As the majority of characters on the game will be drawn from the pre-created family trees, most players will not need to consider what to name their character. However, for those who will be applying for original characters, there are some restrictions regarding what can be used.
In addition to names chosen by players, all names belonging to characters in the CDB (see +HELP CDB) have been locked up to ensure that they will be available whenever such a character is selected by a player.
Certain high-profile names (such as Daenerys, Cersei or Tyrion) from the books will be permanently locked up. There are also certain restrictions even on the book names which have been left unlocked. The name Eddard may not be locked up, for example, but a character named Eddard Stark would not be allowed. And while someone could use the name Bronn, they could not use that name for a character concept similar to that of the book character Bronn.
Although the code allows for multi-part names, players may not include what would be considered prowess-based bynames in their names. A name like Black Walder would be acceptable, but a name like Baelor Breakspear would not be.
Names strongly associated with a single fictional character are not acceptable. Names that have seen a wider usage can be, however. Aragorn, for example, would not be an acceptable name, but Arthur could be used.
This is the hardest group of unacceptable names to define. Some names may be obviously unsuitable, sounding too modern or too foreign, but others will be harder to judge.
Finally, some ideas for how to find a name that is likely to be approved:
The best approach would be to acquire a copy of EBoN, the Ever-changing Book of Names, an excellent piece of shareware software linked below. Among the source chapters available for download for this program is one for A Song of Ice and Fire. You might also consider looking at some websites that provide name lists.