In this post, we’ll be sharing with you the linguistic and lore-related conventions that dictate the names commonly used by the Hrothgar race. We hope that it will be helpful in naming your characters and developing a more complete understanding of the world of FFXIV!

Forenames
Hrothgar forenames are similar to old Slavic names, though certain lexemes differ─most notably, the Hrothgar word for “glory” is “thgar” rather than “slav,” so the former proliferates where one might be used to seeing the latter in real-world names (e.g. “Vladithgar”).
  • For example:
    Goythgar
    Adis
    Devyatko
    Ivica
    Zhdan
    Zoran
    Bojan
    Frathopan
    Svetozar
    Yaropol
    Zdravko
    Vaclav
    Kazek
    Lutomis
    Milorad
“Clans” and Surnames
Though Hrothgar form their own clan-like communities, they, as a race, cannot be divided into distinct “clans” with separate traditions and features. They are instead most often sorted into the categories of “Helion” and “Lost,” according to their social status─but these labels, too, were imposed by scholars of the other races rather than the Hrothgar themselves, and have unfortunately led to certain misconceptions, such as the popular belief that Helions always have golden fur.

As the difference between “clans” and these categories that apply to Hrothgar is admittedly somewhat difficult to understand, we have updated the in-game character creation text to more clearly convey the distinction, but have also opted to explain the lore behind this categorization more thoroughly here, along with their naming conventions.

- Helions
Helions are those Hrothgar currently living in service to a queen, and were so named for how their lives appear to revolve around the queen much as celestial bodies circle the sun. (Incidentally, in real-world terms “helions” specifically refers to meteoroids that began their lives as part of a sun-grazing comet, but the people of Hydaelyn have no means of making such fine astronomical distinctions.)

Hrothgar surnames are traditionally based on the name of the clan’s female, or “queen.” If the queen is still living, as is the case when it comes to Helions, her name will be prefaced by “A,” meaning “on” in the sense of “in service to,” to form the male surname of her subjects.
  • For example:
    Amira
    Azora
    Avesna
    Azorya
    Astana
    Arodica
    Amilan
    Amirka
    Asvana
    Avira
    Aredna
    Azetina
    Astolla
    Amarya
    Atolna
    Atessa
    Ayurya
    Amov
    Adeanna
    Ajolla
- The Lost
The Lost are those Hrothgar who have found themselves bereft of their queen and─typically after a lengthy period of mourning─struck out on their own. (Like “lost” comets that can no longer be found following their previous orbital patterns, one might say.) Accordingly, their surnames are altered by removing the initial “A” and appending “sch,” meaning “lost,” to their erstwhile queen’s name.
  • For example:
    Zlatasch
    Liubasch
    Brankasch
    Tirasch
    Ratyasch
    Slanasch
    Enyasch
    Natasch
    Svenach
    Ditasch
    Anatalyasch
    Inivisch
    Jovasch
    Onasch
    Petyasch
    Linasch
    Ulgasch
    Maevsch
    Lentyasch
    Ovasch