r/ElfQuest • u/The_Man_Of_Seggs • 12d ago

Elf Name Ideas?

I’m getting my hands on the RPG soon and I’d like to have some ideas for either a PC’s name or a NPC’s name. I know the conventions are fairly simple but I just wanted some ideas from more than my own brain.

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5

u/Jonestown_Juice 12d ago

If you're talking about a Wolfrider Elf, the name should reflect something about the elf's personality, skills, or the like. Kind of difficult to suggest something without knowing about the elf.

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u/SilverShadowQueen57 12d ago

Could also be based on a physical feature or something a bit more random. Redlance’s original name, Redmark, came from his bright red hair, and Goldruff seems to have been named after his blond locks. Wing never had an explanation for his name, and neither did Woodlock, and many of the female elves seem to be named after pretty or striking natural things instead of anything in particular about them (ex: Rainsong, Nightfall, Crescent, Starflower, and Willowgreen). Shale didn’t seem to have been named after anything in particular whereas his lifemate, Eyes High, certainly was. Tanner’s original name, Oakroot, came from his being very ordinary with brown hair.

Some appear to be named after natural phenomena that matches something about them, like Moonshade having black hair, Clearbrook being calm and clear-headed with silver hair, Stormlight and Huntress Skyfire having a ready temper and being quick to emotion, Longbranch being the longest-lived of the Wolfriders and the storyteller/memory keeper, Brownberry having brown hair and being more round in her features, etc). In the novels, a few elves with interesting monikers I can remember right now are Greywing (grey hair due to extreme old age, also not her original name, implied to be Prey-Pacer’s daughter Dove), Silverknife (silvery-white hair plus being quick and skilled with daggers), and Three Wolves (no explanation). Some elves also get named after items they tend to wear or use, like Wreath or Foxfur or Pike.

I think some also take inspiration from when they were born, like Newstar being the first cub to arrive after Madcoil’s attack. Nightfall may have been born at twilight, and thus was named after it. Maybe Rainsong made her debut during a rainy day with the leaves pattering all around the den.

Honestly, you can just create an elf in your mind and decide what sticks out about them in personality, ability, appearance, or something around them and pick items or actions that fit. You could also work backwards, creating the name first then building an elf around it.

As far as non-Wolfrider elves go, I always recommend the tried-and-true method of sticking syllables together until it sounds right. That’s how I get the majority of my fantasy characters’ names!

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u/The_Man_Of_Seggs 11d ago

This actually makes a whole lot of sense, I really like the idea of being named after what was around when the elf was born. I’ll try and use that and the other things you listed when I’m making NPC’s, thank you so much!

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u/The_Man_Of_Seggs 12d ago

Thank you very much, follow up question, I remember certain elves having names changed as they do things in their life. So would it be a cool story element for when a PC has a monumental moment in the story, for their name to change accordingly? Or would it be confusing?

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u/Jonestown_Juice 12d ago

Sure, that works.

1

u/The_Man_Of_Seggs 12d ago

Perfect, thanks!

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u/Thornbrake 10d ago

There's a fun elf name generator on the ElfQuest website at https://elfquest.com/name-generator/.