"His mother was Saravoan, and his father was Calakmulan. Well, suffice it to say, his name was pretty damn hard to pronounce, so the diplomatic mission didn't go so well."

-Diplomatic Envoy of the City of Masas, Gregarios Vengenos

Names in Adra

The following are names from the various cultures in Adra. They should serve as inspiration for your own names, or, you may take one, rolling randomly if you choose. Each culture offers guidance on whether taking a surname would be appropriate given your character's origins.

Aarakocran Names

Aarakocran names are in the aarakocran style. Aarakocran of all classes have proper names, and are often referred to by the conclave of their birth (of the north, of the south, etc.). Surnames are actually only suffixes to proper names, and unless they have forsaken their family, all aarakocra have them. Within proper Aarakocran naming, the symbols (,) (') (-) are each significant. A comma means a low pitch trill between syllables, an apostrophe means a high pitch trill between syllables, and a hyphen means a mid-level pitch trill between syllables. Due to the absurd difficulty of non-Aarokocran pronouncing their names, most aarokocra take nicknames to go by when interacting with others outside of the conclaves. They may even sometimes take a name from another culture as their nickname.

Aegyri Names

Aegyri names are in the draconic style. Aegyri that are members of an old Dragonborn clan or are not but are Highborn should take a surname.

Arissian Names

Arissian names are inspired by roman names, from the late republic period to the dominate period. All Arissians have surnames, regardless of their birth. However, only Highborn Arissians have gentile names, which are middle names, a sign of their birth. Some surnames or gentile names will have an ending correspondent to the feminine or masculine (respectively).

Bahrian Names

Bahrian names are in the style of Babylonian names. Only Highborn Bahrians have proper surnames, whereas Middleborn Bahrians are referred to by their parent's name. Lowborn Bahrians only have given names.

Blackwood Names

Blackwood names are in the elvish style. All people of the Blackwood are given surnames.

Boggart Names

Boggart names are in the boggart draconic style, and wonderfully simple. No Boggarts take last names, instead referred to by the tribe from which they came.

Bolgan Names

Bolgan identities are so collectivist in nature that they do not have given names. When dealing with outsiders, they will either take a foreign name, take a nickname, or are referred to by their tribe or home-region.

Calakmulan Names

Calakmulan names are in the style of the Mayans. Calakmulans are only given first names, though middleborn and highborn Calakmulans will usually be referred to by their place of birth.

Caxamalcan Names

Caxamalcan Names are in the style of the Incans. Caxamalcans are only given first names.

Demonican Names

Demonican names are in both the fiendish and celestial style. Demonicans take only first names, and their names are the words for virtues, goals, hobbies, or other such concepts, in either abyssal, celestial, or infernal.

Drow Names

Drow names are in the drow style. All drow have a given name, while only highborn have a family name. Middle and lowborn drow have the name of their city in place of their surname.

Druidic Names

Druidic names are in the druidic style. All druids carry a name taken from a fey in the Feywilds. Druids rarely have last names, though might have titles on occasion, which denote a good deal of respect, and can often only be granted by leaders of the circle.

Duergar Culture

Duergar names are in the duergar style. All duergar cary a given name and a clan name. Compared to the surface, there are far fewer duergar clans, since they find coexisting nearly impossible beyond more than two or three clans.

Dwarven Names

Dwarven names are in the dwarven style. All dwarves carry a given name and a clan name; dwarves without a clan are taboo in dwarven society.

Fey Names

Fey names are in the fey style. All fey have given names, and are often referred to by their court or land of origin within the Feywild.

Gamoran Names

Gamoran names are in the style of the Aztecs. Anyone whose family has lived within the borders of the empire proper, and is able to speak fluent Terran, after three generations, are allowed to take a family name.

Gith Names

Gith names are in the gith style. No gith have surnames usually, but ranks and titles are quite common to further distinguish them.

Goblinoid Names

Goblinoid names are in the goblin style. No goblinoids have surnames, though goblinoid warriors have titles like thrasher, bloodboiler, bonebreaker, etc.

Grung Names

Grung names tend to be the words for violent acts in the Grung language, usually followed by Grena (Green), Blautau (Blue), Purata (Purple), Retak (Red), Ortu (Orange), Golnu (Gold), designating their place in the caste.

Haelish Names

Haelish names are in the style of French names. Highborn Haelish have a surname correspondent to their house. Middleborn Haelish are referred to by the town of their birth. Lowborn Haelish have only their first name.

Half-elven Names

Half-elven names do not have a kind of their own. They are usually in the style of Blackwood elves, but sometimes Valenteran elves or occasionally the names of other cultures.

Halish Names

Halish names are in the style of English names. Highborn Halish have a surname correspondent to their house. Middleborn Halish have a surname that corresponds to their family's trade. Lowborn Lowlanders have only their first name.

Kalashtari Names

Kalashtari names are in the style of Armenian names. Kalashtari born on the island usually take a first and surname in this style, while those who move to the Isle of Dreams later in life may keep their old names, or may at least take a surname. The surnames are the names of the Kalashton spirits which meld with the Kalashtari.

Kamanoan Names

Kamanoan names are in the style of Greek and Byzantine names. HIghborn Kamanoans have a surname correspondent to their house. Middleborn and Lowborn Kamanoans are referred to by the city of their citizenship.

Lowland Names

Lowland names are in the style of standard American names, though ones more popular 100-50 years ago. Highborn Lowlanders have a surname correspondent to their house. Middleborn Lowlanders are referred to by the town of their birth. Lowborn Lowlanders have only their first name.

Manfrieder Names

Manfrieder names are in the style of Italian-American names. Highborn Manfrieders have a surname correspondent to their house. Middleborn Manfrieders are referred to by their place of birth. Lowborn Manfrieders have only first names.

Martish Names

Martish names are in the style of Scottish names. High and middleborn Martish have surnames. Lowborn Martish have a surname referring to their hometown.

Mehtian Names

Mehtian names are in the style of Arabic names. Highborn Methians have proper surnames, whereas Middleborn Mehtians are referred to by their place of birth. Lowborn Methtians have only given names.

Mermaiden Names

Mermaiden given names and family names are in the mermaiden style, while their conclave names are based on modern Greek words for concepts important to them. Occasionally, mermaids may have names from non-mermaiden cultures, but typically they take a given name, a family name, and a conclave name, in that order. Families and conclaves often overlap, and one can have families in multiple conclaves and conclaves with many families.

Noregran Names

Noregran names are in the style of Norse names. Noregrans do not have surnames, but instead are referred to by their father or mother, whoever was older, with the postfix sson or sdatter depending on whether they are feminine or masculine (Eriksson or Eriksdatter, Helgason or Helgasdatter).

Oberen Names

Oberen names are in the style of high german. Oberens of highborn status have surnames based on their house. Middleborn Oberens are referred to either by their place of birth or their father or mother's name. Lowborn Oberens have no surname.

Old Halish Names

Old Halish names are in the style of Anglo-Saxon names. Old Halish only have given names. They are referred to by the tribe of their origin.

Orcish Names

Orcish names are in the orcish style. All Orcish have a given name, and the warriors or other notables of a tribe or warband tend to earn a title, and this often comes through a great feat, and is bestowed through recognition by one's peers.

Piratic Names

Piratic names are in no particular style, but instead are taken from a great vareity of cultures from across the seas, and they often take titles or other monikers as well.

Rackish Names

Rackish names are in the style of Irish names. All Rackish have a surname that signifies the clan of which they are a part.

Saravoan Names

Saravoan names are in the style of Russian names. Saravoans of highborn status have surnames based on their house. Middleborn Saravoans are referred to by their father or mother's name, whichever they choose. Lowborn Saravoans have no surnames.

Serpentine Names

Serpentine names are in the draconic style, though with far more "hissing" consonants, and filled with more syllables. They only use given names.

Shadar-kai Names

Shadar-kai names are derivations of old fey names. Shadar-kai don't take surnames, since their family groups are so small, and they have no need to discern various social classes.

Sowsokain Names

Sowsokain names are in the style of Maori names. In ancient times, the Sowsokain had surnames, but upon the arrival of many despotic forces in the islands, the implanted hierarchies were reinforced with surnames being taken by the Highborn. Lowborn and Middleborn use their home island as their surname.

Steppe Names

Steppe names are in the style of Turkish names. Steppe people in general have no surnames. They tend to refer to themselves by which tribe tribe is theirs.

Sunsokan Names

Sunsokan names are in the style of Hawaiian names. Sunsokan of all classes will take a first name and take their home island as their surname.

Svirfneblin Names

Svirfneblin names are in the style of Moorish names. Svirfneblin of all classes have both given names and surnames, often tracking family lineages which track back over multiple centuries.

Tesiphonian Names

Tesiphonian names are in the style of Zoroastrian or Persian names. Tesiphonians of Middleborn or Highborn status have a family surname, whereas Lowborn Tesiphonians are referred to by their mother or father, depending on whether they are a woman or man, respectively.

Tritonian Names

Tritonian names are in Triton style. Tritonians of all stations have surnames so that they can be easily and quickly referenced for martial purposes.

Valenteran Names

Valenteran names are in the style of Spanish names. Valenterans of all classes carry a given name and a surname, and many are also distinguished by their occupation.

Wodan Names

Wodan names are in the style of Welsh names. Wodan use the place of their home, that is the particular place their living space is, as their surname. For example, Aberthol under Oaktree or Maddock by Lake.

Yogan Names

Yogan names are in the style of Phoenicia and Carthage. Only people of Highborn status, usually those who connect their lineage to an ancient family from the old kingdom, have a surname. Those of Middleborn status are referred to by their father, if masculine, or mother, if feminine (son of Adherbal, daughter of Asherah). Lowborn people have only their first name.

Yuyakeese Names

Yuyakeese names are in the style of Japaneese names. The Highborn and Middleborn Yuyakeese both have proper surnames. Lowborn Yuyakeese have only their given names. When said together, the surname goes before the given name with Yuyakeese names.

Zaltian Names

Zaltian Names are in the style of the American West. The Highborn of Zaltia use surnames, whereas middleborn Zaltians are referred to by their place of birth. Lowborn Zaltians have no surname.

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