Ten Reasons You Might Want to Create a Random Name

You’re you, and you’re quite happy that way. Why would you want to create a random name for anything or anyone or even for yourself? It’s strange but true: you may well find the need to come up with a random name at some time in your life. There’s a good chance you have made your way to this article because you’re in search of a random name for some specific reason, and it’s not because you’re about to commit a crime – at least, we hope not! The best way to find a random name is through a random name generator. Here are some of the reason you may want to come up with random names:

You’re a writer

You may have already decided on names for your leading men and leading ladies, but what about your supporting cast of characters? You can’t call them all “John Doe” or “Jane Doe”. Looking at random names can help you come up with the perfect character name which you may not have ever considered on your own.

You need a pen name

There are a lot of reasons why writers choose to adopt a nom de plume. You could be writing on a controversial subject and want to avoid getting hate-mail from those who don’t agree with you, or you could be writing in several genres and want your readers to associate different author names with each of these. Whatever you reasons, a random name may be just what you need.

You need an online persona

Participating in online forums and discussions is an innocent activity, but all too many people find they are targeted by ‘trolls’ or stalked by sickos who make scary threats. Whether they are actually able to deliver on these is questionable, but it can be scary when you’re using your real name. They could track you down on social media and find out where you work or even find ways to trace your physical address. Are you scared yet? Use an online name instead.

You don’t want to give away any personal information

So many websites require signup details including your name and email address. Before you know it, you’re receiving spam from people wanting to sell you fake pharmaceuticals and goodness knows what else. Although reputable sites do try to keep your details private, that information could be hacked. The results could include identity theft, so it’s no wonder that many choose fake names for website signups.

Testing things out

When you need good test data, using your own or someone else’s information could result in some very real hassles for you. The solution? A fake identity that you use just to check that everything works as it should.

Getting naming ideas for babies or pets

Although most of us have ideas about what we’d like to name our kids, our partners may not agree. If you need an alternative, random names could present you with some new ideas you hadn’t previously considered. As for pets – well, any idea is better than no idea, right?

Your given name is difficult

Have you ever dealt with clients in China? You’ll find that they’ve all got names like ‘Vicky’ and ‘Simon’. Are they hiding there real names for devious reasons? No, they are being courteous. They understand that you may have trouble pronouncing their names, and have chosen something you’ll find easier to identify with.

A fake name to hide a crummy real name

We can’t overlook stage names in this list of reasons for adopting or using a random name. If your name is Chris Crummey, it may seem that stardom will forever be beyond you. If you were to achieve fame despite your moniker, the jokes would be intolerable. That’s why Chris Crummey of the rock band Deep Purple chose the stage name ‘Chris Curtis’. It’s way less crummy (with apologies to Chris).

Your name’s taken

Performing arts guilds are all too ready to take up cudgels against those who seek fame under the name of an existing member. Have you ever wondered what the ‘J’ stands for in the name ‘Michael J. Fox’? It stands for nothing. It’s just there because another, less famous actor with a guild membership was already named ‘Michael Fox’. But what if your name already matches that of a famous person? You might not want to be associated with the singer Michael Jackson just because that’s your name. A random name might suit you better.

You just like the sound of it

Sometimes it’s just nice to have a name on hand that you use from time to time because you like the sound of it. Your parents ended up naming you, but if you could name yourself, what would that be? Going through a list of random names can help you pick the name you would have chosen for yourself.

(Photo courtesy of Jack Dorsey)