Hello everyone - it's been awhile since I've been on the forums and I was hoping I could get either some help or advice with something. I've been bit once more by the Skyrim-bug and wanted to start fresh. I'm planning to create a male Dunmer - a member of House Telvanni, a pure mage (maybe make use of the Bound Dagger spell for melee as well, but mainly focus on the use of spells), using Necromancy and undead summons over Atronachs seeing as the Telvanni are perfectly fine with Necromancy (a reason I love them). Now, there's a problem I have - a name. I know that the uesp website has lists of name examples for each of the playable races from previous games, however I want a name that is both original and lore-friendly, something that fits the naming conventions of the race I choose to make a character of. So far, I only have one idea for a male Dunmer name - Valthis Drenoth, but feel uncertain about the name. Think any of you could throw your two septims in, tell me if the name sounds like it would belong to a male Dunmer mage, or if not, help me out or offer any friendly advice. Thank you for your time, everytime.*smiles*

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dunmer_Names

Though I see no reason to limit yourself to using only the Dunmeri names since all Mer share a common ancestry.

I know that the different groups of Mer, including the Pariah Folk Orsimer, all trace their roots to the Aldmer, the First Elves, but it looks like their naming conventions drifted slightly as the different groups of Mer began to form - with the Altmer keeping the closest semblance to Aldmeri naming traditions while the Dunmer possess two parts of their name - a first and family name in most cases - while the Orcs/Orsimer had their naming traditions change when they transformed into what they are to this day. Also, I appreciate the link to the list of past-game Dunmer names, but I mentioned it earlier in my original post. Thank you though, I appreciate the link regardless. However, what do you think of my only name idea so far - Valthis Drenoth? Does it sound Dunmeri-enough to pass as a lore-friendly male Dunmer name?

Anyone else? I would love additional input and/or advice.

You could pull a Brand-Shei and have your person be raised by a different culture if you can't think of an Elf name.

Tempting, but I might have to pass on that. Besides, Dunmer names are as challenging as Bosmer or Altmer names for me, but I still feel uncertain about any I create - which is also why I asked to see if the name Valthis Drenoth would fit the bill for a Dunmer who happens to be a part of the Great House Telvanni, or any male Dunmer for that matter.

I don't think political association would influence names that much, I reckon. There are some unique names to retainers and lords of a house, such as Telvanni and Tenvanni, but for most people, seeing as many aren't born into it either, I don't think it'd matter too much if you were Valthis Drenoth or Valthis Magicalblueskyfairofdoomvannisberg

Heh, fair enough, I suppose. I'm just wanting to make sure my names at least sound lore-friendly for the race as a whole. I tend to be rather picky about naming a character as I strive for something that sounds like it would be part of the race itself, like for an Orc character, I would name him Gormak gro-Burzog, or a Breton would be named Tristan Delacroix, or Anton Delacroix. I just like my names to sound appropriate depending on the race.

I understand what you mean by that. I have yet to ever name a character Bob or JadeN da Man and try to make it as lore accurate as possible. Although it seems the Bretons of Skyrim seem to vary from their older counterparts, throwing me for a tiny loop.

Yeah, probably because some of the Bretons in Skyrim might be descendants of the Reachmen, who are definitely different from the High Rock breed of Bretons. It definitely throws you off seeing some of those names compared to the traditional French-inspired names like Francois or Mirabelle. And it's good to see people also strive for lore-accurate names when it comes to their characters. I honestly just don't like it when I see people throw out rather random and just downright silly names in forums where people are looking for actual advice on a fitting name. If it's jokingly thrown out there, I get it, but still....Sorry, getting off topic, heh.

Anyone else on the forums interested in giving their opinion - maybe on the Valthis Drenoth name idea? I sort of feel like it would fit, but I wouldn't mind hearing your opinions on it, even if it's just one or two people sharing their opinion on the name.