Generators and Prompt List Type Things and Various (People, Places and Things) Name Lists

Generators and Prompts!
(And also various lists of names that can be cribbed from instead of using a name generator if desired.)
*As a note, AI has become more and more commonly used for prompt and generator sites, I've tried not to link to ones that rely completely on it but it's a constantly changing landscape so some might have switched over since my last check.

Comms/Tumblrs:
(while several of these are no longer active, their archives and posts are still searchable/scrollable so might generate ideas)

comment_fic (on livejournal at comment_fic and dreamwidth at comment_fic) daily posts with prompts left by theme, huge backlog of previous prompts to peruse on linked spreadsheets (comm active on both sites)
daily-prompts (updates a few times a week, still active)
creativepromptsforwriting (still active)
dropkickwritersblock A Writing Prompt a Day tumblr (still active)

fic_promptly - daily posts with prompts left by theme (posting regularly again as of Jan 2025)
dailyau Daily AU prompts (with lots of ideas and AUs searchable by tag) (only somewhat active)
dailyprompt- posts a new prompt daily (comm hasn't been updated since Jan 2025)
prompthell - "We plan to compile prompts of every shape and sort here in an easily searchable place. Holiday prompts, Alternate universe prompts, meet-cutes, anything and everything" (comm hasn't been updated since 2019)
picture_prompt_fun - offers weekly challenges with two photos to write about (comm hasn't been updated since 2021)
100prompts - a multi fandom prompt community with daily prompts and prompt tables (comm does not appear to be truly active)
awesomewritingprompts (posts prompts everyday, last prompt posted 2019)

Prompts/generators:
64 Sensory Prompts
Random Word Generator provides a new word with its definition on every refresh (or generate a fake word and come up with your own meaning)
One Word more of a motivator than a generator it gives you a random word with the idea you'll then write about it for the next minute.
Random First Line Prompts
Writing Prompts subreddit can be sorted by new or popular ones, do not have to have a reddit to peruse
promptuarium "the writers store room" - writing, dialog, picture and character prompts
Harvard Sentences 720 simple, phonetically balanced sentences technically used for testing phone and voice-to-text systems but could make good prompts.

AO3 random tag generator (There is also the no longer updating AO3 Tag of the Day tumblr which posted several interesting tags-of-the-day everyday)
Trope Generator (tropes compiled from various tagsets)
The 100 Words Prompt Generator
Technobabble Generator Scifi ideas's technobabble generator "to help writers characterful technical jargon to their science fiction works."
They Fight Crime prompt generator
Star Wars TCW prompt generator (often hilarious and tweakable into general writing)
The Ersatz Genremixer - excellent generator- fill in characters then choose the number of prompts (and if NSFW should be included), number of characters, number and type of trope given per prompt
Writing Prompt (a generic new prompt with each refresh, meh)
Plot Generator (with your choice of genre)
Writer Igniter - Click the shuffle button to get a randomly generated prompt complete with a random character, situation, prop and setting.
Elevator Pitch Chart- in theory comes up with the one-sentence descriptor you can use to sell your book, but works as a plot generator as well.
Spinny Thing's customizable generator - plug in character names, choose genre, length, setting, etc.
Fic Prompt Generator - provides a different setting, genre, trope and prompt with each refresh
Another Prompt Generator - Excellent one - provides a different genre, setting, relationship, time period, professions AU, movie/book/show AU, fantasy/scifi and theme with each refresh (wayback machine link in case it goes down again)
Fan Fiction Story Prompt Generator (also has links for numerous 'plot punters' aka plot or roleplaying prompt idea generators)
Whump Generator
Random Hurt-Comfort Plot Generator
Site with five different generators - Original Ships, Threesomes+, Femslash, Slash and 'Plot Me Up'
Superhero Generator will create name, powers, source of powers, weapon, transportation and more.
Seventh Sanctum "your source for random generators of ideas, from story concepts to science fiction weapons to extremely silly spells." (aka lots of different kind of generators)
Chaotic Shiny- site with a zillion different generators ranging from ones for characters, laws, languages, maps, names, weapons, etc etc etc
Supernatural partner generator - Find out what supernatural creature hopes to earn your heart. (these are really cute)
Little Man Generator provides a different occupation, thing character is passionate about and problem with every refresh (google spreadsheet)

Id Pro Quo Freeform Generator (generator that made up of every tag ever nominated for Id Pro Quo, must click through an 'are you over 18' thing to see)
Fanlore's list of fan-fiction kinks, tropes, and clichés (the huge list that has inspired numerous challenges and kink memes)
Season of Kink's list of 100 kink prompts
smutgenerator app (must click through an 'are you over 18' thing to see)
Kink Generator (must click through an 'are you over 18' thing to see)

Diverse Names Generator - a user-contributed, linguist-curated database of names from a wide range of languages and cultures
Reedsy's Name Generators 14 different language/culture naming generators, 5 medieval name generators (Old Norse/German/Roman/Celtic/English), 7 God Name generators, Fantasy name generators (people and places), and Archetype generators (Heroes. Villains. Sidekicks. Mentors)
Name generators- over a thousand generators, including ones for names for specifics fandoms, fantasy races, creatures, places, towns, weapons and more.
Magic Baby Names - will find names similar to one you suggest (background/timeframe/etc)
Rinkworks' Fantasy Name Generator you can specify length, if vowel or consonant heavy, if insulting or idiotic, etc.
fakenamegenerator - pick a gender, linguistic/genealogical background and country and this site will provide a name, address, birthday, employment, physical characteristics and fake online information and more

(There are also a few resources for coming up with names in the Folklore/Mythology/etc post)

Various names lists: (some also included on different research links posts)
People:
A database of the Celtic personal names of Roman Britain (from 1st century BCE-4th century CE)
Anglo-Saxon Names (compiled from Bede's A History of the English Church and People, completed 731 CE)
Medieval Names Archive "This collection of articles on medieval and Renaissance names is intended to help historical re-creators to choose authentic names." Hundreds of name lists, articles and links from all around the world
Lists of first names compiled from Henry III's Fine Roles (1216-1242) male names, female names (and a few more female names) recorded and their frequency (wayback machine links) and compiled into d100 lists on this tumblr post.
England’s Immigrants Database (1330-1550) - fully-searchable database with over 64k names of people known to have migrated to England during the period of the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death, the Wars of the Roses and the Reformation.
Battle of Agincourt military role lists (1415): English Army Table and French Army Table (English language version) or search both lists by origin, status, rank, etc here
Mapping the Medieval Countryside (People appearing in English inquisitions post mortem, 1418-1447)
Popular male names in England, 1560-1621 collated from a register of people associated with Oxford University from the mid-16th century to the early 17th century
Names of Jews in Medieval Navarre (13th–14th centuries) delves into naming rituals as well (pdf)
The Canadian Privateering Homepage Privateer Name Search (wayback machine link)
List of convicts transported to Australia (1787-1867, 145k+ names)
A Guide to Historically Accurate Regency Era Names (compiled from the names of 25,000 couples who married in the City of Westminster 1804-1821)
Database of Names in Fur Trade History (names gathered from primary source materials from the American west of the early 19th century)
Collections of names of "actual human children who wrote Dear Santa letters" in 1920s/30s Oklahoma, USA 1 and 2 and 3 (as published in local newspapers)
Names and Surnames searchable by popularity, timeframe, race and more (data provided by the US Census Bureau)
Time Magazine's tool Find Out What Your Name Would Be if You Were Born Today - uses data provided by the US Social Security Administration to chart the popularity of first names from the 1890s to today.
US Social Security Administration Baby Name Index similar to above but in a different format
Statistics Canada's Baby Names Observatory "This interactive dashboard visualizes the popularity of baby names over time for Canada. The dashboard displays the top 20 baby names by selected year for both boys and girls." (data from 1991-today)
England & Wales Baby Comparison Tool (based on Office for the UK National Statistics data from 1996 to 2021)
A Guide to Names and Naming Practices A guide published in 2006 by the UK and Interpol to "aid with difficulties that are commonly encountered with names from around the globe. Interpol believes that member countries may find this guide useful when dealing with names from unfamiliar countries or regions." (naming practices broken down by country and ethnicity)
National Records of Scotland's Popular Baby Name Archive (First name lists- of previous year plus archive to other years)

Places:
Dictionary of Inn-Sign Names in Medieval and Renaissance England
English Sign Names Tavern and Inn names pre-dating James I, broken into different categories
Polish Tavern Names 14-17th century
Biker Bars (collected list of bars in the US, Canada, Italy and Holland)

Things (well, various boat/ship name lists):
Merchant Ship Names in the 13th-15th centuries (Names of ships from port and customs accounts from the port of Exeter, Cornwall, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
Ship Names from 1480-01 (Names collected from the "General Index of The Overseas Trade of London Exchequer Customs Accounts 1480-1")
Names of Ships Making Outbound Journeys from Netherlands ports 1595 and 1650 (as listed in 'Dutch-Asiatic shipping in the 17th and 18th centuries')
The Cleverest Names for Your Boat from A to Z Some of these would work great for fic titles as well


Research and Resource Collected Links Masterpost