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Originally Posted by Bobble
I've dabbled in that kind of thing as well (creating names). I can't figure out why I like it but I do.
Does your spreadsheet combine random syllables (similar to EBoN) or do you have another methodology?
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My XLS combines
word roots as opposed to
syllables.
The basic setup is like this:
I create the derivational roots for the language which is used to actually derive the words and their meanings. I then developed common endings for personal names, like for example -an, -aht, -ahl, etc. Then I simply combine the roots with the common name roots to form completed names (given or surnames). It's not real complicated because I don't know too much about programming, etc.
My language currently has over 3,600 words, so I just pull out roots from those words, give them broad means (like
aqua is a root for water-related things in English. This gives us words like
aquarium, etc.).
Then I figure out some common endings (for example
nata is the word for
man in my language, so some roots are
nat- and
nata-. Now, combine the two roots above (aqua and nat-/nata-) to form some names.
Some names can be easily devised:
Nataqua, Aquanata, Aquanat, Aqunat, Aqunata. You could use these as given (first) names or surnames. In any case, these names would all carry a similiar meaning or concept of "Water Man" or "Man of the Water" or something along those lines.
Going one step further, you could even say that this group of names originated among fisherman along the coasts of your fictional world, nation, continent. Or maybe one of them did and the others are just altered versions of that original name to distinquish different lineages, families, etc. That last part of development is not required obviously, but to me it's just fun to do.
That's basically how I do it. I find it enjoyable. I hope my explanation above was clear enough. I have a hard time sometimes explaining anything!
A lot of real world names developed the same way. Almost all names have meanings or carry some significance.