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.