What are your favourite patterns to use when creating combos?
Is there a constellation/combination of syllables that you tend to go for?
If you use two middle name combos, is there a logic behind which names goes in the first middle spot and which in the second?
Maybe a name has to have a certain number of letters to be used in a particular spot?
Any kind of names that you always include in a particular spot?
Family names? [name_u]Nature[/name_u] names? Word names? [name_f]Honour[/name_f] names?
[name_u]Or[/name_u] do you freestyle everything?
Basically: What is the logic behind your combo making?
It really depends. Flow is important to me, as are honor middles (but I get creative with them sometimes). I almost exclusively use single middles but that’s a personal style preference more than it is anything else. I love nature names and those adjacent, so those pop up a lot in my combos, as do pagan names and mythology names. I tend to also think a lot about what nicknames might happen for a combo, as well as initials (“bad” initials are definitely enough to sway me away from a combo I’d otherwise like). I also tend to put the name I love more, first, even if I think the other way might “flow” slightly better. But overall, the most important thing to me is that I love it and think it sounds and looks good both on the ear and on paper.
I’ve never really thought about it. I mean, I tend to just pair names I like together, but I try to use an honor name in each combo – placement of it doesn’t matter though (i.e. can be a fn or a mn, depending on what fits). And, for girls, I also tend to do shorter fns with super long mns – and this is mainly because I don’t want to use my beautiful long names as fns that will inevitably shortened. But that’s about it, I guess.
It really depends for me as well. If there’s a name I really, really love, then it’s going in the first name slot no matter what, and the middle goes around it. I tend to like longer first names with shorter middles, but I also have plenty of shorter first name, longer middle combos. When I’m trying for a combo, I say the first name aloud and then a middle will pop into my head. Usually I won’t go with the first thing that comes to mind, but if the middle ends in R and the next one to pop in also ends in R, I’ll look for names that end in R.
Nicknames are also important to me— my number one combo, [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] [name_m]Lysander[/name_m] “[name_u]Abbey[/name_u],” came about because I wanted the nn [name_u]Abbey[/name_u]. I love all three names, but [name_u]Abbey[/name_u] is definitely my favorite of the three.
Initials don’t really matter to me, because I don’t have any idea what the surname will be, and flow is more important than vibe. Flow is really the key component in a combo for me. [name_m]Robinson[/name_m] [name_m]Wayne[/name_m], for example, I really love the flow of. I also really love [name_u]Ashby[/name_u]— perhaps more than [name_m]Wayne[/name_m]— but I prefer [name_m]Robinson[/name_m] [name_m]Wayne[/name_m] to [name_m]Robinson[/name_m] [name_u]Ashby[/name_u] because I like the flow of [name_m]Robinson[/name_m] [name_m]Wayne[/name_m] better.
[name_f]My[/name_f] #1 priority is how it flows sound wise. After that, I try to balance things out stylistically. (Let’s use [name_m]Edwin[/name_m] [name_u]Sparrow[/name_u] as an example: [name_m]Edwin[/name_m] is romantic and old-fashioned, so I want something a bit more fresh and modern in the middle, hence the hippy-ish nature name.)
I tend to prefer the shorter name in the middle spot when just making combos for fun! And I usually try to have each combo have a genderbent nickname built in (ex: [name_m]Magnus[/name_m] could be [name_u]Max[/name_u], or he could be [name_f]Maggie[/name_f]!). Most of my combos also have meaningful meanings. It was my favorite part of my dead name, so I want to have that for my kids too eventually.
Definitely honoring relatives with middle names is important to me. Everyone in my family has a middle name that was the name of one of their relatives. And I have enough names that sound nice to work with, since I don’t plan on having toooo many children.
Other than that, it’s just up to whatever I like best and what sounds good. Flow is important to me, and thankfully a lot of my honor name options can be considered pretty filler, so they will go with a lot of first name options. We’ll just see what feels best when the time comes
I love honour names, but I’ll only use ones I really love in the first name slot.
I’m also very broad on them, so for me, I’ll use anything as a honour name that goes from being a relative’s name (e.g. [name_m]Otto[/name_m], [name_f]Frances[/name_f]) to a story book character I love(d) (e.g. [name_f]Edith[/name_f]).
I also consistently stick to collecting my favourite unpaired names in a “must use” list, to ensure I then pair those up and don’t start finding “filler” middles I don’t actually love. Meaning, in general, that this goes before the flow. Of course, flow is not unimportant to me, but I’ll sacrifice a little part of the perfect flow to ensure I 100% love the names.
I also love cross-style pairing, such as Welsh names combined with Greek mythological ones (e.g. [name_f]Anwen[/name_f] [name_f]Eos[/name_f]). When using a fairly classic name (e.g. [name_m]Otto[/name_m]) I try to avoid a classic middle, to make the combo more me and a little more special.
I usually start with a name I really like, and then I try to find a name (or two) that I like and that flows well with the first. Occasionally, I’ll start with a middle - either an honour name I want in the middle or something I’m not brave enough to use as a first (even though all my combos are hypothetical at this point).
Flow is pretty important to me - the combo has to sound good out loud, and look good written down. I tend to like longer firsts with shorter middles - syllable patterns like 3-2, 3-2-1, 2-1, etc. I do like 2-3 though. Another important thing is the number of vowels, and more specifically the variety. Combos like [name_u]Spencer[/name_u] [name_u]Grey[/name_u], with so many e’s and only one other vowel, or like [name_u]Jaden[/name_u] [name_u]Parker[/name_u], with the vowels in the same pattern in both names, kind of bother me. I also like variation in endings, which is sometimes tricky with girls’ names, since so many end with -a.
As for the types of names in each spot, I usually have a some of a theme for each set of names (maybe one with vintage firsts and nature middles, one with mythological firsts and short, fun middles, etc), so it depends. I do really like nature names in the middle, though.
The exception to these guidelines would be for honour names; I would be willing to use a combo that is “just okay” together if it was to incorporate a name of someone important. But when it’s just me, and everything is hypothetical, I don’t really need compromises.
I prefer longer first names (3-4 syllables) that sound long and flowy, with a shorter one syllable middle. Currently going for nature middles but that’s changeable. Nicknames are important, with longer names I want something with good nickname potential.
Honours don’t work for me, tried having one in most of my combos but just wasn’t feeling it, unless I have like 6/7 kids I wouldn’t be able to use them all and I’d feel guilty choosing one or two.
Originally wanted names that worked in both [name_f]English[/name_f] and Spanish accents, but at the minute it’s more of a mixup
