Google Analytics shows that the daily entrances to the elf generator  doubles from  4-500 to over 1000 in late November and December.  Google web master tool confirms this trend in searches for elf names and other elf related stuff.

My statistics also shows that  more users than usual are sharing the elf names with friends at Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and other social bookmarkings sites.

Actually, I am somewhat puzzled by this development in December. The increasing in searches is quite self evident.  But my elf names are based in the fantasy universe and not aimed at being Christmas elf names. But maybe confusion  is due to lack of knowledge to the American tradition for Christmas names. In Denmark typical Christmas elf names derives from local folklore and nouns related to Christmas combined with good old fashion first names. A Typical Danish Elf names  could be Peter Porridge or Sven Spruce.

Well, try Elf Names yourself and tell me what you think. Can they be used for Christmas Elf names in your country or are they totally nonsense?

And then of course because name generators are fun to play with and is a simple way for the beginner to get  in to ActionScript 3 programming and Flash in general.

In this  tutorial I will show you how to make a name generator in Flash and ActionScript.

A name generator script in ActionScript 3

First let’s have a look at the complete ActionScript for the  Flash name generator:

var myName:String;
var random1:Number;
var random2:Number;
var metal:Array = new Array("Gold","Silver","Iron","Steel","Copper","Bronze");
var bird:Array = new Array("Eagle","Hawk","Sparrow","Owl","Kite","Albatross");

generateBtn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, makeName);

function makeName(evt:MouseEvent):void {
    random1 = Math.floor(Math.random() * metal.length);
    random2 = Math.floor(Math.random() * bird.length);
    myName = metal[random1] + " " + bird[random2];
    resultName.text = myName;
}

Now lets walk through this simple script

How to make a name generator in ActionScript. Line by line

In Line 1-3 we declare some variables. myName  shall hold the generated name, and 2 variables to hold the random numbers we need in the process.

In line 4-5 we declare the arrays. These are the heart of a name generator and  the arrays are the part you need to change with your own names to make your name generator if you just dowvnload my .fla example file. The arrays can hold as many names or words as you like, just as long as you obey the actionscript syntax.

In line 7 we add an eventlistener to the button. generateBtn refers to the instance of the button on the stage. To that instance we add the eventlistener, that listen after the mouseevent CLICK. When that event happens (when the user click the button) the “makeName” function is run.

In line 9 we declare our makeName function

In line 10-11 we use Flashes buikd in math library to first get a random number based on the length of the array and the we floor that number to get an integer. These to 2 randoms integers are used in line 12 to choose random names from the arrays or word lists. In this case we have 2 random names we concatenate with a space in the middle. The name is saved to the myName variable.

In line 13 we add the text(name) to a dynamic textfield we have made on the stage with the instance name resultName.

The necessary Flash to make the name generator work

You only need to add a few Flash elements to the stage to make it all work.

• A layer with the above actions script in frame 1
• A layer with a button with the instance name: generateBtn
• A layer with a dynamic text field with the instance name: resultName

If you are new to Flash it may sound a little complicated, but don’t worry. Just download my example text, and together with this simple tutorial, it really is quite simple to understand how you make your own Flash generator. Even for the Flash and ActionScript beginner.

Download Flash Name Generator

Here you can  download my Flash name generator. A complete .fla Flash file ready to open and work on yourself.

And as usual:  If you make a cool name generator based on this ActionScript generator throw a comment and I might link back to you or make a short review of your new Flash application.

The example swf name generator

Here’s my simple example file flash name generator in use. Be aware of that the very simple actionsscript and extremely short arrays only give very few different names:

Band name widget at Australian band site entertainya

I was contacted by Aladdin from the  Australian band site entertainya. Aladdin wanted a band name  widget to spice up entertainya.com.au.

Alladin wrote:
My Name is Aladdin, I run and own an Australian online music and entertainment called entertainya. I have been on the hunt for something fresh and exciting to add to my site as i have 1000′s of musicians browsing everyday.
I came across your project and would love for you to consider allowing me to integrate your band name generator onto my site.

I thought the idea sounded exiting and started to develop a band name widget. The band name widget gave the idea to make a free  name generator widget.

Band name generator

The band name generator  widget is a  full copy of the band name generator. Same amount of band name combinations and with a 100%  functionality.

You can see the band widget and how seamless  it integrates with the site.  Entertainya.com.au is based on a  joomla cms.  The band generator code is run locally on the client, so it will work with all blogs, cms as well as ordinary html pages.

Behind the band widget

The band name widget is programmed in JavaScript, HTML and CSS, and Alladin  just needed to add a single line of JavaScript to include on his website.

The widget is compressed to minimize download time, and of course follows the w3.0rg standards for proper HTML and validates as XHTML 1.1.

Do you want a cool name widget too?

Do you want a similar or other specialized cool name widget on your site, blog or  favorite forum? Check out this free name generator widget.

Are you looking for a different kind of cool name widget? Please contact me and let’s see if we can work out something.

Other ways to get a name generator

How to make a name generator

Name generator script

The name generator script is a complete do-it-yourself name generator! Ready to run with or without changes. The script is a simplified version one of the one I use at all my name generators.

The script is thoroughly explained and commented in the download file. So it is very easy  to work with for everybody, even for beginners to web programming. If you like further explanation on how the script works visit my How to make a name generator tutorial, where i you through a only slightly more simple generator script.

To get up and running just download the script, change the text and change the word arrays to your likings.  And you got yourself your own personal name generator.

How to use the name generator script

Getting started

Download the name-generator-script.zip.

Or just visit the name generator script demo, right click the page. Select view source. Copy the source to a text-editor.
Save is at generator.html.

How to run it

It’s easy. Just open the html file with your favorite browser.

How to edit it

To edit this page open it with a text editor with syntax highlighting. I’ll strongly recommend notepadd++ a free, fast and flexible text editor, I also use myself.

Name Generator FAQ

No one yet. Guess the code must be  self-explanatory.   Well seriously… if you need help just ask your questions below. I’ll try my best to help you.

EDIT: Well now the comments works as a FAQ.  Please check them to see if you question already has been asked.

How to get visitors on your new name generator

If you make a cool name generator, I might wanna make a review of it. Just write a comment and I’ll look into it.

How to host your new name generator

There’s several ways to host your new name generator.

If you want your own domain name there’s a lot of companies to choose from. If you stick to some of the bigger companies the hosting is often very reliable.

The price level is often low and sometimes you can get a free domain name with the hosting plan.

But you can also find free hosting, if you don’t want your own domain.  Just make sure the service you choose supports the running of JavaScript.

Code Name – Blog Name Generator?

No reason to start all over. The  Code and Blog Name Generator makes cool  ideas for blog names.  By design it of course is originally a code name creator, but  the results is useful in a wide variety of areas. And many of the generated code names would also work great as blog names. What would you say to blog names like:

• Rough Heart
• Scarlet Moving Pens
• Autumn Confidential
• Subtle Knife

I think they could be pretty cool blog names. So from today instead of  reinventing the wheel, I simply claim the code generator to also be a Blog Name Generator.

EDIT: I just added a domain availability check function, so you right away can check if the suggested blog name is available as a domain name. Several top level domains are checked.

Making names

The names are made by 2 and 3 word combinations from word list specially chosen for making code names. Words with lots of  meaning a strong ability of creating  images. The results is powerful, inspiring and creative code and cool blog names.

An algorithmic program gives variation and up to 5 million different code or blog names.

What is in a good blog name

Well it really depends on the he subject of the blog and the personalty of the blogger. But a good blog name could be

• describing for the content of articles and subjects
• content important keywords
• memorable
• catchy and cool

A blog name generator can’t do much for you if you’re looking for specific and descriptive title like the title of my blog. But if you’re looking for catchy, cool, funny blog  names, a name generator can help you in the process.

Idea generator

Don’t expect too much. A name generator is basically an idea generator. It does not necessarily make the perfect names. A simple artificial intelligence of a rather simple script don’t get the subtle meanings in certain word combinations. And it’s often  the subtle nuances and meanings that separates the good blog name from the bad one.

The strength of a generator is that it can come up with endless combinations, cool ideas and a lot of suggestions.

You just have to take the good ideas and form them into you personal blog name.

Go to the Code and Blog Name Generator.

Make your own blog name generator

If you are not happy to use the code name generator as a solution, it has never been easier to make you own blog name generator. You just have to download the full functional name generator script, and add you own word lists.

In a  few minutes you can have a simple blog name generator up and running. And if you put a little more work into it, you can very easily make a full blown blog name generator.

Flipmytext can flip text upside down, flip words, reverse single words or the entire text. Everything can be pretty messed up using the flip text generator.

Here some text that’s upside down:

uʍop ǝpısdn sɹoʇɐɹǝuǝƃ ǝɯɐu ǝɥʇ ɯɹoɟ sǝɯɐu ǝɥʇ dıןɟ oʇ ɹoʇɐɹǝuǝƃ ʇxǝʇ dıןɟ ǝɥʇ ǝsn

Here some text that is  flipped over

srotareneg eman eht mrof seman eht pilf ot rotareneg txet pilf eht esu

Use of a flip text generator

You can use the flipped text at facebook, myspace and at other socials networks. As I said it’s pretty useless but quite fun, and it might impress you friends.

Upside down generator

If you wanna play with it yourself you check this upside-down character mapping. The side also holds a upside down generator, but this generator only can flip text upside down and nothing more.

Name generators

The Japanese name generator from the rumandmonkey.com was my first choice. The interface of name generator is simple and easy to overview, but it is a huge pain though, that the generator only generates one name at the time. And you need to use the browsers back button to come back to the name generator. Also you need to type in different names and to select boy name/girl name each time you want make a new name

The female Japanese name generator and the male Japanese name generator is much more user friendly. The user interface is extremely simple and easy to overview. Here you can generate as many names you want. Just a click the  button each time you need a new name, and the select box will remember how many names you want to generate.

Japanese names

Japanese names in modern times usually consist of a family name (surname), followed by a given name.  Japanese names are usually written in kanji, which are characters of usually Chinese origin in Japanese pronunciation.

Read more about how Japanese names are constructed at the Wikipediea

There are more Japanese generators out there, but most of them are covered with commercials and are a real pain to use. But if you know any good ones just throw a comment.