Clever street name Options

[Charon]

Being named "Slamm-O" or "Wedge " might have some style, but it's not something you can call out in a respectable public area without raising an eyebrow. It's worse for people with handle like "Blood snake" or "Man-o-war."

Obviously these guys would simply use a normal first name (real or not) for these situations. John, Mark...

But it's kind of cool to be able to use a name that is both a meaningful codename and is usable in public at the same time.

Charon, my current alias, was designed with this objective in mind. Charon is a fairly common last name (at least in french speaking area). It is also the ferryman on the river styx that carries the dead into Hades in exchange for payment. I thought it was a fairly clever code name for an Assassin NPC.

Anyone can think up similar codenames? I'm looking for some inspiration for NPCs in my upcoming campaign.

[Arethusa]

Sue.

"What's that guy's name, again? Sue?"
"Sue. Yeah, his dad was a big Johnny Cash fan, from what I understand."
"Oh, right, right, right, with the song."
"Yeah, boy named Sue, right. So I figured that's why he's such a mean cat."
"That guy?"
"Oh, he's a bad guy. He don't look it. He's, no, he's mean, man. I see him in a fight once, he just got a guy, was just fucking smacking his fucking head into the curb, like his mouth, just fucking smash, his teeth came out, just fucking like whack whack whack, just fucking blood came out of his fucking mouth. It was nasty, man. Nice guy, though. That guy's cool."

[FrostyNSO]

Archer?

[Kagetenshi]

Heh, I use Archer as a pseudonym IRL.

A lot of my characters go by their first names. They're just the kind of people that don't have last names, as far as anyone that knows them is concerned.

~J

[Fortune]

Bubba?!?

[Critias]

Most street names are either horribly contrived, or just nicknames (that have nothing to do with how badass a cold, hard, killer, your character is). Anyone that's considering a horribly contrived one, just use your first name, instead. Please.

[Fortune]

90% of my characters either go by their first name or a nickname derived from their real name.

[FrostyNSO]

In our group, most characters go by their first names (as far as anyone knows). Anyone who tries to use a "cool" nickname usually just sounds like an idiot. They are then usually referred to as "Hey, you."

[Grinder]

Most of my chars are using a normal name like jason, gonzo :D or jack. Besides jason everyone also has a street name, using it when dealing with shadowy folk.

[nezumi]

Generally, I figure out the image I want to project, pick letters that go well with that image, and keep forcing them together until I get something interesting. I personally like a lot of K sounds, especially for females, so I've gotten, Kit, Kay and, of course, Cat. R's and T's are good for male bruisers, especially with a u for the vowel.. Truck, Rut, Turd.

So yeah, pick letters and sounds that you think communicate the character, and hit them together until they fit. If you have to drop or add a few letters to make it work, that's fine.

Hmm... I'm thinking of awarding my PCs bonus karma if they come up with GOOD nick names for each other. That might help.

[DexRiley]

You could do worse than to take a quick look at the names of the forum members, some have some pretty good street names. Though I would ask before using.

[Pthgar]

One of my players named his decker "The Real Napster." After he botched a simple logon test, he became "Numb-Nuts."

[Smiley]

All the best nicknames I've heard haven't been self-applied. If you try to give yourself a bad-ass name, you just sound like a 'tard. This isn't to say that nicknames other people stick on you area all cool, but at least they're genuine.

[kevyn668]

[Mugzy]

Lets See.

In my group, currently we have:

Jim Barrick (Rigger)
Nick Brandt (Street Face)
Bill Swanson (Corp Face)
Babalooie (Haitian Houngan.. we think his name is a conglomeration of his first and last name, like Bubba Lewis or something. Who knows, we picked him up in an extraction from San Quentin)
Jason Anders (Street Sam)


Everyone goes by either theri first or last name. Most of them are SINless anyway, so names dont really matter if they are shouted.

We have in the past had those with "Street Names" but they usually get laughed at. I mean after all, its hard to take a guy named "DEATHWING" or some such noise seriously.

[Charon]

Archer isn't bad but every player will think about Spycraft whenever they hear it.

Sue might be good but I really don't get the reference, sorry!

---

To every one just using/suggesting a common name ; that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for names that can pass for a real name and yet be as meaningful of what the character is than a more colorful street name. Like Charon = Assassin.

Using last names from historical characters that aren't too well known can be an alternative even if it's hardly original.

For example, Vincent Lagardère might be a good name for a french physads who uses swords a lot. Lagardère is a swashbuckler hero from some old tale known for being particularly loyal and vindicative while Vincent comes from the latin words for Winner or Victor. So the name says something about the PC and how he perceives himself without being gaudy and obvious.

[lord_cack]

Onstaad (on-stahd), It doesn't mean anything just thought it sounded bad ass.

[Arethusa]

[DrJest]

[ES_Riddle]

[Lantzer]

Well, _my_ favorite street name was "Shadowblade Nightstalker..." Just kidding.

Actually, I liked having a character who was called "Goose" for a simple reason. His name was Julio Guzman.

But yeah, in general, most attempts to make a 'cool'-sounding street name just backfire and make the player/character look like a twit.

[nezumi]

In response to Charon's post, when I want a name that has a meaning, I go to babycenter.com, look up their baby names and use my handy search feature to find different meanings I like. You're unlikely to find 'assassin', but 'dark flower' or 'wraith of God' and the like do occur.

[Arethusa]

[Sharaloth]

My groups have always used contrived streetnames as if they were, well, normal. I lack what could be defined as 'creativity' when naming my characters, so I generally have the most cliche streetname I can think of for my characters, and a slightly less bland real name. The rest of them ran the gamut from the japanese-sounding/ripoff (Dagashi) to the just plain weird (Arm). It never bothered us, though, we just kinda took the implausible and rediculous streetnames in stride.

[FrostyNSO]

Thor wouldn't sound too horrible. I know a dude named Thor IRL.

Dumb-sounding, cliche, nicknames are easier to believe if you picture SR in the 80's-esque fashion that it was when I was introduced to it.