Male Viera names?

[Iscah]

I mean, as the resident psychotic radical here

Terrible radicals, the both of us. Quoting lore sources before we take a thing as canon, trying to apply real-world ideas to a fantasy world that can't possibly resemble reality in any way, letting a discussion naturally drift away from the original question...

Mind you, I was trying to come up with some kind of segueway back into the topic of Viera names back in post #61 when I realised we were indeed drifting, but it was stupidly late and I couldn't think of anything neatly witty at the time. It's not like there's any more solid information to discuss.

[Fenral]

Since this will be critically important in the post-6.0 world, what's Icelandic for "Waffle" and can it be twisted into something lore-appropriate?

[Kakurady]

Terrible radicals, the both of us. Quoting lore sources before we take a thing as canon, trying to apply real-world ideas to a fantasy world that can't possibly resemble reality in any way, letting a discussion naturally drift away from the original question...

Mind you, I was trying to come up with some kind of segueway back into the topic of Viera names back in post #61 when I realised we were indeed drifting, but it was stupidly late and I couldn't think of anything neatly witty at the time. It's not like there's any more solid information to discuss.

No, this is great. I love seeing everyone using my question as a jumping off point into the world of Final Fantasy XIV.

[Iscah]

Since this will be critically important in the post-6.0 world, what's Icelandic for "Waffle" and can it be twisted into something lore-appropriate?

I can't help you on the translation but it is 100% lore-accurate if you want it to be.

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...ng-Conventions

In practice, however, one will rarely encounter a Viera using her forest name, as those who choose to leave their homes and strike out into the wider world will generally choose new “city names” for themselves to mark their parting from the traditional Viera way of life. These chosen names are often inspired by the names of other races they encounter, or simply things that they like, such as “Cherry” or “Morning Glory,” and so vary widely between individuals.

[Fenral]

Ah, yes. World's most unhelpful writeup, that. I do wish less of the Viera lore came with the "this doesn't apply to you because you left the forest." On the one hand, it makes things really easy if you don't want to think about it, not to mention the obvious Fantasia loophole. On the other, how cool would it have been if there were actual conventions for "city names" as well?

Like, how Hellsguard names are really just translations of Sea Wolf forenames, so when you get characters like Moenbryda who keeps her original name, you get this sense that she's a scientist, but also that maybe some of the old ways still matter to her. (Granted, I believe the real reason was given as "we done goofed" with a few characters' races, like F'lhaminn.)

[Iscah]

Ah, yes. World's most unhelpful writeup, that. I do wish less of the Viera lore came with the "this doesn't apply to you because you left the forest." On the one hand, it makes things really easy if you don't want to think about it, not to mention the obvious Fantasia loophole. On the other, how cool would it have been if there were actual conventions for "city names" as well?

Like, how Hellsguard names are really just translations of Sea Wolf forenames, so when you get characters like Moenbryda who keeps her original name, you get this sense that she's a scientist, but also that maybe some of the old ways still matter to her. (Granted, I believe the real reason was given as "we done goofed" with a few characters' races, like F'lhaminn.)

Separate conventions for city names would be neat! I always like having something to build on rather than starting from "pick anything you like".

I guess you could use Roegadyn names as an inspiration and either directly translate into English or find a name with the same meaning in a different language.

Also, Moenbryda actually is a Sea Wolf, but she has a non-standard skin colour so she doesn't quite look it. Though between her, Merlwyb and Misija it feels like the character designers have something against letting them have green skin.

[Fenral]

Separate conventions for city names would be neat! I always like having something to build on rather than starting from "pick anything you like".

Same here. If I'm going to be surrounded by characters with fancy complicated names, I want to feel like one of them.

Also, Moenbryda actually is a Sea Wolf, but she has a non-standard skin colour so she doesn't quite look it.

I think I was still operating on the old excuse Lore came up with 5-ish years ago, but yes, that is precisely what the book says.

Though between her, Merlwyb and Misija it feels like the character designers have something against letting them have green skin.

The technical explanation might have to do with cutscene lighting and atypical/oversaturated skintones (also why I finally had to Fantasia to something lighter after half a decade as surfer cat), but yeah. Core NPCs tend to be a bit monochromatic, even with all the colors available. (We now have one Scion in color, but he's entirely that color.)

Give me some nice greens and blues, and maybe shift the burden back to the lighting team instead. And maybe don't split skintones between races on the criteria of whether or not they look like trash in cutscenes.

[Crushnight]

I wonder if male Viera get given two names during their lifetime or if they keep just the one from birth. They could be given a second name after finding out they are male or they could be given a second name after passing the rite of passage to be a watcher. Then again they could equally just have no second name and their naming convention is just the same regardless.

Any way they cut it I'll have to adjust the backstory for my character to suit what path they take and I'm excited to see how.

[WhiteArchmage]

Since we're back to naming conventions, I find the surnames fascinating from an "RP" point of view. After all, Viera surnames are their villages of birth, but they also discard THOSE when they discard their Forest name. Which means a Viera can keep the name of their village as a surname even when they left said village and are now outcasts. From a gameplay point of view, it's that most Viera we meet only go by one name and discarded their surname entirely, but for gameplay reasons PCs can't NOT have a surname. For the same reasons the example in the Naming Conventions post, "Morning Glory" would normally be "Morning" or "Blade Glory" or "Ms. Glory", but Hellsguard and... lala clan I'm blanking on-already have that problem.

It leads to something interesing when Eryut is a Rava surname, but Fran's is Eruyt, as revealed in her Field Note (I always thought the mispelling in the Naming Conventions post was just that, a mispell, but apparently in the random name generator it IS Eryut?) and we know from the same post that "Fran" is her CITY name. So Fran is from the Hydaelin Vieran Village of Eryut and just changed it to Eruyt, or the people in charge of the Field Notes put it there as an easter egg from XII, or she's from a previously undisclosed Village that just so happens to be different by one letter from the player available list.

(Also, it makes me even happier my name is made up, gender-neutral, AND vaguely Ivalician)

[Iscah]

I wonder if male Viera get given two names during their lifetime or if they keep just the one from birth. They could be given a second name after finding out they are male or they could be given a second name after passing the rite of passage to be a watcher. Then again they could equally just have no second name and their naming convention is just the same regardless.

If they do spend their life as isolated as our current information indicates, they might not need a name any more.

At least, giving them a new one would seem at odds with promptly sending them off to never to talk to anyone for most of their life.

On a side note, Watcher is the Viis term, Wood-warder is the Viera term.

Since we're back to naming conventions, I find the surnames fascinating from an "RP" point of view. After all, Viera surnames are their villages of birth, but they also discard THOSE when they discard their Forest name. Which means a Viera can keep the name of their village as a surname even when they left said village and are now outcasts.

The naming conventions say they are discarded or replaced, so characters are not necessarily surnameless even if we don't know it.

The whole thing remains a bit too vague as to how expected or optional it is to change names or keep them. It's sort of "here's the naming scheme... which canonically your character should have abandoned by now... maybe. If she feels like it."


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I also dug up my posts from another thread over in General Discussion on naming your characters.

I have Viera names on my mind at the moment since I'm wanting to make a new alt once the males are available (and already have a character visually in mind because I liked one of the example characters from the reveal), but the names are confusing.

The naming conventions in the Lore forum say to look at Icelandic names, but browsing that list on Behind the Name doesn't seem to have any of the examples or the feel of them - though it does seem to be the direct source for Ronso names in the First. (Bragi, Magnus and Runar are all on there.)

I'm not even sure which gender I should be looking at, because if their genders aren't apparent at birth, they logically can't have gendered names... and then on top of that, if they leave the forest they usually abandon their birth name and pick whatever they feel like calling themselves. Great for people who want to invent their character names, not so good for those of us who need prompts.

Anyway if Icelandic is indeed correct I am leaning towards Ragna/Ragnar, depending on which gender's list I should be picking from. Though (browsing as I write this) Ragnar is a variant of Rayner so for a new adopted name I could handwave the etymology and call him... Rain? Reyn? Rayn? Something like that. Give it a few days and see if I like calling him that.

I might be able to help a bit! If you want to have him change his forest name but still hold to the general conventions, Viera will typically replace i's and y's in names with a J (still pronounced the same) -- so Rajn or Rejn!

Definitely an interesting thought! I'll play with that too. I think it needs to be Rejn for the spelling-to-pronunciation in that case.

I like the idea but it does feel like a bit of a stumbling block for reading it. Might just need practice.

(I think I am going with calling him Rejn in the end.)


Also Chie's avatar does not seem to be loading with the quote. I have no idea why. I didn't do anything to the code.