Ah, names. The vice many writers have to face, including me. I once made a thread like this on inkwell a few years ago, this brings back memories. I'll be glad to share some advice I've found through my writing experiences.

The golden rule: Brainstorm and get creative. Keep your mind open to any possibility. The advice below is all based on this one central guideline.

-The simplest thing to do is stop whatever you're doing and look around you, naming everything you set your eyes on. It might seem far-fetched, but it does work with some added trains of thought. For instance, take my oc, A certain Mr. Pharma Elen. I saw a pill bottle from my nearby pharmacy on my bookshelf. Thus, pill bottle=>where did that come from again?=> oh right, the pharmacy=>Oooh sounds nice=> Pharma(cut off the -cy)

-Or you could expand out from the main idea your character is centered on (your first spark of inspiration when you created them or their main function in the plot, etc.) An example would be my oc Fernadier Time. He was supposed to have a actual furnace set into his chest cavity when I first created him. Thus, furnace=>Fernadier.

-And that brings us to the most amusing way of creating names: Starting out with a random word and decapacitiating it by swapping vowels and letters to create something new, or mashing words together to make names. I find that the result tends to be most unexpected. Two more examples: Karshari Firfree and Cyanwind Castone. I have no memory of how their two names came to be, but despite that, they exist. 0_0

-If none of that works, don't worry! Use a placeholder and stick with the good old Sam or Harry until something comes up. You might even find yourself grow attatched, and then we won't have to worry about anything anymore.

hey!! big fan of brainstorming names here - here's how i do it 

1. backstory : write out their backstory. maybe their parents really wanted them to be a certain characteristic or a certain profession - then you can google names, eg "female names that mean fame" or "gender neutral names that mean love". i love doing this !!

2. thinking : think of their personality, then think of people you know (real or fictional) that have a personality similar to that. alternatively, go through random names of people you know and see which one fits / see which one makes the most sense on aforemetioned character. eg, if i was to write a super bubbly character, (personally) i would think azzy (who is, btw, a character in the ski lodge i'm writing, PARADISE - but her full name is azrael) is a good name, but agatha wouldn't really fit. (just in personal opinion) 

3. traits : develop their personality - what kind of traits do they have? are they a lover of fighting? maybe a lover in general? or maybe they're really famous. you can google "names that mean [xyz trait here]" and scroll :)) 

4. foreshadowing : my personal favorite! especially if there's a traitor plot twist. "names that mean betrayal" "names that mean betrayed" etc ... all amazing for foreshadowing. :)))

happy name hunting! and let me know if you just want me to spit out names at you, i can do that too lol

uriel, archangel of eden

** note : didn't post under my actual cb name so i could use the example of azzy haha **  

GASPPPPP I'LL HELP!!! If you want to tell me more about the characters that'll help (I'm assuming the Reporter and Doctor have gender-conforming names, but more info on what gender if applicable the Detective has would help me know). I should come up with some soon, I have a giant list of over 700 names (mostly "stranger" names like Blackberry and Cytherea and Aureline and Calixta) probably far more. 

I don't have any specific names off the top of my head, but definitely do some research on 19th century names!  And maybe something archaic or gothic-sounding for the doctor, since he's a vampire.  Super cool story idea, by the way!

most of my characters names are names of streets in my town.

true story.

i don't know, other people have given so much good advice, all i got is, names are all around you, most people have them, they'll come to you. 

Thank you, all of you, for the tips! I've found a few names I may use.

Phlebotomist: Dante, Hemlock, Pluto.

Journalist: Isidora, Celestia, Lystra.

Detective: Rowan, Peyton, Reagan.

I like all of these. 

Just saying, Ash is an amzing gender neutral name--

I'm not really very good at this but Victoria is a period accurate name for the 19th century and it just has a nice gothic feel. 

Sylas would work for the Doctor or Detective...

I just go and often take similar names from my favorite books, shows,et cetra. Aofye or Alyx for the detective. Ooh or sam!

Captcha says ohfox.wow,stumbled on a coherent sentence there.