The genesis of names...

What's in a name? People name themselves after things, phrases, ideals. They name themselves after people, places or acronyms.

I've seen people who add extra letters to an already taken name so they can have something similar. IE: Drizzt, Drizztx, Drizzta, Legolas, Legolasx, Ligolas, Sephiroth, Sefiroth, Sephirothx, and any combination thereof.

I make my names up, with very few exceptions. I create them, sounding them out in my head until I have a name I like the sound of.

For me... my own personal names have to start with a K. If I'm writing a short story, I just pick a letter and go from there.

Some of my names have quite a bit of history behind them.

Kiya is a shortened form of Kiyamvir, a villain in a Mercedes Lackey novel, whom nontheless has an awesome name. I would have taken the full name, except I've stopped plagerizing a few years ago.

Kava is a name that I made up, which I later learned is an actual word. It's a sweat lodge/spiritual lodge in some Native American language. She's a rogue. She's a rogue because I also used the name in a story that I was writing a while back where the main character was an assassin named Kava'Ashen.
Edit: Kava is a drink. I had another character on a roleplaying game named Kiva, and THAT is the sweat lodge.

Kikidas is a name that I also made up. A long while ago, I was playing online text based RPG's. A character there I named Cryshal Kikidas. I like Kikidas especially because taken by itself, it's not very gender specific. Kikidos I suppose would be more masculine. But then you get to be called Kiki. And how cute is that?

Kathe is one of the few names I've seen by the WoW name generator that I took. It's Kay-the, not Kah-the! :)

Keyami is another of my RPG names transferred over. I played a laboi (Star Wars alien). She had a second name, but I forget what it was.
I remember her name. It was Keyazi Yumani. Obviously, Keyami is a hybridization of that name.

Kiljara is a name that I made up with a former roommate. I was trying to hook my roommate into playing WoW. So I sat down with her and I typed in a K and let her help me make a name. I also let her help me design the character, which is why the character is so very purple.

Kvasira is based on the name Kvasir. Kvasir is a godlet in Norse Mythology, a bard who is accredited with being wise.

Karika is another name I made up on the spot. No history.

Karitei is a japanese demon/god. It used to eat children, until it's own children were eaten. Now it protects children. Talk about turnaround!

How do I make names? The sound. I sound it out in my head. I have, you may have noted, a good imagination. I also like vowels. And the K, Y and Z letters. I put them together on the spot. I fix, mix, match until I get a name that sounds good to me.

I write fantasy novels, so I've had lots of practice making up fantasy sounding names. I've also made up races, religions, magic rules, worlds. It's fun. I highly encourage you to try it.

But to get back to the main point of this post. I was playing with a rogue named Leiaangel.

That got me thinking. Leia. Luke and Leia. Parents are .. Padme Amidala and Anikin Skywalker. Friends are Obi Won Kenobi, Qui Gon Jinn. Wedges Antilles. Biggs Porkins. Lando Calrissian. Han Solo. Mon Mothma. Bail Organa.

And their names are Luke and Leia.

How prosaic.