Last names are just as important as first names when it comes to naming your characters. It gives your character a sense of identity.

Yet, you don’t want to just pick any old surname for your character. You want to make sure the last name matches with the first name.

Does your character have an Hispanic first name? You might want to give them an Hispanic last name as well.

That is, if your character is Hispanic. Maybe your character’s parents just liked that specific name, but they’re not Hispanic. Or maybe your character is adopted.

See? A last name can tell a lot of things.

You also want the surname to flow with the first name. You want the first and last name to roll right off the tongue together.

I think that has a lot to do with the syllables in both the first and the last names.

I always found that if one name is going to be longer than the other, it should be the last name. For example, Lee Anderson flows nicely. Elizabeth Smith, does not.

Yet, Elizabeth and Smith both sound alike because of the “TH.” Elizabeth Brown sounds much better.

I basically just contradicted myself, but this is all a matter of opinion.

I wanted to sound somewhat intelligent, but my main reason for writing this post was to give you guys this awesome website:

Names by Mongabay

This is the ultimate list of surnames by rank, race, and in alphabetical order. There’s also lists for male and female first names as well.

So, if you’re ever stuck on what to name your character, this is a fun place to do it.

Did you like this post? You can also read about First Names here!