Tag Archives: beyond fred

Beyond ‘Fred’: Names for Victorian Games

Posted on 6 November 2011 | 1 Comment

Everyone has trouble coming up with character names, at least occasionally. Especially GMs, who frequently have to come up with names on the spur of the moment. That’s what this series, “Beyond ‘Fred’” is all about: providing lists of names from other times and cultures so you can find a name that feels right for the time and place of your game.

In this series, I’m more interested in finding names that capture the feel of various game settings. Historical accuracy is not a factor here. In the spirit of my new Castle Falkenstein campaign, here’s a list of names common in Victorian England and America:

Male Names

Aaron
Alonzo
Ambrose
Barnabas
Bartholomew
Bernard
Byron
Cecil
Cyril
Clarence
Clement (Clem)
Clinton (Clint)
David
Edward (Ned)
Edwin
Eldon
Ernest
Ezra
Francis
Franklin
Fredrick
Gabriel
Garrett
Harland
Harrison
Henry
Horace
Isaac
James
John
Jasper
Julian
Lawrence
Leander
Louis
Maurice
Maxwell
Merriweather
Micajah
Morris
Nathaniel (Nate, Nathan, Nat)
Nimrod
Oral
Orville
Patrick
Perry
Peter
Reuben
Richard (Dick, Rich)
Samuel
Simeon
Thaddeus
Thomas (Tom)
Victor
Walter
Wilfred

Female Names

Abigail (Abby)
Agnes
Beatrice
Charity
Charlotte
Chastity
Constance
Dorothy (Dot)
Elizabeth (Bess, Betsy, Bessie, Eliza, Liza, Lizzie)
Eudora
Eva
Fern
Fidelia
Frances
Flora
Geneve
Genevieve
Grace
Hattie
Helene
Hester
Irene
Ivy
Jessamine
Josephine
Judith
Katherine
Lenora
Letitia
Lily
Lottie
Margaret
Maude
Mercy
Minerva
Molly
Nellie
Patsy
Parthena
Permelia
Phoebe
Rowena
Rufina
Sarah
Sarah Anne (Sarah Elizabeth)
Sophronia
Theodosia
Victoria
Winnifred (Winnie)

Biblical names were very popular in the Victorian Era, as were virtues (such as Chastity or Hope), and flowers (primarily for women). Both boys and girls were also given “nature” names, such as Forrest, Fern

Sources

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Beyond “Fred”: More Anglo-Saxon Names

Posted on 24 September 2011 | 1 Comment

You can’t have a character without a name. Yet, sometimes, creating the name is the hardest thing about making a character. “Beyond ‘Fred’” is a series that lists names from history and other cultures to help you find that perfect character name.

This time, we’re covering Anglo-Saxon names again, they’re just that cool. I’m doing something I haven’t done before in this series, and that’s giving some pronunciation guides, along with the name’s meaning. That’s because Anglo-Saxon names have meanings that are so perfect for fantasy games. My pronunciations may not be exactly perfect, but they’ll work for fantasy games.

Because of that, I’ve repeated some of my favorite names from the first Anglo-Saxon names post, so that you have an idea of how to pronounce them. Of course, if it’s fantasy, you can pronounce these any way you want to .

As always, I am more concerned with “flavor” than historical accuracy. So, without further ado….

Male Names

Æðelbald (A-thel-bald): nobly bright
Ælfhere (Alf-he-re. These are short “e”s, as in “red”): elf warrior
Ælfred (Alf-red): elf counsel
Ælfwine (Alf-win-e): elf friend
Æthelwulf (A-thel-wülf): noble wolf
Arlys (AR-loos): honorable
Baldric (Bald-ric): bold power
Banan (BAN-an): slayer
Baylor (BAA-oo-lore): horse trainer
Beorhtraed (BE-ore-tread. Short “e”, like “bed”): bright counsel
Betlic (BET-lick): Splendid
Boden (BO-den. With a short “o”, like “pot”): messenger
Cædmon (CAD-mon. With a short “o”, like “pot”): poet
Cæna (CHAIN-a): brave, fierce, keen, warlike
Canute (KA-noot-e): knot
Cedric (CHED-rick): renown leader
Dægal (DA-gall): dweller by the dark stream
Deogol (DE-o-gol): secret
Deorwine (DE-or-win-e): dear friend
Drefan (DRE-van): trouble
Eadmar (E-ad-mar): happy and illustrious
Earh (E-are): coward
Edwyn (ED-woon): valued
Faran (FAR-ann): advances
Firman (FIR-man): traveler
Frithuric (FRI-thu-rick): peace ruler
Fyren (FOO-ren): wicked
Galan (Gaa-laan): sing
Gar (GAAR): spear
Gifre (GIF-re. Short “i”, like “gift”): greedy
Gim (GIM. Short “i”, like “gift”): gem
Godwine (GOD-win-e): God’s friend
Grindan (GRIN-dan): sharp
Halwende (HALL-wen-de): lonely
Hengist (HEN-yist): stallion
Ida (ID-a): rich
Irwyn (IRR-woon): sea lover
Kenric (KEN-rick): fearless leader
Landry (LAN-dree): ruler
Leodgar (LE-odd-gar): people’s spear
Lufian (LUV-ee-an): love
Magan (MA-gan): competent
Merwyn (MER-woon): good friend
Nyle (NOO-le): desire
Osbeorn (OS-beh-arn): divine bear
Rædan (RAW-dan): advisor
Raynar (RA-oo-nar): warrior of judgement
Raulf (RA-ulf): house wolf
Rowe (Rah-we): red-haired
Sar (SAR): pain
Scead (SKE-ad): shade
Scur (SKOOR): storm
Seleferth (SELL-e-ferrth): hall life
Selwyn (SEL-woon): fitting friend
Sherard (SER-ard): glorious valor. I’m guessing this is actually “Serard”, since I’ve never seen an “sh” sound in true Anglo-Saxon. It’s usually a modern interpretation
Sigefried (SIG-e-fri-ed): conquering peace
Temman (TEM-man): tame
Þunor (THOO-nar): thunder
Thurgis (THOOR-yis): Thor’s hostage
Wassa (WAS-sa): satyr(?)–uncertain about the exact meaning of this
Wilfrith (WIL-frith): resolute peace (my actual guess would be “stern friend”)
Winfrith (WIN-frith): friend of peace
Wulfric (WÜL-frick): wolf ruler

Female Names

Æðelþryð (A-thel-throoth): noble threatener
Ælfgifu (ALF-gi-voo): elf gift
Ælflæd (ALF-lad): elf beauty
Æryn (AR-oon): elf-like
Ardith (AR-dith): good war
Bemia (BEH-mih-a): battle maiden
Bysen (BOO-sen): unique
Cate (KA-te): innocent
Cendra (KEN-dra): knowledgeable, understands
Cwen (KE-wen): queen
Cyneburga (KOO-ne-burr-ga): pledge of kindred
Darel (DAR-el): little beloved
Eadhild (E-ad-hild. The first “e” is a short e): rich battle maid
Eadlin (E-ad-lin): princess
Edita (E-dit-a): joyful
Eldrita (ELD-rit-a): prudent advisor
Erna (ER-na): reserved, shy
Faina (FA-in-a): joyful
Frithuswith (FRI-thoos-with. Both “i”s are short): peace strength
Gisa (GI-sa): hostage
Hreða (HRE-tha. The “hr” is an unvoiced r. Say ‘H’, then ‘r’ very quickly): an Anglo-Saxon goddess
Hrothwyn (HROTH-woon. The “hr” is an unvoiced r. Say ‘H’, then ‘r’ very quickly): famous joy
Leola (LE-ola. The “o” is short, like in “pot”): deer, swift (as a deer)
Maéda (Ma-ee-da): maiden
Mildryth (MILLED-rooth): mild pledge
Muriel (Muh-ri-el): myrrh, perfumed
Ora (AH-rah): money
Orfa (AH-fah): courageous
Rowena (RAW-en-a): white skirt
Synne (SOON-ne): gift of the sun
Wilona (WILL-ahn-a): hoped for
Ymma (OOM-ma): work

[Image courtesy of micronova via Flickr Creative Commons]

Sources

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Beyond “Fred”: German Names for Characters

Posted on 12 July 2011 | Leave a comment

This time I’m covering German names. As always, I’m selecting these for use in fantasy games, so many of these names may be archaic or uncommon.

[Photo courtesy of kevindooley via Flickr Creative Commons 2.0]

Male Names

Abelard
Adalbert
Alban
Alwin
Baldric
Berndt
Burkhard
Carsten
Dagmar
Detlef
Dierk
Eber
Etzel
Ewald
Fastred
Feirefiz
Ferdi
Gairovald
Garrit
Gerd
Gisil
Gundrun
Hagan
Hartwin
Heilgar
Hroda
Ingo
Isidor
Ivo
Kai
Kasimir
Kayetan
Kilian
Korbinian
Körbl
Lanzo
Lennart
Lothar
Malger
Markus
Marwin
Meine
Merten
Odo
Othmar
Poldi
Quirin
Raban
Raimund
Reto
Ruedi
Seppel
Severin
Sigi
Tancred
Thorben
Tielo
Traugott
Ulrich
Urs
Volker
Waldemar
Wendelin
Wenzel
Wolfram
Yvo

Female Names

Adelina
Aleida
Aloisia
Beate
Bettina
Bruna
Cäcilie
Conradine
Corina
Dörthe
Ebbe
Elfriede (Elfie)
Emlin
Erna
Frauke
Gerde
Gerlinde
Gisela
Gudrun
Heike
Helma
Hiltrud
Ilma
Imke
Imme
Ishild
Jana
Kasimira
Kinge
Kirsa
Kunigunde
Lene
Liesa
Liesel
Loreley
Magda
Malwine
Maike
Mareike
Maja
Marlis
Nadja
Nele
Oda
Odelia
Ottila
Raimunde
Renate
Ria
Rike
Roswitha
Salida
Senta
Sidonia
Silke
Tabea
Thekla
Thora
Valeska
Verena
Vreni
Wiebke
Zenzi
Ziska

German Surnames

Abt
Amsel
Bader
Bauer
Baum
Beike
Daecher
Duerr
Eichel
Engal
Faerber
Fiedler
Foerster
Fruehauf
Gaertner
Gersten
Grunewald
Hoch
Holtzmann
Hueber
Jaeger
Kalb
Kappel
Klein
Kluge
Koch
Koenig
Lang
Lehrer
Luft
Metzger
Moench
Nacht
Nadel
Oster
Pfaff
Reiniger
Ritter
Sankt
Schreiber
Schuster
Seiler
Theiss
Traugott
Trommler
Urner
Vogt
Wannemaker
Wirth
Zweig

Sources

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Beyond ‘Fred’: Ancient Egyptian Names

Posted on 13 August 2010 | 1 Comment

Sometimes the hardest part of building a character is coming up with a good name. You can always take a name from Tolkien or other fantasy novels, but you’ve seen those names over and over and you want something a little different, but not way out there. How about an historical name? Or one from a different culture? So far in this series, we’ve covered Roman, Russian, Italian, and Anglo-Saxon names. If none of these suit you, how about an Ancient Egyptian one?

Ancient Egyptian Name Structure

Names in ancient Egypt seen to have been chosen with great care for their meaning. Many contained the name of a god, as well as common words or phrases and could be used by either men or women. In some cases, as needed for identification, a person might be known by two names: one as their formal name and another, which was what they were called most of the time.

As with all posts in this series, the list here isn’t intended to be historically accurate. It’s merely providing suggestions for use with role-playing games. If historical accuracy is important, you’ll want to check your name against reliable historical records.

(Photo courtesy of Flickr, ©isawnyu 2010)

Male Names

Abi
Ahmose
Amenemhet
Ahmose
Bes
Den
Djet
Hekanakht
Heru
Horemheb
Kamose
Menes
Metesouphis
Nebnefer
Neferirkare
Padiu
Pakamen
Pakapu
Panhsj
Seti
Siptah
Ti

Female Names

Achotep
Ahori
Amenirdis
Beset
Cena
Henut
Hetepet
Iutenheb
Khentkaus
Meritnit
Mutemwia
Mutnodjmet
Naunakht
Nefertari
Nitocris
Nithotep
Peseshet
Rennefer
Sacmis
Sekhet
Senen
Sobkneferu
Taiemniut
Tawaret

Sources

Beyond “Fred”: Anglo-Saxon Names for Characters

Posted on 22 July 2010 | 1 Comment

Finding a good name is sometimes the hardest part of designing an NPC. You want something more exotic than “Fred the Fighter”, but “Frewxyque the Grand Thunder Duke” becomes too hard to say with a straight face after the first first time. Baby name books can help, but some of the best names come from real-world sources. Beyond ‘Fred’ is a series that lists names from various sources broken down by region and/or time period.

We’re doing Anglo-Saxon names this time. Some of these names are still in use, but others are as unusual as any gamer-made names. As usual, I’ve separated them out into male and female names.

Name Structure

Historically, Anglo-Saxons had no surnames as we would think of them. Sometimes, a person (usually aristrocracy) would be identified by a trait or play on words (Aethylred the Unready, for example) or by a connection to a famous ancestor. If your game setting requires a character to have more than one name, you can always use a place name (“of Meadowbrook”), a profession name (“Smith” or “the Baker”), or “son/daughter of” and a parent’s name (“Oswynson”).

Note: many Anglo-Saxon names use the letter “eth” (Ð, ð). Since I’m not concerned with historical accuracy here, I’ve substituted “th” for any eth in the names below.

(Photo courtesy of Flickr, ©Snake3yes 2006)

Male Names

Acwellen
Aethelred
Aethelwulf
Aheawan
Badanoth
Baldred
Beornric
Caedmon
Cælin
Cenhelm
Ceolwulf
Cuthen
Delwyn
Denewulf
Eadfrid
Eadric
Eanlac
Elwyn
Fremund
Frithulaf
Godfrith
Grimbald
Guthred
Hardred
Hereric
Horik
Horsa
Idmaer
Ingwulf
Irminric
Leofric
Liudolf
Merewald
Morcar
Ordmaer
Osred
Oswyn
Raedfrid
Rægenhere
Reduald
Romund
Saeward
Selred
Sigeric
Sighere
Stithwulf
Swithun
Theodgar
Thrydwulf
Thunor
Trumwin
Turec
Waldere
Wihtlac
Yric
Wulfhere

Female Names

Aerlene
Aethelthryth
Alduulf
Alodia
Anlienisse
Baldeth
Beadohild
Bregusuid
Burwena
Ceolwynn
Cynethryth
Cynwise
Domneva
Eadwynn
Eanfled
Eanwin
Eoforwine
Frigyth
Godwyna
Golderon
Hendina
Hild (or Hilda)
Hrotsvitha
Mildgyth
Modthryth
Oslafa
Osthryd
Rimilda
Roswitha
Saewynn
Somerild
Sunngifu
Tonild
Tortgith
Turgiua
Wenyld
Winfrith
Wulfrun
Wulfwynn
Wynflead

Sources

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Beyond ‘Fred’: Italian Names for Characters

Posted on 12 February 2010 | 2 Comments

Image by cloudsoup via Flickr

Tired of games where all the characters are named Ariel or Thorin? What a character name that sounds distinctive but not too far out? What about using a real-world name? Perhaps something historical or from another culture. In earlier editions of Beyond Fred, I covered Roman and Russian names. But what if you want something more fluid or lyrical sounding? Perhaps an Italian name will fit the bill.

Italian Name Structure

Like most Western names, Italian names are comprised of a first name followed by a last name, usually the father’s name. According to Wikipedia, occasionally in official documents the last name will be listed first.

Pronouncing Italian names can be a little tricky. Pronunciation of Italian names has a search box where you can enter a name and listen to the correct pronunciation. You can also find detailed information on pronouncing Italian names at Roma Interactive.

These are by no means historically accurate. These lists are intended to be used for gaming where historical accuracy isn’t as important as how a name sounds.

Italian Names

Male Names

Abaco
Acario
Addo
Agosto
Arrone
Balderico
Beltramo
Casimiro
Clodoveo
Dalmazio
Ercole
Fedele
Giacomo
Lorenzo
Lothario
Marcello
Massimo
Orazio
Pino
Raffaele
Raul
Rinaldo
Rodolfo
Salvetore
Serafino
Serge
Severino
Tancredo
Vencentio
Vittore
Zanipolo

Female Names

Acilia
Altea
Aniela
Assunta
Benigna
Bibiana
Casilda
Chiara
Damiana
Donata
Esta
Fiammetta
Fiorella
Ghita
Giacinta
Isabella
Jolanda
Lucia
Marsala
Mia
Perla
Rosabla
Sidonia
Sienna
Tessa
Vani
Varanese
Venitia
Vittoria
Zita
Zola

Surnames

Bianchi
Cavallo
Contadino
de Luca
di Genova
Esposito
Forni
La Porta
Martelli
Montagna
Mosca
Rossi
Selvaggio
Tenagila
Trovato
Volpe

Sources

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Beyond ‘Fred’: Russian Names for Characters

Posted on 6 November 2009 | 4 Comments

Russian Nesting Dolls

Sometimes the hardest part of building a character is coming up with a good name. You can always take a name from Tolkien or other fantasy novels, but you’ve seen those names over and over and you want something a little different, but not way out there. How about an historical name? Or one from a different culture? In the first “Beyond ‘Fred’” post, I covered Roman names. If Roman names aren’t your cup of tea, how about Russian ones?

[Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/ / CC BY 2.0]

Russian Name Structure

Russian names are complex, as many people have not only a given name but also several nicknames, based on the their relationship with the speaker. Because of this, I’m using a very simplified Russian naming method.

In general, Russian names consist of two elements: a given name and a patronymic. Russian patronymic names are based on the father’s given name, with a ending that depends on the character’s sex:

-ov for a man, -ova for woman

So Boris, son of Ivan would be Boris Ivanov. Ivan’s daughter Susan would be Susan Ivanova. Women usually retain their own last names, even after they’re married. There is an exception to this — if the person is a member of the ruling class, the ending is different:

-vitch for a man, -vitcha for a woman.

If the father’s name ends in a consonant, add the ending becomes -ovitch or -ovitcha. So Boris, the son of Ivan who’s a prince would be Boris Ivanovitch and Susan would be Ivanovitcha.

For a really good, in depth coverage of creating a Russian patronymic, see Paul Goldschidt’s Dictionary of Russian Names — Grammer.

List of Names

This also includes nicknames based on the given names, where I know them.

Male Names

Alexandr (Sasha, Shurik, Alex)
Alexei
Arkady
Boris
Budimir
Busla
Dmitri (Dima, Dimka)
Erema
Fedor
Fyodor
Georgi
Grigory (Grisha)
Ilya
Ivan (Vanya)
Kirill
Lev
Login
Mikhail (Misha/Mika)
Petr
Sergei
Solovei
Roman
Vasily (Vashya)
Vladimir (Vova)
Viktor (Vitya)
Vyslav
Yuri

Female Names

Anastasia
Darya
Ekatarina (Katya)
Eugenia (Zhenya)
Irina
Katarina
Marya
Maya
Nataliya (Natasha)
Olga
Sofia
Svetlana (Svetla)
Titania
Vasilia
Yana
Zhanna

Sources:

Paul Goldschmidt’s Dictionary of Russian Names – Grammar
Russian Boy Names
Russian Girl Names
Russian Names

Beyond ‘Fred’: Roman Names for Characters

Posted on 5 October 2009 | 6 Comments

<div xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" about="http://www.flickr.com/photos/consciousvision/3388909371/"><a rel="cc:attributionURL" href= This time we have Roman names. Since my interest here is in providing name ideas for RPGs, I’m not breaking these names down by Roman time-period. I’m including a list of resources at the end of this article for those wishing more in-depth information about Roman names.

Roman Name Structure

Roman names had several parts, frequently becoming long and complex:

Praenomen: A personal name. This was primarily used by family members and very close friends only. Romans had very few praenomen; typically the first child would be given the father’s praenomen (adjusted to a feminine form, if the child was a girl). The second child would receive the praenomen of someone else in the family — and uncle, perhaps.
Nomen: Indicates which gens the person belongs to. The gens is a group of loosely organized families all sharing the same nomen. A woman would use the feminine form of the nomen, formed by substituting ‘-a’ for the ‘-us’ ending.
Cognomen: A family name used by a group of blood relatives. It was a name unique to the individual and usually referred to something specific about him — usually a physical characteristic. Like a nickname, it wasn’t given to a child as part of the name given by his parents; it could be inherited from a male relative or chosen by concensus in the general community. Cognomen were almost never complementary — usually they were neutral, or even insulting names.