Advice/Help Elven names and what they mean

[Paopu Tree]

Hello everyone!

I have recently started building a new OC who is an elf, but my struggle always starts with the name.

I was told to have two names for this character; one human name as an alias, perhaps a nickname for when an elven name is too difficult to pronounce(?) and of course the actual elven name. (This was just advice for a friend and I do like it.)

In some cases I have seen people put a definition to the elven name while others don't. I know there are directories on elven names and their definitions, but when it comes randomly generated names where a google search doesn't help me find if there's a meaning to it, is it acceptable to put your own definition to it? And how would one go about putting a definition to a name? How do you decide what the name means?

I'd love to hear different opinions!

 

[Ace Cream]

I'm not LotR or DnD hardcore so except the DM stated that the elven name has certain rules to be followed, I will just make my own language and give the name my own definition. Heck, my only elven OC so far is named Ursula, I didn't put any effort to make it sounds elvish because she lives among human.

 

[bxbydoll]

Are you using Elf names, or human names?

 

[Crayons]

Just make up a name and decide what it means. If you want to be a super nerd look up tolkeins eleven name definitions and make one by combining stuff from there. Name generators are pretty awful imo.

 

[ashwynne]

Throw some letters together until something comes out that sounds elvish and go with it!

Way back in middle school I came up with 'Ashwyn' as my own elvish name. I based it on Tolkien's conventions... I think Quenya, iirc, but I can't remember my process for that any longer so it hardly matters. Ended up tweaking it to get Ashwynne anyways which I liked the look of better.

As far as meanings go, that's personal preference. Same as with naming children. Some parents go 'oh, I like the sound of that' and choose that name for their child based purely on the sound/look of it. Others agonize over complementary sound and meaning and spend months trying to find something perfect. Neither method is better or worse than the other. If you want to apply a meaning to it... make up something that seems fitting! If you don't want the extra work... then don't! Nothing wrong with saying "their parents named >character name< that because they liked the sound of it." and leave it at that. 99.9% of the time name meanings don't ever come up anyways. It's mostly an extra detail ooc that's added in by people who like to pick names with fitting meanings.

If you do want to make up your own name meaning... your options are pretty much endless. Could string something together, ie: Liryian 'burbling brook' where it just sounds pretty, nature related, and maybe vaguely representative of the sound of the name itself. The type of elves you're naming is going to be relevant here, but if they're the standard sort of 'nature affinity' elves, my recommendation is definitely to make up nature related meanings. Maybe 'Palshanna' has an association with lupine flowers. Perhaps Auridan is an elvish name associated with the crescent moon. Basically, do whatever the heck you like xD

 

[Crayons]

Or just ask Ashwynne for some names since all her example names are really good. XD That's a real talent to come up with decent names off the cuff.

 

[LethargicJade]

I usually use the site Angelfire! You can basically build a name. There's a lot of prefixes and suffixes that have different meanings you can use and combine them in different ways to change the meaning. It's also fun to make up names from scratch though if you want, and figure out your own meaning.