Names for male protagonist? Very desperate...

So, I’m writing a piece at the moment that’s held in an alternate almost-medieval world full of supernatural creatures and hunter colonies. There are two protagonists, a female and a male, and they are both outcasts within a particular hunter colony. Most of the names of those inside the hunter colony are strong-sounding and nature-like. The girl in fact is called [name]Moss[/name], but I am stuck for the boy’s name.

He’s rather dark, and strong, but rather soft towards [name]Moss[/name]. Other than that, I haven’t gone into too much detail with him.

I don’t mind if it’s modern, medieval, or ancient sounding just yet. [name]Nor[/name] if it’s a word name or not, like [name]Moss[/name]. But I do want it to be masculine with that dark undercurrent.

Any ideas?

Altar
[name]Kellan[/name]
[name]Arden[/name]
[name]Fane[/name]
[name]Thaddeus[/name] / [name]Thad[/name] / [name]Thade[/name]
[name]Mercer[/name]
[name]North[/name]
Kallias
[name]Creed[/name]
[name]Saint[/name]
Noir
[name]Alaric[/name]
[name]Magnus[/name]
[name]Slater[/name]

I love nature related names, these are just a couple which are good for strong male roles.

[name]Asher[/name] or [name]Ash[/name]
Cadeo
[name]Flint[/name]
[name]Clay[/name]
[name]West[/name] or [name]Weston[/name]
[name]Torrance[/name] or [name]Tor[/name]
[name]Zander[/name]
[name]Cedar[/name]
[name]Emit[/name]

NB tagged the word “[name]Nor[/name]” in your post as a name. I actually really like it for your protagonist. Strong, definitely male, mysterious tone. Maybe spell it Norr to differentiate between the name and part of speech. [name]Just[/name] an interesting observation.

Here are some strong male names…

[name]Slate[/name]
[name]Finch[/name]
[name]Thor[/name]
Grail
[name]Isaac[/name] nn [name]Ike[/name]
[name]Asa[/name] nn [name]Ace[/name]
[name]Blade[/name]
[name]Blaise[/name]/[name]Blaze[/name]
[name]Crew[/name]
[name]Dirk[/name]
[name]Drake[/name]
Edge
[name]Jett[/name]
[name]Knight[/name]
[name]Mars[/name]
[name]Duke[/name]
[name]Arrow[/name]
[name]Atlas[/name]
[name]Zephyr[/name]
Strider
[name]Sage[/name]
[name]Squire[/name]
[name]Sterling[/name]
[name]Noble[/name]
[name]Talon[/name]
[name]Zion[/name]
[name]Odin[/name]
[name]Shane[/name]
[name]Soren[/name]
[name]Ryder[/name]
[name]Ramsey[/name]
[name]Knox[/name]
[name]Conrad[/name]
[name]August[/name]
[name]Asher[/name]
[name]Leo[/name]
[name]Ryker[/name]
[name]Sargent[/name]
[name]Saber[/name]
[name]Barron[/name]
Tycho
[name]Calix[/name]
Falco
[name]Ruffin[/name]
[name]Torin[/name]
[name]Draven[/name]
[name]Atticus[/name]
[name]Chad[/name]
[name]Lorne[/name]
[name]Titus[/name]
[name]Heath[/name]
[name]Storm[/name]
[name]Bryce[/name]
[name]Lance[/name]
[name]Gage[/name]

I feel like you should go with something otherworldy and distinctive. If you’re trying to create a super-duper unique fantasy/otherworld, you should avoid names like “[name]Storm[/name]” or “[name]Saber[/name]” or “[name]West[/name]” (No offense to anyone who suggested them!), because they sound too much like modern-day-parent-trying-to-make-their-baby-boy-sound-bad, even though it fits the nature. You’d also want to avoid modern-day names like [name]Keith[/name] or [name]Emmett[/name], even though you might think they’re great for the character.

Naming characters in otherworlds is always hard, especially if you’re world has a lot of people groups. I’m picturing this more neolithic than post-bronze-age, but if that changes you could maybe-maybe-maybe get away with a name like “Rapier”. Maybe. It seems like you have your hunter colonies, which sound like they have a fairly loose social structure, there are lots of groups, and they probably interact some or a lot. They’ll probably give names that reflect what they see around them. Perhaps they assign an object of nature to each baby when their born? I can imagine various rites that are kinda sorta a christening ceremony.

For your character, I keep think Nightberry. It could be a poisonous berry, but maybe the mother was saved from eating one by the father and it started their relationship? And as soon as he was of age Mr. Nightberry was exiled because they thought his name was a bad omen?

Except Nightberry sounds horribly, horribly corny. You might get away with [name]Flash[/name], but definitely not with Lightning. You could probably manage [name]Oak[/name], but not [name]Cedar[/name] or [name]Maple[/name]. It’s a balance.

Sorry, you asked for some names and I gave you a heaping plate of Culture with a side of Subplot. I’m excellent that way, xD.

Maybe you could blend names too or scramble words of nature names or myth names. I felt rather clever with a name I came up with in a kind of sci-fi I’m fiddeling with. The last name of one of the major characters is Suesydo, from [name]Odysseus[/name]. :slight_smile: It’s pronounced Soo-Say-Doe.

[name]Eli[/name]
Nekro
[name]River[/name]
[name]Blake[/name]
Draken