This week, I’m starting a new series of posts titled Fantasy Favorites.

I have plenty of categories already planned, and I might add more, so this will last for a few months at least. Every Fantasy Friday, we’ll look at another category—from favorite map to favorite magic system, and everything in between.

Cue the awesomeness.

For the inaugural Fantasy Favorites post, I present…

Favorite Fantasy Names

A name can tell you a lot about someone. Especially in a book, since a name is one of the first things you learn about a character and accompanies them whenever they show up.

And because in fantasy, anything is free game, names are just another way for writers to exercise their scads of creativity.

Fantasy has a huge range of names, from ones with a traditional medieval sound to ones that are plain wild:

• Lady Avarella (Blood of Kings)
• Rand al’Thor (Wheel of Time)
• Murtagh (Inheritance Cycle)
• Treebeard (LOTR)
• Puddleglum (Silver Chair)

I can’t wrap my mind around the thought of picking a single name from the vast, rich pages of fantasy. There are too many good ones. I’ve decided to narrow it down to three categories: male, female, and creature.

Without further ado, here are my favorite fantasy names.

Male

Lestibournes (aka Spook)

From the Mistborn Trilogy, this one is too imaginative to pass up. Seriously, Lestibournes? How can you not want to walk around saying that all day?

He’s usually called Spook, a nickname given him by Kelsier, one of the central characters in the first book. By itself, that’s a creative name—playful and innocent, which fits his character well.

Having one unique name is cool, but adding a nickname that’s just as entertaining? Put the two together, and his name shoots off the creativity charts.

Female

Luthien Tinuviel

I could have gone a hundred places for this one, especially when considering elves, but for some reason, this name has always stuck with me. I never get tired of repeating it in my head.

It has a lyrical quality that’s tinkling music to the ears. Saying it summons pictures of the fair elvish race and the beauty and grace inherent to them.

And in the history of elves in Middle-earth, Luthien’s darn near the top in importance.

Probably because of the name… *wink wink*

Creature

Aslan

Thanks to C.S. Lewis, this was a tough one. Reepicheep, Puddleglum, Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah—oh my!

How to choose?

But in the end, I had to go with Aslan. The name perfectly captures his nobility and majesty, and it’s the Turkish word for “lion.” Fitting and brilliant, if you ask me, a name that really does tell you everything you need to know.

Come back next week for favorite fantasy world. That should be a good one.

What are some of your favorite fantasy names? Why? I would love to hear your thoughts.