Names for gods and goddesses?

Writers' Corner
1

Hello fellow Nameberries!

I’m currently writing a fantasy book which involves creating a religion that plays a huge part in the book. So, I’m trying to name a list of gods and goddesses. I’m kind of trying to link their names to who they are. So, if it’s a nature goddess the name would have some connection to nature or some meaning that connects to nature. Also, don’t worry about normal gender lines. It’s not earth, so it doesn’t matter. I have a couple picked out, but I want a second opinion. Okay… here we go.

[name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of nature- She’s the ‘head goddess’ so to speak. She’s very powerful and you can tell by just looking at her you should be scared. So far I have [name_f]Cybele[/name_f], [name_f]Briar[/name_f], [name_f]Avis[/name_f], [name_u]Linden[/name_u]. Right now I’m thinking [name_f]Briar[/name_f], but it doesn’t feel right.

God of life- he appears to be a teenager, somewhere around fifteen. He’s kind and lighthearted. Right now I have [name_m]Meyer[/name_m] picked out, but it doesn’t feel right. The name also has to go with his twin brother (god of death) [name_m]Cole[/name_m].

God of war, battle, and weapons- He’s tough and cruel. Right now I have [name_f]Dree[/name_f] and [name_m]Egon[/name_m], but those don’t sound right. Any other ideas?

[name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of wisdom- She’s calm, collected, powerful, and motherly. Right now I have [name_u]Sage[/name_u] and [name_m]Rainer[/name_m], but I don’t know.

Okay, these are the two I’m struggling with the most:

I have two gods of love, one male and one female. They are twins, but they are also married. (I know weird, but most mythology works like this.) I am stuck on names, because I want something that connects the two, but sounds like they’re gods of love. Like, [name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f], from greek mythology, sounds like a goddess of love. I have [name_m]Amadeo[/name_m] and [name_f]Amadea[/name_f], but I don’t know. [name_f]Do[/name_f] those sound like gods of love? Help! Please!

Okay. That’s it. Wow! Thanks for the help in advance!

2

I like [name_f]Cybele[/name_f] for the nature goddess. To me, it sounds powerful and elegant, like I picture she would be. For the god of life, maybe you could go with [name_m]Levi[/name_m]? Levis means light in Latin, so that would work well, I think. :slight_smile:

3

With my gods and goddesses* I went with made up names for all of them because I feel like they need it. Using a name like [name_f]Susan[/name_f], as an example, would just sound bizarre to my ears because [name_f]Susan[/name_f] is a well known girl’s name. I feel the same way about [name_m]Cole[/name_m] and [name_f]Amadea[/name_f] etc. I can see them as people, but not as gods.

My advice would be to take names you like the sound of and tweak them slightly. For example, I might do:

[name_m]Cole[/name_m]: [name_m]Kohl[/name_m], Colus, Driscole, Coalam.

Something like that. If you start choosing names and words from other languages - which, in your fantasy setting, won’t have the same meaning in that culture anyway - you’ll end up with an odd hotch-potch that doesn’t fit stylistically.

*Who have names like Jala, Archaius, Antar, Cirrus and Jemin.

4

I have to agree with @renrose. I’d make up names for characters like gods and goddesses. You could look up how certain words that describe the characters would sound in other (maybe rare or even dead) languages for inspiration.

5

[name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of nature: [name_f]Terra[/name_f], [name_f]Sena[/name_f], [name_f]Dhara[/name_f], [name_f]Avani[/name_f]
God of life: [name_m]Beathan[/name_m], [name_m]Vitus[/name_m]/Vidus, [name_m]Zoilo[/name_m]
God of war, battle and weapons: [name_m]Bron[/name_m], [name_m]Alger[/name_m], [name_m]Armin[/name_m], [name_m]Arrio[/name_m], [name_u]Malin[/name_u], [name_m]Ogun[/name_m], [name_m]Tew[/name_m]/[name_m]Tyr[/name_m]/[name_m]Tyw[/name_m], [name_m]Kavan[/name_m], [name_m]Cathal[/name_m], [name_u]Averill[/name_u], [name_m]Cadell[/name_m],
[name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of wisdom: [name_f]Ulima[/name_f], [name_f]Gundruna[/name_f], [name_f]Hye[/name_f], [name_f]Sonia[/name_f]/[name_f]Sonja[/name_f], [name_f]Sofia[/name_f]/[name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Zosia[/name_f]
God of love: [name_m]Aziz[/name_m], [name_m]Caradoc[/name_m], [name_m]Sajan[/name_m]
[name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of love: [name_f]Ahava[/name_f], [name_f]Amoris[/name_f]
I hope these help!

6

[name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of nature: Gaiana
God of life: Vitalo
God of war, battle and weapons: Bolthan
[name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of wisdom: [name_f]Cybele[/name_f]
God of love: [name_u]Tristan[/name_u]/[name_f]Allegro[/name_f] (sorrow/joy)
[name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of love: [name_f]Alegria[/name_f]/[name_f]Trista[/name_f] (joy/sorrow)

7

Maybe researching latin and greek prefixes could help you make up some names. Maybe [name_m]Idris[/name_m] could work for the god of war.