World of Warcraft®

Taken directly from the article I've written here: http://soe4rp.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/whats-in-a-name/ Debates, other things to add are welcome below. Request as a sticky? :3 And subscribe to the blog!

Sometimes the hardest part of creating a roleplay character is naming them. You've got a personality, a goal, and already imagining what to have them accomplish, but a name? Some people want their character's name to reflect their character's personality or up-bringing. Some want the complete opposite. Some want plain and some want exotic. It's up to individual discretion.

For my characters I went on a variety, but I really like intricate names. Most of them are elves (I've always loved roleplaying elves of any kind.) Khyrienne, my Night Elf druid is a derivative of an elf druid I played in a D&D game named Xyrienne Liadon. Molly, my Blood Elf rogue was influenced by the Mindless Self Indulgence song "Molly" which had been playing when on character creation screen. Lytendrah (Aptly called Ellorah for ease of people butchering the name) was taken from a name my mother had come up with (though Lytendra was the original name, I added the 'h') in a long list of names she used for her own gaming. I could continue down the long (and I do mean long) list, but I digress.

Looking at the race's culture and other names assist greatly and even finding relative cultures in the real world can help. For instance, it seems that the Trolls are greatly influenced by the Hatian and Jamaican cultures, so looking toward that direction for names isn't a bad way to start. Draenei seem to adopt a gypsy, Arabic or even Siberian culture with long vowels in their names. Blood and Night Elves seem to have intricate long names or plays on human names (dare I even say Greko-Roman in nature?).

Here are some useful sites for naming characters. The only other obstacle you'll come across is being sure the name isn't taken already on the server you're playing on. For those cases, using a unique character in the name can help, too! Or slightly altering your choice by a letter.

- Unique Characters: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codealt.html

- Baby naming sites are actually quite advanced and awesome:http://www.babynames.com/index.php

- Specifically for WoW: http://wow.wolfdragon.net/panda-wow-name-generator/

- Gypsy/Romani names for Draenei (or BE's, even): http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/gypsynames.htm

- This one is neat! Not only does it generate names, but it tells you if the name is taken on the server: http://wownamegenerator.com/warcraft-races/worgen

- Elf Names (Hundreds): http://www.rdinn.com/generators/2/elven_name_generator.php

As far as surnames go:

- Blood Elves: Using Blood, Nature, Actions, Adjectives, and the Sun in them. Ex: Sunweaver, Dawnblade, Bloodmourn, Dawnstar.

- Night Elves: Using Nature, the Moon, Actions, and Adjectives. Ex: Moonblade, Silversong, Whisperwind.

- Draenei: Most that I've seen do not seem to have surnames, however the ones I've seen were breathy and seemed Arabic or pertained to nature and actions. Ex: Ishanah, Stonespeaker.

- Trolls: Troll surnames usually go by their tribal last name (Darkspear, Winteraxe) or remark their professions (Bloodrager, Headhunter).

- Human/Forsaken/Worgen: By technicality, they're one in the same.. just one's fine, one's furry, and one's dead. The only difference is that the Stormwind/Lordaeron race also have valor names like Trollsbane or Dragonslayer. Forsaken may take on more vile or magic-related names such as Felweaver. Many Forsaken have chosen to keep their names from their living days. (Some of the Undead are even Elven!) Worgen last names I've found resemble old English (Victorian?) names. Usual surnames like Smith and McKinney are common. If you choose a Spanish surname, their name is considered Haliscan.

- Goblins: They either pertain to nature or money and adjectives or some form of. Ex: Goldglimmer, Avalanche.

- Gnomes: I've found gnomish last names are quite similar in context to goblin names, but they tend to lean towards tinkering or magic or remarks their personality. Ex: Bombtosser, Frostweaver, Blabbermouth.

- Dwarves: Pertain to nature, valor, adjectives, metals, or Scottish-sounding. They also tend to go by clan names, as most Scottsman do as well. Ex: Frostborn, Wildhammer, Rockshaper, Bronzehammer.

- Tauren: Pertaining to nature, their tribes, adjectives, actions, and spirituality. Ex: Spiritwalker, Stonehoof, Thunderhorn.

- Orcs: Unless they are shamanistic, usually their names are of valor and honor of some fearsome deed committed using Blood, Skull, Adjectives, and Actions. The last names can also be part of their ancestry, like Half-Orcen. Some orcs may choose not to even don a surname. Ex: Bloodboil, Skullbreaker, Elfcrusher.

I hope that these sites help you, or at least inspire you toward your character's destined name-- whether it's a call-name or a full one. Enjoy, and keep the RP alive. :)

>> fix'd my post!

And omg I spent an hour on that worgen site xD

04/15/2011 09:41 AMPosted by Sokthuga

These are not the old forums. Reporting for a sticky is a waste of the moderators' time which is why they added a "Request Sticky" button.

I think you (and everyone else) knew what I meant, but edited for clarification. :D

Sticky requested. Love this post!