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Big, flowery romance novel names are fine for, oh, say, big, flowery
romance novels. If that's not what you're writing, it's probably not
appropriate to have a CIA agent named "Rainbow." Here are some sites
to help you pick names if you need to add original characters to
your fic (or, alternately, send your current characters into witness
protection).
U.S. Census Bureau: These pages rank U.S. names in order, which
lets you gauge just how common (Kate Jones) or uncommon (Sydney
Bristow) they are:
British Names: The list is taken from "the credits of
British-made movies set in the Victorian era (both the character
names and actors names)," which means they may not all still be
common. Taken with that grain of salt, it's still a good list of
potential names. Includes both male and female characters.
French First Names: This site explains the basics of French
names and provides links to lists of names for boys and girls.
Female
Russian Names: A lengthy list of names, each of which links to
the name's meaning and background.
Male
Russian Names: Another lengthy list of names, again with links
to the name's meaning and background.
Russian Names:
Surnames and Baby Names: A list of Russian names, ranked by
popularity. |
