Mining Mythology for Character Names: A World Tour of the Best Sources
By Vex -- QuestName.com
Mythology is the oldest name repository in existence. Humans have been naming gods, heroes, monsters, and tricksters for tens of thousands of years, producing an extraordinary collection of names that carry genuine weight -- names that come pre-loaded with associations, histories, and resonances that no invented name can match without considerable effort. Vex has raided every mythological tradition she has encountered. Here is what she found.
The most familiar tradition in Western fiction, which is both its strength and its weakness. Greek names carry immediate recognizability and rich associations, but the most famous ones -- Apollo, Athena, Zeus, Hermes -- feel worn smooth by overuse. The richest vein is the second tier: minor gods, nymphs, Titans, and mortal heroes whose names carry the same phonetic quality and mythological weight but without the saturation problem.
Underused gems: Eirene, Zephyros, Selene, Nyx, Erebus, Chthonia, Calliope, Theron, Aiolos, Enyo, Phoibos, Clio
Having a cultural moment, but still with significant untapped depth. The well-known names -- Thor, Odin, Loki, Freya -- have become cultural touchstones in their own right. But the Norse tradition contains hundreds of names for dwarves, giants, valkyries, and minor deities that combine the hard phonetic quality of the tradition with genuine rarity. Norse kennings -- compound descriptive names -- also offer a rich model for invented names.
Underused gems: Skadi, Sigrun, Mimir, Njord, Vidar, Gunnr, Hrist, Rind, Angrboda, Surtr, Jormunr, Thrym
Criminally underused in Western fantasy and an extraordinary source. Egyptian names have a distinctive phonetic quality -- a mix of hard consonants and open vowels with a particular structural pattern -- that is immediately recognizable as Egyptian while remaining genuinely uncommon in fiction. The gods, pharaohs, and mythological figures offer names that feel ancient in a way that Greek names, through familiarity, no longer do.
Underused gems: Sekhmet, Thoth, Nephthys, Sobek, Khepri, Neith, Montu, Satis, Wadjet, Hapi, Nut, Amenhotep
Rich, strange, and phonetically distinctive in ways that can be either appealing or challenging depending on how the names are rendered. Irish and Welsh mythological traditions offer names of extraordinary beauty and genuine otherness. The challenge is pronunciation -- many Celtic names look impossible to English readers -- but this can be solved by using anglicized forms or by providing pronunciation guides in your narrative.
Underused gems: Cailleach, Morrigan, Cernunnos, Brigid, Nuada, Lugh, Rhiannon, Arianrhod, Pwyll, Cerridwen, Manannán, Oisin
The most underexplored major mythology in Western fiction and one of the richest. Slavic names have a distinctive phonetic character -- frequent use of V, Z, and R combined with Slavic vowel patterns -- that immediately signals a different cultural tradition. With the surge of interest in Slavic-inspired fantasy, these names are increasingly relevant and still genuinely fresh.
Underused gems: Veles, Morozko, Kikimora, Domovoi, Zorya, Stribog, Mokosh, Perun, Marzanna, Leshy, Rusalka, Zaria
The oldest mythology available -- Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian -- and almost entirely untouched by popular fiction. Names from these traditions carry the weight of genuine antiquity in a way that no other source matches. They have a distinctive phonetic quality that feels ancient and alien in the best possible sense.
Underused gems: Ereshkigal, Nergal, Enlil, Inanna, Ninsun, Enkidu, Gilgamesh, Anu, Ishtar, Namtar, Tiamat, Marduk
Vex's advice: "Use mythology as a source, not a copy. The name 'Athena' for your warrior goddess is too on the nose. The name 'Aethon' -- derived from the same Greek root meaning burning or blazing -- gives you the association without the direct lift. Mythological names are seeds, not finished products."