I love names and naming considerations, so there will probably be many of these coming down the line.

I did this informative section almost four years ago, when I was in my first semester of college. I had been taking my first Creative Writing class and, I suppose, thought I was much more well-informed on writing than my high school self had been.

Looking back at some of my essay-style pieces on here, I can see that I was greatly improved even then. But, this was not one of those much-improved, detailed works.

Present-day me thinks it kind of sucks.

This one was three hundred words, and not nearly as helpful as it should have been. I'm redoing it, because I am lacking inspiration on here and my thoughts have changed a lot since 2017.
I'll probably be laughing at this one in a few years, too, but at least it makes more sense than that first one.

I also edited some of the old answers, because I caught my own errors. The other one is still up on here, but it may go away someday. Go cringe over it while you still can.

Old answers should be in bold. New are in regular font.

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Usually, if I'm looking for names that have a certain meaning or connotation, then I'll go on a name site to search.

This is still sort of accurate. I know the meanings of a lot of names, though, so a lot of times I'll be looking for variants. This is usually when I'll go to a name site. I also do this to find new names, though a lot of times I watch people's naming idea videos on YouTube first.

Occasionally, I go for names which are most common for the time period, regardless of their meaning.

Current examples of this: I have a story idea with characters (brother and sister) Liam and Sofia. Sofia is a different spelling and has a different meaning than Sophia, but both versions are extremely popular names on the United States naming lists. Liam, too, is quite popular. These characters were, based on the setting of the story, born in the early-to-mid 2000's, so the names fit well.

I will do this a lot of the time. Unless it's essential that the meaning of the character's name is symbolic, then this tends to be a low priority. I try to be aware of it, because I personally like knowing those things, but meaning won't make or break that name for me.

I do avoid negative meanings, when I can, as I don't want to unintentionally offend a reader, or give a bad connotation to a protagonist with an unfortunate name.

If I'm writing something in the future, I'll either make up names, or use names that I hear occasionally today.

Not even for futuristic stories. I do this for any era now.

I make up names all the time, and pick up equally as many from random places. I'll pull them from anywhere. Starbucks? Reality TV contestants' names? Social media? Uncommon place/city names? You name it. When I steal somebody's name, though, I'm always worried that someone will pick up on it or, no matter how obscure the chances, know (or be) the exact person.

Current examples for several stories include Wentworth, Creighton, Merryn, Kyler, and Wolf. I have many, many more. I'm also not including names that could count as either a nickname or a full name.

If I like the name, and can find an era or setting where it fits, I'll do my best to use it.

The only time I won't is if I think a made-up name is too out there for readers to pronounce in their head. If I can't get a created name to make phonetic sense, I won't use it even if I adore it. This may change, but for me, I think it's important to be able to say a character's name even when you're reading.

For names from different cultures, I recommend listening to someone say it. If you pick this name's most common version, sometimes the spelling and phonetics will be easy to figure out. If it's from another part of the world, and/or you are not familiar with the original language, I recommend finding the correct pronunciation and including it somewhere for readers.

Most importantly, especially with diverse names and characters, do not assume the pronunciation yourself. Ask someone around you how they would say it, but also search for the proper way. If you simply go off your own or a friend's knowledge, you may be completely off and not be doing justice to that name or culture.

Sometimes, it's just a matter of picking names that fit the culture from which the character originates, and other times I just pick a name that I've always liked.

Hands down, if you're writing in a character from a specific country or ethnicity, look into that before all else. Understand those names, then start looking for the ones you like most. Don't assume a character will have an American-sounding name, for example, if the character was born and raised in France. Do the research if you're unsure. For some reason, this is the flaw I see most often on here; someone writes characters with diverse heritages, and gives them all names with the same root. It's something that, now that I'm older, I am aware of and try to improve upon myself.

To put it simply and shortly, there's really no right way to choose a name for a character. Whenever people ask me about character names, I usually just recommend that they pick the name that feels most right for the character they're writing about.

To put it simply and shortly, this isn't accurate.

There are wrong ways to choose a name, and I have seen many of them myself. Know the name. Know the character's reasons for having that name, especially if you are writing about a character with a different background than yourself.

Be willing to take suggestions or critiques, if the reader's intent is to inform. Like with any aspect of writing, you'll learn the finer points as you grow and improve.