Race Naming Conventions for Viera and Hrothgar

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Guess I'm just gonna have to marry a rabbit then.

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Originally Posted by VierLeger

The names linked above seem correct, now that the early access is out. The Hrothgar names are generally Slavic or pseudo-Slavic. I gambled on [Old Norse given name] [Danish surname] and lost. Oh well!

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With the race name "Hrothgar", it wasn't wrong to think the names would be similar. Hrothgar is very norse, and not at all serb/croat. So it's strange, honestly. The hrothgar on the First are similar in naming structure(ex. Bragi, Halldor, Bjorn) but they're Rhonso there. Just strange all around.

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Originally Posted by Verius_Nox

With the race name "Hrothgar", it wasn't wrong to think the names would be similar. Hrothgar is very norse, and not at all serb/croat. So it's strange, honestly. The hrothgar on the First are similar in naming structure(ex. Bragi, Halldor, Bjorn) but they're Rhonso there. Just strange all around.

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Yeah, I'll wait before changing my character's name. Looking at the name list more closely, the list is super varied. You have Wenceslas, taken from the famous Duke of Bohemia. Names like Dragomir, Casimir, Vladimir, all somewhat common across the Slavic countries. You have a few names, like Boras (possibly Swedish) and Tilo (an uncommon German name, apparently) that really don't fit with the others. And then you have wholly fictional names like Zdethgar, Brathgar, and Frathopan with a completely different phonology. If I had to guess, I'd say Hrothgar of both the Helion and Lost varieties have a large diaspora across Ilsabard, leading to them using and/or adapting the names of the region they're living in, because these names are all over the place.

Honestly, it's almost like you could give them any old world name and it might be lore-friendly, but I'll wait and see.

If it means anything, Muscadet was a viera town in Tactics Advance. Maybe the surnames are town names? My moon keeper name seems to be able to fit both races somehow anyway so I guess I lucked out.

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Originally Posted by MikkoAkure

If it means anything, Muscadet was a viera town in Tactics Advance. Maybe the surnames are town names? My moon keeper name seems to be able to fit both races somehow anyway so I guess I lucked out.

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Eryut seems like a misspelling of Eruyt, the Village in XII, and Camoa is another Town in TA (TA2?). Perhaps their surnames come from their birthplace?

Hrothgar names seem to be mostly based on Eastern European names, so I just went with Rov for a first name and random’d the last name. It will have to be close enough, because I wasn’t sticking with my Sea Wolf name.

Yup, the Veena generator names are places in Lemurés. Not quite sure yet how I feel about having my surname as one of those. XD

Edit: okay, so obviously the connection is Feol Viera -> Feolthanos -> Lemurés.

No sign of them yet?

yeah best i can tell is lost have surnames that are a Slavic feminine first name plus sch knowing how much SE likes a suffix meaning son(or daughter but not in this case) It is likely all the lost have matriarchal surnames Onasch would be Son of Ona(a Lithuanian version of Anna). The Helion alternatively seem to use a leading A then a feminine Slavic first though i was not able to look up all of the names. it is possible the A denotes their allegiance to a queen over their mother? still a lot to know.

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Originally Posted by Sicycre

Greetings, everyone.

Thanks for your patience while we checked into this for you.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to release the naming conventions ahead of early access and launch of Shadowbringers. Once things have calmed down post-launch, the team will be able to better dedicate time to creating them. We know it's not the news you wanted to hear, but we appreciate your understanding.

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Is it latter yet?

It's been nearly two weeks since Sicycre's update on the naming conventions' status so hopefully soon. Hopefully. sweats

(I really want to change the Sunseeker name of my bun with an appropriate Viera name, SE, I am ready to throw money at you!)

I was counting on naming being released ahead of the expansion and now I'm stuck with an alt I can't log into because I have to change the name when I do(and I want a lore appropriate name for when I fantasia into a Viera.) Also Have three other friends waiting to make alts until after the naming conventions are out.

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Originally Posted by LeCard

I was counting on naming being released ahead of the expansion and now I'm stuck with an alt I can't log into because I have to change the name when I do(and I want a lore appropriate name for when I fantasia into a Viera.) Also Have three other friends waiting to make alts until after the naming conventions are out.

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Ouch. I'm really sorry about that. I do hope we'll get those conventions soon. I have fantasia'd two alts into Viera, but they still retain their old names. I'm an RPer and I would like to use those two characters in RP, but they need names first. I don't feel comfortable just picking a random name from the generator. I would like to actually understand how the names work so I know I'm choosing appropriate ones. Please don't forget about us, SE!

Still no news... Well, I got tired of looking at my inappropriate Miqo name and jumped the gun. Veena wise feels quite safe to grab one of the generated surnames and a first name of your flavor. Just hoping Arda doesn't have some really weird/awkward description...

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Originally Posted by LinaCake

Still no news... Well, I got tired of looking at my inappropriate Miqo name and jumped the gun. Veena wise feels quite safe to grab one of the generated surnames and a first name of your flavor. Just hoping Arda doesn't have some really weird/awkward description...

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I did some research on what "Arda" was in Revenant Wings, and it seemed to be one of the tallest peaks of Lemures. I'm rolling with it and saying that the Arda are the Veena who refused to move to the lowland forests, even what most Veena would consider the lowlands, and instead dwelled the pine forests of the highlands, subsisting on meat, hardier plants that existed in the higher elevations, and who were even more isolationist than most Viera, only trading with the Xaela on the Steppe in times of extreme scarcity. If it ends up being wrong, well, at least it was a fun story to come up with :) My character ended up leaving after her clan, in particular, had most of its men wiped out by the Garleans as they marched towards Doma - and she wanted to learn what weapons they were using so that they could defend themselves more effectively against such aggression. Her mother and grandmother did not approve of such heresy, but Sjel was nothing if not stubborn, so she left, and she has not looked back once in her 88 years. Now she is a Machinist and a blacksmith of great renown, learning more about technology so that she can eventually return home and give back to her people - even if they would shun her, they would at least not be left without a way to prevent such tragedy from striking again.

Regardless, in the meantime, greetings sister!

@devs
Is Eryut a misspelling? It was Eruyt in FFXII.

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Originally Posted by Amnmaat

@devs
Is Eryut a misspelling? It was Eruyt in FFXII.

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This might be intentional. They've done it before with other names, i.e. "Shatotto" instead of "Shantotto."

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Originally Posted by alacruxe

This might be intentional. They've done it before with other names, i.e. "Shatotto" instead of "Shantotto."

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Very observant! Yes, I hope this is the case as well. If not that would be a costly oversight as they'd "have" to issue anyone with a Viera free name change; as the error was on their side (typo). Looking forward to any news on all of this from SE, maybe a week or months from now but really want to know the meaning behind these Viera names.

I hate to complain, but this wait is really becoming a bit ridiculous. Even an amateur writer could have created some very insightful lore for the naming conventions in a single day. What in the world is stalling the release of these names? I know almost every aspect involving a title like FFXIV is very carefully planned around marketing tactics, but I can hardly fathom a reason to delay the names by this long. And if the delay is unintentional, and the lore behind Viera/Hrothgar names is truly still in the process of being written and translated, what else could the writer(s) possibly be focusing their attention on at this point that this simple task hasn’t been completed yet? I don’t actually need any of these hypothetical questions answered, I just wanted to vent my frustrations. Sorry for the rant, and hurry up SE!

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Originally Posted by nariya

What in the world is stalling the release of these names?

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I imagine the same reason they didn't program for Hrothgar and Viera to wear most helms/hats.

Also the same reason we now have role quests instead of class quests.

Also the same reason Sin Eaters are mostly normal mobs they just didn't apply color to.

They simply got lazy toward the end of making it. That'd be my guess.

Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the expansion so far and look forward to completing it, but those were some things that struck me as lazy/apathetic/unnecessary, and I agree we could have easily had some naming conventions by now.

I am also waiting to make my Hrothgar alt and I want a lore approriate name, cmon Square, it's 2 weeks soon from the early access.

At this point, they Better do a mega post with not just Tue Viera and Hrothgar naming convientions we've been waiting ages for, but all the new conventions for all the races of the First. Because that's really the only reason besides laziness that I can think of for this delay. :/

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Originally Posted by LathyrusLoon

At this point, they Better do a mega post with not just Tue Viera and Hrothgar naming convientions we've been waiting ages for, but all the new conventions for all the races of the First. Because that's really the only reason besides laziness that I can think of for this delay. :/

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As impatient as I am for these conventions, I doubt laziness is a factor. I just think the new races have been given low priority compared to other aspects of the expansion. It’s obvious from the genderlock (never not salty about that), lack of hair options, the minimal lore, and delayed naming conventions. Now that the expansion is successfully launched, I really hope they’ll start focusing on these issues.

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Originally Posted by DerringerSwyft

I imagine the same reason they didn't program for Hrothgar and Viera to wear most helms/hats.

Also the same reason we now have role quests instead of class quests.

Also the same reason Sin Eaters are mostly normal mobs they just didn't apply color to.

They simply got lazy toward the end of making it. That'd be my guess.

Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the expansion so far and look forward to completing it, but those were some things that struck me as lazy/apathetic/unnecessary, and I agree we could have easily had some naming conventions by now.

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I don't really think laziness has anything to do with it. From what we've heard in interviews, the studio is pretty much in crunch periods at all times. It's probably more a matter of how much they were able to get done in the time leading up to the deadline.

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Originally Posted by alacruxe

I don't really think laziness has anything to do with it. From what we've heard in interviews, the studio is pretty much in crunch periods at all times. It's probably more a matter of how much they were able to get done in the time leading up to the deadline.

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Development on 6.0 also starts in August according to Yoshida. XIV's developers are insanely talented, but I don't envy any of them.

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Originally Posted by Daralii

Development on 6.0 also starts in August according to Yoshida. XIV's developers are insanely talented, but I don't envy any of them.

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Heck, if anything the lore staff might be on vacation. It wouldn't surprise me actually if a good number of the dev staff were taking a break right now. It's not like the whole loc team needs to be on hand at the moment, now that most everything's translated.

I mean the rules for naming are done we know they already know how the names work because of the random generator. Normally i would say they have to know for NPC's too but since source and first do not have to play by the same rules not so much. Its really likely in the localization teams individual inboxes because they need to formalize and coherently convey that system in a forum post in a way that is both informative but entertaining. I mean you guys have read the other ones right? Its very detailed stuff. I mean we can all reverse engineer what the basics are from those name lists. What we are waiting for is that more interesting lore so we can make our names say more than just a sequence of sounds or at least I am.

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Originally Posted by alacruxe

Heck, if anything the lore staff might be on vacation. It wouldn't surprise me actually if a good number of the dev staff were taking a break right now. It's not like the whole loc team needs to be on hand at the moment, now that most everything's translated.

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I imagine the whip cracking for the entire expansion's patch cycle starts almost immediately after the launch patch is done. Then once that's done, preliminary work can start on the next expansion. Japanese work culture is notorious for a reason.

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Originally Posted by AggieRick

I mean the rules for naming are done we know they already know how the names work because of the random generator. Normally i would say they have to know for NPC's too but since source and first do not have to play by the same rules not so much. Its really likely in the localization teams individual inboxes because they need to formalize and coherently convey that system in a forum post in a way that is both informative but entertaining. I mean you guys have read the other ones right? Its very detailed stuff. I mean we can all reverse engineer what the basics are from those name lists. What we are waiting for is that more interesting lore so we can make our names say more than just a sequence of sounds or at least I am.

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I quite agree. I have already caved and named one of my Viera using a unique first name and a name gen last name. It will do, I suppose. But the other character is more important to me and his backstory is more complicated, so I'm honestly not sure what to do about a last name for him. I'm very afraid that if I buy a name change for him now, I'll have to buy another as soon as the conventions are released. It's very frustrating.

(Folks at SE, can you at least give us a clearer timeline for when these conventions will be released? Please?)

At this point, I'd like to jump on the "Give us a date" wagon as well.

I've been waiting to rename my Viera for a while now, and my partner and I want to make sure it's something in keeping with the established conventions. While the datamined names are well and good, the Viera we meet in the Story are from the first, not the source, and we both would like to understand how we're getting to those names instead of picking something at random or "Just figuring it out ourselves."

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Originally Posted by Kiive

At this point, I'd like to jump on the "Give us a date" wagon as well.

I've been waiting to rename my Viera for a while now, and my partner and I want to make sure it's something in keeping with the established conventions. While the datamined names are well and good, the Viera we meet in the Story are from the first, not the source, and we both would like to understand how we're getting to those names instead of picking something at random or "Just figuring it out ourselves."

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I'm with you there. I'm either going to convert an alt into a viera or make a new character entirely (probably the former since I have zero faith in Aether being anything but a congested mess until the end of time), and it'd be nice to at least have a clearer ballpark guesstimate on when we can look forward to the conventions coming out.

I'm confused by viera names, but wondering if they might be intentionally diverse. Looking at the in-game name generator, some even look west-African and Iberian.

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Originally Posted by DSCH

Looking at the in-game name generator, some even look west-African and Iberian.

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That’s really interesting! Some are definitely unaccented Icelandic names while others are heavily inspired by Icelandic names. I live in Iceland so this made me really happy, and I decided to name my character one of the names on the list: Fjola (which is the name for the Viola flower in Icelandic, since my character always has purples eyes.) Some more Icelandic/inspired by Icelandic names are:

Arna
Asdjs (Ásdís - means goddess)
Fjola (Fjóla - means viola flower)
Lilja (This means the lily flower)
Ljot (Ljót - means ugly... sometimes it happens in Iceland that children actually get this kind of unfortunate name)
Osk (Ósk - means wish)
Yrys (Íris - means the iris flower)
Ney (Nei - means no)

There might be some others but these were the most obvious. Maybe this will help some of you in deciding on a name, though I am sure we are all still waiting impatiently for the official conventions. /sigh

France, Spain, and Portugal are countries on the Iberian peninsula, and some of the surnames, particularly tormelados, cahuac, boscos and guguerro look spanish/portuguese.inspired to me. I also speak french and have several friends from Cote d'ivoire, Togo, Congo, etc., and I kinda get those vibes from cebe, and muruc, while tswarra actually reminds me of kinyarwanda/swahili(actually spoken in the East mostly).

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Originally Posted by DSCH

France, Spain, and Portugal are countries on the Iberian peninsula, and some of the surnames, particularly tormelados, cahuac, boscos and gurrueros look spanish/portuguese.inspired to me. I also speak french and have several friends from Cote d'ivoire, Togo, Congo, etc., and I kinda get those vibes from cebe, and muruc, while tswarra actually reminds me of kinyarwanda(actually spoken in the East mostly).

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a lot of the viera surnames are just locations from ivalice: tormelados, isle of the megalith, muruc cahuac skysea, bosco pampa, cebe, isle of treasures, and tswarra, isle of the lost are what the names you listed are probably taken from

not to say those weren't spanish/portuguese inspired originally, but their use in viera surnames just seems to be linked to them being places from a previous FF game

I'm not usually one to ignorantly complain about a development process that I don't know the whole story about, but what particularly bugs me about this problem is that it makes me feel like Viera and Hrothgar were nearly last-minute decisions somehow. I know that can't be completely true because main characters and many others in Shadowbringers are Viera & Hrothgar (the First's versions anyway), although many characters can technically be any race for story purposes with some editing. Yet even so, this now-sad delay still makes it feel like there might not have been so much care put into them like Au Ra. I love Au Ra and all, obviously from being one for years, but I mean, for example, the entire Azim Steppe zone couldn't really have worked with any race but Xaela Au Ra. I suppose Miqo'te could have roughly worked, but I still doubt it'd have been as effective.

I still really admire and love Viera, and I am strongly and surprisingly coming around to Hrothgar. I know it's not laziness, and I am completely confident that the writers & localizers definitely wish they had all the time in the world to not have to assign things like this such a clearly low priority, but...man, just...man. :( I really wanted to try playing Viera for Shadowbringers, but I can't do it without feeling like a full and proper character, which is what a name gives me as the finishing touch. I actually waited a few days after early access on starting just in case because I'm that silly about things. I don't even roleplay ever, but I just value certain parts of immersion. I'm just glad I'm really loving the new look I made for myself as Au Ra, possibly more than ever, even though it's just the hair!

That said, I also don't want this to be rushed. I want the naming conventions post to be as fun/funny and interesting and thorough to read as Au Ra's and the others or otherwise just the way that Fernehalwes, Oda, and the others want it to be written. For me, because that clearly ended up meaning I'll have to wait until after I finish Shadowbringers 5.0 MSQ to change to Viera, now I'm okay with waiting. It's just a shame and surprise it went this way. Anyway, we all know x.0 MSQ is really roughly half or a bit more of an entire expansion's story (counting all raid and trial stories after MSQ), so I'll still be happy experiencing the rest as Viera even if I didn't get to do so in the first half.

Also, it's cool to see a bunch of Icelandic influence. I assumed the names would be Icelandic and/or Old Norse, so I did a bunch of research on those types of names, and I see it didn't go totally to waste! It was fun enough regardless.

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Originally Posted by LathyrusLoon

At this point, they Better do a mega post with not just Tue Viera and Hrothgar naming convientions we've been waiting ages for, but all the new conventions for all the races of the First. Because that's really the only reason besides laziness that I can think of for this delay. :/

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They aren't lazy I can tell you that much, but once they said they wouldn't be putting up the Viera and Hrothgar names until some point after release it seemed obvious that it wouldn't just be their names coming up but also the conventions for all the First counterpart naming conventions as well. If not at that point than once the xpac came out and it was really obvious (especially for Mi'qote) that the naming conventions were different there.

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Originally Posted by nariya

That’s really interesting! Some are definitely unaccented Icelandic names while others are heavily inspired by Icelandic names. I live in Iceland so this made me really happy, and I decided to name my character one of the names on the list: Fjola (which is the name for the Viola flower in Icelandic, since my character always has purples eyes.) Some more Icelandic/inspired by Icelandic names are:

Arna
Asdjs (Ásdís - means goddess)
Fjola (Fjóla - means viola flower)
Lilja (This means the lily flower)
Ljot (Ljót - means ugly... sometimes it happens in Iceland that children actually get this kind of unfortunate name)
Osk (Ósk - means wish)
Yrys (Íris - means the iris flower)
Ney (Nei - means no)

There might be some others but these were the most obvious. Maybe this will help some of you in deciding on a name, though I am sure we are all still waiting impatiently for the official conventions. /sigh

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Oh, would you mind if I pick your brain for a moment about an Icelandic word? I'm thinking of naming my male Viera Kjartan Tyndur. Tyndur (I know the real word is accented but unfortunately I can't reproduce it in game) would be a surname he chose for himself because he has felt lost ever since leaving his village (he really, really, really didn't want to go off and do the solitary male thing). From your perspective, would "Kjartan Tyndur" sound nonsensical as a name?

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Originally Posted by Solenne

Oh, would you mind if I pick your brain for a moment about an Icelandic word? I'm thinking of naming my male Viera Kjartan Tyndur. Tyndur (I know the real word is accented but unfortunately I can't reproduce it in game) would be a surname he chose for himself because he has felt lost ever since leaving his village (he really, really, really didn't want to go off and do the solitary male thing). From your perspective, would "Kjartan Tyndur" sound nonsensical as a name?

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I think it’s fine, and I really quite like it for a male Viera! I also wish we could use accents because, as I said, I went with the name Fjola but it should technically be Fjóla. Anyway, Týndur still makes sense as Tyndur so I wouldn’t worry about it at all!

Please release a statement about Viera/Hrothgar naming conventions. At the very least, give us a date! I've been waiting to rename my Viera to something lore friendly...