Names

On Sun, 21 Feb 1999, FFlores wrote:

> Speaking of which, it would be interesting to
> know about naming tendencies in concultures.
> For example, are there first and last names
> (surnames)? Which order do they come in? etc.
In Valdyas, every person has one given name preceded by their mother's
name in the genitive: Mailei Alyse "Alyse, Maile's daughter", Rythei
Jeran "Jeran, Ryath's son".

The parents decide on the child's name before birth (one for a boy,
one for a girl) and never mention it between the child's birth and
the naming ceremony that takes place as soon as the mother can stand
up and hold the child aloft to "introduce it to the gods", because
the Nameless One, the renegade god whose name was taken away, might
try to take it if it was said aloud.

People can have any number of nicknames, and usually do because some
names are very common. Titles also help to distinguish between people
with the same name: a guildmaster might be Rayin tarie "master
Rayin", a nobleman Ayran duyen "Lord Ayran".

The hereditary nobles (duyin), descendants of the clan heads who
founded the kingdom five centuries ago, have a house-name as well:
_astin_ "house" and the name of their family.

If Ayran's mother is called Rava and he is of House Brun his full
name is Ravei Ayran astin Brun.

People from his own social circle talking about him, in a formal or
neutral context, will call him Ayran Brun and informally, or if it's
important to know which Ayran (it's a very common name in the family,
95% of eldest Brun sons bear it) Ravei Ayran. Subordinates talk about
him as Ayran duyen "Lord Ayran" and address him as Ayran duyne
(vocative of the same). People who are in a position to address him
informally simply call him by his given name.

In some circles, especially nobles of similar age in a "clubby"
atmosphere, only the house-name might be used ("what do you think of
that, Brun?").

The barons (ludin) appointed by the Crown and their families (the
office is not formally hereditary, but the heir of the body is
appointed more often than not) don't have house-names, but go by
their barony name.

When they're not actually reigning they have (genitive of barony
name) (genitive of mother's name) (given name): Tileis Mailei Alyse
"Alyse, Maile's daughter, of (from) Tilis".

Reigning barons have the barony name in the locative and after the
mother's name: Mailei Tilies Alyse "Alyse at Tilis, Maile's
daughter".

Equals talking about Alyse call her Tileis Alyse "Alyse from Tilis"
if she is not reigning, and Tilies Alyse "Alyse at Tilis" if she is.

To subordinates, she is Alyse duyen or, in the vocative, Alyse duyne
"Lady Alyse". Note that there are no separate male and female forms
for _duyen_ (or indeed for any adjective), and that _ludin_ are also
addressed as _duyne_ even though they are not _duyin_.

Nobility (the house-name) is inherited from the noble parent, even if
the other parent is a commoner.

When two nobles of different houses marry, neither gets the right to
use the other's name, but they can choose which name their children
bear. It's not unusual for adults to use one parent's house-name when
they had the other's as children, or to use different names in
different situations: Moryn astin Eraday, who grew up in Lenyas where
Eraday is the ruling family, calls himself Moryn astin Rhydin when
visiting his mother's family, House Rhydin.

   Irina