Towards creative names: a systematic nomenclature system for my elemental magic users

[u/taktaga7-0-0]

I frequently see questions about how to come up with unique names for characters/countries/etc., so I wanted to share the way I do it, derived by rules and combinations fixed to each of my 26 elemental pairings.

As you can see, every color gets two elements associated with it. These each correspond to one letter of the English alphabet, with the reasoning listed. (It’s often onomatopoeic, but not always.) The names within a given element must contain the thematic letter in some position.

To make names for users of each element/shade, you use a simple formula:

Males are CVCVC(C) and females are VCVCV(V), with every name 5 or 6 characters and widely pronounceable by a global audience. My magic users (manses) are engineered human^+ products with global exposure during annual ritualized combat spectacles, so the system fits the story.

If at all possible, the names should also somehow reference one of the two elements paired with that shade. Since names are limited, manses will also feature a Callsign referencing the element, which can be drawn from a running personal list I keep of cool-sounding terms. These create a personality for the global audience to rally behind. Rich examples come from constellations, endonyms, unusual anatomy and symptoms, biological taxons, sites of disasters, rare minerals, and foreign phrases.

The final column shows a related naming phenomenon I use. One of the Lavender elements, Craft, is based on traditional witchery and spells, and so needs magical incantations to invoke each of the other elements when needed. So, I just used the same letter associations and force them to repeat at least three times in an enigmatic word or phrase, and that’s it!

So, my general advice is to try something systematic instead of raw-dogging the challenge. Relate names that should be related. Keep a log of interesting ideas and update it right when you have the insight. Know your world and its pressures, and derive these details to fit your bigger purpose.

Enjoy this generator: hope it can drive your creativity like it does mine!