Writers need names for characters. Developers need names for test accounts. Designers need them for mock-ups and presentations, where “John Doe” over and over starts to look lazy. A random name generator gives you a batch to pick from, or to paste straight into a spreadsheet.
Set the number of names and the format, and the list appears. Press Generate again for a new batch.
How the names are made
The generator keeps two lists: about 60 first names and about 65 surnames, chosen to be common across English-speaking countries and a wide range of backgrounds, and pairs them at random. That gives some four thousand possible full names, plenty for a short list, but not for a very long one. Ask for several hundred and you will see repeats.
The names are made up in the sense that the combinations are random, so any resemblance to a real person is chance. Many of the individual names, naturally, are real and common, and a pairing like “Chloe Patel” will certainly match someone. Do not treat a generated name as evidence that nobody has it.
Formats
First Last is the usual. First name only and Last name only are for when you want a list of one kind. Last, First matches the way names are sorted in directories and bibliographies. First M. Last adds a random middle initial, which is a useful touch for forms and for characters.
Using names well
For fiction, treat the output as a starting point. A name carries a lot of information about a character’s age, place and background, and a random pairing may not suit the setting. Browse the list for something that fits, and change a name that is close.
For software testing, generated names are handy for filling forms, populating a demo database and checking that layouts cope with long and short names. Do bear in mind what a short English-style list leaves out. Real names are much more varied: they include apostrophes (O’Brien), hyphens, spaces, accents, single names, very long names and names in non-Latin scripts, and a system that has only been tested with names from a list like this will often fail on real ones. Add some awkward cases by hand.
For anything involving real people, do not invent names to pass off as real, and keep generated names out of anywhere they could be mistaken for genuine records.
More generators
For words rather than names, there is the random word generator, and for a username or handle, a pair of words from there often works. To make test passwords for those accounts, use the random password generator. And for placeholder paragraphs, the lorem ipsum generator fills a design with text.