Uncle Lloyd's Tips and Tricks:

Giving Characters Foreign Names

- by Jeff Yxaus

The general goal of this document is to provide accurate foreign names that are moderately familiar to Americans. Sure, "Uwe" might be an accurate German male name, but who's going to remember that? Or the French name "Rogatien"? On the other hand, Americans can remember "Frederick" and "Georges". Lots of Celtic names look like gibberish (and aren't pronounced like Americans think they look), but "Angus" and "Neal" and "Owen" are a breeze.

However, there are some cases where you can't avoid trouble. Lots of Roman names (and almost all Japanese, Arabic, and Turkish names) will not stick well in American brains, but such is life.

Several countries in the game world don't have a single parallel. For instance, Ragnorack is a country of emigrants or their descendants, and should pick from among the German, Scandinavian, and Scottish lists. Delona, Roudoigne, Valenne, and Tamplonia also straddle Earthly cultures.

As always, if you've got a name you think belongs on this list, please e-mail me! Many of these categories (e.g. female Japanese names) are sadly deficient.

Which Countries Use Which Names?

Allondell		English
Bilgosh		southern European
Cadfaigh		Scottish (Caelti would use Celtic)
Chardreau		French
Delona		Italian (Thanae would use Greek)
Iñarra		Spanish
Kiljukan		Turkish
Kislevia		German
Kjolnir		Scandinavian
Linneraigh		Celtic
Marakhin		Arabic
Ragnorack		German, Scottish, or Scandinavian
Roudoigne		French
Tamplonia		Spanish or French
Valenne		French or English
Yamamoto		Japanese
Zdunarova		Russian
Sturian		Roman

English

You're an American, so this should be obvious.
(If your head is not working, consult the naming Web sites listed above.)

French

male: Adrien Andre (AHN-dray) Antoine (an-TWAHN) Armand (arr-MOND) Arnaud (ar-NOH) Camille (cah-MEEL) Charles (SHARL) Claude Denis (denn-EE) Etienne (ett-ee-ENN) Georges (ZHOR-zhess) Guillaume (ghee-OHM) Guy (GHEE) Jacques Jean (ZHAHN). (Plus Jean-Paul, Jean-Luc, Jean-Marc, etc.) Jerome Julien Louis (loo-EE) Luc Marc Maximilian Michel (mee-SHELL) Paul Pierre Rene (ren-AY) Roland Simon (see-MONE) Yves (sounds like "eaves")

female: Adeline (ah-deh-LEEN) Anne Antoinette (an-twahn-ETT) Aurore (arr-ORR) Catherine Celine (seh-LEEN) Charlotte Clarisse Desiree (deh-see-RAY) Diane (dee-AHN) Fleurette (floor-ETT) Genevieve Isabelle Jacqueline (zhack-eh-LEEN) Jeanne (ZHAN) Josephine (zho-seh-FEEN) Lucille Madeleine Marguerite (mar-ger-EET) Marie Michelle Mirabelle Nicolette Suzanne Sybille (seh-BEEL) Therese (teh-REZZ) Yvette (ee-VETT)

note that many French female names are male names with an extra "-e" on the end, e.g. Julienne, Simonne, Bertrande, Jeanne. This moves the stress to the last syllable of the name.

Celtic

The following are strictly Celtic names -- note that most residents of Hesket's Gaeldic lands use the Anglicized ("Bridget" instead of "Brigid", "Angus" instead of "Oengus", "David" instead of "Dafyd") versions instead. Many of these can be found in the separate "Scottish" list.

For men, the father's name plus "Mac" (son of) is common as a clan name or "last name". e.g. Finn MacCormack (Finn, son of Cormac) or Ciaran MacGryfydd. The Welsh also use "ap" instead of "mac".

male: Angus Arthur Bedevere Ciaran/Kieran (KEER-ann) Cormac Dafydd/David (DAHFF-idd) Evan/Ewan/Ieuan Finn Gryfydd (GRIFF-ith)/Griffith Harry/Henry Hugh/Huw Iestyn (YEST-inn) Jenkin Lewis Liam Llewellyn (historically "thew-ELL-enn", but often "loo-ELL-enn" in America) Madoc/Madog Masric Morris Niall/Neal Owen Padraig (PARR-ick)/Patrick Reese/Rhys/Rice Richard Roderic/Rudderch/Rydderch Sean (SHAWN) Walter

female: Alína Agnes/Annes/Nest Bloduedd (BLODD-weth or BLODD-wed) Blodwyn (BLODD-winn) Boudicca (boo-DICK-ah) Brigid (BRIGG-idd) Gwenhyfar (GWEN-hiff-arr)/Gwen Eleanor/Elynor/Elenor Gladis/Gwladyse/Gwladus Gwyneth Joan/Jane/Jenet Mabel Maeve Maud/Maude Nia (NEE-ah) Sian (SHAHN) Sinéad (shinn-ADE) Siobhan (shih-VAHN)

Scottish

see also: the Celtic list (many of these names are Anglicized/modernized versions of Celtic names), and the English list (many English names are popular, especially among Lowlanders).

male: Angus Connor David Duncan Hugh Ian/Ewan James/Hamish Malcolm William

female: Agnes Alice Alison Amy Annabelle Anne Bridget Christina Eleanor Ellen Elizabeth Elspeth Emma Gwen Helen Isabel Jane Janet Joan Laurie Katherine Margaret Maud/Maude Meg Marion Violet

Scandinavian

male: Anders Bjorn Erik Frederick Hans Henrik (HEN-rick) Jakob (YAH-kobb) Jan (YAHN) Jens (YENSS) Johan (YO-hann) Karl Knut (KNOOT; you do pronounce the K) Lars (LARSS, rhymes with "farce") Matias (mat-EE-ahss) Nils Olaf Rolf Ruben Tor

female: Anette (ann-ETT-teh) Anna Astrid Berta Christa Eva Heidi Hildegard Ingrid Karin Kristine (kris-TEEN-neh) Louise (loo-EE-seh) Marianne (mah-ree-AHN-neh) Matilde (mah-TILL-deh) Signe (SIG-neh)

German

male: Andreas (ahn-DRAY-ahs) Arnold Augustein (OW-goose-stine) Bernhard Clemens Conrad Dietrich Frederich Gerhard Gregor Gunther Hans Jakob (YAH-cobb) Johann (YOH-hahn) Klaus (rhymes with "mouse", not "paws") Leopold Martin Mathias (mah-TEE-ahs) Otto Rudolf Ruprecht Siegfried Sigmund Steffan Wilhelm (VILL-helm) Wolfgang (VOLF-gang)

female: Agnes Anne (AHN-neh) Claudia Elfie Else (ELL-seh) Elsebeth (ELL-seh-beth) Gertrud Grede (GRAY-deh) Gretchen Heidi Hilda Hildegard Katerina Katherin (CAHT-er-EEN) Margrethe (marr-GRAY-teh) Mina Sandra

Italian

male: Alessandro Antonio Carlo Dominic Francesco Giovanni Giulio (JOO-lee-oh) Giuseppe (jih-SEPP-ee) Leonardo Marco Mario Matteo (mah-TAY-oh) Niccolo Paolo (POW-loh) Salvatore Sebastiano Stefano Vincenzo (vin-CHEN-zoh)

female: Alessandra Anastasia Andrea (ahn-DRAY-ah) Angela Antonia Bartolomea (bar-toh-loh-MAY-ah) Bella Catalina Caterina Cicilia Clara Cristina Diana (dee-AHN-ah) Filippa (fill-EE-pah) Flora Francesca (fran-CHESS-kah) Gianetta (jon-ETT-ah) Giovanna Giuliana (joo-lee-AHN-ah) Isabetta Joanna Lena Leonarda Lisa Lisabetta Lorenza Lucia Lucrezia (loo-KREET-see-ah) Luisa Madelena Magdalena Margherita Maria Marsilia Martinella Pia Paula Sandra Serena Simona Stella

Greek

The trouble with most ancient Greek names is that you either sound like a philosopher (Euclides), or the name is from common myth and is obviously inappropriate (Heracles). Many of the names below are used today in Greece. Spellings and pronunciation have been Anglicized for convenience.

male: Alexander Christos Constantine Dimitri Jason Justin Nicholas Nikos Panayiotis Pandelis Stephanos Spyros Thanasi Theodore Yannos/Ioannis Yeorgi/Giorgos

female: Angeliki Athena/Athina Calliope/Kaliope Chrisoula Daphne Diana Helen Katina

The suffixes "-opoulos" and "-ides" mean "son of", and will crop up for family names.

Spanish

male: Agustin Alonso Alvaro Andrés Antón Antonio Baltasar Bartolomé (bar-TOH-loh-MAY) Bernardino Carlos Cristóbal Diego Domingo Esteban Felipe Francisco Gabriel (gah-bree-ELL) Gonzalo Hernando Jaime (HIGH-may) Juan Lope (LOH-pay) Lorenzo Luis Manuel Marcos Martín Mateo (mah-TAY-oh) Miguel Pedro Rodrigo Sebastian Simón (see-MOAN) Tomas

female: Ana Antonia Beatriz Catalina Constanza Francisca Inés Isabel Juana Juliana Leonor Lucia Luisa Magdalena Margarita Maria Mariana Marina Teresa

Russian/Northern Slavic

male: Aleksandr Aleksei Anatoly Andrei Anna Bartolomei Boris Damian Danil David Denis Feliks Feodor/Fyodor Filipp Georgi Grigori Igor Ilya Ivan Konstantin Lev Mikhail Sergei Tomas Viktor Yakov/Yakob Yulian Yuri

female: Aleksandra Anastasia Daria Ekaterina (yeh-kaht-er-EE-nah)/Katya Franciscka Galina Irina Karolina Larisa Lucia Marina Marta Natalya Olga Sofia Tatiana Yelena

southern Slavic

We recommend you search Google for Croatian names, Hungarian names, Romanian names, and so on.

Turkish

Note: these names are written in the normal Latin alphabet and don't have any of the vital diacriticals:

male: Abdullah Ahmet Ali Gengis Iskender Ismail Jeyhan Kemal Kenan Mehmet Mustafa Omar Osman Sami Suleyman Yusuf Zeki

female: Ayda Berna Betul Fatma Ferda Guler Gulsen Imge Lale Melek Merve Mizgin Mutlu Nazmiye Nevin Nevin Neylan Rahsan Ruya Sabiya Selin Serra Tansu Tulin Turkhan Yesim Zekiye Zumrut

Arabic

Rather than reproduce a big long list of names, we'd recommend you search Google for baby names sites.

Japanese

Only nobles and samurai have both a personal name and a family name; commoners have only a personal name. Remember that the family name is given before the personal name.

Pronunciation:

a	"ah"
e	"eh"
i	"ee"
o	"oh"
u	"oo"
ai	"eye"
ao	"ow" as in "cow"
ei	"ay"
g	always hard as in "get", not as in "gin"

Personal Names

Male names often end in "-ro" (meaning "son" and "clear, bright") or "-ta" (meaning "great"), or contain "ichi" (meaning "first son"). Also common are "ji" ("second son") or "dai" ("great, large"). Female names often end in "-ko" ("child"), "-mi" ("beauty"), or "-ka" ("perfume" or "flower".

female:

Ayako	Chuujoo	Fujitsubo	Himiko	Hiroko	Junko	Keiko
Kokiden	Mariko	Michiko	Mizuho	Myoobu	Sachiko	Sei
Toshiko	Ukon	Yoko	Yoshiko

male:

Amane	Ansai	Antei	Arinori	Aritomo	Azumamaro	Bunjiroo
Fumimaro	Genji	Gennai	Gentaku	Hakuseki	Hidesato	Hidetada
Hideyori	Hideyoshi	Hiko	Hirobumi	Hirosato	Hiroyuki	Hokusai
Ieharu	Iemitsu	Ienari	Ienobu	Iesada	Ieshige	Ietsugu
Ieyasu	Ikku	Iware	Kagekatsu	Kaoru	Kei	Kenshin
Kiichiro	Kiseki	Koki	Kokushi	Konyoo	Kowashi	Mabuchi
Manabu	Masahiro	Masamune	Masanao	Masatoshi	Masayoshi	Masayoshi
Masujiroo	Michinaga	Mitsukuni	Mitsusuke	Mochiuji	Mokunami	Munetada
Nagamasa	Naojiroo	Naosuke	Nariaki	Nobuaki	Nobuhiro	Nobumasa
Nobunaga	Norinaga	Sadanobu	Sakae	Sakuzoo	Sanai	Seika
Sen	Shihei	Shikibu	Shimpei	Shundai	Sorai	Sumidata
Sumitomo	Tadahiko	Tadataka	Taishi	Taisuke	Takauji	Tatsukichi
Terumoto	Tetsu	Tokimune	Tomomi	Toshiaki	Toshiie	Tsunayoshi
Tsuyoshi	Utamaro	Yamato	Yorinaga	Yoriyuki	Yoshiaki	Yoshimitsu
Yoshimune	Yoshinobu	Yoshiyasu	Yukichi	Yuko

 

Family Names

Asano	Akechi	Ando	Anteko	Date	Ejima	Fujiewara
Fukuoka	Fukuzawa	Hanawa	Hayashi	Hashimoto	Heike	Hikaru
Hirata	Hitotsubashi	Imagawa	Inoue	Isshiki	Itagaki	Ishida
Iwakura	Jimboo	Kada	Kasuga	Katayama	Katoo	Kawade
Kita	Konishi	Konoe	Kurozumi	Maeda	Matsudaira	Matsuo
Minamoto	Minobe	Mizuno	Mori	Muromachi	Natsuka	Nishi
Nishida	Nishimura	Oda	Ogata	Ookawa	Oomura	Ooshio
Ootomo	Oouchi	Ryuuzooji	Saigoo	Sano	Satomi	Seiwa
Seki	Sekka	Shiba	Soejima	Soga	Suwa	Taira
Taisei	Takano	Takeda	Tanuma	Terashima	Toki	Tokugawa
Toyotomi	Uesugi	Ukita	Yamaga	Yamagata	Yamana	Yanagizawa

Roman

Roman names consist of a praenomen or forename and a nomen or name. Further names may be added at the end. In general, a person is addressed by both names except by his closest friends, who would use just the praenomen.

Praenomen (male)

Aulus
Gaius
Gnaeus
Decimus
Lucius
Marcus
Publius
Quintus
Servius
Sextus

Nomen (male)

Aelius
Aemilius
Aquilius
Caecilius
Calpurnius
Cassius
Claudius
Cornelius
Domitius
Fabius
Fulvius
Furius
Horatius
Julius
Junius
Licinius
Livius
Lutatius
Manlius
Marcius
Papirius
Plautius
Porcius
Quinctius
Sempronius
Servilius
Sulpicius
Terentius
Tullius
Valerius
Verginus