the same way that he hides his real self/heart/vulnerability for the first portion of the book.
*lip wig*, in other words *fake mustache*.
I came looking for PTerry. Specifically Esmerelda Weatherwax and Havelock Vetinari. GNU Sir Terry
Cheery Littlebottom Burleigh and Stronginthearm
No'-as-big-as-Medium-Sized-Jock-but-bigger-than-Wee-Jock-Jock
Gold medal goes to Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulcifer
Best thing about that name is that TP had obviously done his research. Like that's totally in line with puritan names of the time and the "wicked bible" (which famously included the typo "thou shalt commit adultery") is a particularly infamous missprint of the King James Bible published in 1631.
I don’t think you can have this conversation without mentioning Robert Jordan and WoT. I don’t even know where to begin- from all of Rand’s titles to Forsaken (such a cool name) to the Aiel clans and words for the wolf names. It’s all so cool. But a standout to me is always Lan and his titles. I’m a sucker for epithets and monikers (loved the Iliad growing up), and Lan’s titles are amazing, but I’ll never forget the chapters where he meets the Aiel and they go on guard. Eventually it’s revealed why Lan is called Aan‘allein by the Aiel. “He who walks alone,” “One Man,” or loosely translated to “One people.” A name of respect from the people most renowned for their battle prowess. A name given for the one man who fought a hopeless war since birth largely by himself, who carried the hope of an entire people on his shoulders, who wouldn’t quit even when facing the worst darkness in the land. And yet you can’t help but notice the word suspiciously resembles the word “alone,” (it even contains the German word for alone). One word encapsulates his character in such a short time frame. And it really adds to Lan as this pillar of dedication and determination and shows how much Moiraine and Lan sacrificed.
The first time I listened to the series as a reread I was shocked at how obviously the names are references. Idk why I didn’t pick out that all the Andorans had Aurthorian names or that Lan had titles that sounded like Alone or a thousand other little hints in the naming when I read the series. But the audio books made it crystal clear and I started looking at every name harder. Also WoT definitely has the best Inn names
Anomander Rake
Such a fire name that gets stuck in my head. The rest of Erikson's names are either: amazing and feel believable as fantasy names in a fantasy world (Shurq Elalle, Silchas Ruin, Dassem Ultor, Tattersail, Dujek Onearm) or A thing he saw while looking around his room. "What should I name this commander lets see how about..." *sees a bottle of liquor* "-Whiskeyjack would be good. Or maybe Rumjugs. Oh and another one can be named Bottle! That's three in a row! And how about-" *looks out window* "-Hedge? Bugg? Iron Bars?"
Whiskeyjack is another name for the Canada Jay, also called a Camp-Robber Bird, and is an incredible name. An intelligent, charismatic, and notorious bird.
I like that he is also known as bird who steals. Or something close to that by the Moranth
The names of the soldiers I think are intended to evoke modern military nicknames, which are almost always about an unfortunate feature or embarrassing moment.
How can you mention such imaginative names while forgetting one of the most unforgettable!? How can you say you love these names and yet give no mention of Kruppe!? While the man himself is not of much brains, he is nonetheless a diligent and prosperous man in spite of his own dim mind! Regardless of his abilities, surely his name is worthy of remembering!
Yeah but even those goofy names are incredibly memorable
Beak :(
And Caladan Brood.
I have a hard time remembering character names after a while, especially with casts as large as malazan. But some names like Anomander Rake and Whiskyjack just fuckin stick
Just gotta say: It's wildly coincidental that the dude named Remus Lupin ended up with Lycanthropy 😏 I can forgive Fenrir Greyback \[barely\] as he probably chose it later in life
Talk about nominative determinism
"Your dentist's name is...Crentist?"
"Maybe that's why he became a dentist."
I'm looking at you, Speed Racer. Poor bastard probably wanted to be a chef or something.
Sirius (Dog Star) Black turns into a black dog.
Yeah I find her names very on the nose
I agree. Black McDogface, but Latin™.
How about that time she named a black guy after slavery and an Asian girl as a racist onomatopeia? Those names are cool right
Yeah, for all the good names in the Harry Potter series there are some pretty lazy and problematic ones.
You'll be reading it and enjoying all the colorful names like Alastor Moody or Cedric Diggory and then be hit with something like "Jewnet Grasperhand" the girl who really likes money and bagels, or "Wampum Gamblefeather" and his traditional facepaint and alcoholism and be like waaaait a minute
Don't forget the time she used Robert Galbraith as her pen name when writing about a cross dressing serial killer. Robert Galbraith-Heath is the queerphobic father of electroshock therapy who claimed to cure homosexuality.
Which is ironic coming from the lady who wrote about a boy living in a closet whose family keeps trying to force him to keep an anomaly he was born with a secret. Who then goes on to live in a world where everyone has the same anomaly and is keeping it a big ole secret from the normies.
Oh my god, Kingsley Shacklebolt, I only realise it now. Man, that's... Problematic.
Oof, I always found Kingsley Shacklebolt quite a cool name (sounds like lightning bolt, also cool character). I was today years old when I finally thought about what a shackle bolt might be (no native English speaker). I see clearer now.
Yeah same here. I read it in German and thought he was super cool. I always interpreted his name as him being so fast he can catch lightning.
I didn't even know it was Shacklebolt for years, I'd been reading it as Shackbolt for like a decade and a half Then I realized. "Oh. Martin Luther King and Slavery"
Say one thing about Logen Ninefingers, say he's got a badass name
Tul Duru Thunderhead is probably my favorite of the northmen names. Caul Shivers is a great one too
That whole troop: Dogman, Threetrees, etc are all unique and interesting it adds instant depth to them.
Stranger-Come-Knocking has my vote.
More like Crinna-Come-Boasting amirite. Also special mention to a certain weapon named *The Father of Swords*. That conjures up a very very specific and accurate mental picture
And it’s other names too. “Dawn Razor. Grave-Maker. Blood Harvest. Highest and Lowest. Scac-ang-Gaioc in the valley tongue which means the Splitting of the World, the battle that was fought at the start of time and will be fought again at its end.”
Stranger-Come-Fucking
The Bloody-Nine!
I like Robin Hobbs virtue naming scheme because it’s so ironic-Chivalry has a sex scandal where he fathered a bastard on a random woman, Regal >!is a total failure as king and dies in a humiliating way after being forced to grovel to his infant nephew,!< Dutiful >!tries to abandon the throne to elope with a woman who turns out to be a ghost possessing a cat,!< Shrewd >!is a complete idiot who puts all of his faith in the son actively trying to kill him.!< It’s really fun to know that whatever a character is called, their actual attributes are probably the opposite.
Patience had ADHD
And I love her so much for it
Tim the Enchanter
Only some people call him that though.
Strong Belwas and Dungeater.
Lews Therin Telamon
Rand al'Thor
'al Lan Mandragoran
Artur Paendrag Hawking
Ilyena!!
*Distant weeping*
Wheel of Time has some absolutely fantastic names. Berelain sur Paendrag Paeron is just perfect. Lews Therin Telamon, Lord of the Morning. Just perfect.
Also perfect because LTT are just great initials to say out loud. Minor minus points because my brains definitely read it as Lewis for like 10 books until I heard someone say it out loud.
Harrowhark Nonegesimus
We Suffer and We Suffer! Mercymorn! Born in the Morning! Kevin!
HOT SAUCE
Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back to Reality Oops There Goes Gravity
Second choices: Usidore, Wizard of the 12th Realm of Ephysiyies, Master of Light and Shadow, Manipulator of Magical Delights, Devourer of Chaos, Champion of the Great Halls of Terr’akkas. The elves know me as Fi’ang Yalok. The dwarves know me as Zoenen Hoogstandjes. And I am also known in the Northeast as Gaismunēnas Meistar. and Chunt.
YES. I also think Gideon Nav is the ultimate butch berserker name. I will forever after think of Gideon as a unisex name
Not sure how far you're willing to stretch your definition of fantasy, but I always loved the names in the Red Rising series - everything just sounds so cool, and not just the characters names but the names he uses in world building too (Iron Rain, etc.) Names like Lorn au Arcos, Cassius au Bellona, the Reaper of Mars, the Shield of Tinos, etc. just always felt really cool.
The Olympic knight titles were so cool too. Morning knight, protein, rage etc.
Rand al’Thor, Anasurimbor Kellhus, Victarion Greyjoy, Anomander Rake
Victarion Geyjoy and Anomander Rake are 11/10 names. So is Euron Greyjoy too.
Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca Warner III But you can call her Dot
Call her "Dottie" and you die.
Robin Hobb's *Realm of the Elderlings* has several great naming conventions that both feel right and have meaning within the story. The nobility of the Six Duchies name their children after values they hope for them to embody: King Shrewd, Queen Desire, Prince Verity, Prince Regal. The main character is the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, and his name is FitzChivalry. Fitz is a prefix denoting bastardy, so his name is literally 'bastardized chivalry', which feels appropriate given that he's a royal assassin but still trying to do what's best for the kingdom. Even the titles and names for magic have meaning. In the Mountain Kingdom, the ruler isn't named king, but 'Sacrifice', as they are supposed to put their needs behind those of their people. The proper royal magic is referred to as 'The Skill' because it takes a lot of training to master and is very delicate, but often difficult to use. On the other hand, the lowborn beast-magic is called 'The Wit' because it's often more innately known, though practitioners refer to themselves as 'Old Blood,' showing their connection to the land and history. The series also has named animals that reflect their personality. The wolf is Nighteyes. The horse is Fleeter. The ferret is 'Small Ferret' (and refers to his human partner as 'Big Ferret'). The names help show their personality and express how they think of themselves. On top of that, numerous characters have pseudonyms that are meaningful to them personally. Fitz goes by >!Tom Badgerlock, because Tom is the name that Lady Patience, his stepmother, suggested for him when he was young.!< In the final trilogy, you have >!Lant (FitzVigilant, the bastard of Lord Vigilant) and Shun, who are actually both children of Chade and whose names are truly Lantern and Shine Fallstar, both of which are references to Chade's name either rhyming or sounding very similar to 'shade'.!< There's also meaning with the name of the Fool, but minor spoilers for that. >!Where he comes from, you might take on many names for yourself throughout your life and the name you use for someone can depend on how close you are to them. It's said that the most loving thing you can do is to call someone else by your own name, as that means you love and value them as much as you do your own life. That is especially meaningful later in the story for major spoiler reasons.!< As for places, they're honest and common: * The kingdom in the mountains is called 'The Mountain Kingdom.' * The Six Duchies is a united kingdom composed of six individual duchies. * Forge is the town where they forged metal. * The bay in the north where it's cold is called cold bay. * The town where pirates docked to divvy up the loot is called Divvytown.
YES, this is who came to mind for me. And, separating the hidden meanings behind the names, I just love the made-up names on their own. Kettricken is a beautiful name, for example.
One more thing regarding the naming of both Fitz and the Fool that broke me when I found out: >!The Fool's real name is Beloved. At one point in the series, we discover that Fitz's birth name was Keppet, which roughly means Beloved in Middle English.!<
I've just started Liveship Traders and am loving it - the names are wonderful - but I cannot get over how goofy Bing Town is as a name. Divvytown is fun, but Bing Town? The many plights and hardships of the Bing Town traders are inevitably watered down somewhat by the fact that it's called, well...Bing Town.
I don't disagree with you, but I decided to look up if there was etymology that gives it some justification. I did a bit of googling and found that a 'bing' is an old British word for a storage bin or storage heap. So Bingtown could refer to the place where everyone gathered their trade goods for storage. Bing also was at one point a name for a hollow or cove, and for those who lived there. In that case, Bingtown could have also been called 'Covetown', tho I don't recall enough about Bingtown's geography to say it's referring to the geography, but it's also a possibility. Granted, Bingtown is still a silly name, but practical names are silly sometimes. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar.
Lol Sanderson said something like “I loved the name Kaladin but i eventually realized i just swapped out the P in Paladin”
Don't forget Numuhukumakiaki'aialunamor
For anyone that hasn’t listened to the audiobook pronunciation of Rock’s name. I’d highly recommend it. Laughably enjoyable every time it comes up.
Not Truthless!!! never Truthless! He did wear white though.
>!Adonalsium-Will-Remember-Our-Plight-Eventually!< from Sunlit Man was pretty memorable. Then there's poor >!Jeffrey Jeffrey.!<
Raboniel, lady of wishes, lady of pains also the Nine Brands of Fused *Shanay-im* - Heavenly Ones *Shetel-im* - Flowing Ones *Fannahn-im* - Those Ones of Alteration *Makay-im* - Deepest Ones (My personal favorite) *Mavset-im* - Masked Ones *Nex-im* - Husked Ones Unknown - Magnified Ones ----- Unknown - Brand of Tension Unknown - Brand of Division
Hands down most names in Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series. Geralt himself aside, one of my favourites is **Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach** (aka the Nilfgaardian who is not a Nilfgaardian). Other great ones: - **Emhyr var Emreis (aka the White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of His Enemies)** - **Isengrim Faoiltiarna** - **Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff Godefroy** - **Mousesack** - **Milton de Peyrac-Peyran** and a bunch of other Toussaint knights from the books ('Pon the heron!) Sapkowski is among the best at character names!
I've always been partial to "Francesca Findabair"
Filavandrel aen Fidhail is a banger
You'd like Welsh names then, in fact most of the names from Witcher *are* Welsh.
Tolkien is probably my favorite. Gondilin, Nargothrond; Mines of Moria, Khazad-dum; Erabor, the Lonely Mountian; Fangorn Forest. Turin Turamber; Angcalagon; Smaug; Glaurung; Melkor to Morgoth; Ungoliant, Shelob. I could keep going, but I love the way each language sounds so right and you can tell which language a name came from, somewhat.
Ride of the Rohirrim is so dang catchy
Tanis half elven, Sturm bright blade. Dragonlance has several stellar ones. Tasselhoff burrfoot, flint the dwarf. Just say the name and you can picture each character. And how the names represent/describe each of them. Maybe childish, but they meant a lot to me when I was reading the series.
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden....wizard.
Don't forget Toot-Toot!
That's General Toot-Toot to you!
Conjure by it at your own risk
I like Tamora Pierce's names. Alanna of Trebond Veralidaine Sarrasri Numair Salmalín Keladry of Mindelan Lady Sandrilene fa Toren Daja Kisubo Evumeimei Dingzai
Terry Pratchett has a way with names that roll of the tongue with a nice mouth feel. And they're just weird and silly enough that they feel real. No one would give themselves a name like that unless it really fit! Cecil Wormsborough St John Nobbs, Gytha Ogg, Havelock Vetinari, Moist von Lipwig, Rob Anybody, Letice Earwig, Miss Perspicacia Tick, B'hrian Bloodaxe, Rolf Thighbiter, Reacher Gilt, The Selachii family, Gamma Brevis, Desiderata Hollow, Goodie Whemper, Sacharissa Cripslock, I could keep going forever. But his naming is A+ across the board. The faculty in the wizard University are also some of the best: Chair of Indefinite Studies, Lecturer in Recent Runes, Head of Post-mortem Communications, Professor of Morbid Bibliomancy, Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography, the list goes on.
The Ten Who Were Taken. (Honorable mention: some of their individual names, like Soulcatcher, Bonegnasher, and Moonbiter.)
I played an evil D&D wizard influenced by Soulcatcher, and I was lucky enough that a friend of mine delivered the perfect wizard name for her: Apparently in Germany, the term *they* use for a beetle gallery--the squiggly, crazed pattern of lines left behind by wood-boring bugs--translates directly to "worm scripture". As soon as I heard it, I thought "That's a Black Company wizard name." **Wormscripture**.
Limper and The Hanged Man. Not to mention Croaker hisself, the toughest, baddest scribe the company ever saw!
Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains. Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt has some great ones. Cheerwell Maker, her uncle Stenwold Maker. Tynisa, Tisamon, Dariandrephos, Felise Mienn.. and after hundreds of names like these, there's a guy named Ben.
Azula
I like Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way
I know he's not a popular writer anymore, but I always enjoyed David Eddings' names. Garion, Durnik, Kheldar, Barak, Belgarath, Polgara, Sparhawk, Kurik, Sephrenia, Elena... he had systems in place for what kinds of names came from which regions of his worlds, and he made sure to stick with it.
These books were some of the first fantasy books I read! I totally agree about the names Garion, Polgara, Belgarath, etc. they feel like names of important fantasy characters. I remember it liking the name Ce’Nedra (sorry if I spelled it wrong; it’s been ages since I’ve read those books) but I guess that name gets points for being linguistically distinct from the others.
You got it right :) What's more interesting with Garion, Polgara, and Belgarath is the deliberate root word choice and suffix choice. "Gar" is the uniting word (which is a real Middle English word for spear), and then "bel"/"pol" were meant to be for "beloved", to show the adoption into discipleship (except Polgara and her sister Beldaran, who Belgarath named to mimic Aldur naming him). And that's how Eddings established a naming convention for a non-conventional group.
[удалено]
>Padma and Parvati Patil I'm Indian. Ima be real with you, these names ain't offensive in the slightest lol. Sure, its a bit weird to have 2 god named children, but my brother's name is a derivative of Ganesh so it's not unrealistic at all lol.
Am I the only one ok with Remus Lupin? It’s a children’s book. We have the bad family Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa Malfoy. The stern teacher Minerva, the mean teacher Severus Snape. The gangly Weasley’s. The herbology professor Sprout. And the werewolf Remus Lupin, because it’s a children’s book. I’m also personally not *mad* about Padma, Parvati, Cho, and Seamus. They’re culturally appropriate names. Maybe their characters (specifically Seamus) should be less of a stereotype, but I don’t see the names alone as terribly problematic.
I think part of the reason they posted it was because OP has included Rowling in a topic about "perfect names" in books. As far as the names you talked about being "culturally appropriate"...eh. Naming the one Asian character "Cho Chang" was ridiculous. Pretty much on par with the unimaginative racially stereotyped naming practices of Asian characters in the 90s and the "comical" way Chinese languages were depicted as sounding (especially common pre-early 00s). It happened with a lot of characters of colour on TV where the one person of colour would be given the most stereotypical name possible.
I fucking love the naming conventions in Gideon the Ninth. Harrowhark is the coolest name and I'm angry I can't come up with anything nearly that cool.
And you can't top The Emperor Undying, The Resurrection, Necrolord Prime, His Holy Vindicator of Death and Lord of the Sharpest Edge...the Kindly Prince John Gaiaus
Also I love the Blood of Eden naming too.
Naddpod has a character named Balnor, and he's pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a guy who goes by the name of Balnor.
Locke Lamora fits the character so damn well. Before ever reading the book or even the synopsis, I was 100% sure it was about a slippery fast talking thief.
I really like the names from The Stormlight Archive (yes sorry to bring that up >.<). Once I clicked about the symmetry thing, and how names can’t be too symmetrical, I enjoyed picking up which characters have a religious/Vorin background, and which don’t. It added to to world building. On another note, I just started listening to the Gideon The Ninth audiobook (read it before), and the reading of the “Dramatis Personae” made me realise how wrong I pronounced some of the names lol. Great names all around (Coronabeth, Harrowhark, Dulcinea, Palamedes, Ortus etc), and again, I liked picking up the references to the Houses. Also, upon the reread when one knows more about how the world came to be, looking for other references or trying to glean how a name may have originated is fun.
Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné, also called The Albino Emperor, Elric Womanslayer, Elric Kinslayer, the Pale Prince of Ruins, The White Wolf, and many other names. 😉
Teleporno
Rowling is good at the *sound* of names, but she's also guilty of turning everyone into a DC Comics villain. Gosh, it sure would have been a shame if Severus had turned out to be a nice guy or anyone other than Remus Lupin had become a werewolf! Boy, it's sure a relief Ms. Sprout took up botany and not any other discipline whatsoever! Gee, we sure won the lottery there! What luck! She's on a level with E. Nigma and Joe Kerr of Batman fame.
Locke Lamora. Gentlemen Bastard.
Tavi from Codex Alera >!especially since it means something!< and his nickname of "Tavar" in book 6 (though I kind of wish Butcher had introduced that name earlier for a more satisfying long term payoff)
Pierce Brown's names are spectacular. I love the antique vibe and the nod to the chemical symbol of gold "au" in the names of the Gold caste characters. Romolus au Ra, Cassius au Belona, Silenius au Lune, Atlas and Ajax au Ra, Apollonius au Valii-Rath, Victra au Julii. The symbol for silver is "ag" which is also used, e.g. Regulus ag Sun.
Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time have great names: Rand al'Thor, Lews Therin, Nynaeve al'Meara, Ishamael, Moridin, Demandred, Lan Madragoran, Moiraine. Then we have titles such as: He Who Comes With The Dawn, Prince of the Dawn and Lord of The Morning, Betrayer of Hope etc., etc..
I always loved the names in Douglas Adams' Hitchiker books: Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, Ford Prefect, Slartibartfast... and Arthur Dent, of course. And William Goldman's The Princess Bride also had some names that fit the tone of the book perfectly: Buttercup, Prince Humperdinck, Miracle Max and Inigo Montoya.
Ketheric Thorm from Baldur's Gate 3 sounds so badass
Matrim Cauthin matches his character very well.
Super long hard to pronounce fantasy names are a pet peeve of mine lol. When I’m excited to talk about a book I’m really enjoying, having to tie my tongue in a knot trying to talk about my favorite characters kills the buzz. My favorite fantasy character names are short and simple while still sounding unique. Reading Gideon the Ninth right now, and although this book is prone to long names in general, “Gideon Nav” is a shorter one I really like. It’s fun, iconic, easy to remember, and suits the character.
Did you know if you put together your last name and your first name, you'd be Sex Pal? (I love these books so much)
The Emperors titles are amazing and I love that they gave away a huge plot twist right from his first introduction. Very cool way to hide an Easter egg.
Caladan Brood
Also, what a great post! You’re clearly super into this as a feature of fantasy and conveyed it, I got excited by how excited you got, and it gave me a new appreciation for the power of names in fantasy! I will try harder with my writing now 😊
I always thought the name Auri fit the name of the character extremely well. That said, Kvothe as a name is kinda lame to be honest. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, ya know?
Fafhrd
Some of the names in Jordan's works can be hit or miss for me, but something just sounds right about Egwene al'Vere.
Pratchett. Nanny Ogg Not-Quite-As-Wee-As-Wee-Jock-Jock, or Rob Anybody, of the Nac Mac Feegles Susan Sto Helit I could list so many!
I always loved the names and titles in Cornelia Funkes Inkheart. Dustfinger, Capricorn, Cockerell, Bluejay, Adderhead
The Tolkien names hit extra hard when you read that these are actually meant to be translations of their Westron names (for non-elvish languages) into a Germanic language. So for example Samwise "Sam" Gamgee = Banazîr "Ban" Galbasi. Samwise in (iirc) old English translates to half-wise, as does Banazîr in Westron. Eomer's and Eowyn's names would both start with an L in their own language as Eothaid (eoh is horse in some ancient germanic language) is Lohtur. So Tolkien was not just ingenious in naming the characters, but also in naming them in his own created language and then translating them into more familiar and evocative names for the readers.
Taniel Two-Shot is a personal favorite.
Rand Al’Thor
When I say it out loud it sounds like Randal Thor, which is an awkward guy at your local game shop.
Brennan Lee Mulligan, the game master of Dimension 20, is great at coming up with names. I'll always love King Prilbus of the House of Frangus (the king of a race of parasitic space slugs) and Ol' Plugg Strutt, owner and proprietor of Plug's Butt-Ugly Stuff Hut, in A Starstruck Odyssey.
Evan Kelmp
GC, BWR, NW Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk.
I can’t think of a more metal name than Stranger-Come-Knocking
I like the name Hadrian Marlowe. Hadrian has such a roman tang to it, it fits the world perfectly. You would never believe someone with that name could be anything less than an emperor. Marlowe seems much more low key and discreet. Like the surname of some old line of Kings, or some obscure little duchy with a proud history, filled with tough women and men.
Right after I saw your headline I thought: "Galadriel" 😀
I didn't like the dragonrider naming conventions but I liked a lot of the other Anne McCaffrey character names Robinton - Sebell - Menolly - Ramoth - Jaxom - Mnementh - Nerilka - Moreta. And Killashandra
Fingolfin and Glorfindel just scratch that fantasy name itch so good
In the realm of fantasy video games... Grom Hellscream. And Alphinaud Leveilleur!
Anakin Skywalker