I have this fetish quirk where I always have the first letters of the first name and the last name be the same.
Drake Deeprose, Sylvia Stone, West Wells, Xavier Xander…whatever the character, the two letters must align. I don’t know, I’m weird like that.
It depends really. For starters, I personally don’t self insert. (no hate to anyone that does! Have fun creating or playing as whoever you want because that’s the beauty of CYOA games 
) So anyway I create a different character every time I read a story. I never use the same character or their name twice. Granted once you read so many stories and WIPs it gets harder and harder for each of them to adapt a different look and be unique from one another, but figuring out how to combat that is half the fun to me!
When it comes to naming, the names I give them depends on the setting of the story; for example, if the story takes place in a fantasy setting with more unique names, I make sure my character has a unique name as well to avoid them looking stupid or seeming out of place when their name is mentioned. I never use the preset names provided lool.
I keep track of every character I make in a list and ummmm * ahem * it’s quite long at this point hahaha… I treat each of them like their own person or I guess for lack of a better word like… OCs .
(ik ik calling them OCs is um cringy, I’m sorry 
)
Although i’ll admit, it can be very time consuming, I have a lot of fun tailoring and fleshing them out as much as I can through each story and their choices.
Many times I’ll go with the name of the main character of whatever story I’m currently writing.
If I don’t currently have a character I’m writing that I really love, I will sometimes go with a name of a character in tv show, movie, or book that I’m currently really into.
If all the above fails Vashti is my go to fantasy character name and Michal is my go to everything else name.
I have one character for my default go to MC and his name is Elysium. Blue eyes and black hair if there’s an appearance choice (super basic wow )
Here are pictures of him in several outfit I imagine him in Wayhaven Chronicle, The Great Tournament and Superlatives
I default to the names I used for my SWTOR characters- Kar, Mal, and Khal Vastor. I combine the syllables if the character only has one name. If I need a pseudonym it’s “Bashi Bazouk”- don’t ask why; when I can pick a superhero handle or codename, it’s usually “Apollyon”.
Obviously some games won’t have all these choices
Name: Julius Gray
Father: James Gray
Mother: Eva de Gaul
Siblings: John, Alex / Lucy, Marie
Pet: Rocky if canine, Wanda if feline, Dash if a mount
Alias: Shadow / Archon
.
Body type: Slightly above average height, athletic but not too muscular
Skin tone: Fair and creamy, I guess? It’s white but not pale so that’s that
Hair color: Auburn ( or brown if that’s not available)
Eye color: Gray
Ethnicity: 50% Anglo-Saxon + 50% Gaul
.
Nationality: American or British
Fictional places: Ashland / Greyfall / Emberton
I pretty much always use my real name for any character I create, and I’ll also model their appearance after my own if I can (although it’s no big deal if I can’t). If I get to use an alias for something like some superhero/villain game, then it’s usually Archon or Bel.
Also, tfw the poster above me is named Archon lol. It’s even funnier when I consider that my current username elsewhere is literally “Archon Bel”.
In order of frequency of use
Masculine names: Drake, Drakeye, James
Feminine names: Jinx, Feona, Ann
Characters with masculine and feminine qualities: Jasper/Quinn/Jinx
My 3 most frequent character names
First middle last
1Drake Jinx Quinn
2Jinx Feona Quinn
3Jasper Alexander Quincy
I generally Use certain names for specific personality sets I play with.
First names:
Drake and jinx are playful/mischievous
Jasper James and Ann are usually friendly
And Drakeye Quinn and Feona are tougher bordering on assholes
Secondary names alter the personality slightly
Last names are just personal choice for me.
And Unfortunatly I’ve used those names that way for so long when I meet people who have those names I sometimes associate what I use them for in games to get further in character.
I don’t often play as male myself if I have a choice, usually go with variations on Estella Rivers/Riverson. I sometimes use my birth name if the setting is right. If it’s a fantasy world with distinctive names I’m more inclined to pick one of the game’s suggested names.
So a name I’ve marked as being me, whenever I can!
I use Levian Washington for pretty much everything I play. I got levian from my first dnd character name while Washington came from agent Washington a character in Red vs Blue.
I tend to imagine my character as an idealized version of myself (younger and in better shape, mostly), just located one universe over. Maybe two.
As such, my go-to is Joshua Grey. If I’m playing a female character it’s usually Catherine Grey. Odd personal trivia: I have five daughters and none of them are named Catherine because my wife always vetoed the name. Apparently she knew a Catherine in high school who was a real jerk.
I have a female name that I love to use for female MCs. It’s Stephanie. For men I use my name Mark.
For NBs I use either Alex or Riley. For a last name I usually use a last name that the writer gave or for Alex/Riley I go with Marks for a last name.
Forgot to mention that if I ever name female characters it’s usually after female companions from Doctor Who - Susan, Nyssa, Charley/Charlotte, Donna, Martha, Amy etc.
I have several. Since I’m such a Fire Emblem: Awakening nerd, they’re all related to the avatar’s default names, as well as a bit of a mix from different sources.
For example, my default would be Robin Feldt, Robert if playing a male MC, for ‘normal’ settings, such as anything taking place in a ‘modern’ setting, Reflet Duchamp if set in France, or Victorian era. For fantasy/medieval/Celtic or anything of that sort, I use Daraen, with d’al Serin as surname (those are picked from Sabres and Rebels, respectively), and for settings like Hyuga, I go with Rufure. I think I had a surname for that one, but I always forget since I haven’t had to use it yet.
I always choose Rose for female characters and Blake for male no matter how improbable those names would be in a setting.
