# Character Names *Source: Xanathar's Guide to Everything, p. 173* Some players and DMs have a knack for coming up with character names on the fly, while others find that task more of a challenge. The tables in this appendix are designed to make life easier for both kinds of people, whether you're naming a player character, a nonplayer character, a monster, or even a place. Each table contains names that are associated with a nonhuman character race in the player's handbook or a real-world ethnic or language group, with a focus on groups from antiquity and the Middle Ages. You can select from the possibilities here, or use dice to determine a name. Even though names are associated with races in this appendix, a character might not have a name from their own race. For instance, a half-orc might have grown up among dwarves and have a dwarven name. Or, as DM, you might decide that dragonborn in your campaign have a culture reminiscent of ancient Rome and therefore use Roman names, rather than the dragonborn names suggested here. See the names page for the full collection of name tables.