American Gods Neil Gaiman

• Shadow Moon – an ex-convict who becomes the reluctant bodyguard and errand boy of Mr. Wednesday (Odin).
• Laura Moon – Shadow's wife, who dies in a car crash at the beginning of the novel, a few days before Shadow is due to be released from prison.
• Samantha "Sam" Black Crow – a hitchhiking college student whom Shadow meets during his journey.
• Chad Mulligan – a kind-hearted chief of police in the town of Lakeside.

Old Gods

• Mr. Wednesday – an aspect of Odin, the Old Norse god of knowledge and wisdom.
• Low-Key Lyesmith – Loki, the Old Norse god of mischief and trickery. He was a close acquaintance of Shadow Moon whilst incarcerated.
• Czernobog – the Slavic god of darkness and twin brother to Belobog, the god of light.
• The Zorya Sisters – relatives of Czernobog, sisters who represent Dawn (Zorya Utrennyaya), Dusk (Zorya Vechernyaya), and the Midnight Star (Zorya Polunochnaya). In Slavic lore, they are servants of Dažbog who guard and watch over the doomsday hound, Simargl. Simargl is said to be chained to the star Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor (the "Little Bear") and, according to legend, if the chain ever breaks the hound will devour the world.
• Mr. Nancy – Anansi, a trickster spider god from Ghanaian folklore. He often makes fun of people for their stupidity, a recurring aspect of his personality in his old stories.
• Mr. Ibis – Thoth, the Ancient Egyptian god of knowledge and writing. He runs a funeral parlor with Mr. Jacquel in Cairo, Illinois. He often writes short biographies of people who brought folkloric beings with them to the United States.
• Mr. Jacquel – Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian god of the dead and mummification. He is an expert at preparing bodies for the wake at funerals.
• Bast – Bastet, the Ancient Egyptian cat goddess. Often appears as a small house cat and heals Shadow's bruises and aches after he has been beaten.
• Horus – the Ancient Egyptian god of the sky.
• Easter – Ēostre, the Germanic goddess of the dawn.
• Mad Sweeney – Suibhne, a king from an old Irish story. Though not portrayed as such in his story, he calls himself a "Leprechaun" despite his description as being nearly 7-feet-tall. Sweeney is foul-mouthed and a frequent drinker.
• Whiskey Jack – Wisakedjak, a trickster figure of Algonquian mythology. He lives near a Lakota reservation in the badlands with John Chapman, where he is mistaken for Iktomi, a trickster of their culture.
• John Chapman – Johnny Appleseed, described as a "culture hero" rather than a god. He loathes Paul Bunyan (who he incorrectly describes as an advertising ploy) for diverting belief away from him.
• Elvis - Alvíss, a dwarf in Norse mythology. The King of the Dwarves, he is of average height for humans but has dwarfish proportions.
• Elegba and Great Mawu - The gods worshipped by those enslaved coming to America.
• Gwydion – Gwydion fab Dôn, a trickster god of Welsh mythology.
• Hinzelmann – Hinzelmann, a kobold who was formerly revered as a tribal god by ancient Germanic tribes. He protects the town of Lakeside in the guise of an old man.
• Bilquis – the ancient Queen of Sheba, who endures by absorbing her sexual partners, turning them into worshippers
• Mama-Ji – Kali, the Hindu goddess of time and destruction.
• The Jinn – an ifrit taxi-driver that swaps lives with an Omani businessman after a sexual encounter.
• The Land – a buffalo-headed man, the personification of the land as worshipped by Native Americans, who appears to Shadow in his dreams to give him guidance.
• Bearded man – A character similar to Jesus speaks to Shadow in a dream sequence while he is hanging from the world tree. Shadow states that, compared to the other old Gods, he still has a lot of influence. However, the bearded man worries that his teachings have been applied to everything, and as a result also apply to nothing. Gaiman has removed and replaced this section of the book numerous times.[6]
• The Elephant God – Ganesha, the Hindu god of new beginnings; appears to Shadow during the world tree dream sequences. Shadow eventually realizes Ganesha's role is to remove obstacles, and that his cryptic message to 'look in the trunk' is in fact a clue to the location of Alison McGovern's body.
• The Forgettable God – An unknown god whom Mr. Wednesday meets in Las Vegas along with Shadow, whose name slipped from Shadow's mind whenever Mr. Wednesday said it. He has a liking for Soma, a Vedic ritual drink. Gaiman has never confirmed the identity of this god.[7][8]

New Gods

• Technical Boy – New God of technology and the Internet, personified as an adult-sized fat child.
• Media – New Goddess of television and pop culture. She often communicates by hijacking whatever is showing on television, for example communicating with Shadow via Lucy Ricardo from I Love Lucy and the cast of Cheers.
• The Black Hats – Mister Road, Mister Town, Mister Wood, and Mister Stone represent beliefs in conspiracy theories, taking the form of men in black. They work as spooks for the New Gods.
• The Intangibles – New Gods of the modern stock market, they are a personification of the "Invisible hand of the market".
• Mr. World – leader of The Black Hats and the New God of globalization.
• Other New Gods mentioned include those of automobiles, locomotives, heavier-than-air flight, cosmetic surgery, and various drugs.