Terran Names - cultural/ethnic/regional (English-based)

[Paula]

Originally posted by emma
well i spotted an adoptable called Niils on the site - I used to work with a Danish guy called Niils



*Lift's a hand* I created Niils, it's a scandinavian name, sometimes spelled Nils.

I lean heavily on scandinavian names. Rigmor, Axina and Chorel are actual names I've seen people use. (I collect interesting names I come across in papers I handle)
I usually alter the spelling a bit. (Gayla is Paula with letter changes, although I've seen name Kayla used somewhere.) Finnish names make good dragonnames: Jari =Jarith.

Aileyan was originally Aileen, and too terran, Kjarliheth, her dragon's name, comes from Norwegian word meaning love (kjaerlighet)

BTW Lexy, Ariadne is also used as a woman's name in Scandinavia.

Added later:
I also use mythology, M'non and Telemon both come from greek-mythology: M'non->Memnon->Agamemnon, Telemon->Telekhmon.

[PastMember]

Burkina came from a country in Africa (Burkina Faso)

Lywnth is a play on my mother's name, Lynne

Aslyn is a version of Aislynn

Yatya came from the name of a child that was in my two year old class, Yatyn

Melath is a play on a greek family name (Melas)

Kiya is Egyptian, she was a queen at the time of Nefertiti

Rivkah is my Hebrew name (It translates to Rebeckah)

[PastMember]

Late, I know, but I love hearing about names!

Jinya came from Jenny, just because I like that name (and very nearly got named it myself).

And speaking of ethnic names, I'm partial to Russian ones, thus Akim, Savva, and Akim's grandparents Egosha and Evgenia. Avin, a steward I had for a bit was also Russian.

Long ago I had a very sweet girl (hehe) called Ananna. Her name came from Inanna, a Sumerian queen of heaven and a symbol of the destruction of the indestructable. That, in turn, came to my attention several years ago when we very nearly started up a non-Pern PBeM and I was writing for the goddess of Death. Her temple was called Inanna.

Caishat's just a variation on Caitlin, which a good friend (a Jenny herself, actually) often used as a pseudonym.

Anyone ever notice how often the same people who are interested in Pern (and fantasy in general) are also interested in Celtic stuff? Maybe because so much of fantasy seems to be Celtic-inspired. I went to the local Highland games once (I danced...badly...) and half the guys there could pass for LoTR's Legolas. Anyhow. Just a thought.

[PastMember]

*drools*  Wish we had Highland games around here...

[PastMember]

Let's not forget that there's no such thing as an 'original' idea either. I recently submitted a persona who's name turns out is in some Rawn book as well as in Tolkien--neither of which I've read, although I'd admit that since I've seen the movie, I might have heard it there. I'll have to rewatch it.

Oh, I recently saw a Joselyn get approved. Hello...that's Terran. I've a cousin named that.

*G*  Hard to stick to the 'no usey the Terran/common fantasy namey' ain't it?'

~Nici

[PastMember]

I'm my own name generater

Scriber...that one's obvious, he was a long work in progress and had already been introduced in another club before I took him out, and then he lived in my head for quite a while, but he's always been Scriber.

Roana - I liked the word Roan, and I was playing with the letters and moving them around, when I just said :razberry: and stuck an A on the end. :D

Sasima - she ahhh you know I think I started out with a bit of her name that I liked, but I changed it so many times before she was submitted that I can't remember anything about it. But it just stuck, and it works.

I love baby name books though. I found Dante and Case and all these other ones it there. I'm using those for a Stalker (he's a tall kangaroo/dog type thingy sona named Dante, but only after he's died) and then Case was my betta, but he died :sniffle:.

I made a list one time...O! I have to remember to return my library books cause now I want to go over some baby name books, Squee...

[PastMember]

Here's you a funny, Nici, on the fantasy-book issue.

Actually two.

Many moons ago, when I was still rather new to pbeming, it took me FIVE tries to come up with a name the Persona Approver at that club (no, not Ridges, they weren't that strict) didn't associate with some fantasy novel.  I'd have to say the woman had a mind like a steel trap for character names!!!

And in the funnier vein, I'm reading a novel by David B. Coe, and in one of the Prologue type chapters, the character has a lover named... Renelle.  I read that section in major amusement, since the name's an ex-persona of mine.

Truly original names in fantasy are probably next to impossible.  Eventually someone will like the look or sound of the syllables you chose at random, and viola! *g*


Oh - and a wonderful source of "Terran Names" that can be used in fantasy endeavors:  http://www.webnursery.com/  Sometimes I feel for the kids who have to learn to spell and pronounce those names!

[PastMember]

Can't believe I forgot Raederle... I stole Raederle's name out of a book I read by Patricia McKillip :halo:. A very cliche character. A princess, red-haired, 'fiery', and the second-most beautiful woman in the country to boot! Wow, what an original character!

And a friend of mine made up Ranali's name. I, the unoriginal, asked her for inspiration. She asked for three consonants and two vowels, and Ranali was born. My next persona name is also invented by her. I just do not have an imagination. :confused: I think the only persona I have whose name I actually made up is K'far.

I also know a Joselyn, Nici. And it's funny how many variations of Teressa are in the club - Tarissca, Tarissa, Taressa (a very nice persona at OCH-BH - oh, how fun it would be to write for a female apprentice with Dyrbehersker, no?)

[Yvonne]

I didn't know that Jari was a RL name at all! I named Jarri that because... I forget why. It's also the name of the Hittite God of Disease, IIRC. Poor girl!

Kellwyn and Danu *are* celtic, or variations thereof. *g*

Firsa is a reincarnation of one of my first characters, and IIRC her name was based on the word 'fire'.

Gilas I had trouble coming up with. I think it was origionally based on 'Gilbert' which is an awful name, but somehow stuck. :P

And there are a lot of Terissa's! And an 'Yvonne' variation, which I think is awesome. ;) And one 'Sarah' that I know of (Tsaera).

I'm coming up a blank for the rest of my persoans at the moment, though!

[PastMember]

I have a confession...any printed word is instant inspiration to me for a persona...sometimes to their detriment...

Kohler--you know, the faucets. Trilby caught this one! Poor man--and then I had to work backwards and pick out the family names etc...Leralira somehow lucked out...

Auren--Got that off the spine of some book that was on my scanner at the time...lol...

Lantha--derived from one of my really bad (as in evil) characters from my LKH chat rpg days.

Voltar--'He' said it sounded cool...and I was into 'v' and 'x' and 'z' names that day....and I'd just re-read an old DAW classic, Vazkor, Son of Vazkor by Tanith Lee...lol...so I REALLY had to buy a 'V' that day! ;)

N'klos--before Impression was Nikolos...derived from Nicholas, obviously. Very common name for a very uncommon persona...*g*

~Nici

[PastMember]

Here's a great one. While I know that Camilia is a somewhat common name I kinda thought that it suited my persona.

It wasn't until last week I found out that one of the evil goats (she used to knock me over when I was 4 by head butting my on my butt) that my aunt used to have was named Camilia.

That's really strange. The other goat was named after some type of liquor. Don't remember which though.

[PastMember]

We were flipping through a baby name book today, trying to name my kitten when I started to notice that a few (not a lot) of Anne McCaffery's characters' names appeared in the book.

Miriam in particulatr stood out. Apparently it means "Bitter" that gave me a good laugh.

[PastMember]

Which just goes to show that even Miss McCaffrey has to start somewhere. :D I always got the feeling that she made up some of the names from the first book when she was in full-fantasy mode and then, when she went back to actually write about the first landing, had to deal with having some weird names for regular Earth people, since as far as I can tell Sorka isn't a very common name.

[PastMember]

Karaya, comes from my email adress and a book I am in the process of writing. Ita just Araya witha K added.blush:

Zial is a name I made up for a diffrent book series I am writing. It just Popped out onto my notes one day. Go figure.:dunce: