mcdm

Character Names by Ancestry

Added 2025-03-31 17:15:10 +0000 UTC

Hi folks, short post today. We’ve seen folks in the discord asking “hey what are some canonical names for the various ancestries” and since that section is already done and written, we figured; why not share it here?

I’m not sure there’s any real commentary to be made here, apart from what’s already in-line with the text. Except to say; these are just my approach to how these cultures name themselves. If you have your own world, you probably have your own ideas!

I do often get asked how I come up with these names and there isn’t really an answer, alas. I just know what I think a draconian name sounds like! Same with orcs and elves and devils. I cannot explain why Riyalkin is a good name for a devil from the Seven Cities of Hell, or why Flumpo would be a bad name for a devil, it just fits.

I know that orc names and dwarf names are similar but distinct, because when the orcs were first placed within the world by their creator god Kul, they lived near and traded with the dwarves more than other ancestries.

I didn’t really know a lot about the Hakaan until my friend Justice Arman played one in Dusk the 4E campaign I ran. He was going through a period (which may well last the rest of his life 😀) where he was learning more about his heritage as an American of Persian descent and asked if he could give the Hakaan those cultural influences and I said…sure! It was a lot of work trying to find actual names of ancient Persians that weren’t filtered through a Greek lens, and in the end I was not wholly successful, but I forgave my lack of rigor under the principle that the Hakaan must also have come into contact with many other cultures over the centuries since their fateful bargain with Holkatya and so would have a variety of names.

When my friend Phil made his character Slim for the Chain of Acheron, he named him Jel’lek the Impious and that sounded like a good Time Raider name to me! Phil didn’t say this, but I liked the idea that traditionally all Kuran’zoi gain a rebellious epithet. So mote it be!

That’s what I know! So for those of you making characters, or with players making characters, and you’re looking for inspiration for “real” names, here you go!

Character Names by Culture

Obviously you’re free to invent whatever name you want for your character! And your director might have their own setting that uses different cultures than those in Orden. But if you want to pick an Orden-appropriate name for your hero, keep reading.

Equally obviously; names are cultural, not biological. Your character probably has a name appropriate to whatever culture they were born into, or grew up in. A human raised by Hakaan would probably have a Hakaan name.

Last Names and Bynames

Most people living in Orden–and this is especially true of Vasloria–live in villages. They do not have and do not use “last names” or “family names.” Everyone in the village knows who you mean when you refer to ‘William.’ Even if there’s more than one William in town, you can usually tell who someone’s referring to from context. Sometimes folks prepend “our” to someone’s name meaning: the one related to or otherwise concerned with me and my family. “Our William” for instance.

If that’s not enough, folks use another identifier known as a ‘byname.’ If there were two boys in the village named Much, one of them might be called Much The Miller’s Son, to distinguish them from the other lad named Much in the village.

If you leave your village regularly, say to trade with others in a distant market, then your byname might be the place you’re from. Alan from the village in the dale, might become known as Alan from the Dale, or just Alan-a-Dale. But everyone back home just calls you Alan.

A byname might refer to your profession. Clyde the Cartwright is a perfectly normal byname. But no one you met would assume “Cartwright” was your ‘family name.’ People who live permanently in a very large city like Capital use family names, because almost no first name is sufficiently unique to identify you and “Marissa the Cartwright’s Daughter” quickly evolves into Marissa Cartwright.

Most nobles in Orden also use the name of the area they rule as part of their name, but when someone refers to Lord Edmund Bedegar everyone listening silently, without thinking about it, adds “of” between the name and the place. Edmund is both Edmund, and the Lord of Bedegar, and Edmund, Lord of Bedegar, and therefore sometimes Lord Edmund Bedegar. Even though “Bedegar” looks like a “last name” to us, and is being used in that manner sometimes, it’s not exactly his “last name.” It’s still just another kind of byname.

Names and Gender

Most cultures in Vasloria make a distinction between masculine and feminine names, though not all cultures do, and some cultures make such a distinction, but almost no one outside the culture can tell the difference.

Among those cultures which do make a distinction between masculine and feminine names, there are always names that could refer to a person of any gender. Here in the real world, you can’t tell a person’s gender just from the name “Shane.” This is mostly because which names are considered masculine or feminine change over time and when this happens there’s a period, maybe a few generations, where the name could refer to a person of any gender.

Of course, there’s no law (neither metaphorically nor literally) that requires your character to go by their birth name. Your character might not even know their birth name depending on what happened after you were born. It’s not unusual, especially among talents, for a hero to adopt a moniker or sobriquet instead of a name. And in some cultures, there’s a tradition of changing your name–or at least how you prefer to be known–as you go through different stages of life. High Elves sometime adopt an wholly new name when they reach a certain age or, more commonly, choose a different component of their name. When A Mist Curls Around Dying Embers was a young woman, she was known as Mist. Now that she’s the Master of the Tower of Translation, she’s known as Embers.

Authentic or Comedic?

For some players choosing a ‘good,’ by which they mean ‘authentic to the setting,’ name is important and can take a while. Because the right name can ground your character in the world and this can help the player feel more immersed in the fictional reality. It also communicates to the other players that you’re serious about the game and your hero.

For other players, choosing a comedic, joke name communicates the opposite! You are here to have fun and screw around and taking things seriously is something you already have to do all week, and so you pick a ridiculous name just to get a laugh because that’s what you’re serious about.

The choice of name is an important one, because it says a lot about you and how you view the game as a whole.

Example Names By Ancestry

Devils

Masculine: Bulliarvik, Cenoph, Dhult, Jjaro, Kuryalkin, Radiarsk, Tessiar, Turayvik, Ullian, Villyroth

Gender Neutral: Halciar, Illion, Karya, Moriel, Orliath

Feminine: Ampeth, Arrian, Cyrrik, Frissia, Illya, Oreth, Quallo, Uryalia, Yllioth, Zorri

Dragon Knights

Masculine: Aarkizovar, Dannorax, Denoxavinaax, Killexiriax, Koraavinam, Raijorozaan, Vanazor, Vorokazinaar, Zakaarior, Zexijorovox

Gender Neutral: Baiqadrazaar, Ciniceziar, Lorikorivox, Vinkarijaan, Zaikorojax

Feminine: Ahrijiinad, Cyrrijox, Kaikorrivar, Kalliarx, Korazajaan, Korovaamijax, Orrizarviox, Uriquexicaar, Ythirix, Zoronivaam

Dwarves

Masculine: Darzok, Dazran, Djorek, Durok, Duur, Gavok, Kaaz, Kazaan, Zaar, Zarek

Gender Neutral: Arzak, Keth, Orikk, Q'ir, Qoroth

Feminine: Dazria, Dekka, Djorva, Giria, Kirza, Kuroth, Lurza, Uur, Zareth, Ziir

Elves, Wode

Elves in general have a casual attitude toward gender, it having no direct bearing on procreation for them (normal elf upon learning how humans mate: "You mean...like animals?"). They tend to view the various sex-linked traits associated among other ancestries with masculinity or femininity as a kind of fashion to be taken up or discarded as the mood suits. Over one life, any elf might wear masculine features, or feminine features, or both, many times. For wode elves, this often means adopting a new name, or a different version of the same name. Llyandros might become Llyandra for instance.

Masculine: Calliarwyc, Cillyv, Eidior, Ffyllwyc, Gwyllmach, Llyandros, Ogllvar, Radiarwyn, Ryll, Tafirdwyn

Gender Neutral: Arriswyth, Gogellwyc, Hygglwyc, Lliarion, Tywso

Feminine: Elvyr, Eviarwyc, Illwyv, Iorwyth, Lliarwyn, Meithennyn, Nimuë, Rhegyth, Viarwyn, Ysallwyth

Elves, High

High elf names are poetic. They are an attempt to capture a fleeting, often contradictory, impulse, or emotion. They sometimes contain references to the natural world. They are never meant to be taken literally and they are not an attempt to make a character feel heroic.

Examples: The Sun Reflected In A Lover's Tear, Every Flake Of Snow A Memory, Edges Of A Leaf Torn By The Wind, Echoes of Autumn Heat, A Heart That Will Not Yield The Stars, A Rain of Glass Over A Sea of Dreams, The Earth Cries The Skies Divide, The Last Star Fading With Morning, A Crown of Starlight on Winter Snow, The Anticipation of a Sigh Upon His Lips

Hakaan

Masculine: Adusiya, Artabānu, Dahyu, Farnaspa, Fravartiš, Jamaspa, Khosrau, Kithara, Sarames, Utana

Gender Neutral: Adaska, Kirashev, Oriamos, Sandauka, Ulion

Feminine: Adrina, Arawanni, Barsina, Irdabava, Kiandot, Mavané, Osorabi, Sitarey, Tyriti, Ulivesh

Humans (Western Vasloria)

Masculine: Brys, Cadwyr, Dyfan, Edmund, Geoffrey, Gwiddon, Heden, Richard, Taegan, Taethan

Gender Neutral: Ashley, Bryn, Jennet, Morgan, Taran

Feminine: Brenwyn, Demelza, Elzbeth, Gwynhyvyr, Maerwyn, Margaret, Meliora, Rowenna, Tamara, Wenna

Memonek

Masculine: Ayabaskha, Dhamayana, Divarsotto, Duruvatta, Ghaurdamatta, Harakshathra , Khasimandru, Khavettra, Virabanu, Vittarkoya

Gender Neutral: Jamiattra, Lotarhixa, Mitterirtra, Sattayarit, Talyana

Feminine: Abandhaska, Ashariyaa, Devidayya, Gandahraji, Kunismyya, Priyaptaa, Ruthudeva, Urivashii, Vanarishka, Yashovalla

Orcs

Masculine: Dezovor, Dhorovek, Djorvok, Korjok, Medozoar, Pakadrask, Rojak, Rokore, Uvarsk, Vordokov

Gender Neutral: Dorokor, Gorovik, Khettovek, Meadior, Orosk

Feminine: Askilli, Dorviath, Jeddoar, Karoskha, Khorisa, Khorva, Moraska, Vakarra, Vhorovi, Zhorva

Polder

For reasons not well understood and therefore not included here, polder in Vasloria use surnames. First names seem chosen to imply a degree of sophistication (or, at least, what polders consider sophisticated) while last names tend to be common, compound words. No one knows why they do this.

Masculine: Aimsley, Alderson, Bancroft, Beechwood, Billingsworth, Broderick, Langston, Owlswick, Patterson, Willoughby

Gender Neutral: Bellamy, Bethell, Carrington, Madison, Mallory

Feminine: Agatha, Amaryllis, Beverly, Esmerelda, Marceline, Modesty, Penelope, Rosemarie, Ursula, Weatherly

Surnames: Bottlebrush, Bracegirdle, Cheesewright, Cobblestone, Cordwainer, Lamplighter, Pinwhistle, Thistlethrush, Twobuckle, Underhill

Revenant

Revenants tend to keep whatever names they had in life. They may have any number of reasons to adopt a new name in which case that name would reflect their reasons for doing so. Perhaps they adopt a moniker like the talents do, or they choose a new name from their original culture, or something completely different!