Do computers dream of electric sheep?

My apologies if you think the title is deceptive. In a sense, it is very fitting; I agonize over names, titles and locations and sometimes go to wild ideas for inspiration.

In many stories by various authors, this is a recurrent issue. Characters and locations are sometimes named by characteristics, like Filch, Severus, Pip, or Biddy. Sometimes names are completely made up as an inside joke to the reader; Vroomfondel, Majikthise, or Diagon Alley.

In similar fashion I sometimes use foreign words when naming my characters, like Amido (Italian for starch (for a character who was a Sargent)), or Nerveux (French for nervous (for a character who was an Ensign)). It sometimes seems so boring to use everyday names for characters. So instead we use more creative labels for character names and locations.

This all came to mind when I happenstance saw the real-life country of Bratislava. Not meaning rudeness or to ridicule anyone from that country, but I can't help but see the word "brat" in Bratislava.

Has anyone dared to say one of their characters is from Bratislava who was a brat in nature?

What are some of your creative character/location/personification names?

Do you use another creative way to fill in names for characters

The writer Ayn Rand came up with some creative names for her characters. For example: Ellsworth Toohey, Peter Keating, Howard Roark, Dagny Taggart, Orren Boyle, Wesley Mouch, Cuffy Meigs.

galt54
I'm not really seeing the creative side of those. It sounds like ayn rand opened up a phone book and pulled out various established names. Perhaps you can explain how they are creative?

Perhaps because my examples are in a different language, the point is elusive.
Filch is informal verb meaning to steal, or pilfer
Severus is Latin for severe
Pip, is duplistic in meaning as it suggests; excellence (pipping the ace (an accuracy in marksmanship term)) "pips" are also metal dots on a military uniform denoting rank, but also in informal use, it means annoying/bothersome both at the same time "You, sir, are a pip" (derogatory if said sarcastically, or if said in earnest, someone is wonderful)
Biddy is a term used to an old annoying woman

Vroomfondel sounds like Vroom (an onomatopoeia for something fast) and fondle meaning to grope, so, "fast grope"
Majikthise sounds like magic thighs. It has sexual innuendo implications.

Diagon Alley sounds like diagonally

I always have a mind picture of every character which tends to suggest a name based on someone logged into my subconscious.

I have also used the first names of girls I would love to have spanked at school for the spankees in my stories.

Lonewulf
I admire your creativity in choosing names - rather like Dickens with Mr Gradgrind, etc - but I have never gone down that road. I like my stories to be about ordinary, everyday people (if a story is about aristocrats or the very wealthy, for example, I find it a real turn-off) so I usually give the characters very ordinary, everyday names. I do find I need to name them fairly early on. Once they have a name, it somehow seems a lot easier to write about them.

It's the same with me, except that many of my characters don't have a name at all. I have an eight part serial about a nameless protagonist. It felt natural at first and then became a nuisance, but I couldn't suddenly give the heroine a name in the middle of episode five, I thought.

AlanBarr
I wasn't looking for admirers as much as looking to trade secrets, but thanks.

I'm not adverse to using everyday names, for instance one stage performer in my story I named Ashley at first, but then my creative side said "No!" So I jammed with another writer and said I like Ashley, but want to put something more like "lash." To her credit, she suggested Lashley. The name stuck.

In one story, inspired by a dream (that I wrote years prior to "meet Joe Black"), I came up with a story about a young death angel who visits a recently orphaned little boy. In that dream, on a space cruiser ship, with about 15 established character everyday names, with a destination name, I just had to transcribe the dream. First and only time that happened.

I like typos. I've come up with more location names by using typos than anything else.

The one time I let myself have some fun with names was in my story, "The Heirloom". The method I used to come up with them was to search back for period-appropriate names that have since not only fallen out of favor, but have today a sort of built-in sense of antiquity to their sound. Then for last names I just looked for something abrupt with the right rhythm.

Usually I don't like to have names seem too connected to personality or place. It just feels contrived to me and since spanking stories often need all the realism they can get to foster believability, I avoid making it worse with a corny name. But sometimes it's fun. Like in a parody or comic piece.

Normally I will give my 'this world' characters very plain names as I don't like the affectation of fancy names. Now, I do appreciate that what appears fancy in England may well be quotidian in other countries, and there is a distinct tendency for some lower class parents to use more outlandish names for their offspring to lend a posher cachet whilst the upper class girls are still mostly Sarahs and Louises. So my girls will be Marys, Janes, Sallys etc.

Having said that, I am not averse to emulating Mr Dickens, in calling a headmaster Mr Burchall, and a young lass with a rosy bottom Rosie Bottom.
In the Maiden stories I have tried to give all the women actual names and all the men (except one) mere descriptions as this mirrors the skewed world view of the title character. Needless to say, no one notices this.

I'm with opb and kdpierre, using ordinary names in serious stories to maintain realism, but when I first started out, writing The Girls of Cropton Hall, I saw spank-lit as a frivolous if exciting venture, hence 'CROPton' and, as Headmistress, Verily Markham.

A Swami Fihalmahanda also features as a Himalayan holy man who helps a young woman resolve unconscious Daddy issues, and I've borrowed foreign words to create masochist females Suzanne Soumise and Beatrice Natiche.

P.S. Bratislava is actually a city, the capital of Slovakia.