Finding the perfect name for characters is a struggle for a lot of writers. Hopefully, these lists will be helpful for finding names in contemporary/realistic fiction writing!
Female Names
- Abby/Abbie
- Abigail
- Addison
- Alexa
- Alexandra/Alex
- Alexis
- Alice
- Alyssa
- Amelia
- Amy
- Anna
- Anne/Annie
- Aria
- Arianna
- Ashley
- Audrey
- Ava
- Bella
- Brianna
- Brooke
- Caroline
- Charlotte
- Chloe/Khloe
- Cindy
- Claire
- Clara
- Cora
- Daisy
- Delilah
- Eleanor
- Ella/Ellie
- Emily
- Emma
- Gabriella/Gabby
- Georgia
- Grace
- Hadley
- Hailey
- Hannah
- Hazel
- Iris
- Isabella/Isabelle
- Ivy
- Jessica/Jess
- Jocelyn
- Josephine
- Julie/Julia
- Kate/Katie
- Katelyn
- Katherine
- Kayla
- Kaylee
- Keira
- Kendall
- Kylie
- Leah
- Lilly/Lillie/Lily
- Lola
- Lucy
- Maddy/Madi/Maddie
- Madeline
- Madison
- Maisie
- Maya
- Megan/Meg
- Mia
- Michelle
- Micky/Micki/Mikki
- Milly/Millie
- Molly
- Natalie
- Nicole
- Nikki
- Olive
- Paige
- Payton/Peyton
- Phoebe
- Piper
- Poppy
- Rachel
- Reagan
- Rebecca
- Rose
- Ruby
- Sadie
- Sarah/Sara
- Scarlett
- Sienna
- Skylar/Sky/Skye
- Sophia/Sofia
- Stella
- Sydney
- Taylor
- Tilly
- Tina
- Trinity
- Valerie
- Willow
- Zara
- Zoe/Zoey
Male Names
- Aaron
- Adam
- Adrian
- Aiden
- Alexander/Alex
- Asher
- Austin
- Ben/Benjamin
- Blake
- Bradley
- Brandon/Braedon
- Brody
- Bryan/Brian
- Bryce
- Caleb
- Calvin
- Cameron
- Carson
- Carter
- Charlie/Charles
- Chris/Christopher
- Christian
- Cole
- Colin
- Colton
- Connor
- Cooper
- Dan/Daniel
- David
- Dylan
- Edward
- Elijah
- Eric
- Ethan
- Evan
- Gabe/Gabriel
- Gavin
- George
- Henry
- Hunter
- Ian
- Isaac
- Jack/Jackson
- Jacob
- Jake
- James
- Jason
- Jessie
- Joe/Joseph/Jose
- John
- Jonas
- Jonathan
- Jordan
- Joshua
- Julian
- Justin
- Kai
- Kenneth
- Kevin
- Kyle
- Landon
- Leo
- Liam
- Lincoln
- Logan
- Luca/Luka
- Lucas
- Luke
- Mason
- Matt/Matthew
- Mattias
- Max
- Mike/Michael
- Miles
- Nathan
- Nick/Nic/Nicholas
- Noah
- Oliver
- Oscar
- Owen
- Parker
- Patrick
- Peter
- Quinn
- Rob/Robert
- Ryan
- Sam/Samuel
- Sawyer
- Sean
- Sebastian
- Theo/Theodore
- Thomas/Tom
- Tim/Timothy
- Tony/Anthony
- Tristan
- Tyler
- Vincent
- Will/William
- Wyatt
- Zach/Zachary
Non-gendered Names
- Addison
- Adrian
- Aiden
- Ainsley
- Alex
- Alfie
- Ali
- Andy
- Angel
- Ash
- Aspen
- Aubrey
- August
- Avery
- Bailey
- Basil
- Bay
- Beau
- Billy/Billie
- Blaine
- Bobbie
- Brook(e)
- Cameron
- Casey
- Cedar
- Charlie
- Chris
- Clay
- Cody
- Corey
- Dakota
- Dale
- Dallas
- Dan
- Dixie
- Dylan
- Easton
- Echo
- Elliot
- Ezra
- Finley
- Frankie
- Gray
- Griffin
- Harley
- Harper
- Hunter
- Jackie
- James
- Jamie
- Jayden/Jaiden
- Jesse
- Jodie
- Joe
- Joey
- Jordan
- Julian
- Kai
- Kelly
- Kendall
- Kennedy
- Kerry
- Lennon
- Leslie
- Logan
- London
- Mason
- Max
- Morgan
- Oakley
- Owen
- Paisley
- Pat
- Peyton
- Phoenix
- Presley
- Quinn
- Reagan
- Reed
- Reese
- Remy
- Riley
- River
- Robbie
- Rory
- Rowan
- Ryan
- Sam
- Sawyer
- Shawn
- Skylar
- Stef
- Stevie
- Taylor
- Teddy
- Tommie
- Tony/Toni
- Tyler
- Wyatt
- Zane
PV Writers 
I really like how some authors choose to create completely new names. Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games spring to mind.
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I agree! I think made-up names are some of the most memorable. Thanks for commenting!
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