Insimenator.org

Just a curious question, I see some wonderful names on the picture threads that you've all named your sims.

Were did you get them from?

xx

I've got a couple name lists from somewhere (I think someone posted them here). I also love baby name sites. They're one of the best places for...creative names. Not to mention my all-time favorite 20000-Names.com (http://www.20000-names.com/). Also, if you're watching a movie, look for names that you like there, and in daily life.

Most of the sims I'm playing with now are roleplay characters from a Fire Emblem board I go to, so some of the names I chose, and some are other people's characters. :D

For their kids, I just use whatever names I've heard and personally like, or I even name them after their parents. Like one of my sims, Dianna, is named after her dad, Dian. Or if I hear a name that I like, I write it down for later.

i do what probably every other male person does. i ask my wife, i think she gets them from her romance novels she reads. and she's reading dark hunter books now. i think they are romance novels to.

I've got about 3 called Jane but I will only show one to hide this fact... muwhahaha

I got a Baby Names book and it also has surnames so I use that or I'll use a Baby names website or ones that I know and like :)

I make up a lot of my names, or I take names I like and change them a little. I also like to use ethnic names a lot, and sometimes old-fashioned names. I just love making up names, lol.

The phone book is also a great source of material!  I sometimes use the credits in a movie too, there's some pretty interesting names there, even just the crew.

~ Syn

I don't mind having several with the same name. People in real life can have the same first name, so it's not a big deal for me.

There are different groups of names I use depending on what the sim's initial role is. I have just "normal" type sims and give them names that are average. I may have themed names, e.g. for many of the mafia sims - they have Italian names. I also can make names based on a specific characteristic in the sim or a specific trait. I also like making references and using word play with names. I often have themed last names and "normal" first names - e.g. Peter Pound is the owner of the pound; his wife is Ezra Pound (kinda "normal" and word play with the author).

Yep! i agree with you there lol

Wanna talk interesting? I was looking at the credits for one show, and this girl's name was BlueJean Ashley Secrest. Maybe there's a sim in the works...

http://www.behindthename.com/ has all types of names from all types of nationalities and meanings.

http://surnames.behindthename.com/ is just like Behind The Name except it has surnames (last names). These are the only sites I use for my sims' names.

What a great questions!  Thanks for some of the links! I was running out of names. :)

I pick the most dark names I can find.

Dark hunter books? Sherrlyn Kenyon by any chance? I love her books, they are a combination of horror and romance, but you do actually find them in the horror section of bookshops.

I use names from books I read, tv I watch, and also randomly pick names from real life.

The phone book is my main source for surnames. Just open it up and look for something unique. I too, use two Baby Name books. In some neighborhoods though, I'll use names from books (I have several characters from Pride and Prejudice in one neighborhood) and another is stocked with Star Wars names.

Thanks, thats really interesting, I guess I will have to keep my eyes and ears open. And thanks for the links too

xxx

When I'm creating a sim I have a personality and backround in mind for them and then they carry on the traditional names down the generations, i.e. I have an Irish family, (The Murphy's), the man is Sean and his wife is Shannon, their son is Conor, and daughter, Niamh. I just google for "Irish baby names" or "African-American baby names" etc, and go back to them when a baby is born.

I usually take names from some stories I wrote when I was in a Klingon fanclub several years ago and had to delve up a character name and a family bio. Lately I've been using names from pics I've found on the internet of some of my ancestors.

I usually get my surnames from album sleeves, TV listing book, names that stick in my head or just from random magazines etc. First names are usually from a baby names book (which has a lot of foreign names as well as the more traditional names, so it's useful when making ethnic families). I got it a few years back when I got the Sims1. Either that or I just decide for myself (not often though!)

God, I'm glad someone necro'd this thread!  I've always had a hard time with names.  Coming up with names for newly-created sims hasn't been too difficult, as long as I remember which surnames have already been used in my neighborhoods and try not to duplicate one.  But coming up with a name for a newborn sim is much more difficult.  I think the suggestions given in this thread will really help me out. :D

I use whatever name comes to my mind.

I get mine mostly from books I read..though I do add in some ad libbing with said names!

From behindthename.com
I use the random generator and refresh the page until I find a good one.  Sometimes I'll choose ethnicities to pull the names from, but other times I just use them all.

Most of my names (especially the alien ones) are real names, mostly from kids I went to school with, people I've met or places I've been. I just spell them phonetically (spelling the way the word sounds)

I make most of mine, organic names.

My thing now is weird names. I was watching some "it happened long ago" murder series and this one lady (a REAL lady, not a character) had the name Ro Morse. The weather channel featured a lady named Angela Deputy. Can you guess what name I'm going to use next:lol:?

I make up most of my sims' names, that's why they're all so strange. XD Either that, or I name them after characters from Harry Potter, Final Fantasy, or whatever musical I'm currently addicted to. It's resulted in quite an odd variety.

I

• get it from real life
• see it on a movie/TV show/ect.
• a friend suggests it
• I google "baby names" and get a name from one of those sites
• I look at what other people name their sims

I get it from people i meet and transform them (when i want to make a sim that's close to a person i want to have in my game), or i get them out of my brain. If you don't have inspiration, let me know: i'll give you lists! :razz:

I rip out the page in magazine where it says who the editor is and such and use those names.

Or I flip open the dictionary and use variations of words. (For example- popinjay is babgho)

I use Mike Insides Family Creator for names.  I am lazy lol.  I just hit randomize till I like what I see

Uhm, Depends. If I'm creating an extremely ugly and sloppy Sim, which I do off and on, it will probably go by a - lets say - four letter name. If the creation is rather pretty, I'm looking for something a little more fancy.

Usually something strange. I find names online or make them up as I go.

I just use whatever comes to mind normally, unless it's a special sim and I want to give it a special name, I go online or something.

Um, for my freaky, spur of the moment families, or soon-to-be townies I go to this link. --->http://unique-names.com/word-mixer.php

I usually use behindthename.com and surnames.behindthename.com
Love those websites. ^^

With the two Sims I created and uploaded, I just made their names up. On the ones I download, I keep their names. With other ones I created, I have a name generator from my Sims 1 days and use that.

I know it's really sad but I usually get my Sims names from a baby name book thats on my computer desk.
It's really helpful if your stuck on a name. Also the names in the book I have are a little weird and they give the meaning and origin of the name.

Great idea for a thread! It's interesting to see how everyone comes up with their sim names.

I have a notebook that i keep by my computer that has surnames and first names that i have compiled over the years from real life, movies, internet etc.
When i make a sim i leave the naming till last and normally something from my book will stand out. I don't double up on names very often, unless by mistake. :happy8:

I make up my names, I google alot of names for sims, and look at pics of real people and make them, my best female sim name is Kelly Anderson, she's a very popular sim in my game, she's the first female I created being popular.

I very good at naming my sims.

From books.
Not Baby Name books or anything, but classics, bestsellers, barely known sellers.
E.g. I have a sim called Anne, pretty obvious where she got her name from.
The three Annes - Anne of Green Gables, Anne Frank & Anne Rice. xD

Also from a list I compiled.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a source from which I DON'T get a Sim name.

I downloaded a family creator that if made for sims2 and helps think up names, surnames and names, and also full familes, you put in the age and gender, and it brings up a surname and names for all your sims in that family...PM me if you want it, I'll find the link....

I have two neighborhoods right now, medieval, and modern. The medieval one is celtic themed, so I search for old celtic names. I really like Siobhann, or Aodh & Damhlaic. I think the different names really give a cool unique feel to the sims. And the modern ones, I  generally use names I like or names that are common, that the average person has. Because I like a bit of realism in my game.

TV mostly, but actually when I hear a cool name I remember it.
I usually watch TV and play at the same time (when I play, otherwise it gets boring), so whenever the show or movie ends and the credits roll Id read that and see if any names stand out.

I do the exact same thing! Well... for my human sims, at least. And I don't have an overabundance of humans these days. For my alien sims (the majority of my sims) I just make them up. Sometimes I use the names of various bit-part Star Trek characters for inspiration.


I also sometimes randomly pick names from the phone book. I especially love the foriegn names.

They're my imaginary friends :D Mostly just names I like or ones I find interesting...

i name them off the top of my head or what i would name my kids

^^ I tend to do the very same thing.  I did it with my main two sims really, mostly because of the back stories behind them, and they were the first names out of my head that suited both of them to a 'T'.  :lol:  

But in actuality, most of the names I've come up with in the past are different spellings of names and nicknames of people I know of, or names I've always liked... and with each name comes a part of that person's personality, which makes them seem like their name describes some of what they are.  :smile bi:  Seeing my sims by any other name from their original is kinda awkward, but interesting, though.  :angel:

Lately I've been using http://www.behindthename.com/  - I type in a meaning at the top and it comes up with names that mean the same.

Or I just make up words and change the spelling until it looks right.

:)

Where I work, we get some spam, they have some really cool names there!:smt106

I work at a museum, when our exhibitions change, I pick some of the artists names, which are so far out, also!:tongue5:

The full sims that I download keep the names their creators gave them, if they don´t have surnames, I name them after the creator!:love4:

But sometimes, I just take the first name which pops up in my head, like from a friend or a collegue, or a mixture of both...:flower:

mmm..... I mostly create fantastic names or use names from celebs, cartoons..... and others...

I usually name them after people I know or look in the phone book, hehe. xD

I usualy use my friend's names, or my personal favorite.. the yearbook. :]]

I have about 6 baby name books that I use. I try to keep a theme to the names--father's name begins with ---so will the son's, ect. But most times, it's just whatever catches my eye while I flip through the book.

I normally take normal names, for example: Taylor or Sophia and then i change the spelling, to Tayhla or Sofia, i also use websites and unusual names! x

I use the names of my favorite fictional characters from film and television as well as the real names of friends, favorite celebs, family etc.. a few likw Alma, Galaxy, Autum, Summer and Zetta I just like so I use them in almost every town I play.

I use a baby name book!

I use easy names like Craig, Dan, Ben, Jhon..the hardest part is the last name, well actually I careless with my sims character names :p

Hey^^
I always use the same names at least once per neighbourhood, and occasionally I find a new one :S

I tend to use names from singers, and sometimes just characters that have been on tv that I suddenly think 'hey... that's the best name ever!' [and I think that quite a lot]
e.g. Aubrey Ashburn - I'd never even heard the name Aubrey before I found the Devil May Cry 4 soundtrack!

I always have at least 1 Ivan per neighbourhood, and Helena, Alice and Clair are always used up first - I hate getting stuck, but usually I can't remember past these few - that is, until I come across an interesting name by accident.

My GF uses old graveyards, phonebooks, baby books, and occasionly she will say hey babe I need a name so and so had a girl or boy. I will pull some name out of my head, and she will either go yes or no. Ava Maria and Maurisa in her story are two of my names. Usually names I have used in my own hood and think they will go with her old 1700s hood. She has no problem coming up with modern names my favourite of hers is a girl named Lexie short for Alexandra but Lexie is such a cute name.

I usually make mine up, or use names of the people in my class :D Sometimes I take the names of my ex boyfriends...Or current boyfriends :D I did have this program that used to create families names for me, but I couldn't be asked to start it everytime I wanted to make a new program...And it made my computer go strange T_T My dad wasn't happy :( :D

Clarissa xx

I use a name generator, I use names I heard on television or movies, books I've read and this may sound a little morbid, but I also find names in the newspaper obituaries.

I get a lot of my sim names by going on baby name sites, honestly. If I really cannot think of a name, that's where I turn.

But usually I just sit there and run random words through my head and most of the time I'll come up with something fairly unusual.

I always just search "american girl names" on google.
Great names are on those sites, I use them most of the time.

I get my names from some of the places everyone else here uses. Most times if I get really stuck for a last name, I read the labels of things I have closest to me. I once named a sim family Garnier. :D I named another Gamble of that Proctor & Gamble Company. I sometimes use celeb last names or cartoon last names. I once named a sim Chase after watching a Chase banking commercial. I just hate when that part comes up I draw a complete blank.

I used to just look around my desk and pick out things and name my sims last name whatever it was. Then I would just sit and think of a name to actually name them.

Until I found this thread! Now I use the behindthename.com sites that people listed and love those sites! I even have some names written down so in case someone has a baby I don't have to alt tab out of the game and look up a name. Very awesome website for first and last names!

I just copied one of the Census Bureau's "most popular names" table from the 50's..and have been converting it to a text file. Tons of names, all ranked from most to least popular.
I have a lot of names to choose from! Some of them are repeats, but many are just "alternative spelling" forms of the same name. I don't think I'm gonna run out of names very soon!

The majority of mine are made up on the spot.  If I have a certain heritage in mind, I'll look up baby names of that culture.  I also will go pull movies and books off my shelves and look at actor, producer, author and character names.

I usually just go to babynames.com where I have a list of my favorite names.

One name follows me throughout the sims games and that's Joy (meeeee), however when I make multiples it depends on what the character looks like and what his/her aspirations are.  Right now, since I am FINALLY playing with SIMS 2, I have 6 different characters going, Chaos and Havoc are the two guys and there is an Adam who is an older character, Joy of course, and Prosperity, naturally with an aspiration of wealth and Eve the older of the women.

i got mine from
my name
and the girl from the urbz [[jayde]]

http://www.incompetech.com/named/

I get somewhere between 95% - 99% of my Sims Names from people I know in real life. Though, I made "my" Dad named Dylan, which I got from my cousin... and my "Mom" is named Ryan, who in real life, is my MALE cousin :-P
They're all names of real people I know, but they turn in to completely different people, LOL...

You know how in the little books that come with cd's, the artist(s) always thank a whole load of people?
When I haven't thought of a name before my game is loaded and the sim created, I just pull those out and choose one of those names. ^^

I use a lot of fantasy types, elves, centaurs, wizards, witches, etc. I usually pull names from books of those same genre. The more normal sims I can find a lot of names in school yearbooks.