# name generator's



## thullgrim (Jan 26, 2004)

Looking for a good random name generator.  I know one of the board members has one but I can't for the life of me remember what it is or have a link to it.  I know there was a 'J' in the title.  Any help would be great.

Thanks
Thullgrim


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## annadobritt (Jan 26, 2004)

thullgrim said:
			
		

> Looking for a good random name generator.  I know one of the board members has one but I can't for the life of me remember what it is or have a link to it.  I know there was a 'J' in the title.  Any help would be great.
> 
> Thanks
> Thullgrim



JH NameGen Gold.  http://www.jhanson.com


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## evildmguy (Jan 26, 2004)

Greetings!

I use the Everchanging Book of Names and like that a lot.  I know of one other, which includes names for Arcana Unearthed, but I don't remember it off hand.  

Sorry no link on that second one.  Perhaps searching this site will help?

edg


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## evildmguy (Jan 26, 2004)

annadobritt said:
			
		

> JH NameGen Gold.  http://www.jhanson.com




Yep, that's it!  Thanks!

edg


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## thullgrim (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks alot thats the one I meant.

Thull


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## annadobritt (Jan 26, 2004)

thullgrim said:
			
		

> Thanks alot thats the one I meant.
> 
> Thull



You're welcome.  I think it's the best name generator out there.


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## evildmguy (Jan 26, 2004)

Okay,

A little better compare and contrast.

JHNameGen takes a finite set of names and mashes them together to form the random names.  While this can get quite huge, quite fast (if you have first name and last name and 50 of each, that's 2500 names!) it is still a finite set.  

This isn't bad, that's not my point.  And, I think it is quite good for Tavern or ship names, which are usually easily remembered and probably often repeated between towns.  

However, for names, there are always going to be more names that you can add to the list, whether it is a different spelling or a new name altogether.  

EBoN creates random names, based on a specific rule set.  It also gives you this rule set, so that you can extend it to whatever you like.  I am not saying that it is easy to do this, it will take some work.  

I have seen the same name before.  How is this possible?  With EBoN, the program is creating names based on rules and probabilities.  Depening on the settings, it might be likely to see those names again.  Also, there are some rule sets that have very simple rules, which makes it more likely to see the same name again.  (If I knew the rule sets better, I would explain this better.)  It isn't as if you see the same name every 10th, more like every 100th if that often.  

It might be a good thing to have both.  Use EBoN to create a random set of names, then you don't have to make them up, and use JH NameGen to create the names from the created name set.  Or, use EBoN for person names and JHNG for ships, taverns and other more common names, where repeat is not only more likely but desirable by the owners.

I don't know that I am saying one is better than the other.  I merely wanted to explain more about them to the OP.  

I hope this helps!  

edg


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## MythosaAkira (Jan 27, 2004)

thullgrim said:
			
		

> Looking for a good random name generator.  I know one of the board members has one but I can't for the life of me remember what it is or have a link to it.  I know there was a 'J' in the title.  Any help would be great.
> 
> Thanks
> Thullgrim




<obligatory plug>

In addition to the other programs mentioned, TableSmith can be used as a random name generator. I say "can be" because it's not a name generator, but an all-purpose generator for pretty much anything: names, treasure, towns, calendars, books, weather, NPC backgrounds, herbs, shop inventories, etc.

The Table Gallery includes a number of fantastic and historic name tables, and the TableSmith Yahoo group has a bunch more as well.

</obligatory plug>


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## DaveStebbins (Jan 27, 2004)

I have to add another recommendation for the Everchanging Book of Names. It is simply awesome.

With seed names from a specific country or culture, it can produce new names with a similar cadence and feel (using the scientific rules evildmguy mentioned). There are dozens of real-world seed name files and also a bunch from different flavors of fantasy and sci-fi literature.

Having distinct sounding names for each region in your world makes a huge difference and makes it much easier to get across the feel of an area to your players. EBoN makes it easy to have lists of hundreds of names available for each region. Whenever you happen to need one, just grab one from the lists you made.

It's really not very difficult at all to create new seed name files; I've done it myself more than once (though it was years ago, just before a major upgrade - SOMEDAY, when I have the time, I've got to go back and re-generate those name lists to make them more accurate to the original sources).

I've never used JHNamegen, so I can't give a useful opinion on it.

TableSmith is a great tool with dozens of useful pre-made tables. I recommend it very highly. IMO, it is the Swiss Army knife of gaming utilities.

But for generating names, nothing comes close to EBoN in my book.

-Dave
(edit - better explanation and formatting of my response)


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## Phaedrus (Jan 30, 2004)

http://www.nbos.com/
Inspiration Pad Pro

I just downloaded it and haven't had a chance to play with it, but (1) it's free and (2) the rules look complex--good or bad depending on your perspective, but it looks very customizable.

I, too, like EBoN.

Try this one, too:
http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/knights/224/#Name Generator
I've been using it for years, primarily because it is VERY easy to customize.


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## MythosaAkira (Jan 30, 2004)

Phaedrus said:
			
		

> Try this one, too:
> http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/knights/224/#Name Generator
> I've been using it for years, primarily because it is VERY easy to customize.




Wow, I haven't see that program in years! 

"Name Generator" is actually an early ancestor of TableSmith. It was my attempt to create a Windows-based version of the "Name Synthesizer" program from Logicrucible (anyone remember them?). It's evolved quite a bit since then...


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## Chaz (Jan 30, 2004)

I have to say I like TableSmith also. Its a HIGHLY useful program in so many ways i cant even count them all. I do also have JHNamegen Gold. Its a real nice program to. The inspiration pad from NBos is also a nice program, and its free.

But TableSmith is a program every roleplayer/DM should have on their computer.

Peace


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