I've always just taken and combined first names, or even used things from nature, combining things together. But like Liz said, using the phone book is a great way too. Even going to historical sites is good, there are many old, old names you can "dig up", or cemeteries, etc. There are lots of ways to come up with names, but I know what you mean. I love the unusual types of names, so mine always come up really strange looking.