Orc names are generally GivenName gro/gra XXX right? So is the last part a family name, or the name of a parent?

Put another way, my orc, Kharag gro Aruk has a son, Garash. Is it Garash gro Aruk, or Garash gro Kharag?

I believe the last name would be the family name. Kharah gro-Aruk, Garash gro-Aruk, Dantrag gro-Aruk, ect.

http://www.imperial-library.info/zeph/TES_Tre_2_10.shtml

That article suggests the final name element is that of the parent, which I'm inclined to agree with, but it could equally well be a family or clan name.


On Orc names that don't fit the convention - there are a number of names in MW that don't fit the usual conventions for that NPCs race, and I think most of them are either oversights (e.g NPCs added by devs not aware of the convention other devs were using) or obscure in-jokes.

From http://www.imperial-library.info/dogate/daggerfacts.shtml:

Remember Gortwog, the Orc-lord of Orsinium? His full name is Gortwog gro-Nagorm. It's the Orcish way of providing a patronymic (father's name); Nagorm was his pops. If Gortwog had a sister, she would've been gra-Nagorm. .

Seems definitive enough for me. Thanks everyone!