OC Name Generator

How to Name an OC

1. Start with the world. The same character needs a different name in a fantasy kingdom, a present-day city, a starship or a school. Pick the Setting first; it decides where the surname comes from and how the first name is built.
2. Then what they are. Species changes the sound: elf names run long and liquid, demon names stack hard consonants, angel names keep the old -el ending, and androids go by one short word with a serial. Beastfolk often carry a nature word, the way a character called Bramble or Wren does.
3. Say it out loud. Keep five or six you like and read each one aloud in a sentence your OC would hear: "Kester, get down." The one you stop stumbling over is usually the one.
4. Check it against the rest of your cast. Two names that start with the same letter or have the same number of beats blur together. School mode already keeps every initial in a batch different; in the other settings, keep generating until the names in your cast look and sound apart.

What the Style Note Under Each Name Means

The note is worked out from the first name, never from a franchise or a famous character. It counts the beats (syllables) and names the last sound you hear, so Sloane ends on n, not e. A hard stop (k, d, t, g) reads bold: Roderic, Marek. An open vowel reads soft: Seluna, Maela. A held n, l, r or m reads steady: Halden, Soren. A hiss (s, sh, th, x) reads sly: Vaelis, Ilyx. An f or v reads light. One or two beats feel quick and modern; three or more feel formal or old.

The note describes how a name sounds, not who your character is. A gentle healer with a bold-sounding name is a choice you can make on purpose.

OC Names by Species

Human names follow the setting: built fantasy names for Fantasy, real given names for Modern and School, coined names that sound off-world for Sci-fi (Oryx, Zaneth, Qirah), and darker built names for Villain. Elf, demon and vampire names come from the same engines as the elf, demon and vampire name generators. Angel names pair a short root with -iel or -ael, the ending angel names have carried for centuries. Android names are one short word plus a serial such as K-7 in Full name format. Beastfolk names are nature words: plants, birds and weather.

Surnames follow the setting too. Fantasy and Villain use a fictional surname pool that does not point at any real-world heritage; Modern, School and Sci-fi use real surnames from many countries, so a cast reads like a real class or crew.

Related Generators

Need a name for a character who is not an OC? The character name generator picks by tone (heroic, soft, dark or common). Naming a pairing? Make a ship name from two characters' names.