Forums » Elder Scrolls

Lore-friendly Naming of Dunmer and Bosmer

  • July 1, 2014 12:43 AM EDT

    Hey everyone, how are you all?  =)  I'm new to the forums and I've got a question that's been bothering me since I got my desire to get back into the Elder Scrolls games, but start fresh with new characters.  Seeing as the Telvanni - my favorite House of the Dunmer - are in Skyrim, I want to create a Telvanni Mage/Necromancer/Vampire Lord character (if my name isn't a dead giveaway =P), as well as a Bosmer Hunter/Thief/Werewolf and an Orsimer Warrior/Blades-like Swordsman.  However, although Orc/Orsimer names are pretty easy for me... I still feel unsure about Dunmer and Bosmer.

    So what I want to ask is this - are there any naming conventions I should be aware of for both Dunmer Names and Bosmer names, anything that might be a pattern for those races?  I plan to check the lists on UESP for all three races, for the sake of getting ideas and helping to avoid making similar/exact names already used by previous and current NPCs of any Elder Scrolls game - but it doesn't hurt to know about any particular naming conventions or patterns regarding Dunmer and Bosmer.  Thanks in advance!

    • 1441 posts
    July 1, 2014 12:47 AM EDT
    Well, members of Great Houses have the House name as their surname.
  • July 1, 2014 12:51 AM EDT

    I don't think that's always the case though.  0.o  Gothren, back in Morrowind, didn't even have a surname.  Then Baladas Demnevanni had a surname similar to Telvanni, but still one that was different than the House Name.

    • 1441 posts
    July 1, 2014 1:32 AM EDT
    Oh, well, some of them do. Well, House Halalu had Imperials.
  • July 1, 2014 6:16 AM EDT

    Ahhh.  Well, House Hlaalu was far different from House Telvanni - then again, the Telvanni are definitely the oddest House of Morrowind.

    I'm sure a Dunmer would be fine if their surname was not the same as the House's name, right?    (( I don't know why - I typed a lot more for my original reply to this, but for some reason it saved only the "Ahh".  Had to delete  the original reply by me and made this one instead - what I meant to say.  :P  ))

    • 13 posts
    July 1, 2014 9:37 AM EDT
  • July 1, 2014 1:12 PM EDT

    Oh wow....Yeah, this might really help with the Dunmer names.  :D

    A shame there isn't a Bosmer Naming Guide as well.  :/  But thank you.  :)

    Anyone else have anything to include - like any known naming conventions or anything for either Bosmer or Dunmer?

    • 9 posts
    July 1, 2014 1:58 PM EDT

    if you go to http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?q=namegeneratoryou choose a race and male or female and can keep generating 20 random names

    • 9 posts
    July 1, 2014 1:59 PM EDT

    without the you at the end

  • July 1, 2014 2:03 PM EDT

    I appreciate the link.  :)  I have a thing about generators though - I enjoy coming up with my own names, and I sometimes don't trust results from a generator.  Then again, that's just me.  :P

    But thank you again for responding and for the link.  :)

    • 49 posts
    July 1, 2014 10:35 PM EDT

    Fargoth

    Don't ask just do it.

  • July 2, 2014 12:37 AM EDT

    Um....Thank you, Mysterium Xarxes?  O-O  

    Wait....that was a Bosmer in Morrowind, though.  I'd rather not use any previous used name, for the sake originality.  Thank you though!

  • July 2, 2014 9:06 PM EDT

    Does anyone else have any advice for Dunmer names, or maybe something about Bosmer names?  I noticed nothing was said about Bosmer names, aside from that Morrowind NPC Fargoth.  

  • July 3, 2014 10:11 PM EDT

    Anyone?

  • July 5, 2014 4:54 AM EDT

    I'm guessing no?  I've recently started creating a list of Orsimer, Bosmer, and Dunmer names for ideas - already finished the Orc names and have one chosen for my Blades-Warrior/Samurai Orc Warrior, and will begin working on Wood Elf names?

    If anyone at all has any information I should know about Wood Elf names or Dark Elf names, feel free to give me a heads up, I'd appreciate it.  :)  Always helps to get even the tiniest bit of info about something, even when doing research - like what I'm doing for all three races and males names for them.  

    • 1441 posts
    July 5, 2014 10:16 AM EDT
    The UESP lists have prefixes and suffixes for names.