Need lots of random names

Factual Questions
1

I need to load some database tables with a bunch (range of 1000-3000) phony customer names to test/demonstrate a database application. Is there anywhere on the 'Net where there are large lists of names?

Just long lists of first and last names suitable for copy & paste. The names will not be used for anything public, just loaded in to show the prof how it works. The people lookups usually just give you a few at a time.

It could be famous people, sports figures, doesn’t matter. Just names.

I would rather use realistic names instead of generating random character sequences, which is my fallback plan.

(This is for a school assignment but finding names is not part of the assignment so this should pass the SMDB Board of Ethics.)

2

I Googled “random name generator” and found this:
http://www.xtra-rant.com/gennames/

How’s that?

3

Y’know, I’ve been using the Web for a long time and the SDMB since it was an AOL site, and I’m still amazed at what you can find on the web and how fast someone on SDMB will tell you it’s there.

Thanks 1M!!!

4

You might also try the website Kate Monk’s Onomastikon. It’s a Dictionary of Names from cultures all over the world. You can find it at:

http://www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/

5

I’ll throw in a link to a favorite web-thing of mine:

1990 census name files

6

The first name it gives me is “Eldred Greenawalt.” Now that’s a random name.

7

Another one: http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/

Also, you could just use random words, which is what spammers seem to do sometimes. I just got one from “Stallion O. Parabola”

Wikipedia has some lists of people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Lists_of_people

8

Whaddya mean, “random”? That’s the scion of the Richmond Parabolas – fine old Virginia family.