NPC names: mundane versus exotic?

[Ragitsu]

Hello everyone.

In your fantasy games, do you feature plain real-life names such as James, Pierre, Yusuf, Anne, Sophia, Mei and the like? If you do, how do you determine the rough percentage of NPCs that sound "ordinary"? Is there a rhyme or reason...a method to your madness?

Come to think of it, "Albert" may very well be the exotic individual on a world with Aragorn, Drizzt and Matrim .

[Duke Bushido]

Depends entirely on the setting.

 

If I am doing a "yet another vaguely medieval european" type setting, then sure: we're going to have vaguely medieval european names.   At least, the vaguely medieval europeans are: the vaguely coastal Africa parts of the map will feature vaguely coastal African names.

 

 

That sort of thing.

[DShomshak]

Well, in my "Fantasy Europa" alternate-history setting, humans all had real European human names. (or Turkish, Arabic, or other as appropriate.) Some were a bit exotic, such as the Grand Duke Melchiades Vizzini, wizard-prince of Ligouria -- but "Melchiades" is a real name (found it on a list of Popes, IIRC). Nonhumans depended largely on their degree of cultural assimilation, or if myth and folklore gave them a stock of names I could draw upon. Like, Mediterranean merfolk had ancient Greek names, because of Greek myths about naiads and such. I think the most work I put in was for Arimaspians (cyclopes by way of Pliny and Medieval "marvels of the East" narratives). I started with Mongol names altered through a system of consonant shifts. Wasted work, as no Arimaspians appeared in the two campaigns I ran.

 

I used made-up names for my first "Magozoic" (far future fantasy) D&D campaign, with a few standard naming patterns. I wasn't that ambition for my next campaign. The Plenary Empire is heavily inspired by the Byzantine Empire, so human names are Greco-Romanesque, though possibly adapted from other roots (as Medieval folk Latinized their Germanic, French, Jewish or other names). Nonhumans get their own naming patterns, which is pretty much how standard D&D has chosen to do things: vaguely Norse/Germanic for dwarves, vaguely Celtic for elves, deliberately conventional English for halflings, and so on. Though for elves, I try to mix it up by stirring in different cultural roots for each culture. The forest-dwelling Rhovistae stick to Celtic, but the mountain-dwelling Taishomanae include Japanese-sounding elements, while the jungle-dwelling Chulangkorae sound a bit Malay/Indonesian.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Ockham's Spoon]

I find baby name dictionaries and websites to be useful, especially for non-European cultures.  I will usually modify European names slightly to keep them from being too prosaic, but most names from other cultures sound exotic enough on their own that I can keep them as is.

[Scott Ruggels]

I  conduct it mostly like the above, as it's dependent upon the surrounding culture, and the time period it's been "lifted" from. The Western Empire is Late Roman, early Byzantine, so that names are Latin, with humans having the traditional three names, and the non-human Lupines having two, with their last name based on Latin tree names for the trees that were in traditional areas of their original clans.  Flat tree names are used as the clan names for "unassimilated" lupines, with first names often being Slavic or eastern European (but non-Christian). Eastern names are primarily pre-Islamic Persian names and Zoroastrian. names.  I really dislike random keystroke or onomatopoeiac names. a collection of letters, like legos spilled randomly on the floor doesn't make for pleasing names., even for aliens.

[drunkonduty]

I'm also a fan of baby name dictionaries. And yeah, I'll map names from a real culture onto one of my fantasy ones.

 

I also do a bit of the made up name thing. Now that I think about it, mostly for Orcs. Don't know why Orcs get this treatment when no-one else does... 🤷‍♂️

 

[pawsplay]

I avoid Biblical, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon names in games that aren't heavily inspired by ancient and medieval Europe. But even my pastiched homebrew setting uses mostly made-up names, usually with phonetic themes.

[Ninja-Bear]

I try to keep them pronounceable!

[Ninja-Bear]

Btw my wife is in Labor and Delivery field and kids getting named like Ur Majesty is not an urban myth. 

[archer]

If I'm writing a supplement, it's probably exotic names.

 

If it's names that I'm hoping my players remember, it's more memorable names. Sometimes the length of time between introducing what they know to be an important recurring character to the point in time at which everyone has forgotten that NPC's name is much, much less than the length of their first conversation.

 

Remember that guy at that place where we killed that thing?

 

...no, the other thing. I think it was hairy? Or scaly? And it killed that person?

 

< Thirty minutes later > 

 

Okay, okay, so the name of the person who died to that thing was "Agnes". But we're trying to remember the name of the guy who gave us the quest to go look for the monster and the name of the city where he's at, not remember the name of the victim.

[Ockham's Spoon]

3 minutes ago, archer said:

If I'm writing a supplement, it's probably exotic names.

 

If it's names that I'm hoping my players remember, it's more memorable names. Sometimes the length of time between introducing what they know to be an important recurring character to the point in time at which everyone has forgotten that NPC's name is much, much less than the length of their first conversation.

 

Remember that guy at that place where we killed that thing?

 

...no, the other thing. I think it was hairy? Or scaly? And it killed that person?

 

< Thirty minutes later > 

 

Okay, okay, so the name of the person who died to that thing was "Agnes". But we're trying to remember the name of the guy who gave us the quest to go look for the monster and the name of the city where he's at, not remember the name of the victim.

 

I have had so many problems with players remembering names over the years that I will often give them a summary sheet with important people and who they are on it.  I don't go into great detail, but just being able to see the names written out helps a lot with keeping the NPC's straight.

[archer]

2 hours ago, Ockham's Spoon said:

 

I have had so many problems with players remembering names over the years that I will often give them a summary sheet with important people and who they are on it.  I don't go into great detail, but just being able to see the names written out helps a lot with keeping the NPC's straight.

 

That's a really good idea. So simple that even I should have thought of it.

 

I remember reading one guy who said that he was tempted to start a campaign around the Kingdom of Wisconsin whose Queen Elizabeth was having a problem with the neighboring nation of Italy which was being led by Abraham Lincoln...because at least that way he was pretty sure that none of the names would be unfamiliar and immediately forgotten.

[Ragitsu]

"Exotic" for some means "non-Western European"?

[archer]

12 hours ago, Ragitsu said:

"Exotic" for some means "non-Western European"?

 

I'm sure it means different things to different people. But consider two of the most famous US presidents of the 20th century: FDR and Nixon.

 

FDR's middle name was Delano. Nixon's middle name was Milhous.

 

I consider those to be exotic names because if I walked down a crowded street every day for the rest of my life and asked everyone I see what their name is, the odds are that I'd never meet another person with that name.

 

 

My own first name is rather unusual. I've only met one other person with the same name though I know of a couple of others who I've seen on TV over the years. But I don't think anyone in the US would consider it particularly exotic since most people have at least heard of someone with that name.

 

My middle name is also unusual in the US because my parents wanted my initials to be an homage to my great-grandmother's name and there's not a heck of a lot of names which start with that letter.  However, I'm told that name is more common in Ireland. My wife likes it and at one point seriously considered using that name for our kid.

 

As for my last name, it's very unusual and neither genealogists nor historians have been able to definitively trace it back to a country of origin.

 

So long story short: there's an excellent chance that I'm a fantasy character.

[Old Man]

As a player, I ask only that an NPC's name be easy to spell so that I can write it down correctly in my notes.

[L. Marcus]

How about Teletöusentuntteri? It's a hill.

[archer]

12 minutes ago, Old Man said:

As a player, I ask only that an NPC's name be easy to spell so that I can write it down correctly in my notes.

 

I always knew you were weird: I always have to twist people's arms to get them to take notes and here you do it voluntarily.  

[Old Man]

 

12 minutes ago, archer said:

 

I always knew you were weird: I always have to twist people's arms to get them to take notes and here you do it voluntarily.  

I’d like to think your players can still remember what happened in the last session two weeks ago. Whereas I’m like “What was the guy’s name that we’re supposed to meet?  The one we’re supposed to give the thing to? What was it again?  And what was the name of the town?”

[Chris Goodwin]

I'm pretty terrible at coming up with names for characters. 

 

An idle thought I've had:  in most baby name books, you can find translations of names.  My own first, middle, and last names mean "bearer of the anointed one", "little rock",  "good wine".   Each of those could be translated into some appropriately fantasy sounding pseudo-language, and then you'd have names in that language as well as words for them.  

 

As for Bob the Fighter... Bob being short for Robert, which according to Wikipedia...

 

Quote

is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic *Hrōþi- "fame" and *berhta- "bright" (Hrōþiberhtaz). Compare Old Dutch Robrecht and Old High German Hrodebert (a compound of Hruod (Old Norse: Hróðr) "fame, glory, honour, renown" and berht "bright, shining").

 

You could do worse than to grab the Old High German or Norse versions and make them your own.  Hrother Eberht, warrior.  Hroth for short.  

[Michael Hopcroft]

In the context of a sci-fi novel I'm writing. I have "androids" whose name is their number -- I have to be careful to use the right personal pronoun. My character have "names" like 683 and 1977. They have no problem with this, although at least one famous android had to use a partial name.

 

Right how, as I'm writing, I'm having trouble remembering to use the proper personal pronouns without confusing everyone. (the androids are genderless, so the other characters refer to them that way).

[Duke Bushido]

On 12/16/2020 at 7:53 PM, Ragitsu said:

"Exotic" for some means "non-Western European"?

 

 

Well considering "exotic" literally means

 

Quote

1 : introduced from another country : not native to the place where found exotic plants. 2 archaic : foreign, alien. 3 : strikingly, excitingly, or mysteriously different or unusual exotic flavors.

 

 

Then I would say "of course it does, particularly if you are in Western Europe or some country that derives its naming conventions from Western European conventions-- like say, a present or former colony of some Western European nation or nations."

 

Given that the apparent majority of this board falls into that category, that's just a weird place to poke a stick.  It's not like a blasé familiarity with something outside of your local norm is rare-- or even unusual, particularly in a group of people who are traditionally readers.

 

The great thing, though, is that we have more than Western European to point at and think "well, I'm used to that, too."  At least, a lot of us do.  My area has a pretty thorough mix of ancestries, meaning that Spanish, Korean, and Chinese names aren't particularly exotic, either: we hear them every day.   And of course, a lot of African American naming conventions are based _specifically_ on crafting a unique, never-before-heard name, or borrowing a really unique name heard elsewhere, which is how I also end up conversing with a kid named Tontravian (neither European, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, nor African), another named-- and I'm spelling this entirely phonetically, as I have no idea who it's actually spelled) Zho-ki-VON, and a very nice-looking and pleasant-to-deal-with sales rep named Shaquebla.  And these aren't even the names that stand out-- those are _not_ particularly exotic names around here.

 

To find something exotic, compared to the thorough mix we have around here, I'd have to go to Mars, or invent something to top Zho-ki-VON.  I have met some people with _really_ odd names (I bought a new suit for Pop's funeral from a nice young lady named "Vendetta."  she caught me side-eying the tag, just to be sure I read it correctly, and with a very tired sigh she stated "it means 'promise.'")

 

So I _suppose_ there are people to whom "exotic" means "not western european," but you'd have to kick over an awful lot of rocks to find one of them, I think, at least around here.

[Old Man]

5 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

 

a nice young lady named "Vendetta."  she caught me side-eying the tag, just to be sure I read it correctly, and with a very tired sigh she stated "it means 'promise.'")

 

Not... exactly.  Awesome name though.  I imagine her brother would be named Jihad.  "It means 'dedication'."

[Duke Bushido]

2 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

Not... exactly.  Awesome name though.  I imagine her brother would be named Jihad.  "It means 'dedication'."

At the time I was thinking (silently) "well, maybe I promise to hunt down you and your family, cut so your throats, and pull your tongues out through the holes," sure.  That sort of promise.

 

 

 

[Ragitsu]

7 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

 

Well considering "exotic" literally means

 

 

 

Then I would say "of course it does, particularly if you are in Western Europe or some country that derives its naming conventions from Western European conventions-- like say, a present or former colony of some Western European nation or nations."

 

Given that the apparent majority of this board falls into that category, that's just a weird place to poke a stick.  It's not like a blasé familiarity with something outside of your local norm is rare-- or even unusual, particularly in a group of people who are traditionally readers.

 

The great thing, though, is that we have more than Western European to point at and think "well, I'm used to that, too."  At least, a lot of us do.  My area has a pretty thorough mix of ancestries, meaning that Spanish, Korean, and Chinese names aren't particularly exotic, either: we hear them every day.   And of course, a lot of African American naming conventions are based _specifically_ on crafting a unique, never-before-heard name, or borrowing a really unique name heard elsewhere, which is how I also end up conversing with a kid named Tontravian (neither European, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, nor African), another named-- and I'm spelling this entirely phonetically, as I have no idea who it's actually spelled) Zho-ki-VON, and a very nice-looking and pleasant-to-deal-with sales rep named Shaquebla.  And these aren't even the names that stand out-- those are _not_ particularly exotic names around here.

 

To find something exotic, compared to the thorough mix we have around here, I'd have to go to Mars, or invent something to top Zho-ki-VON.  I have met some people with _really_ odd names (I bought a new suit for Pop's funeral from a nice young lady named "Vendetta."  she caught me side-eying the tag, just to be sure I read it correctly, and with a very tired sigh she stated "it means 'promise.'")

 

So I _suppose_ there are people to whom "exotic" means "not western european," but you'd have to kick over an awful lot of rocks to find one of them, I think, at least around here.

 

I generally expect fantasy geeks (and veteran fantasy geeks at that) to be one or more of: well-read, well-traveled or well-acquainted with cultures outside their own (easy to do in any moderately sized or larger city). You have to delve into some pretty esoteric real-world territory to find the truly "exotic", but I was speaking broadly: "non-Western European" in general. My point is that the fantasy genre - when represented by each DM, anyhow - shouldn't be constrained by the limitations of one corner of our Earth unless there's a good reason.

[Ockham's Spoon]

Okay, when I said 'exotic', what I really meant was something outside of Tom, Dick, Harry, Mary, and Sue.  Names that don't appear in the top 25 most popular baby names of the year.  It just breaks the tone of the game when you introduce Bob the Paladin or Tim the Sorcerer.