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Naming Your Character: Make It Personal

November 1, 2019 | Juspera's Player

In this second of a series of three essays on naming your character, let's look at how to create a name that fits the intended personality of your character. And yes, it's just fine if you don't have a personality in mind yet, or want to develop it as you go. This essay can give you some naming ideas all the same.

Your character's name will be the first impression they make on others for the rest of their lives. You likely wouldn't want to name a Dark Elven sorcerer Hippity, nor a cheerful gnomish empath lass Vlazhkhor. However, to call the empath lass Cheerylass, or the Dark Elven sorcerer Deathcast, would be taking things a bit too far. We want to use a name to hint at a character's personality, not bludgeon with it.

Cobbling together roots from obscure or foreign words is an excellent way to make an evocative name. "Shadowsinger" bludgeons; "Serenumbra," from the words "serenade," and "umbra," or shadow, hints. Likewise, "Bearbreath" bludgeons; "Bruinuff," a combination of "bruin," synonymous with "bear," and the word "huff," hints.

Head to google translate. Translate some words that represent your character into Greek, Latin or a Latin-derived language such as Spanish or Italian. So many Greek and Latin words make up the roots of English words, and will unconsciously call to mind their associations. A good example is the Latin word albus, for white -- perfect for a good guy character, such as Albus Dumbledore, or a healer named Albamina.

Many of these foreign words make great names all by themselves, while others will have to be adjusted to remove them a step from the real world, or to find something that isn't already taken. Also, think about whether not just the meaning but the sound of the word fits your character's personality. Is it flowing and melodic, or harsh and staccato? Elegant or crude? Long and complex or short and sweet?

Obscure place names on Earth are a great and easy way to name your character. Go on Google Maps, zoom in and find some obscure Siberian river or Arabian town to use for your Dwarven or Tehir character. Likewise, obscure people, groups, movements and more from real life history can make suitable names or parts of names; the same goes for people, places and things in books and movies. But if the name is not very obscure, makes sure you alter it enough so that you don't just look like the fortieth misspelled Sephiroth clone in the game. The goal is to bring up a feeling -- of oldness, evilness, strength, exoticness, elven-ness, etc. -- without other players' being quite conscious of where it comes from.

Other sources of inspiration include: common and Latin names of plants and animals, medical conditions, foreign cuisine, colors, names of stars, etc. Flowers have been assigned meanings both in the real world and Elanthia. And while I don't buy into the idea that gems or minerals have healing properties, such things are part of our culture and that makes them another source to mine for a meaningful name.

Here are a few links to get you started:

The meaning of Latin plant names

Forty-five flowers and their meanings (real world)

The Language of Flowers (Elanthia)

Latin and Greek medical terms and what they mean

List of star names

Forty gemstones and their meanings

In the next essay, I'll talk about how to create a name that's memorable.

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Juspera's Good Ole GS4 Page / Roleplaying