The Name Thread

[kardar233]

I've noticed that some people (like myself) have a lot of trouble coming up with good names for things, and I was thinking that perhaps we could crowdsource names for things from the inhabitants of this forum, like the Real-World Weapons and Armor threads or the character art threads.

The idea is pretty simple: just give a short description of the character and what style of name you'd like them to have, and hopefully someone will come up with something you like the sound of.

I'll start: right now, I'm trying to figure out an Elvish name for the dryad of a green apple tree, and trying to add a bit of French styling into the name as well due to the influence of her 'mother'. She's young and a bit impish, but also quite caring and devoted to her family. Any ideas?

[JetThomasBoat]

Well, do you know the French words for apple or green? Cause I'm gonna butcher the spelling, so you may just want to look it up.

Plus, it's an elf name, so you could just mash the words together and throw in a lot of apostrophes. Like for surname: Vert'pomme or Pommev'ert or something? I dunno.

[JBPuffin]

Well, do you know the French words for apple or green? Cause I'm gonna butcher the spelling, so you may just want to look it up.

Plus, it's an elf name, so you could just mash the words together and throw in a lot of apostrophes. Like for surname: Vert'pomme or Pommev'ert or something? I dunno.

Agreed, although apostrophes are more of an orc thing. Pommvera, perhaps?

[Red Fel]

Agreed, although apostrophes are more of an orc thing. Pommvera, perhaps?

Whenever I think the Elvish language, I think of soft sounds, like v's and s's, not harder sounds like p's. I think of flowing and rhythmic syllables. I also think of egregious and unnecessary l's, just because.

Pommvera is a good start, but the P sounds too hard to me, and the cadence of the name feels odd (POMM-*-VE-ra, you have to stop in the middle, or POMM-ve-RA, which is just kind of stilted).

I would keep the "vera" part, because it's pretty, and extend it into Veraniel. Because we're doing the French thing, feminize the ending into Veranielle. Add a second n (Verannielle) if you like; I know longer is better when it comes to pretentious Elven words. The consonant sounds are soft, and the cadence is a gentle back-and-forth (ve-RA-ni-EL).

[Deaxsa]

This is not totally related, but whenever i want a name, i just go to a text file i got from an expanded name mod for xcom:enemy unknown. and then i just pick whatever i feel like. Of course, this only really works on people who use similar naming conventions to those used IRL by those countries represented in the text file, and even then it's got its fair share of mistakes, but for coming up with a name on the spot, it's amazing. Link.

[Pinnacle]

I do BabyNames.com, search different keywords related to the character until I find something I like to use as a base, and then maybe tweak letters and such.

Hmm.
I get nothing for French girl or unisex names meaning "apple", but "tree" gives me Ambre and Lafayette.
If I chose not to just use one of those, I might go with...
Lafay?
Fayette?
Fyet?
Ambara?
Ambrette?
Ambreyette?

"Plant" gives Jacqueline or Jacquelle... which actually mean "supplanter", so maybe not quite the right meaning. But I use this for inspiration, so who cares if the meaning isn't actually right?
Tried a few other keywords, didn't see much else I liked. Caprice?

[Tarlek Flamehai]

Tolkien elvish for fruit, feminized: Yávien
French for of tree (I think): de Arbre
Yávien de Arbre

or for a saucier version
L'enculeur d'arbre

[Hazrond]

Im currently making an orc character and if you have any interesting names for that it would be appreciated, the character is a warpriest with a focus on fire, healing, forging, and combat. so far i took some generic orcish inspiration and got Arkus Gorthug, but if anybody has a better name i would lovve to hear it! :)

[Pinnacle]

Ildri, Scandinavian name meaning "fire and peace" (actually a girls' name, though, and I'm guessing "Arkus" is meant to sound masculine)
Nuri, Hebrew name meaning "my fire"
Vanhi, Sanskrit name meaning "fire"
Hotaru, Japanese name meaning "firefly"
Uri, Hebrew name meaning "my light, flame, fire"
Plamen, Bulgarian name meaning "fiery one"

[kardar233]

Whenever I think the Elvish language, I think of soft sounds, like v's and s's, not harder sounds like p's. I think of flowing and rhythmic syllables. I also think of egregious and unnecessary l's, just because.

Pommvera is a good start, but the P sounds too hard to me, and the cadence of the name feels odd (POMM-*-VE-ra, you have to stop in the middle, or POMM-ve-RA, which is just kind of stilted).

I would keep the "vera" part, because it's pretty, and extend it into Veraniel. Because we're doing the French thing, feminize the ending into Veranielle. Add a second n (Verannielle) if you like; I know longer is better when it comes to pretentious Elven words. The consonant sounds are soft, and the cadence is a gentle back-and-forth (ve-RA-ni-EL).

Veranielle is quite nice, I'll put that on my short list. I hadn't thought about cadence, and you're right that a nice flowing cadence is really important to an Elvish name.

I do BabyNames.com, search different keywords related to the character until I find something I like to use as a base, and then maybe tweak letters and such.

Hmm.
I get nothing for French girl or unisex names meaning "apple", but "tree" gives me Ambre and Lafayette.
If I chose not to just use one of those, I might go with...
Lafay?
Fayette?
Fyet?
Ambara?
Ambrette?
Ambreyette?

"Plant" gives Jacqueline or Jacquelle... which actually mean "supplanter", so maybe not quite the right meaning. But I use this for inspiration, so who cares if the meaning isn't actually right?
Tried a few other keywords, didn't see much else I liked. Caprice?

Ambara is pretty good. Curiously enough (and completely unintentionally) this dryad's mother is a French-ish life mage by the name of Jacqueline.

[ILM]

L'enculeur d'arbre

Are you entirely aware of what this word means exactly?

[Jermz]

Are you entirely aware of what this word means exactly?

Google Translate seems to be quite forthcoming with the definition.

[veti]

Im currently making an orc character and if you have any interesting names for that it would be appreciated, the character is a warpriest with a focus on fire, healing, forging, and combat. so far i took some generic orcish inspiration and got Arkus Gorthug, but if anybody has a better name i would lovve to hear it! :)

Instant Cautery. Inflammable Prosthetic. Sterilised Cleaver. "Fire, healing, forging and combat"? - the names practically write themselves...

[Spojaz]

Since my PC's demand more information on everyone in the world, I have started making NPC's last names be their job, to make it easier to come up with on the fly and for everyone to remember. Last week in a modern setting RPG, the group hitched a ride with Mark Pilot on his cropduster, bought (and stole) supplies from Martha Shopkeep (of the new Brunswick Shopkeeps), and brought important information to the attention of Paul Scientist. It keeps the story moving, without too much immersion breaking.

[BWR]

Ildri, Scandinavian name meaning "fire and peace" (actually a girls' name, though, and I'm guessing "Arkus" is meant to sound masculine)

"beautiful as fire", not "fire peace". A derivative of "eld+frid" Not to be confused with the German "fried" which does mean peace. It wouldn't surprise me if they have roots in the same word, however, but I haven't looked into that.

[Pinnacle]

Babynames.com is an excellent place to start for character names, but I wouldn't use it for scholarly research or anything.

[Red Fel]

Im currently making an orc character and if you have any interesting names for that it would be appreciated, the character is a warpriest with a focus on fire, healing, forging, and combat. so far i took some generic orcish inspiration and got Arkus Gorthug, but if anybody has a better name i would lovve to hear it! :)

I see Orcish as the opposite of Elvish, linguistically. Where I see Elvish as soft, flowing sounds and rhythmic cadences, I see Orcish as harsh, guttural noises, glottal stops, and sharp staccato beats, more like a drum than a violin. I hear extensive use of the letter K, the combination Th, the "Mor" sound (if he's Evil), and apostrophes to indicate glottal stops. I also hear violent surnames, either a family legacy, a clan name, or a personal achievement.

Let me first ask a few questions:

• Is he evil? Violent? A little crazy? Is he the sort of person people tend to run away from, or towards?
• Is he close to his family? Or clan/tribe? What's that background?

I ask the first question because that will help determine a fitting given name. Arkus is nice, but let's see if we can find one more fitting his personality.

I ask the second question because that will help determine a fitting surname. For example, an Orc from a clan of stonemasons might be Rockhewer, even if that doesn't fit the person he is now. An Orc from a family of warlocks might be Soulbender, even if he's really a nice guy who loves petting kittens and pressing flowers - and it creates an interesting divide between what he's called and who he is. Alternatively, you could just name him for his chosen profession, in which case Flamesmith or Forgebender would be interesting - and would raise a few Dwarven eyebrows.

You could also pick a surname, then find an Orcish dictionary (I'm sure they exist) and translate it across. To make it authentic, and all. If that's your thing.

[(Un)Inspired]

I've noticed that some people (like myself) have a lot of trouble coming up with good names for things, and I was thinking that perhaps we could crowdsource names for things from the inhabitants of this forum, like the Real-World Weapons and Armor threads or the character art threads.

The idea is pretty simple: just give a short description of the character and what style of name you'd like them to have, and hopefully someone will come up with something you like the sound of.

I'll start: right now, I'm trying to figure out an Elvish name for the dryad of a green apple tree, and trying to add a bit of French styling into the name as well due to the influence of her 'mother'. She's young and a bit impish, but also quite caring and devoted to her family. Any ideas?

When I name characters that a spirits of the natural world I tend to go for direct descriptors. Almost like title.

So perhaps whenever elves have conversed with the dryad she was busy gathering the apples at the bottom of the tree.

From this she got her traditional eleven name, Applebottom.

Im currently making an orc character and if you have any interesting names for that it would be appreciated, the character is a warpriest with a focus on fire, healing, forging, and combat. so far i took some generic orcish inspiration and got Arkus Gorthug, but if anybody has a better name i would lovve to hear it! :)

Slammo von Gottmann

Truckulese

Father Tusk

Gottloeb Frega

[Scyrner]

Im currently making an orc character and if you have any interesting names for that it would be appreciated, the character is a warpriest with a focus on fire, healing, forging, and combat. so far i took some generic orcish inspiration and got Arkus Gorthug, but if anybody has a better name i would lovve to hear it! :)

I'd keep "Arkus", as I think that it's a pretty cool sounding name and I'd make the fire reference in the last name, perhaps Agnak. It's got a nice assonance between the first and second name, and the fire reference is an allusion to the Hindu deity Agni, god of fire, rather than a direct use of a translation of the word within the name. Although the allusion isn't particularly subtle, it's a less likely to be caught one, rather than using a word that English derives a word for fire from, like ignis or flamma, the latin words. To keep it sounding Orcish, I'd probably do the stress as AR-kus AG-nAk, rather thank giving it a more flowing sound, which you would get if you emphasize the "na" without the "ag".

[Ravens_cry]

Yawka-Tan
A garbled phonetic spelling of Welsh for 'Fire Healing'.
Welsh with guttural voice is my goto language for Orcish in worlds where they aren't automatic baddies.

[Jay R]

In The Lord of the Rings, "Ghâsh" is the orcish word for "fire". (You find it in the chapter, "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm".)

[Ravens_cry]

In The Lord of the Rings, "Ghâsh" is the orcish word for "fire". (You find it in the chapter, "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm".)

How is the 'â' pronounced?

[Red Fel]

How is the 'â' pronounced?

Like most things in Orcish. As though you're coughing up a lead hairball.

[Ravens_cry]

Like most things in Orcish. As though you're coughing up a lead hairball.

Well, yes, but I was literally asking, so sarcasm, however humorous, was not desired.

[Scyrner]

How is the 'â' pronounced?

Would be like the a in father. That line is a macron, lengthening the vowel.

[Ravens_cry]

Would be like the a in father. That line is a macron, lengthening the vowel.

Thank you!

[Scyrner]

Thank you!

You're very welcome.

[BWR]

Actually, that's not a macron, it's a circumflex.

[Scyrner]

Actually, that's not a macron, it's a circumflex.

Ah, I'm blind, font too small on computer screen. Thank you for the hyperlinks, I am well aware of the difference. I hold that it would still be pronounced as a long a. Depending on the language of choice a circumflex has different functions, and would change the pronunciation differently. In Attic Greek, for example, a circumflex represents and up-down tonal shift in the spoken word, but does not change the pronunciation at all, whereas in French (I believe) the circumflex does change the pronunciation of the vowel.

Long vs Short A would make the difference between an "a" like in "gash" and an "a" like in "father". I think the long a sounds better, in part because using the short word would make the Black Speech word be pronounced irritatingly similarly to the english "gash" making it a homonym and probably unsuitable for a good name.

[Jay R]

Tribal societies often have widely varying accents. I assume that each orc tribe, being semi-isolated, has its own accent. So pronounce is as you like.

If anybody complains, tell them you're using a Mordor accent, not a Moria one.