Help. Need Some Bad Guy Names.

Taft

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I need to name the evil character in a short-story I'm writing.

Any and all "bad guy" name suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Don't try and find "evil" names for your "evil" character. Unless your character is a devil or demon, they should have a reason for being "evil" and they should have an ordinary name.

There's nothing more annoying for a reader than to have an obviously "bad" guy that wears a leather jacket, shades and smokes. And possibly has a foreign accent.

Break the mould; it's far more entertaining.
 
Agreement. Unless you work for Wizards of the Coast, that is. If that is the case, go crazy, no-one who reads that stuff minds cliches. Or bad writing.
 
I have good reasons for needing a "bad guy" name.

But, of course, I don't need anything as obvious as "Darth Maul".

Something in Latin would be good.
 
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Nastius "Kitten-Killer" Maximus?
or how about the ever classic Lou Cypher.

Malvir, I think translates as Bad Man in latin (Mal - Bad, Vir - Man). No doubt someone who actually studied Latin will correct me later. Or possibly Malbellator (bellator - fighting man/warrior) for a more combat orientated one. I agree with the others above that I think dropping such a hint that he is evil can be counter productive if not done properly.
 
Well i did what I usually do when I am naming my characters... go onto a translator and then type in the word you think best describes their character. Then from the word it translates them into you can come up with a whole list of good names.

For example...

Evil in dutch = kwaad
Evil in french = mal
Evil in German = Übel
Evil In Italian = malvagità

From the examples here I am sure you can do something with them. Thats what I do. My character is called Mesmeriah becausing she was meant to be mesmerising and enticing although she is basically a damaged and vulnerable character. Thats where I sort of got it from but the translator helped.

The translator I used was Dictionary.com/Translator

Josh
 
How about "Atrector"?

It's sort of a combination of
atra - dark
rector - master
 
Malbellator (bellator - fighting man/warrior) for a more combat orientated one.

I'm afraid my immediate reaction to that would be that he's not very good at fighting.

Mor + something is always a bit of a givaway for evil, as is a short, sharp second syllable: how about:

Morvok?
Morzak?
Mortok?

but not Mordor - it's been done! :D
 
Something in Latin would be good.
I don't remember most of the Latin that I took in school and I'm not motivated enough to find an online dictionary at the moment, but I do know a few names off the top of my head that I always remembered, with the possibility in using them for book. Unfortunately this one does not fit in my world: Macellarius, which means "the butcher." Rearrange the spelling a bit and voila.
 
Dark Lord- Dunkel Lord(Ger)-Seigner Fonce(Fr)
Cruel Warrior-Grausamer Krieger(Ger)-Wrede Strijder(Dutch)-Guerrier Crudele(It)

Try a dictionary. Look up evil, bad, dark, etc.. Then look at the etymology of each word. Finally, combine a couple of modified roots that you like.

My dictionary has been barrowed/stolen/lost or I'd be more help.
 
I'd suggest Sue as a bad name for a guy, but someone's been there before me. :D

Jahat is a word for evil in Bahasa Indonesia. (And you could also try Marah and Busuk.)
 
Seventh Sanctum has a great random generator for all your naming needs...


Or...take a name you like. Or one you hate, and scramble the consonants in it. Or look for any good German or Russian word and just slap it on them. Put lots of K's and Z's and M's in it.

And Pyan's right- more bad guys have "Mor" in their name than any other sound. And "Mal".
 
hate to hijack the thread here, but how do you guys decide on names? ive got several plots ready to be written only waiting for names. it doesnt feel right to write about "main guy" as opposed to somebody like Mortok.
 
Malavoglio

(Wants Evil)


Malevolo


(a variation)

Ilcativ

(a regional variation: the Bad)
 
I find the old testament a good source of names for any character- though it's a bit short on female names you could do some rearranging. All those genealogies!
 
Most dialects of Filipino, including Tagalog and others, rely on Spanish for many words. But Ill ask my wife for some ideas about other dialects that have less Spanish borrow words.
 

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