Character Names

oldbobdude · May 2021

Seems like there is a lot of creativity in character names. This is the first game I've played where I could even see other players names.

In other solo games I usually name my characters Fred or Larry or Robyn. I mean just look at my user name. How imaginative is that. Lol.

Anyway, do people use some kind of name generator or something to get cool names or am I just horrible with names.

tomofhyrule · May 2021

UESP has a whole list of names that characters have used by race.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Names

I like to mix and match from earlier games. My main is an Orc with his first name from Legends and his patronymic from Oblivion.

Lugaldu · May 2021

There are sure to be very different opinions about what a cool name is. I've seen a lot of really terrible names that I don't even want to repeat here. Some names destroy the immersion if you see them by chance...
The best are names that go well with the respective race and the lore in general, imho. And yes, there are existing also name generators.

Danikat · May 2021

I think there's many different ways players will go about it, depending on the player and the character.

My names range from ones where I spent a long time thinking about the character, what kind of person they'll be, what their backstory will be and did some research into TES lore, how their race chooses names, and real-life names, put together a list of possible ideas and picked my favourite to ones where it was literally just a word or sound which came into my head while I was in the character creator which sounded good. Or a bit of both. Or a silly joke obscured by a less well known language.

I've also got a few I've been using in different games for years, including one which goes back to when I was playing Ultima Online in the last 90's.

Weirdly I like coming up with character names but I hate trying to come up with usernames. Danikat is a mash-up of one of my reoccurring RPG characters names and my real name (I first used it for an RP forum, so it was like we were sharing it) and I've been using it ever since. When I needed something different I got as far as "I want something that's just for me...Just_Me that will do!" and then that stuck too. If I go to sign up for a site and both Danikat and Just_Me are taken I'm completely stuck.

Nord_Raseri · May 2021

I use familial names followed by something in old norse for nords(like Hjalmar Hreggsvérð), other characters(not many) are either all old norse or a joke name i.e. a magsorc called Sparkle Flinger or a dunmer called Svartálf.

cheriella · May 2021

I just have the one character and her name is Cherry-xo, cus that’s my nickname which is based off my real name. 😆

jssriot · May 2021

I try to name my toons something that's generally RPG-ish but are fitting for this game. I just try to make names that are relatively easy for other players to read or pronounce. I avoid jokey names because they get old and there is always someone who won't get the joke, no matter how obvious or mild or un-edgy your sense of humor may be, and it costs 2500 crowns to change a name.

I do have one toon that has an inside joke from another fandom rolled up in an ESO lore-friendly name and I made that toon 3 years ago and even though it's so ridiculously obvious to anyone from that particular fandom, I'm still waiting for another ESO player to go, "Oh, hey, is that a reference to such-and-such?" This is what I mean by people not getting joke names.

NordSwordnBoard · May 2021

I started out serious and true to the lore, but at this point I've got a guy named Beardie O'Beard so there ya go. Sometimes I think of the build or usage of the toon before making them, and apply that to the name. You can always copy the pattern the ESO names follow for each race, and import your own flavor. Hides the Ashes/Empties the Ashtrays - Replace the "L" in Lyranth with any other consonant you like: Dyranth, Vyranth etc. If you lack inspiration, plagiarize! Nobody will tell on you lol.

Danikat · May 2021

jssriot wrote: »

I try to name my toons something that's generally RPG-ish but are fitting for this game. I just try to make names that are relatively easy for other players to read or pronounce. I avoid jokey names because they get old and there is always someone who won't get the joke, no matter how obvious or mild or un-edgy your sense of humor may be, and it costs 2500 crowns to change a name.

I do have one toon that has an inside joke from another fandom rolled up in an ESO lore-friendly name and I made that toon 3 years ago and even though it's so ridiculously obvious to anyone from that particular fandom, I'm still waiting for another ESO player to go, "Oh, hey, is that a reference to such-and-such?" This is what I mean by people not getting joke names.

Is it weird that it doesn't bother me if other people don't get my joke names?

My crafter is called Sagittam Ad Genu which is Latin for 'arrow to the knee', a reference to him being a retired soldier and the running joke from Skyrim. I'm not expecting anyone's Latin to be good enough to actually know that, but it amuses me to know that's what it means.

A bit like how I wouldn't expect anyone know that Ember isn't my nord's real first name, it's a nickname she was given as a child. The backstory is there for me, no one else needs to know. (And if they do need to know she can tell them, although if they start calling her Eleanora she might have to hit them.)

VaranisArano · May 2021

I use the UESP's names lists for some of my characters, like Aranwe Stormbinder.

Some I give specific names to tie them to particular families that plays into their backstory. With ESO taking place in the 2nd Era, there's a lot of fun to be had playing distant ancestors of future NPCs or roleplaying as distant relatives of current NPCs.

- Varanis Arano takes her surname from the Arano family in Skyrim's Dragonborn DLC. She's named after the Varanis Dolmen in the Varanis region of Stonefalls.
- Maria Montclair, my DC master Thief and Silencer, is a distant cousin of the Rivenspire Montclairs.
- Akaviria Carvain, my Imperial spy and stam sorc, is a distant ancestral relation of Countess Carvain in Oblivion

SilverBride · May 2021

I often use fantasy name generators to get ideas, or baby names, or other such name generators, but usually end up altering their suggestions to something I like.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · May 2021

All things Bear, except Gandalf. He likes to party.

Tesman85 · May 2021

I've played so much of the single-player TES titles, that I have a good sense of what kind of names fit which race. For instance, Breton characters get something vaguely old French- or Celtic-sounding, Imperials have Latin-like names, Nords ancient Germanic ones - perhaps with a moniker like Blood-Axe, the Bear etc. - and so forth. I name High Elves so that first I think of phonetically pleasing, soft syllables, combine two or three of them and throw in a gender-appropriate ending like -wen for females. The results are usually rather Tolkienian, but the Altmer names in TES are shameless rip-offs of Quenya anyway. For Dunmers the above linked UESP list is great. Of course, one can always play with this, like if one character's backstory is that she's a Dunmer adopted by Nords, she could be named Hallgerd the Elf instead of, say, Falanu Dromaleth.

Examples of my characters' names: Swaniriel (Altmer female), Inge Magpie (Nord female, named after one of my Oblivion characters), Dietrich Bern (Nord male; got lazy and just ripped off Theoderic the Great's mythical name), Verus Brixianus (Imperial male), Éloisë Lavalliére (Breton female, a former noble in the backstory I cooked up for her). Of course, it's a matter of taste if one thinks these are good and "creative", or not.

Basically, it's pretty easy to make lore-appropriate names for human races and elves. Elder Scrolls is such an established and old franchise that uses lots of real-world culture influences in the character names, that you can get great starting points for names just by searching for names of historical figures or ancient names in general (or Tolkien's languages for Elven names).

I've never played beast races, so can't really say much about those. But when you study their names, you'll get a sense of what is phonetically appropriate. E.g. Khajiit names seem to often have letters or sounds like k, r, z, kh, th and consist of short syllables. For instance, I'd think something like Raznith-Khar wouldn't be too bad for a Khajiit name.

SeaGtGruff · May 2021

My first character's name was kind of cringey, in that the racial connections of his first name (Khajiit) don't match his actual race (Breton Nord*). I just pretend he was adopted and named as a baby by a mixed couple-- Khajiit and Argonian, perhaps?

After that, I mostly chose my characters' names by looking at the lists of racial names in the UESP wiki pages, although a few of them are more creative while trying to at least seem lore-friendly.

But one character's name is definitely silly and lore-breaking, being a pun on a line from a certain movie.

*Dang, I can't even remember my own characters!

LettuceBrain · May 2021

I used to integrate my name and a pet's name but now I use lore friendly ones from a name generator for each race. My new Breton for example is Farstian Arius, which I got from a generator. I also have an Imperial that I mixed with a Roman god's name and a generated one: Pluto Derannes. I also have a Altmer warden healer named Glaen, which I got from a generator too.

aipex8_ESO · May 2021

I usually start with a r/l loved one's name then use UESP and a little creativity to make it fit the race.

So my g/f Tamara = Tanara Velothren (dark elf)
my step daughter Danielle = Daneleth Dawnsinger (wood elf)
my cat Nika = Nika Dark-Star (nord)
my spider Seven = Sevendylin (high elf)
my car, a white Toyota 86 = The White Scion (nord vampire)

I've also made a few characters from lore, like Imago Storm (a Daedra Lord from Battlespire and the name was available) and I have a playable version of Nuzhimeh, whom I name Nuzhimeh the Knife (as she's a nightblade).

opaj · May 2021

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

My first character's name was kind of cringey, in that the racial connections of his first name (Khajiit) don't match his actual race (Breton). I just pretend he was adopted and named as a baby by a mixed couple-- Khajiit and Argonian, perhaps?

That's not cringey. People come from all backgrounds, and one's culture doesn't always match one's "race".

And I know there's at least one Orc NPC with a Breton name in Daggerfall, which I've always appreciated.

Sylvermynx · May 2021

I have several thousand names in files; I've been writing most of my life, and names (plus the characters themselves) pop into my head all the time, sometimes with complete backstories demanding I "MAKE ME RIGHT NOW DAMMIT!!"

It never takes me any time to come up with names/characters - most of mine are lore friendly; I've been playing TES franchise since Arena released in 1994....

Benzux · May 2021

Most of my character names are lore-friendly ones made with the help of name generators and my own knowledge of the naming schemes of various races. Generally, I would use a name generator until I see something that catches my eye, then modify it to my liking. Since the majority of my characters are Argonians, their names are generally fitting to "who they are". Xal-Vakka, for example, is my Dragonknight Healer, and his name means "Sacred Sun".

A couple of characters don't have names that are particularly lore-friendly, but don't stick out too much like many jokey names do. Warfarin, my Nightblade Healer, is named after a character from another fantasy game I enjoy, but it's also a bit of a "pun" of sorts, given that as a Nightblade, she heals through blood magic, and in real life, warfarin is a chemical that acts as an anticoagulant. She's also a vampire, and real-world vampire bats have similar anticoagulants in their saliva.

JKorr · May 2021

Slowly recreating pnp D&D characters, basically. Now if they'd just give more slots....... Why, yes. Yes, I do have an altaholism issue. So?:)

oldbobdude · May 2021

LettuceBrain wrote: »

I used to integrate my name and a pet's name but now I use lore friendly ones from a name generator for each race. My new Breton for example is Farstian Arius, which I got from a generator. I also have an Imperial that I mixed with a Roman god's name and a generated one: Pluto Derannes. I also have a Altmer warden healer named Glaen, which I got from a generator too.

I like "LettuceBrain" 🤣

oldbobdude · May 2021

Named one alt "Chili Burger" but only because "Big Mac" was taken.

AcadianPaladin · May 2021

Buffy's name is. . . complicated. There are several influences and forces at work:

1. Alliteration. Buffy the blond Bravilian Bosmeri bowgirl. We much preferred the sound of Buffy to, say, Bambi or Barbie.

2. As a child, her parents had difficulty keeping clothes on her. She was always running around 'in the buff', as it were. Water seemed to make matters worse. In fact she was nearly thirteen before the red-face protests of her archery master, finally convinced her to be more discrete and not drop her clothes to go swimming in every stream they encountered while hunting. To this day, she pleads guilty to the refrain, 'Water makes her clothes fall off' - particularly near any waterfall. :twirl:

3. At the precise moment of sunrise that marked her birth, Buffy was touched by Azura's hand of fate as a Child of Dawn. Although she does not embrace the role, she is indeed one of few women with special abilities to help kill vampires. She is a Slayer. The influence of another Buffy with a vampire problem is inescapable.

4. In naming Buffy, I felt the name would be rather tongue-in-cheek and prevent me from taking her too seriously. In that regard. . . I fear I have failed miserably.

Disclaimer - Not surprisingly, the name Buffy is taken in ESO. But many variations such as Bùffy, Búffy, ßuffy, etc were available.

MaisonNaevius · May 2021

- Naevius : Name that I use for all of my characters and that I use in RP. It is a family that is both Colovian and Nibenese.
Naevius was a Greek family descent who became Roman.

- Magelys > First character I created. Its name is .. that of a bus. The name is nice for an imperial, without falling into the facility of the -us. Being redhead, the prefix Mage- could also be associated with the color magenta.
- Evadys > Second character I created. I regretted the choice of AD with Magelys. I created a Magelys v2, without deleting the previous one. This was before Tamriel Unlimited. DC's first character.
Its name is also that of a bus.
- Lycoris Naevius : Originally Wannasee .. Why Wannasee? I was watching SWII and bumped into Lama Su. I also had documents with big letters written on it: “Wanna See!” - “Wanna Know!” - “Wanna Go!”. I'll let you guess how the first name was adopted at a time when I had no ideas.
The name was later changed to Lycoris. Everything that dates from Wannasee was canceled but the presumed dead character had to change her name. This event occurred in autumn, when the Lycoris flower grows not far from cemeteries. The first name "Lycoris" was symbolic but will ultimately be adopted as such from the start in her new background.
Looking a lot like C2077's default heroine, I decided to add a nickname "Valeria" to her.
- Aïsha Anna : I needed a hippie-style warden. Her first name, unchanged since its creation, is subject to regret because of non-imperial name. I simply had to look for a common first name among hippies and selected two first names.
- Gaea Naevius : I had more or less an idea of the necromancer I wanted. But then again, I had no ideas for the first name. I then remembered "Gaea", a name that I could see while visiting Cemenelum not far from my home.

One shot characters
- Derek at-Tatum : "Derek" is a nod to the foreman in the game Mafia 2. My redguard is himself one in criminal faction.
- Jacques de Lu : Is a nod to the "Prince of Lu", a fictional character appearing on cookie wrappers.
- Jauffre and Manu Monet : I quickly needed a Breton name that was serious because the characters will be used in the long term. I then thought of Claude Monet.
- Lucius Naevius : Wink at little Lucius from the horror game.
- Petus Klemes : A nod to Peter Clemenza. For a criminal character in imperial RP.
- Superintendent Marius : Especially visual wink. In reference to the banker in Magi.
- Gladys Fleur-de-Courgette / Gladys Zucchini-Flower : Little bosmer .. Because of his haircut making me think of zucchini-flower.

VoidCommander · May 2021

I used my name from runescape

AlnilamE · May 2021

When I first started, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I didn't pay much attention to names, though I had the presence of mind to give my dark elf the family name Hlaalu.

As I had time, I made sure that my characters had mostly lore-friendly names that fit what their background is.

Of course, with argonians, you can have a lot of fun, so I have

Potion Ivy (sorc alchemist)
Holds-Green-Fish (stamblade created to hold the green fish until the bug that gave them 0 vendor value was fixed. He's been retrained as a Shadowscale since)
Sings-of-Ice-Storms (warden healer)
Plays-wïth-Bones (necromancer who doesn't know what he's going to do yet)

But for most of the others, I looked at what the naming conventions are for their race and came up with something that fits.

laksikus · May 2021

My character naming evolved alot since i started.

I started with RP elder scrolls names
Then i started using names that were similar to my mains name starting with Ely- cos people new me by that name
After that i started using references to classes. Bear to win, whos your deady
Then last my names evolved to describing RP pvp names. Like eye of the noob, exploding kitten, snipetard.

Cirantille · May 2021

When I first started I wanted my character names to be lore friendly, so all my characters on EU server (18) have lore friendly names - found in TES lore slightly changed or adapted

On NA, except my main character I re-created, all others (8) have names for the lols because I dont care as much anymore and just wanted to have fun names - I dont know how I came up with them for example I have a "Queen of Argyll" because I really love that song or "Curved Jabs" for my stamplar because he has...jabs...curved...jabs!
Ps. Sometimes he pokes himself in the eye with his own jab

Odovacar · May 2021

I tend to name my characters after Roman military leaders (e.g. Odovacar; Odovacer), prolific figures from antiquity all the way through middle ages.

I do have a few funny ones and a few LOTR inspired ones but all in all mostly my named characters come from my love of historical figures.

YandereGirlfriend · May 2021

I've maintained a "List of Awesome Names and Nouns" for years that I am always adding to as I encounter or invent new names. It's now a very long list since I'm basically always reading.

I typically will draw from that list in a way that makes sense for the particular character in question.

But if anyone is bored or wants inspiration, it's always fun to simply Google around for like "Medieval Persian names" or "Names of Byzantine nobility" or "Assyrian city names" or "Ancient Levantine deities" or unique historical names from Malta, Wales, Finland, Hungary, Ukraine, Mali, etc.

I typically find regions that are intersections between several different cultures generally produce amazing names but the same can also be true for highly insular regions. My general preference is that the more obscure or esoteric, the better. Place names are also amazing and you can have multiple names for the same place for many different historical reasons.

You can also browse a bunch of online prosopographies based upon actual historical records (typically tax and census records because ancient nobility always want their lewtz) that are a treasure trove of inspiration (think of how like the Domesday Book is such a valuable resource for Anglo-Saxon names).

If you find a base name that you like, you can also permute it with various phonetic combinations until you get something that really hits the mark.

When you're using a name from another culture, I think it's also important to do a bit more research and ensure that it's not inadvertently offensive/insensitive (this becomes increasingly less likely the farther back in history that you go) or (at least, IMO) something boring like the X language transliteration of Y super common name (but you can usually tell this simply from looking at it).

Anyway, those are some of my tips and tricks. I hope that somebody finds it useful and comes up with an amazing name!

kargen27 · May 2021

kargen is the name I have been using going back to BBS days. My first character here is Caergen obviously based on kargen. Next character was a joke name, Shirley I Jest. Both characters are disasters but one is my master crafter.

From there I decided to go with more appropriate names and started hitting Celtic, Norse, Ethiopian and all kinds of other lore looking for semi-deities. Amazing how many really obscure names were already taken. I finally decided on Hopi names for most of my characters.

With Argonians I can't help myself and I have Drunk-Like-Skunk and Swims-Like-Nord.