History Main / FantasticNamingConvention

* The Humankind Empire of Abh in ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars'' employs a complex naming system for its citizens, which can have up to five distinct components, namely [Clan name] [Class indicator] [Family name] [Title][[note]]only applicable to titled nobles[[/note]] [Given name]. So for example, the full name of [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Lafiel]], one of the two protagonists, is "Ablïarsec néïc Dubreuscr Bœrh Parhynr Lamhirh"[[note]]Lamhirh, Viscountess Parhynr, of the clan Ablïarsec and royal family Dubreuscr[[/note]]

* ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars'' has the Abh, which seem difficult but are fairly straight forward when you get the hang of them. [Family Name] [An element that signifies social rank] [Founder of the Lineage] [Noble Titles (if any)] [Given Name]. So our female lead's (Abriel Nei Debrusc Borl Paryun Lafiel) is from the Abriel family, of royal lineage (the nei particle is reserved for the royal families) of the line of Debrusc, Vicountess Paryun and her given name is Lafiel. Just watch out for [[SpellMyNameWithAnS variant spellings]].

* ''Literature/BooksOfTheRaksura'': Raksura tend to be named after nouns that follow a theme within lines of descent, like the siblings Chime, Knell, and Bell.

* ''Literature/TheSpellslingerSeries'': All over the place. Jan'Tep mages have their childhood name, and receive their mage-name with an apostrophe in it once they pass their mage trials. The Gitabrians name by profession, family, and position in the family, in that order. The nomadic Argosi are named after the paths of fate they choose to walk, so you get names like Path of the Wild Daisy and Path of the Stormy Mountains.

*** The Bosmer (Wood Elves) instead have names inspired by Tolkien's "Sindarin" ConLang. They use a lot of "th" sounds, plus plenty of "d's, f's and g's" surrounded by soft vowels. The end result are a lot of names like Glarthir, Fargoth, and Enthir.

** Lalafell naming conventions place a great deal of emphasis on repetition and alliteration, with vowels being pronounced as though read in Japanese (long "-ee" sounds for "i", for instance). While the exact construction of names differ slightly between Dunesfolk and Plainsfolk, both clans have the same rules for naming men and women: male surnames reuse the last two syllables as their given names (Teledji Adeledji), while female surnames reuse their given name without the first syllable (Yayamo Yamo).

** For Garlean names, a title is appended between the given and family name that denotes that person's status in Garlean society. These three-letter titles run down the alphabet roughly from A to Z, with the person's status increasing the further down the alphabet, from "aan" denoting a slave from an annexed territory, to "zos" for the ruling Emperor. [[spoiler:There also exists a special title, "viator", that is assigned to people who are designated as traitors and enemies to the empire. Zenos yae Galvus was originally the crown prince of Garlemald, but after murdering his father and driving the empire to near-annihilation in his single-minded pursuit of another fight with the Warrior of Light, he is designated "Zenos ''viator'' Galvus" by the survivors of Garlemald.]]

** In ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'', everyone has a true name used only by their closest confidants and a public use name. This customary developed because of [[IKnowYourTrueName true-name-based magic]].

** Minbari typically have OnlyOneName, usually with two syllables and featuring no hard consonants (e.g. Delenn, Lennier, Neroon). Their family's name, though not typically used, is preceded by "of" (e.g. Delenn of Mir).

* ''Franchise/MassEffect''

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

* In the ''Franchise/HowToTrainYourDragon'' series, the Hooligan Tribe believes that hideous names scare off gnomes and trolls. While there are exceptions throughout the franchise (like Astrid and Gustav), this pretty much proves itself with the likes of Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Hiccup gets special mention because he was actually named after the local term for "runt of the litter" (and possibly his ancestor like in the original books series), which fits perfectly with his "un-[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Viking]]-like" physique.

* In the ''Franchise/HowToTrainYourDragon'' series, the Hooligan Tribe believes that hideous names scares off gnomes and trolls. While there are exceptions throughout the franchise (like Astrid and Gustav), this pretty much proves itself with the likes of Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Hiccup gets special mention because he was actually named after the local term for "runt of the litter" (and possibly his ancestor like in the original books series), which fits perfectly with his "un-[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Viking]]-like" physique.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', the Hooligan Tribe believes that hideous names scares of gnomes and trolls. While there are exceptions throughout the franchise (like Astrid and Gustav), this pretty much proves itself with the likes of Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Hiccup gets special mention because he was actually named after the local term for "runt of the litter" (and possibly his ancestor like in the original books series), which fits perfectly with his "un-[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Viking]]-like" physique.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', the goblin adventuring party's clan has their fortune-teller name every newborn goblin according to their visions. This can produce PropheticNames like Dies-Horribly, simple observations like Big Ears, or... "Stop-The-Ceremony-I-Swallowed-A-Bug".

* In ''[[Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob,]]'' Princess Voluptua's full name is Voluptua of House [[PrettyButterflies Monoptera,]] and the dragon Hibachi's full name is Hibachi of [[{{Pun}} Mesquite.]] Fructose Riboflavin, an outlaw of Voluptua's race, was once identified as Fructose, son of [[FamilyThemeNaming Dextrose.]]

* Captain Bram in ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'' gave his [[UpliftedAnimal uplifted]] Spitzes show-dog names like Captain's Fancy Valentine Sweetheart and Captain's Fancy Wildberry Muffintop. Sweetheart considers "Captain's Fancy" to be her family name, and is formally referred to as "Ms Fancy" or "Agent Fancy" when she's working.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Captain Bram in ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'' gave his [[UpliftedAnimal uplifted]] Spitzes show-dog names like Captain's Fancy Valentine Sweetheart and Captain's Fancy Wildberry Muffintop. Sweetheart considers "Captain's Fancy" to be her family name, and is formally referred to as "Ms Fancy".

* In Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/DragonRidersOfPern'' series, multiple conventions exist.

* The Humankind Empire of Abh in ''LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars'' employs a complex naming system for its citizens, which can have up to five distinct components, namely [Clan name] [Class indicator] [Family name] [Title][[note]]only applicable to titled nobles[[/note]] [Given name]. So for example, the full name of [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Lafiel]], one of the two protagonists, is "Ablïarsec néïc Dubreuscr Bœrh Parhynr Lamhirh"[[note]]Lamhirh, Viscountess Parhynr, of the clan Ablïarsec and royal family Dubreuscr[[/note]]

* ''LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars'' has the Abh, which seem difficult but are fairly straight forward when you get the hang of them. [Family Name] [An element that signifies social rank] [Founder of the Lineage] [Noble Titles (if any)] [Given Name]. So our female lead's (Abriel Nei Debrusc Borl Paryun Lafiel) is from the Abriel family, of royal lineage (the nei particle is reserved for the royal families) of the line of Debrusc, Vicountess Paryun and her given name is Lafiel. Just watch out for [[SpellMyNameWithAnS variant spellings]].

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': All trolls are given two names, each with six letters. [[spoiler:Cherubim]] are all implied to all have eight-letter [[OnlyOneName single names]] beginning with "Cal." (Calliope, Caliborn, and the questionably-canon Calamity.)

The simplest way of introducing a bit of foreign spice is to simply swap the placement of the given name and the family name ([[NameOrderConfusion which can cause confusion]]), but it can get far more complex than that. [[UsefulNotes/{{Patronymic}} Codifying]] IAmXSonOfY is not uncommon, nor is simply [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeALotusBlossom giving extremely long and poetic names]].

*** Male names usually begin with S, end with K, and do not have an apostrophe. Notable exceptions include Tuvok from ''Voyager'', Vorik from ''Voyager'', Koss from ''Enterprise''.

** Perhaps this is because normal Time Lord names tend to be [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard painfully long]] and difficult to pronounce, sometimes veering into NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom territory.

* Perhaps this is because normal Time Lord names tend to be [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard painfully long]] and difficult to pronounce, sometimes veering into NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom territory.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': We never learn if there's some cultural reason for it, but Time Lords who have gone renegade seem to give up their birth names and go by [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep short titles]], like "The Doctor", "The Master", "The Corsair", "The Monk", "The Rani" [[note]] Hindi word for "queen", though what significance Hindi has for her is a mystery [[/note]], etc.

* In ''Literature/OldPossumsBookOfPracticalCats'', all cats have three names: first, they have a sensible name for everyday use, the kind you might find a cat having in real life. Second, they have a much more grandiose name, one unique to each cat and apparently necessary to afford them proper feline pride, such as Jennyanydots, Bustopher Jones, Growltiger, Griddlebone, etcetera. Finally, they have a hidden and secret name that no human will ever discover and no cat will ever reveal, reserved exclusively for the cat’s own private contemplation.

* In the ''Literature/PostSelf'' cycle, as uploaded consciousnesses have the ability to 'fork' or create duplicates of themselves, these new instances begin by having the same name as their 'down-tree' instance followed by a tag consisting of a string of hexadecimal digits such as Ioan Bălan#c1494bf, though they can also change their names later (Ioan#c1494bf becomes Codrin Bălan of the Bălan clade). Of note, those of the Ode clade take their names from lines of a poem that holds great meaning to them, such as Dear, Also, The Tree That Was Felled and The Only Time I Know My True Name Is When I Dream. These are commonly shortened to a word or phrase (Dear and True Name in these instances). As there are only one hundred lines in the Ode, the number of instances is necessarily limited. "It is perhaps not a very good poem," Dear opines.

* In the ''Literature/WingsOfFire'' series, most dragons only have one name, which is typically a word associated with their tribe’s natural environment:

* The ''Literature/ArrivalsFromTheDark'' books (including the ''Trevelyan's Mission'' spin-off series):
** [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Haptor]] noblemen add their family or clan name to the end of their given name after an apostrophe. For example, the lord of the Kshoo Clan, one of the First Dynasties, is Sheggeren'kshoo, although informally they may omit the family/clan name. It's unclear if the same naming structure applies to commoners.

* In the new ''Literature/StarWarsThrawn'' books, Chiss names typically start with the family name, followed by an apostrophe, a part of the person's core name, another apostrophe, and a suffix. In daily use, though, they tend to shorten it to just their core name. As an example, a young but promising Chiss officer from a minor family is named Kivu'raw'nuru. He is adopted by the powerful Mitth family and is now named Mitth'raw'nuru. Eventually, he is honored by the Stybla family, and the suffix "odo" (meaning "guardian" in an ancient language) is added to his name, making him Mitth'raw'nuruodo. His core name also changed from Vurawn to Thrawn. However, when an officer reaches flag rank (commodore and above), they are tradition-bound to renounce their family connections and drop that part of their name. Thus, Captain Irizi'ar'alani (AKA Ziara) becomes Commodore (later Admiral) Ar'alani. Had Thrawn ever reached flag rank, he would've become Raw'nuruodo.

* Most [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Yuuzhan Vong]] from the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' have names that go [personal name][Domain name], with Domans being [[TheClan large, powerful extended families]]. So [[TheDragon Tsavong Lah]] is Tsavong of Domain Lah. [[FullNameBasis It's usually considered highly insulting to refer to someone, especially someone you don't know well, by anything less than their full name at all times]], but there are exceptions. Most priests have OnlyOneName, and this shows up occasionally in other castes as well. Shamed Ones, the Vong's despised outcast class, generally get kicked out of their Domans when they get Shamed, though some still use their Domain name out of defiance. Finally, the [[GodEmperor Supreme Overlord]] belongs to the entire Yuuzhan Vong people and thus never uses their Domain name after ascending; the current Supreme Overlord as of the series' present is Shimrra Jamaane, but by tradition he's just known as Shrimrra.

* In the ''Literature/{{Rocheworld}}'' novels, the [[BlobMonster amorphous]] Flowen take their names from 1) their flavour, 2) their color, and 3) the overtone of their voice, plus a unique wingding, leading to names like "Bitter◇Orange◇Chirr." Animals get an adjective, an ×, and a sound, like the Big×Boom, an ambush predator that hunts by exploding peices of its body to stun prey.