I don't know about you, but sometimes I spend more time researching than I spend writing. Which is why I want to ease some minds and help. By giving you names.
I'm at a write in at Borders, yay for us Monroeville attending individuals, and one of the questions that appeared was 'What do I name so-and-so?' I offered the idea to use a baby name website and then went scrambling to find one of the best site I've come to use in a long time.
For some people, it's really helpful because it gives a range of names used in certain years. So if you're looking for an obscure name, etc, this is the site for you.
If anyone else has anything they feel would be particularly helpful, post it below. Sometimes there's nothing better than something small and uniquely helpful.
http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager
----------
15,037 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 18 16
I find that using sites like that are helpful as well! Having really tried it for this story though, I figure that getting the actual plot down first is more important. If necessary, I can change character names later.
However, that is a really cool site there... I like the graphs!
----------Hello
50,361 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 20 23
I write fantasy set in fantastical lands so using something I find on baby name websites are too common and don't quite fit with the genre. I'll need something more exotic. Instead, I think about the characteristics of the character and then I try to combine those characteristics into a name. For example, if the character's favorite color is blue and is a graceful character, I will try to think up synonyms for those two words and see if I can combine those into a name. If that makes sense.
18,192 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 20 52
My favorite name generator is from behind the name, which gives you the ability to generate a name based on dozens of criteria, including nationality and genre. I have used it for years, particularly for fantasy.
http://www.behindthename.com/random/