orcish names

[Androxine Vortex]

Oh no not another naming thread! I know I know...

I've been brainstorming and creating a lot of Orc names for my novel and was hoping you could help me.

here is a list of names I came up with...
Malorg
Urlok
Beshog
Orlag
Mogruk
Urakar
Morgath

These are only a few but you get the idea. Do you like them at all? I am trying to keep them ugly and choppy. I seem to be running out of ideas and it seems that almost every name I invent sounds the same with prefixes and suffixes. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? I have already tried using name generators but didn't care for any of them

Here's a list of Goblin names as well...
Krashnyak
Vraaknash
Satryg
Tallie
Vroshengk

(I am testing my new phone on this site so if anything is weird why lol)

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Not sure why the one goblin name says tallie. Stupid auto correct. It should say Raaklur

 

[Ireth]

I like them all except for Morgath -- you might get complaints from Tolkienites who think you're ripping off of his character Morgoth. Just be careful.

 

[Queshire]

One thing I would suggest is to not limit yourself to those stereotypical hard sounding Orcish names. It's a frequent topic on this forum that most fantasy races used in fantasy are cookie-cutter carbon copies of each other. All elves are better, all dwarves are the same, etc. etc. By simply avoiding stereotypical names for members of a race, you can go a long way of making your version seem unique.

To that end, for Orcs I suggest taking a look at the names associated with cultures throughout history with an assosiation for harshness and brutality such as the Aztec, Pacific Islanders, or the Mongols.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I like the idea of mixing it up. Have you looked at Russian names? Slavic? There are loads of cultures who use harsher sounds than American names.

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

If you want my honest opinion then I would heed the words of Queshire and drop the Orc names all together. No offense to your naming skills, but we've heard those kinds of names before so they don't offer anything fresh. Come up with a new naming system as Queshire suggests and that would bring some originality forward, naming is one of the easiest ways to be original. The goblin names are good and strong though, you should keep them.

 

[Ophiucha]

The orcish names sound very... Elder Scrolls-y.
The gnomish ones aren't bad, though. A little unwieldy, but they're goblins, so I guess that makes sense.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

typically when I write fantasy I try to make things as original as possible and I don't usualy write about elves and or orcs. So for this project I guess I wanted to make the orcs stereotypical. I don't think there is anything wrong in pretesting the orcs this way. Although it might seem cliche it WAShow they were designed. when I get a chance I will check out the suggested cultures.

And do you all feel strongly against stereotypical orcs? I mean just because something is somewhat cliche doesn't mean it is necessarily bad

 

[Steerpike]

And do you all feel strongly against stereotypical orcs? I mean just because something is somewhat cliche doesn't mean it is necessarily bad

There is no reason whatsoever that you can't write an excellent story using a standard presentation of orcs as has been done in many fantasy stories since Tolkien. It is the story itself, and more importantly your writing of it, that will either carry the day or not. If you write a great story, having standard orcs will not be a problem. If you can't write a good story, then putting a new spin on orcs won't save you. Your orcs could be a bunch of flower children who drive around in a van and solve mysteries and no one would read it just because that's a new way of presenting orcs.

In other words, go with what you were planning and don't worry about whether you've got a new take on orcs.

 

[Jabrosky]

And do you all feel strongly against stereotypical orcs? I mean just because something is somewhat cliche doesn't mean it is necessarily bad

I don't really like stereotypical orcs that much, but not because I'm anti-cliche on principle. Rather, I've always felt this strange sympathy for them and never liked it that they were usually the bad guys pitted against noble elves.

Of course, if you want old-school evil orcs with guttural names, go right ahead.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

My dumb phone won't let me quote you but good post steerpike my thoughts exactly. I guess I was just surprised as to many people were opposed to it. I am not going to make it completely stereotypical there is a major part of the novel where the tribal clans come in contact with civilized orcs that actually live in a city and are trying to build an intelligent empire

 

[Queshire]

Hm hm, for me personally I wouldn't say I'm opposed to it per say, I just thought it would be best to point out that you shouldn't feel limited in your interperetation of Orcs by what has come before.

 

[Saigonnus]

I used to name my Orcish characters (I played one or two) with names like Gudlaug Klinrac (good log, clean rock) after things in nature, like the native americans tended to do. In my world, they were a bit more intelligent and more nomadic in nature rather than being more sedentary (living in caves) and raiding crops and villages for food. I suggest coming up with something that makes them unique to your world, something that works within the social constructs you have in place. Think about how and where they live, what weapons do they use? how smart are they? What is their relationship with the different races they come into contact with? Are they evil or simply misunderstood? Do they have magical talents? Superstitious? How large are their communities if they have them? Things like these; even if not mentioned in the story can give them a sense of depth that the readers will pick up on.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

good post Saigonnus. my orcs are shamanistic and wage battle to bring glory to their clan and ancestors. They are not an evil race just misunderstood by their barbaric beliefs. I have based a lot of their culture off of many native Americans. But there are also more intelligent orcs who live in a huge stone city and are trying to forge an orc empire. I'm in the process now of adding more color to their culture and customs

 

[SeverinR]

Orc Names
There is an orc name generator.

John's Dungeons and Dragons Utilities
A whole list of generators. I like the town generator, quick and easy.

 

[Robert Donnell]

Actually I am writing some Orcish Characters and the D&D Orc name generator will give me all of the Orc names I could ever want. I am going with the assumption that an Orc name has some meaning like Gorgoop = Snores like Thunder. So I could name the Orc in Orcish but use 'Thunder as an English translation throughout the book without getting too bogged down with totally unpronounceable Orc names.

 

[SeverinR]

I like name generators for secondary characters, occasionally I'll like one good enough for a main character.

It is nice to be able to tell what a name means. Mariah-means "Star of the Sea" or the "Wind"

 

[Havoc]

Have you tried using a name generator there are several good ones including donjon and rinkworks. I always use them when I get stuck, you can find a good name then I like putting my own spin on them or adding a few letters. I do agree with the above that some of those names sound common. Keep Writing!