Can Raen's use English/Normal names?

[Sohtak]

(Quick note- Before anyone complains to me, yes I have read ALL the "Raen naming conventions" links and tumblrs, went to all the Japanese to English translating websites I can think of, and it's quite honestly the most infuriating thing I've ever done lol.)

I'm not saying I wanna name a Raen guy "Kevin" but I've been banging my head against the wall for an hour trying to find relatively good IC Raen names and the most I've managed to come across is something with Kiba/Kabuto or Kanago.


My Raen dude is gonna (at least RP Wise) be dragoon based so I'm trying to find something in JP that's based around Agility/Speed/Fang/Dragons etc and I might as well be doing calculus for all the worth it's been.

I know all the lore for Raen's is about them being secluded and not like the Xaela and 16-18th century Edo but nothing sounds good.

So I ask the question, could I just name a Raen...a normal name? Again, not quite along the lines of "Kevin Smith" but something to get me out of this hell I've put myself in.

[Gegenji]

Not gonna lie, I kinda like the idea of a character who either:

a. Has a horribly hard to pronounce name (Sea Wolves!), or

b. Got tired of people asking them what their name means

 

... and instead is like "Just call me Frank." Actually, I think a couple Sea Wolves characters actually do that already ICly. And I have a character I have yet to use yet who is half Sea Wolf, half Hellsguard who goes by "Unpronounceable Name."

 

Honestly, there's nothing wrong with having a moniker or alias or something you use instead - which could also leave you open for finding a "proper" Raen name later if you like. Fang for example. Like Yugiri Mistwalker you could be just... Fang Wyrmscale or whatever.

[Lydia Lightfoot]

You probably don't know who Lee Jun Fan is, but you've probably heard of Bruce Lee.

 

Same guy.

 

 

[Sohtak]

I mean I get what you're saying but that's not entirely helpful? lol

[Lydia Lightfoot]

Well, I mean, the opposite of conventional is unconventional, and in real society we see unconventional names all the time. Thousands of girls named Sarah, and then there's randomly one named Apple. In other words, don't worry too much about it, but, do be prepared for the realistic situation of having a tale to tell about the origin of the unconventional name, because some characters (or their players) are bound to ask. It needn't be anything convoluted, though.

 

"My mother named me Archibald," said the raen warrior, solemnly, "To honor a brave hyur swordsman who had saved her life from a stubborn foe whom, she said, did not relent until he had been repeatedly shown the point."

[Tregarde]

If you can, maybe ask someone who is fluent in Japanese for some help? There are nuances to the language that may not show up in a simple Google search (I'm sure you've gone deeper than Google, but it gets the point across). Especially when talking about older forms of a language.

 

And like was suggested above, maybe your character got tired trying to explain/help others pronounce the given name correctly, so goes by a nickname in 'foreign lands' - if you can't find a Japanese version of, say "Dragon Fang" you like, then just use the English words.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Questions.

 

What other parts of your character's backstory are set? Did he grow up in Othard? Was he possibly on one of the ships of Doman refugees that came to Eorzea? Has he been living in Eorzea for a while already?

 

You could very easily say that your character decided a localized name would make his life easier. Look at almost every Hellsguard. They've had the same thoughts. Something like "well my given name had this meaning, but when I came to these lands, I found that others had difficulty saying or remembering it, so I go by [name] instead." Should you then find a conventional style name that you like, you can easily plug it in. And if you don't, the above will probably give you enough leeway for just about anything provided it looks or sounds like an Eorzean name.

[Valence]

On 4/24/2018 at 9:12 PM, Sohtak said:

I know all the lore for Raen's is about them being secluded and not like the Xaela and 16-18th century Edo but nothing sounds good.

 

I just want to chime in and nitpick a bit, but this will actually help alleviate your reluctance possibly: the Raen are definitely all but secluded. Most of them and their families serve various eastern lords as retainers and vassals. 

 

Sui-no-Sato is a special case and an oddity.

[Lher]

One would imagine a persons birthplace would have a sizeable influence on their name. But as stated before there is nothing wrong with a foreigner having a moniker due to people not being able to say their name properly. You could even have it that your character was getting upset over peoples inability to speak their name correctly.

It really shouldn't matter what a character's name is so as long as it makes sense. For example I don't expect a seeker of the sun born in a non tribal environment to have a [Tribal Letter]'[Name] [Father] kind of name.

[Stormfalcon]

On 4/24/2018 at 12:27 PM, Gegenji said:

Not gonna lie, I kinda like the idea of a character who either:

a. Has a horribly hard to pronounce name (Sea Wolves!), or

b. Got tired of people asking them what their name means

 

... and instead is like "Just call me Frank." Actually, I think a couple Sea Wolves characters actually do that already ICly. And I have a character I have yet to use yet who is half Sea Wolf, half Hellsguard who goes by "Unpronounceable Name."

 

Honestly, there's nothing wrong with having a moniker or alias or something you use instead - which could also leave you open for finding a "proper" Raen name later if you like. Fang for example. Like Yugiri Mistwalker you could be just... Fang Wyrmscale or whatever.

 

That's pretty much part of the reason why my Mateus character, Daphne, goes by that name rather than the one she was born with as a Xaela (Boljigchi Qerel). She decided it was much, much easier to let others use a name for her that they could pronounce easily than spend the time trying to get them to pronounce her birth name properly.

 

(Other part of the reason is that the isolationist tribe she was born to declared her dead to them when she decided she could do more good in the outside world. What better way to mark a new life than to start anew with a new name?)