How did you decide your character name?

ixthUA

My main and also the only character i have is a senile druid with bright moments of mind clarity, named after senile scribbles series.

fleetingyouth_ESO

My Character has the same name as every character I have ever had in almost every major MMO since the 90's when I made my very first character in Ultima Online before the game launched. Maybe its the same person, maybe reincarnation who knows. I still occasionally get players asking me if I was the same person in various games.

SatanicSister

8 years ago, when I first started playing, I really didn't give much damn about lore. So my old main nord character is called Anne Claire after Guano Apes' song that I once liked.

Then afterwards I dabbled and created several characters that I deleted soon after. Among them was an argonian called Wades-Through-Entrails. A sort of tribute to TESIV Shivering Isles. Now I'm glad that I deleted her, she probably would've gotten reported anyways.

I also have a few Jemane sisters (again influenced by TESIV). Every one of them is quite capable of besmirching their good name on their own, but the more the merrier right?

My only male character is a nord called Vanevald. It's my favourite old Estonian name.

And the current lady in play is -Laufeydottir. Made after I finished the first season of Loki and some other Marvel movies.

When Necrom launches I will make a new character called Mafalda of Outcasts. I already have her in my list but I haven't played much with her and it will be a perfect time to remake her. She is named after my grandmother.

MerguezMan

Actually, you can be funny AND lore-friendly.

Still expecting to see the famous Redguard mage "Myas'Ol' the unfathomable".

SeaGtGruff

Roughly half of my characters' names are lore-friendly, chosen by looking through lists of first names and family names for the different races.

The names which aren't lore-friendly were attempts to be creative or amusing, sometimes-- but not always-- on the basis of a character's race or class.

The_Titan_Tim

Whenever I make a new character, they are always named thematically…

• Templar: Titan Tim
• Necromancer: Tyrant Tim
• Nightblade: Terror Tim

This way even when people have character names displayed instead of account names, my Nords are always identifiable.

LunaFlora

Lore but also not. i used Greehnhart as a surname for a few characters to connect them and used it as my main character's only name.
i don't know why i added an h to Green but hart is heart in dutch.

A few months later i found out the town Greenheart existed in Valenwood which seemed fitting.

i've kept adding hart to a lot of my characters' names like Azurehart for my first necromancer and Rubyhart for two nightblades and a dragonknight.

i liked azureblight from Lair of Maarselok and it seemed fitting for a necromancer.
nightblades and dragonknights have red coloured abilities

Flameweaver1951

I use my brain to make up names. Sometimes it takes a while

Xarc

Generally I like to choose a single first name, sometimes lore friendly.

I have a "male" argonian named "Aga Ja" for exemple, and a "female" vampire NB bosmer named "Felisja".
My imperial is "Xarcus " and my breton is "Xarc", etc

Inspiration...

robwolf666

First names for my characters are names of friends irl, their surnames are all the same and is kind of a female identifier and just a word I like, and it's meaning.

amig186

I generally try to come up with lore friendly names based on the race's naming conventions. I would say that my attempts were semi-successful. Nord are easy since they have real world names, elves are hard.

BloodyStigmata

A combination of lore and character backstory, but more-so character backstory. Being lore-friendly is important, but not as important as individuality.

Zezin

The family name is usually attached to the lore usually I'll reference UESP for those, for the first name I roll a name on a generator website and got with one I vibe with and fits well with the last name.

BloodyStigmata

The_Titan_Tim wrote: »

Whenever I make a new character, they are always named thematically…

• Templar: Titan Tim
• Necromancer: Tyrant Tim
• Nightblade: Terror Tim

One of them better be an enchanter.

AcadianPaladin

Buffy’s name is. . . complicated.

As a young elf, her parents had trouble keeping clothes on her and were constantly trying to keep her from running around in the buff as it were. This was especially problematic in the vicinity of any pond, stream or waterfall. As they would say, ‘water makes her clothes fall off’. Indeed, her red-faced archery instructor had to coax her out of the water and back into her little buckskins numerous times when hunting near streams.

Her parents opted to choose an exotic name for her – and certainly no one in her birthplace of Bravil knew anyone else named Buffy.

I also had a say in the matter. As a fan of alliteration, Buffy the blond Bravilian bowgirl rather sang to me. And I preferred Buffy over other equally exotic (for Tamriel) alliterative names like Barbie or Bambi.

Buffy does not care for vampires and I do not deny the influence of another blonde from another time and world who shares an appetite and aptitude for vampire slaying.

Lastly, I figured that choosing what some might consider a silly name would keep me from taking my elf too seriously. In that regard, I fear I have failed miserably.

Danikat

I actually don't like taking family names from UESP or other lists of NPC names, because then my character might be related to those NPCs and trying to find a name I like, which fits the character and where I'm ok with the implied relationships is more than I want to deal with.

I will still use the lists for reference but I always try to come up with something which looks like it belongs there but isn't already on the list.

Althiugh most of my characters don't have family names anyway and one adopted it from another of my characters so it doesn't come up often.

feyii

I use lore friendly names or at least names which look lore friendly (e.g. for bretons I either use actually lore established names or just french names).

ADarklore

Most often my character names come to me out of the blue... usually while I'm at work... so I have to make sure to write it down, otherwise it'll be lost by the time I get home.

Auldwulfe

kargen27 wrote: »

I wanted to use names from Celtic mythology but three minutes after launch every name, variance of names and combinations of Celtic names was gone.

I have two joke names 'Shirley I Jest' and 'Skinner Blues'. I don't think anybody but me gets the Skinner Blues reference. He used to be a mule so was named after the song "Mule Skinner Blues". My Argonian names are kind of joke names but fit the lore mostly. Drunk-Like-Skunk and Swims-Like-Nord.

Most the time I look to Hopi mythology and lore to try and find a name. If one doesn't fit then I expand to other Native American lore. If that fails me I mix and match Slavic, Japanese and African mythological names. My main is Miya Tearsong.

I have:
Nayati Nawat (Wrestles Left Handed)
Noega (Godess of Wind)
Nukpana Meda (Evil Prophetess)
Kimi Aiyana (Secret Eternal Flower)
Lenmana Kuwanlelenta (Girl Plays Flute to Make Beautiful Surroundings)
Olathe Tayen (Beautiful New Moon)
Illanipi Tohopka (Amazing Wild Beast)
and many others.

I've seen some of those... and considering that my Mother is Mohican, and my Father is Oneida / Mohawk ..... I appreciate your naming choices

As for how I name mine.... they come to me and tell me their name, and what and how they should be played.... I've been a GM / DM for over 40 years, and have written fiction.... so, I know there are people out there that would understand what I mean.


Auldwulfe

TaSheen

Auldwulfe wrote: »

I've seen some of those... and considering that my Mother is Mohican, and my Father is Oneida / Mohawk ..... I appreciate your naming choices

As for how I name mine.... they come to me and tell me their name, and what and how they should be played.... I've been a GM / DM for over 40 years, and have written fiction.... so, I know there are people out there that would understand what I mean.


Auldwulfe

*raises hand*

Mine appear fully formed in my mind - name, race, how they look, what they wear, what mount they use, who they are entire. And then they push at me until I make and play them!

I started DMing AD&D in the mid 70s, writing scenarios for my daughter and her friends from junior high school. "Graduated" to CRPGs in the mid 80s; have written fantasy for nearly as many years as I've been alive.

They all live in my mind - sometimes it's pretty damn crowded in there!

BenTSG

I suppose, to as much a degree as I am able, I try to be as loreful as I can with the names I pick, unless they are throwaway characters of sorts such as say, a Permadeath character. Now they might not be completely in line with lore, but even then I try to make them fit as best I can.

I've a Khajiiti family (all with their own stories and overarching story, but this is a different topic) that I have tried to work. The family name is Stripedfur though, which, sure it's not the best but I've grown to it and it's better then some names I've seen.

Funnily enough though, my main characters name was actually made somewhat randomly. My first ever character was a Nord NB, and I suck at picking names so my friend as a joke suggested 'Nabnar' which evolved into 'Nabnar the Narnabber', though that last bit was never in the name. When we all went over to Khajiits though, I took my at the time BF's khajiit family name but was stuck again on a first name and ended up with 'Nabstu', which came a little bit from Nabnar.

fred4

There hasn't been one way. Most of my characters have random real-life forenames. The later ones have lore-friendly surnames. The exceptions are "Your Ex-Girlfriend", perhaps more spicy than funny, and "Shirley Templar" for those with memories of black and white movies. I was later told a "Shirley Templar" is also a cocktail in Assassin's Creed.

Auldwulfe

TaSheen wrote: »

Auldwulfe wrote: »

I've seen some of those... and considering that my Mother is Mohican, and my Father is Oneida / Mohawk ..... I appreciate your naming choices

As for how I name mine.... they come to me and tell me their name, and what and how they should be played.... I've been a GM / DM for over 40 years, and have written fiction.... so, I know there are people out there that would understand what I mean.


Auldwulfe

*raises hand*

Mine appear fully formed in my mind - name, race, how they look, what they wear, what mount they use, who they are entire. And then they push at me until I make and play them!

I started DMing AD&D in the mid 70s, writing scenarios for my daughter and her friends from junior high school. "Graduated" to CRPGs in the mid 80s; have written fantasy for nearly as many years as I've been alive.

They all live in my mind - sometimes it's pretty damn crowded in there!

The NAGGING, when they decide they want to be put together, and played NOW !!!
And crowded doesn't begin to cover it....LOL

Auldwulfe

RoseTheSnowElf

Some kind of personal attachment to the name or word.

TaSheen

Auldwulfe wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

Auldwulfe wrote: »

I've seen some of those... and considering that my Mother is Mohican, and my Father is Oneida / Mohawk ..... I appreciate your naming choices

As for how I name mine.... they come to me and tell me their name, and what and how they should be played.... I've been a GM / DM for over 40 years, and have written fiction.... so, I know there are people out there that would understand what I mean.


Auldwulfe

*raises hand*

Mine appear fully formed in my mind - name, race, how they look, what they wear, what mount they use, who they are entire. And then they push at me until I make and play them!

I started DMing AD&D in the mid 70s, writing scenarios for my daughter and her friends from junior high school. "Graduated" to CRPGs in the mid 80s; have written fantasy for nearly as many years as I've been alive.

They all live in my mind - sometimes it's pretty damn crowded in there!

The NAGGING, when they decide they want to be put together, and played NOW !!!
And crowded doesn't begin to cover it....LOL

Auldwulfe

NO KIDDING! It's so bad sometimes that I toss and turn at night, and husband will say the next morning "Guess you had characters keeping you awake all night". As you might guess, we've been married a long time now - almost 50 years....

Hamfast

I would answer "Yes"... I have been using "Hamfast" a lore friendly name in Lord of the Rings, since I played Meridian59 starting back in 1996... I have used a few other names (Mostly statements made into names) like Luke Ovadare (Rogue, Robber, Nightblade) and Hewkares (Minstrel, Templar and a few others) and various others... I had a ESO sort of Lore Friendly name, "M'aiqa the Lyre" female khajiit Necro Healer, but I was forced to change it...

Funny names are good, if you don't find them funny it's your fault, not the player who used it, it's funny to them...
I have little use for "Randomly produced names" but I have used them...

Mostly I just make up the name when I make the character...

Supreme_Atromancer

Lore. Always.

Coming up with a good name is an important part of the process.

I'm not proud to admit that I've lost carefully crafted characters to Inactivity Log-Out because I spent too long coming up with a name.

Supreme_Atromancer

TaSheen wrote: »

Auldwulfe wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

Auldwulfe wrote: »

I've seen some of those... and considering that my Mother is Mohican, and my Father is Oneida / Mohawk ..... I appreciate your naming choices

As for how I name mine.... they come to me and tell me their name, and what and how they should be played.... I've been a GM / DM for over 40 years, and have written fiction.... so, I know there are people out there that would understand what I mean.


Auldwulfe

*raises hand*

Mine appear fully formed in my mind - name, race, how they look, what they wear, what mount they use, who they are entire. And then they push at me until I make and play them!

I started DMing AD&D in the mid 70s, writing scenarios for my daughter and her friends from junior high school. "Graduated" to CRPGs in the mid 80s; have written fantasy for nearly as many years as I've been alive.

They all live in my mind - sometimes it's pretty damn crowded in there!

The NAGGING, when they decide they want to be put together, and played NOW !!!
And crowded doesn't begin to cover it....LOL

Auldwulfe

NO KIDDING! It's so bad sometimes that I toss and turn at night, and husband will say the next morning "Guess you had characters keeping you awake all night". As you might guess, we've been married a long time now - almost 50 years....

That's really cute.

KalevaLaine

All my characters got first and last names depending on the race and they appeared in Skyrim.

Punitio

I like latin words related to criminal law, because i am a nearly graduated law student.