Drow names: prefixes and suffixes

[GRWelsh]

Every once in a while, I'll write down game notes like this in a fit of pedantic boredom... I thought I'd share it with you guys in case it may ever be useful. This is simply a name base for Gygaxian Drow names for the World of Greyhawk (with Eldralve from the A modules added in as well). Another option would be to add infix (the middle part of a word) as well, instead of breaking every proper name down into simply prefix and suffix. The intent is to make a resource that allows you to create Drow proper names that sound Gygaxian and reminiscent of those in the classic modules.

Adinirahc (male) Prefix: Ad- Adi- Adin- Adini- Adinir- Suffixes: -inirahc -nirahc -irahc -rahc -ahc
Anatlab (male) Prefix: An- Anat- Suffix: -atlab -lab
Ardulace (female) Prefix: Ar- Ard- Ardu- Ardul- Suffix: -dulace -ulace -lace -ace
Baltana (female) Prefix: Bal- Balt- Balta- Suffix: -tana -ana -na
Belgos (male) Prefix: Bel- Belg- Suffix: -gos -os
Charinida (female) Prefix: Char- Chari- Charin- Charini- Suffix: -inida -nida -ida -da
Divolg (male) Prefix: Di- Div- Suffix: -volg -olg
Drisinil (female) Prefix: Dri- Dris- Drisi- Drisin- Suffix: -sinil -inil -nil -il
Eclavdra (female) Prefix: Ec- Eclav- Suffix: -lavdra -dra
Eldralve (female) Prefix: El- Eld- Suffix: -dralve -ralve
Erelda (female) Prefix: Er- Erel- Ereld- Suffix: -elda -da -a
Inidil (female) Prefix: In- Inid- Suffix: -idil -il
Istolil (male) Prefix: Is- Ist- Isto- Istol- Suffix:-tolil -olil -lil -il
Jysiln (female) Prefix: Jy- Jys- Suffix: -siln -iln
Lesaonar (male) Prefix: Le- Les- Lesa- Lesao- Suffix: -saonar -aonar -onar -nar
Lirdnolu (female) Prefix: Lird- Lirdno- Suffix: -nolu -lu
Lyme (male) Prefix: Ly- Suffix: -me
Merinid (male)Prefix: Mer- Meri- Suffix: -inid -nid
Micarlin (female) Prefix: Mi- Mic- Micar- Suffix: -carlin -arlin -lin
Minolin (female) Prefix: Mi- Min- Mino- Minol- Suffix: -nolin -olin -lin -in
Molvayas (female) Prefix: Mol- Molva- Molvay- Suffix: -vayas -yas -as
Nedylene (female) Prefix: Ne- Ned- Nedy- Nedyl- Suffix: -dylene -ylene -lene -ene
Nilonim (male) Prefix: Ni- Nil- Nilo- Nilon- Suffix: -lonim -onim -nim -im
Pellanistra (female) Prefix: Pel- Pell- Pella- Pellan- Pellani- Pellanis- Suffix: -lanistra -anistra -nistra -istra -tra
Relonar (male) Prefix: Re- Rel- Relo- Relon- Suffix: -lonar -onar -nar -ar
Riklaunim (male)Prefix: Ri- Rik- Rikla- Riklau- Riklaun- Suffix: -klaunim -launim - aunim -unim -nim -im
Telenna (female) Prefix: Te- Tel- Telen- Suffix: -lenna -enna -na
Vlondril (female) Prefix: Vlon- Vlond- Suffix: -dril -ril
Zebeyana (female) Prefix: Ze- Zeb- Zebe- Zebey- Suffix: -beyana -eyana -yana -ana

[geneweigel]

Looking at them some seem reflected.

Lyme is a reference to Welles who Gary had sought out in Hollywood.

We went over Belgos which is "Bela Lugosi" said fast and trailing.

Charinida/Adinirahc, Eclavdra/Ardulace, Anatlab/Baltana, Lirdnolu/Vlondril are reflections

[grodog]

Mar 5, 2024 12:38:47 GMT -5 GRWelsh said:

Every once in a while, I'll write down game notes like this in a fit of pedantic boredom... I thought I'd share it with you guys in case it may ever be useful. This is simply a name base for Gygaxian Drow names for the World of Greyhawk

Very cool! For my drowic slave market, I created a list of male and female drow names. Now I’ll have to see if I can tweak some to follow the Gygaxian nomenclature more closely

Allan.

[geneweigel]

The out-of-game design thinking seems to be using the naming conventions of D&D of distorted real names but here in the drow case its distort a name then have a parallel flipped/reversed as yet another figure.

[geneweigel]

Heh, this is irrelevant but just now it looked like I typed "real games" instead of "real names" but I swore that I type it correctly. It was a mosquito on the screen!

[GRWelsh]

I never made the Lyme = Harry Lime connection, Gene. Is this something EGG told you, specifically? Because if D3 was published in 1978 and EGG didn't go to Hollywood and meet Welles until the 1980's, I'm not sure why he'd put the Welles reference in D3 -- unless he was already a big Welles fan.

I hadn't noticed the reflections before! Nice catch! That principle could be applied to other names that haven't already been flipped to create more Gygaxian-like names. I noticed that some are not merely flipped, but have other slight alterations as well (v > u, a and l changed places).

[geneweigel]

Gary went off on the Welles thing. He sought him out in Hollywood as he was from the Midwest area. He was a big fan of the radio shows and the Lyme related movies. The scene in THE THIRD MAN (1949)with the justification of random evil for money was the motivation for the drow association. I had the soundtrack record and made a recording of the zither song into an mp3 then sent it to him. We went over Welles movies and while he saw most, he had yet to see all of them but he wasn't as amped for seeing movies as I was. He of course talked about getting him into TSR in different ways but the main plan was the films. According to Gary, the ruler of Greyhawk, Nerof Gasgol, was conceived as Orson Welles as Harry Lyme. That's why I had the sketch of Nerof on the website looking Welles-ish.

[GRWelsh]

I remembered Orson Welles doing a commercial for that DARK TOWER game (1981) by Milton Bradley... Obviously, it was capitalizing on the D&D craze and wanted to be a computer game, too -- the other big craze at the time. I assumed EGG pursued Welles for the D&D movie project because of this commercial, or that they were somehow connected. In any case, Welles was a fine choice for an antagonist in a D&D movie as he had the proper gravitas... Too bad it never happened.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3HVCwPp7j0

[grodog]

Mar 5, 2024 15:10:15 GMT -5 grodog said:

Very cool! For my drowic slave market, I created a list of male and female drow names. Now I’ll have to see if I can tweak some to follow the Gygaxian nomenclature more closely

Here are my three raw names lists; 35 each for female and male, 50 for either/both in the lists:

Drowic Names - Female
A’rrian
Alsyion
Angellesna
Arsûndra
Belímur
Budrana
Charak-kaal
Cu’un-I’lüss
Dyneetha
Edné
Elína
Elourisyood
Enolja
Ferranu
F’lonee-tza
Hliseet
Ionaire
Isald’m
Kaladandra
Lazlvie’n
Lour-i-vyen
Marangi
Myrösnya
Nald’navamaral
Nyax
Ouln-ûdril
Pyrtroor
R’rylían
Seldren
Trest’l
Uleeza
Utûpa
Yresospba
Yvripti
Ze’en-voéa

Drowic Names - Male
A’Chan
Albraka
Alquein
Aret
Brozäkh
Cabral
Clévaar
Druutsuen
Duglazü
Eloyc’bal
Evern
Fiel-Immoch
Gíor
Kellour-D’nak
Ly-sogar
Lysond
Mal-kad’zär
Malzakar
Na-g’röth
Nirivig
Ozan
Qan’teb
Rios-cqou
Sercva’al
Slatev
Snom’n
Sûttunol
Talatar
Themyeus
Treloar
Varan-kal
Xorûsk
Yh-cor’l
Xord-näs’d
Z’baal-arg

Drowic Names - Both/Either
Af-mien
Ahnwoor
Amarendra
Anak-kulandíl
Anakûl
Aramendra
Behysoar
Channor
Dahríc
Darlehn
Draumuor
E’tra-Zuurh
Ekyim
Elinín
Endenier
Erdnala
Eren-sodu
Festrali
Gallindr
Greelav
H’ryxtr
Herré
Idnand
Jinnea
Kextee
Lian-ka’czärr
Lessien
Mancazar
Mancyer
Mateda
Mul’laji
Mûlthyr
Nephartak
Nyarhm
Otzra
Oulyrean
Paríl
Pentullí
P’rtoor
Q’rissand
Qisra
Rhyar
Sakaritíl
Tsitkala-Sa
Ukonnía
Ulino
Valanq
Vinxé
Wulloq
Zalan

Allan.

[GRWelsh]

Nice! These name lists are always good to have around for when players randomly talk to an NPC that you didn't name. It always happens that they want to key in on some random guy to role play with for an hour... I have some more name lists around that I'll post in the next few days. I once did them up for names appearing in the Flanaess broken out in various ways such as by race, region, etc.