Yeah, at least he has a very very very Finnish name.


"Kiva" would actually translate just to "nice". I wouldn't really use it for the other terms the translator came up with, as there are words better suited for those... Cute = s?p?, ripping = repiv?, funny = hauska, great = mahtava. So the translator was 20% right.

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/interviews-3-booksellers goes into a little detail about the khajiit names.

In Morrowind some Altmer had the last name "of Summerset Isle settlement." I don't know if there is a reason behind them not having them in Oblivion. Space issues maybe? If you want to go that route this http://www.imperial-library.info/sites/default/files/gallery_files/politicalmapqb8.jpg has some good detail for settlements. If you go the one word route using a Tolkien-esque sounding name would be a good choice.

Nords have Nordic sounding names. Some of them have descriptive nicknames like lazy, the braggart, clever, etc.

Bretons have french sounding names.

Redguards usually have one word names.

Argonians from what I remember have an Argonian name and then usually use the Cryodillic Translation. Example: Haj-ei = Hides His Eyes. Think in Oblivion they mostly use a Argonian name.

Imperials have roman sounding names.

Bosmer have one word names. Tolkien-esque sounding usually.

Dunmer have two word names with a family last name. Good choices could probably be found on this http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Category:Morrowind-Non_Relevant_NPCs It includes a lot of Ashlander names.

Orcs have the gro- prefix for males and gra- for females on their last names.

Those generators posted are good to use but if you want to try your hand at making one up yourself hopefully this will help.

/nerd mode off

I tend to use lore-correct names. In Morrowind I made one character called Nephren-Ka who was to become a Lich, but that's the only time I've used one that wasn't "correct".

I feel it adds immersion. For me at least. I have a book of names for my characters, I quite often sit listening to music and thinking up names that fit.

there could be a character called Nobody - just like in Odisseia - so when dumb crime wictims were interrogated, they'd say "nobody stole a billion euros from me" or "nobody killed my neighbour".

Would be funny to see pissed-off guards accusing the poor wictim of wasting their time, and aplying a PITA-fine to them.

Speaking of which, anybody ever tried making a character like Odisseus?

Slight correction to the above. The Orcs' names work like Icelandic ones, and have their Father's name following the gro- or gra-, rather than a Family name that continues from one generation to the next. The Elves do have Family/House names but the Family/House can include supporters, rather than strictly relatives.

Of course there are exceptions: Lady Rogbut gra-Shurgak should really be Rogbut gra-Rugdumph, but Lord R is trying to emulate the elves with a Family/House name, so he's ignoring the traditions. There are a few characters around of mixed race, so they can get their race from their mother's side, and their name from the father's - e..g. Angelie Blakely is the Redguard daughter of a Breton. That gives you precedent for mixing and matching for your own character. Dro-Shamble the Incompetent could be a Khajiit with a Nord father, or Emilie gra-Glurk could be a Breton with an Orc father.