Name generator

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Name generator is a program that uses certain language rules or word combining techniques to come up with new unused names. Usually used by marketing professionals to brainstorm for brandable product name ideas. People seeking for unusual baby and pet names can also find unique names with name generators.

Registering a meaningful domain name has become problematic as most of the dictionary words are already registered by organizations or individuals. Meaningful word combinations word are also scarce. The introduction of alternative gTLDs solved the problem partially; however, most of the businesses still prefer the ".com" extension. The are several different strategies for selecting a good domain name: incorporating company's name or its abbreviation into the domain name, use some industry-specific word or a phrase, or use a short and easy to memorize name. These strategies are usually employed by domain name generators that combine a key word provided by the user with a database of prefixes and suffixes. A domain name generator creates a list of names and simultaneously queries the Whois database to see whether the resulting names still have unregistered domains. Such tools are also used by domainers hoping to find domains that can later be traded in the domain name aftermarket.

Another type of name generator is that which creates names for people and characters as used by authors, role players and wargaming scenarios. This type of name generator may create a name of specific nationality by combining typical given name and family names together. More sophisticated rules may create the female form of family name as used in countries such as Russian and Greece. Other generators may create totally fictional names based on syllabals arranged by formula in such a way that they create the right sound for a genre: elf names, troll names, Dickensian names etc.