#unless you're ready to be hit by 1k of unedited info dumping

[tosahobi-if]

different anon, if it's okay with you, i'm interested in how you come up with the names! i've been using random generators but perhaps seeing a different approach is what i need...

this took me forever to answer and i'm so sorry about that, but this is about to be a lengthy post so strap in!

i'll give an overview of korean names and i'll explain some ideas for how you can go about naming your characters! for now i'll stick to korean names, but i've also done research into go-on kanji and chinese given names during the late three kingdoms period, so i can offer a little bit of help on those if people are curious about those as well! i can't promise it'll be as comprehensive tho hehe

a "brief" overview: modern korean names are made up of a surname followed by a given name. for the period tosahobi is set in it was exceedingly common to NOT have a last name. historical records state that last names typically only belonged to nobility and/or royalty, hence why certain characters have last names (jinwol) and other characters don't (yul). korean names are written with hangul, which was invented in 1443 however murim stories are an amalgamation of historical fact and fantasy, which is why i used the "modern" naming system.

korean was originally written using chinese characters. that's why there are typically two versions of a korean name, one in hangul and one in hanja. there are tens of thousands of characters in chinese and many of them have similar sounds which can be differentiated by intonation.

rather than being read logographically, korean is phonographic (modern korean no longer has intonations and different phonemes than chinese) so the same reading can be attached to different characters. (this is called sino-korean!)

hangul was designed to simplify the language to spread literacy to the population. each character represents a sound, and written together they form a syllable. for example, jin (진) has multiple hanja (進, 鎭, 眞, 振, etc.) and are all read as just jin, but in mandarin, they could be read as jìn, zhēn, chén, and so on.

thus korean names are chosen in hangul (ex; jinwol or 진월) then each syllable is assigned a hanja which carries the sound of the syllable used, but carries a corresponding meaning! i did a little breakdown of the hanja used in jinwol's name here!

some things to think about: if you take away anything here, it's that there's no single definition for any name! the components of a name make up the meaning. unless it's a name like yul with a singular character, the two syllables can be built to signify a wideeee variety of things. (that's why you shouldn't trust Name Your Baby sites that are like xyz means This Exactly HAHA!)

gender! hangul names are typically gender neutral, however, hanja can sometimes denote birth gender as there are masculine, feminine, and neutral character radicals. (ex the syllable "yeon" is gnc, but with the hanja 延 (to stretch, lengthen) it can be seen as masculine since that's a more "masculine" quality whereas the hanja 媛 (beauty) it is seen as feminine.)

there are indigenous korean names that come from native korean words being used as names. iseul is one such example! her name 이슬 means "dew" and does not have a corresponding hanja.

important!!! one can still assign arbitrary hanja to syllables, which is why in iseul's case i chose corresponding characters that i thought suited her personality! vibes are a really easy way to go about it. the hanja i chose for "i" (이) is 怡 for joy and 瑟 as in the guse, (known in korea as a seul) which is a type of zither. all together her name signifies "rejoicing at the pleasing sound of the guse".

how i make a name: names are usually one or two characters, for example, iseul is (怡 and 瑟) while yul (律) is one character. some nobility had three character given names, but since this already getting super long i won't be delving into those today.

typically i make the name in hangul first. i think you could do this in reverse (hanja -> hangul) but it'd probably be harder. most given names consist of sino-korean morphemes for each syllable, but you could def give your character a native name like iseul! (ex; garam, naro, roda)

you can theoretically choose any hanja you want (jsyk there's a korean law with a list of hanja you can't use in a name HAHAHA) parents, especially well-educated ones put together names with deep meanings and cultural references.

a common practice is to visit a naming-place where a fortune teller or a scholar (almost always a fortune teller, i've never met any naming scholars but they're out there!) they'll assist parents with hanja meanings for names after receiving information like due date estimations and personal details!

this is where elements of anthroponymy come in and they analyze things like stroke count and the five elements of nature to come up with a "beneficial" name for the child! (for example, if a child was lacking in the water element, the fortune teller could suggest a hanja related to water in some way -> balance achieved!)

vibes are a great way to name your character. one of the first things i consider is personality (are they happy? sad? thoughtful?) followed by things like birthplace (topographic names are popular!) and goals/achievements (what kind of person do i want them to become? brave? smart?) and then start looking up the hanja to attach to their name!

if this seems overwhelming, you're not alone! i take foreverrrrr to name my characters for that exact reason. names are considered very special and sacred (maybe not so much nowadays LOL) but back then they were thought to be a vital part of the soul and identity, which is why it's such a lengthy process!

anyways if you've somehow read to here, thank you so much for sticking through my (unedited) rambling. i'm really excited to be sharing this with you guys! and i'm also happy to help you guys come up with names if you send me asks or dms for your mc if you're having a hard time thinking of a name.