How do you name your Faerie/Little People ?

[Naruzeldamaster]

So for my story, it's all about breaking 'conventions' (not in that way, more so upturning common tropes in similar stories)
It adheres to quite a few of the more common ones, but with the caveat that it also takes self aware jabs at those too.

My Faerie are quite human like (And sometimes GIANT like, if they want to, and if their magic is strong enough notably their queen.) and so are the other magical races.
So while I do (attempt to) dot every T and Cross every I, I put my own spin on it.

For the faerie folk I'm thinking of having a mix of human names and 'classic' faerie names. (Tilly is one that came to mind for a minor one Trill is another one etc)

 

[A. E. Lowan]

We have fae a'plenty. Grow up Irish and just try to get away. This means I will mess with anything. Nothing is sacred... mostly. Fortunately, all of our fae are located in an Urban Fantasy world, so it doesn't take much of a stretch to begin pushing boundaries. We've got redcaps and jack 'o irons and succubae both fae and demonic. We have the mighty sidhe lords and we have faerie cats and garden pixies and flower faeries with intoxicating dust soft and colorful on their skin. Our angels and demons are both rooted in tradition and not exactly what they seem. Unicorns, which we haven't seen, yet, are virgin thieves. Best place to find those? Elementary school playgrounds. And the 45 types of therian shapeshifters have a complicated and often tragic origin story.

 

[ThinkerX]

Elves/Satyrs: Mostly from lists of mythological names for those beings, plus some that are made up or borrowed from humans.

Other Fey: Mostly descriptive. True names are confidential, as knowing them grants control.

Fey and certain other races are spiritual beings from one of the Etheric realms, where names are literally all-important because they define identity.

Fey in the physical realms inhabit organic 'shells' grown to purpose, hence things like Dryad's trees. Elves were an etheric race which became 'trapped' in human bodies, which they modified for longevity and magic. Satyres are a physical race with a 'casual link' to the Etheric.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

We have fae a'plenty. Grow up Irish and just try to get away. This means I will mess with anything. Nothing is sacred... mostly. Fortunately, all of our fae are located in an Urban Fantasy world, so it doesn't take much of a stretch to begin pushing boundaries. We've got redcaps and jack 'o irons and succubae both fae and demonic. We have the mighty sidhe lords and we have faerie cats and garden pixies and flower faeries with intoxicating dust soft and colorful on their skin. Our angels and demons are both rooted in tradition and not exactly what they seem. Unicorns, which we haven't seen, yet, are virgin thieves. Best place to find those? Elementary school playgrounds. And the 45 types of therian shapeshifters have a complicated and often tragic origin story.

Succubae you say [eyebrow wiggle] lol I'm kidding, but interesting, don't see those too often. Quick shout cause you mentioned them. I suggest checking out the game Catharine if you haven't, it features a Succubae lady. (I'd say who it is but it's a spoiler) And the plot (not that kind lol) is interesting for a puzzle game. Fair warning, later levels are BRUTAL. Best part of the game is how you can choose to get different endings.

My Faerie folk (at least the ones I'm introducing this chapter) are more on the tinkerbell/ferngully side of things. With the exception of the changes I mentioned in my faerie biology thread. They have true names but they're very protective of their 'true' names so they often introduce themselves as their pen names. (quite a few of them are writers in their free time, even the queen lol)

Quick unrelated question: Would Sirens and Banshee count as Faerie? I am pretty sure Sirens are but Banshee are more...ghosts usually.

Elves/Satyrs: Mostly from lists of mythological names for those beings, plus some that are made up or borrowed from humans.

Other Fey: Mostly descriptive. True names are confidential, as knowing them grants control.

Fey and certain other races are spiritual beings from one of the Etheric realms, where names are literally all-important because they define identity.

Fey in the physical realms inhabit organic 'shells' grown to purpose, hence things like Dryad's trees. Elves were an etheric race which became 'trapped' in human bodies, which they modified for longevity and magic. Satyres are a physical race with a 'casual link' to the Etheric.

I love this~
I was more interested in faerie (as in tinkerbell etc) but this is neat. I like the detail about them being 'trapped' in physical bodies.

 

[Insolent Lad]

Actual 'little people' --- sprites and brownies and such -- have only shown up in my children's books and I went with the conventional choice of naming them for flowers and that sort of thing. Marjoram the sprite, Hob and Gob the brownies. Nettle and Nightshade the goblins. And so on. The elves of my adult fantasy have their own private names in their own myriad languages and didn't share them with me. Mortals, of course, make up their own names for them and many fay have several such names they are willing to use as whim takes them.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Succubae you say [eyebrow wiggle] lol I'm kidding, but interesting, don't see those too often. Quick shout cause you mentioned them. I suggest checking out the game Catharine if you haven't, it features a Succubae lady. (I'd say who it is but it's a spoiler) And the plot (not that kind lol) is interesting for a puzzle game. Fair warning, later levels are BRUTAL. Best part of the game is how you can choose to get different endings.

My Faerie folk (at least the ones I'm introducing this chapter) are more on the tinkerbell/ferngully side of things. With the exception of the changes I mentioned in my faerie biology thread. They have true names but they're very protective of their 'true' names so they often introduce themselves as their pen names. (quite a few of them are writers in their free time, even the queen lol)

Quick unrelated question: Would Sirens and Banshee count as Faerie? I am pretty sure Sirens are but Banshee are more...ghosts usually.

I love this~
I was more interested in faerie (as in tinkerbell etc) but this is neat. I like the detail about them being 'trapped' in physical bodies.

The answer is in the name. Banshee in Irish are called Bean Sidhe, or the Washerwoman. Basically the same pronunciation. Maybe more 'ghostly' than actual ghosts. In Ireland, as in other places, Faerie is tied closely to the realms of the dead and are thought to intermingle. Thus, we can have a fae harbinger of death.

Curiously enough, it's the sirens that give me pause. We count selkies as therian, because they have animal forms and tend to run with actual therian, but they're firmly fae. They just like living in the Mortal Realm. Sirens could be fae. A siren actually marries into the central family, to a cousin in San Francisco. She ended up killing that entire branch of the family in a fit of rage at an infidelity. Harbor waves are beastly.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

The answer is in the name. Banshee in Irish are called Bean Sidhe, or the Washerwoman. Basically the same pronunciation. Maybe more 'ghostly' than actual ghosts. In Ireland, as in other places, Faerie is tied closely to the realms of the dead and are thought to intermingle. Thus, we can have a fae harbinger of death.

Curiously enough, it's the sirens that give me pause. We count selkies as therian, because they have animal forms and tend to run with actual therian, but they're firmly fae. They just like living in the Mortal Realm. Sirens could be fae. A siren actually marries into the central family, to a cousin in San Francisco. She ended up killing that entire branch of the family in a fit of rage at an infidelity. Harbor waves are beastly.

I'm kind of cautious about using sirens in my story (I haven't decided if I'll use them) there are SO many versions of them in media. Literally dozens to choose from, heck, even without pop culture involved, there's about umpteen variations of them lol

Banshee I'm torn on if I'll use my own version or if I'll do some research on the actual entity (I want to refrain from pop culture as much as I can)

Same way with Yuki Onna when I have the protagonists visit the snowy region of my story. Do I go 'traditional' (Based on the actual Yokai) or do I go with a 'gets the job done in spirit but also doesn't offend the culture' depiction lol

Sirens I'm confident I can depict without offending anyone. Pop Culture aside I have a rough idea of how they work.

I'm at minimum considering Sirens and Banshee because I was having it be the reason my mute character lost her 'voice'
When the protagonists solve the 'curse' placed on her. she still has no voice. BUT now she can use her bard magic again.

Which will be a big boon later in the story but she only uses it once after she's 'saved' to demonstrate her power to the protagonists.
Let's just say there's a reason she's the L33T clan's demolitionist. (Played for comedy, but she takes her job and her 'skill' seriously)

Side question: Would you consider a Harpy (The mythical species, not the insult related to a lady's personality) to be a Faerie?

 

[pmmg]

I only have one story that has a fairy in it, and it was a stand alone. I named her Rae. I am not sure why, it just popped out of nowhere. When I pictured her, I had a strawberry theme in my mind. So...I think after something earthy.

 

[pmmg]

Side question: Would you consider a Harpy (The mythical species, not the insult related to a lady's personality) to be a Faerie?

No, I would not. Harpies have no tradition as being such, even in their tamest form (wind spirits) they were not considered fairies. They come out of some other branch of the fantasy evolutionary tree.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

No, I would not. Harpies have no tradition as being such, even in their tamest form (wind spirits) they were not considered fairies. They come out of some other branch of the fantasy evolutionary tree.

Interesting, so don't count them among the Fae folk.

Most of the games I've seen them in depict them more as 'monsters' but that doesn't feel quite right either.

I kind of want them to be fully sentient if I include them at all.

 

[pmmg]

In their earliest renditions, Harpies, were not much different from nymphs. They were born of an ocean god and a nymph, and where thought of more as wind spirits. If one was lost at sea, it might be heard that a Harpy had whisked them away (when more likely they fell overboard when no one was looking). Over time they morphed into creatures of divine punishment and later into monstrous hags. But, they were always thought of a likely creature when someone disappeared or went missing. Their origin is typically Greek (as they are Greek). A god was fooling around with a Nymph and then there were Harpies.

Given the evolution of their portrayals, it might be, they were born less ravenous and wicked and just became so over the years for their own reasons.

 

[Romy]

The answer is in the name. Banshee in Irish are called Bean Sidhe, or the Washerwoman.

The washerwoman...
Not the one doing the laundry but those that keep the nuts in place and prevent damage from too rough screwing.
Given the traditional aversion to metal, the rubber versions can be used for seal (navy or oinkoink?) or dampen vibrations.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

The washerwoman...
Not the one doing the laundry but those that keep the nuts in place and prevent damage from too rough screwing.
Given the traditional aversion to metal, the rubber versions can be used for seal (navy or oinkoink?) or dampen vibrations.

Sorry, "those that keep the nuts in place and prevent damage from too rough screwing," stopped me for a moment. I write the Books of Binding and I can be worse than a 13 year-old boy at the pool.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Sorry, "those that keep the nuts in place and prevent damage from too rough screwing," stopped me for a moment. I write the Books of Binding and I can be worse than a 13 year-old boy at the pool.

I'm 38 and I still laugh at a well timed dad joke/fart joke/etc.
That being said, it has to be a good/clever dad joke, and yes those exist. There's a difference between quality puns and even quality anti jokes.
I've kind of learned that after almost 40 years of being a poorly executed punster lol
That being said, reading amilia badilia as a child may have shaped my humor a little...

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I'm 38 and I still laugh at a well timed dad joke/fart joke/etc.
That being said, it has to be a good/clever dad joke, and yes those exist. There's a difference between quality puns and even quality anti jokes.
I've kind of learned that after almost 40 years of being a poorly executed punster lol
That being said, reading amilia badilia as a child may have shaped my humor a little...

My parents were volunteer first responders in New Jersey when they met. My mom was a writer and a brilliant satirist, and Irish is virtue enough, and my dad got dropped on his head from time to time. He had two enlistments in the US Navy. First time broke a submarine. I don't know why they let him back in, but since he changed career paths from coding and computers to medicine, I guess they figured he couldn't do more damage with a syringe instead of a sonar system.

So, of course their first run, that first night, involved a dead body. That's where I come from. They let me read anything I wanted to. Got into some stuff a bit too early doing that, but since it was determined by then that I was the next writer in our family that it would only feed the words in my head.

Note: I'm an autist. Humor does not come naturally. But I loved making people laugh, so I learned how to be funny. Comedy is just tragedy... with timing. And that's the lense I view humor through. That, and I always punch up.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

My parents were volunteer first responders in New Jersey when they met. My mom was a writer and a brilliant satirist, and Irish is virtue enough, and my dad got dropped on his head from time to time. He had two enlistments in the US Navy. First time broke a submarine. I don't know why they let him back in, but since he changed career paths from coding and computers to medicine, I guess they figured he couldn't do more damage with a syringe instead of a sonar system.

So, of course their first run, that first night, involved a dead body. That's where I come from. They let me read anything I wanted to. Got into some stuff a bit too early doing that, but since it was determined by then that I was the next writer in our family that it would only feed the words in my head.

Note: I'm an autist. Humor does not come naturally. But I loved making people laugh, so I learned how to be funny. Comedy is just tragedy... with timing. And that's the lense I view humor through. That, and I always punch up.

I'm on the spectrum, for a couple of different things. But I'm moderately high functioning. (To the point you couldn't tell I was on the spectrum unless my relatives/doctor told you) This has lead to a number of complications. (one of those being how my parents perceive how intelligent I am) But for humor, I am VERY literal/dry. (as in, low fat milk comes from the very skinny cows...) I've been waiting until I get a good read on people to 'joke' with them because I don't know their humor. Some jokes I would make I can only make with a like minded friend I met ages ago on steam too. Not that said jokes are particularly unclean (well some of them are, but a lot of those ones are our original characters being 'silly' with eachother. ) parents just wouldn't get the humor.

Back on the topic of Faerie folk naming, I'm considering leaning into flowers/nature.

Like the first Faerie that appears in the story is named Tilly, as in till the fields to grow crops. But also a play on lilly, like the flower.
The other named fairy is named Rheede. As in a cat tail / reed plant.
Haven't decided on a name for the Faerie Queen who is also the focal point of the chapter yet.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

We stuck with the custom of having multiple, earned, names that can pile up a bit over the course of an immortal life. For example, we have Etienne, a half-human half-sidhe who's about 1100 years old. He can be called Prince. He can be called Queen's Son. Summer's Get is one of the ruder names, again tying him to his royal mother. In the Mortal Realm he went simply by Etienne Knight and became a blacksmith.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

We stuck with the custom of having multiple, earned, names that can pile up a bit over the course of an immortal life. For example, we have Etienne, a half-human half-sidhe who's about 1100 years old. He can be called Prince. He can be called Queen's Son. Summer's Get is one of the ruder names, again tying him to his royal mother. In the Mortal Realm he went simply by Etienne Knight and became a blacksmith.

I actually don't know how many other Faerie (Besides the ferngully/tinkerbell sort) I am gonna include.
I know I want Sirens (But not so much the 'evil' ones, more so the version that just 'do their thing' and sailors just happen to fall into the water?)

While they're not Faerie, I'm planning on having Banshee too. Both of these mythical creatures are (partially) responsible for my mute characters mute-ness. She remains 'mute' (physically, she can use light telepathy to communicate but only when close enough to speak in person.) after the curse is broken, she's able to use her bard magic again.

Well, it's less 'bard' magic and more, this (skip to the kirby show to see what it would sound like in real life) There's a reason she's the L33T Clans demolitionist. lol She had strong promise as a bard before her throat was severely damaged during a training mission. The Bard guild considered her hopeless after so she left and joined the L33T Clan. (It's less a "clan" in the general sense and more of a 'found family' situation)

(sorry for the side tangent but I love this character the more I iron out her kinks lol)

If you have any suggestions for Faerie I can include I'm all ears. Don't worry about them being from other cultures either.

 

[Romy]

I'm on the spectrum, for a couple of different things. But I'm moderately high functioning. (To the point you couldn't tell I was on the spectrum unless my relatives/doctor told you) This has lead to a number of complications. (one of those being how my parents perceive how intelligent I am) But for humor, I am VERY literal/dry. (as in, low fat milk comes from the very skinny cows...) I've been waiting until I get a good read on people to 'joke' with them because I don't know their humor. Some jokes I would make I can only make with a like minded friend I met ages ago on steam too. Not that said jokes are particularly unclean (well some of them are, but a lot of those ones are our original characters being 'silly' with eachother. ) parents just wouldn't get the humor.

Back on the topic of Faerie folk naming, I'm considering leaning into flowers/nature.

Like the first Faerie that appears in the story is named Tilly, as in till the fields to grow crops. But also a play on lilly, like the flower.
The other named fairy is named Rheede. As in a cat tail / reed plant.
Haven't decided on a name for the Faerie Queen who is also the focal point of the chapter yet.

I now wonder how the faeries feel about (low fat) cows being named after flowers...

 

[u aspersum]

My fairies look like giant termites. Sort of like the prawns from District 9. I haven't thought of what they call themselves (due to how their culture and species is, despite being spread over the world, they still maintain a high degree of connection in terms of language and what-not), but whatever outsiders call them would vary based on specific language.