Alright, let’s talk about finding surnames for witches. This came up for me a while back, not for anything official, just exploring some character ideas and, well, personal path stuff. It wasn’t like I needed a legal name change, more like finding a name that felt right for that side of things.
So, the first thing I did was grab a notebook. Just started brainstorming, really messy stuff. I wasn’t filtering much at this stage, just getting ideas down. I thought about the common themes, you know?
- Nature stuff: Trees, plants, animals, rivers, stones. Stuff like ‘Hawthorne’ or ‘Blackwood’ came to mind pretty quick.
- Elements and sky: Things connected to night, moon, stars, storms. ‘Moon’ something, ‘Shadow’ something, ‘Storm’ something.
- Old-timey vibes: Tried thinking about historical names, maybe looking into old English or Celtic words, but didn’t want anything too complicated or hard to pronounce.
- Actions or concepts: Like ‘Whisper’ or ‘Weaver’, but some felt a bit too on-the-nose, you know?
After that initial brain dump, I started looking around a bit more intentionally. I didn’t go super deep into academic research or anything fancy. Mostly, I just paid more attention.
I flipped through some old folklore books I had lying around, looking at names mentioned in stories. Not necessarily witch characters, but just names that had a certain feel. I spent some time just walking outside, paying attention to the names of places, plants, the feeling of the woods or the coast. Sometimes a name just jumps out at you from the environment.
Sorting Through the Ideas
Then came the part where I had to actually sort through the list. A lot of the first ideas got crossed off pretty fast. Some sounded cool but didn’t feel personal. Others felt, frankly, a bit silly or cliché when I said them out loud.
I tried combining words sometimes. Like taking a nature word and a place word. Think ‘Briar’ and ‘Glen’ becoming ‘Briarglen’. Some worked, some really didn’t. It was a lot of trial and error.
The key thing for me was the feeling. Did it resonate? Did it sound grounded, or did it sound like I was trying too hard? I wasn’t looking for something overly dramatic or dark, just something that felt… authentic. Connected.
I made a shorter list of names that felt promising. Here are a few examples of the types I ended up liking, not necessarily the final picks:
- Ashworth
- Nightbrook
- Stonehaven
- Wilder
- Rowanwood
Settling In (or Not)
I wrote down the top contenders and just let them sit for a while. I’d try pairing them with a first name, see how the whole thing flowed. Said them aloud again. Sometimes a name looks good on paper but sounds awkward when spoken.
Honestly, I didn’t land on one single, definitive surname and declare “This is it forever!” It’s more fluid than that for me. I found a couple that feel right for different contexts or moods. Sometimes ‘Ashworth’ feels right, sometimes something else fits better.
So, that was my process. Started broad, gathered ideas from different places, filtered them through personal feeling and practical use, and ended up with a few options that resonate. It wasn’t about finding the ‘ultimate witch surname’, but about exploring what names connect to that practice and feeling for me. It’s a personal journey, really. What works for one person might feel totally wrong for another.
