Get unlimited character name ideas for your next book. Choose a genre, a character type, a gender and an origin language, add a line about who they are, and the generator returns names that fit the story you are writing.
The generator works the way a writer names a character: genre first, then role, then where the person comes from. Each choice narrows the sound of the name.
Fantasy, crime, romance, sci-fi, horror and thirteen more. The genre sets the sound of the name: a dragon rider and a Regency heiress should not share a shortlist.
Hero, villain, mentor, detective, robot, elf. The type tells the generator what the name has to carry.
English, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, French, Italian, Urdu or Turkish. The origin places the character in a culture and a history.
Optional. A sentence about their past, temperament or setting sharpens the results.
Keep the names that work, change a letter, run it again. There is no limit on how many times you generate.
Every shelf has its own sound. These are examples of names that suit six of the eighteen genres in the generator.
Old roots and soft consonants for heroes. Hard stops and long vowels for whatever lives in the mountains.
Short, clipped names that survive a bad radio signal. Mixed origins suggest a future that has travelled.
Warm vowels and a two-syllable rhythm. The name should sound good said quietly.
Old-fashioned first names, and surnames that sound like places you should not walk at night.
Names with a title in front of them, and suspects whose names you can mix up on purpose.
One-syllable surnames that fit on an ID badge and read fast in a chase scene.
Characters are the heart of any story. They drive the plot and create the emotional connection with readers, and readers decide who matters from a name long before chapter two. These are the six roles most stories draw on, with the character types to pick in the generator for each.
The main character. They face the central problem and grow because of it. Readers spend the most time with this name, so it has to wear well over 300 pages.
TRY: HERO, ANTI HERO, EVERYMAN
The force that opposes the protagonist and creates conflict and tension. The name should feel like a threat the first time it appears.
TRY: VILLAIN, DRAGON, CREATURE
Friends, partners and sidekicks who help the protagonist and widen the world. Their names should never compete with the lead.
TRY: CAREGIVER, EXPLORER, ELF
The guide who offers advice and support during tough times. An older or more formal name signals experience.
TRY: MENTOR, SAGE, MAGICIAN
The character whose emotional pull shapes how the protagonist grows. The name should sound good next to the lead’s.
TRY: LOVER, INNOCENT
A character built to contrast with another and show what they are not. Give them a name with the opposite rhythm.
TRY: REBEL, DETECTIVE, ROBOT
The generator gets you a shortlist. These six notes, the kind an editor leaves in your margin, help you choose from it or bend a random name until it belongs to your character.
Real-world names already sound believable. Change a letter or a syllable and the name becomes your character’s own.
A name from the character’s background tells readers where they come from without a paragraph of explanation.
Take a word that describes the character’s traits or powers, translate it into another language, and use it as a name or surname.
If readers cannot pronounce a name, they skim it, and a skimmed name is a forgotten one.
Two names that start the same way blur together on the page. Vary the first letter and the number of syllables.
Simple names carry a strong backstory well. Write the name into a line of dialogue before you commit to it.
The rider came down from the pass at dusk, and the gatekeeper knew him at once. Aldric Stormwind had not been seen in the valley for nine winters.
"Stormwind" is doing too much work. He already sounds dangerous. Try something plainer, like Aldric Vane.
Post your shortlist in the Book Cover Hub Discord. Other writers mark it up the way an editor would: what lands, what falls flat, and what to try instead.
Being stuck on a name can stall a whole chapter. This tool produces character names that match the genre you write in, so a thriller lead, a fantasy sorceress and a romance hero each get names that sound like they belong in their book. You spend less time brainstorming and more time writing.
Choose from fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, mystery, adventure, thriller, crime, memoir and more. The generator returns a list of unique, marketable character names tailored to the themes of that genre. Browse the list, pick your favorites, and use them as they are or adjust them to suit your characters.
A character’s origin shapes how readers hear them. Choose an origin language and the names reflect that background: English, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, French, Italian, Urdu or Turkish. Before you choose, think about where your character grew up, the events that shaped them and the culture they carry with them.
Each name the generator returns is built to carry that history and fit the setting of your story. Keep the ones that feel right, or change a syllable until the name is your own.
Every story needs distinct characters. Pick the role your character plays and the generator finds names that fit it, whether that is a hero, a villain, a sidekick, a mentor, a love interest or a comic relief.
The same tool works as a fantasy character name generator, a dragon name generator, an elf name generator and an anime character name generator. Choose Dragon, Elf or Creature as the character type for fantasy names, or set the origin language to Japanese for anime and manga characters. You do not need a separate generator for each.
Book Cover Hub designs covers for independent authors, and we built this generator for the same writers. It is free, there is no sign-up, and there is no limit on how many names you generate. You can shape every result by genre, character type, gender and cultural background, so the name matches the character you had in mind.
Novelists use it to name a full cast, game developers use it for NPCs and worlds, and screenwriters and content creators use it whenever a new character walks into the scene.
Yes. It is free to use, there is no account to create, and there is no limit on how many names you generate.
18 genres, including fantasy, sci-fi, romance, horror, mystery, thriller, crime, adventure and memoir, and 18 character types, from hero and villain to elf, dragon, robot and detective.
Yes. Choose Dragon, Elf or Creature as the character type for fantasy names. For anime characters, set the origin language to Japanese.
No. Every field is optional. The more you choose, the closer the names get to the character you have in mind.
One or two lines is enough: where they come from, what they do, and one trait that defines them. For example, “a retired smuggler who now runs a bakery in a port town”.
Two more generators for the writing desk. Free to use, no sign-up.
A pseudonym that fits your genre and your shelf. Choose your writing genre, gender and origin language, and get pen names that are creative and marketable.
Working titles to test before you commit. Add a short summary of your book, choose a genre, and get a list of title ideas for your next book.
Three concepts from a designer who works in your genre, unlimited revisions, and every file you need to publish.