Time Traveler Name Generator

A time traveler name does one of two jobs. Either it sounds faintly wrong for wherever the character has landed, which tells readers this person is not from around here, or it carries a wink about time itself. The first kind is built by mixing eras: a Victorian first name on a modern surname (Cornelius Daye, Wilhelmina Morrow), a classical name with a global surname (Lucius Okonkwo, Beatrix Nakamura), or something clipped and futuristic next to something old (Nyra Voss, Zevi Orinth). The second kind hides the clue in a surname that is also a real one, such as Morrow, Yearsley, Weekes, Sexton, Hourigan, Tickner or Calender, so it passes in conversation but rewards the attentive reader.

Time travel stories love designations and epithets. Agencies and bureaus assign ranks and call signs (Agent Meridian, Courier Seven, Warden of the Loop, Pathfinder Zero), while folk legend and gossip give travelers titles like The Woman Who Was Late, The Gentleman from Later or The Man Who Missed His Own Funeral. Travelers who have lived too long collect odd bynames as well: Oswin Twice-Returned, Kestrel of No Fixed Year, Hesper Longago.

Mix freely. A character can carry a plain birth name, an agency call sign and a nickname the locals gave her, and the gap between them tells a story on its own.