A week or so ago, I was mulling about the meaning of names in Glorantha. So while traveling back from Chaosium Con under the influence of lots of painkillers (from a strained lumbar – don’t worry folk, it’s a common skiing injury!), I typed up this. It is likely WAY MORE than will make it into the new edition, but at least you can see some thought has gone into the idea!
This cribs off stuff Greg and I came up with before Sartar Kingdom of Heroes and from those Titles for Rulers essay I posted some time ago.
Sartarite Names
Sartarite names are given at birth by their parents. At their initiation, new adults may choose a new name or confirm their birth names.
All Orlanthi names function like those in many ancient cultures as compounds of meaningful roots. They draw heavily from gods (Orlanth, Ernalda, Barntar), heroes, ancestors, and runes/concepts (Storm, Earth, Lightning, etc.). Prefixes often evoke lineage, virtues, or divine favor; suffixes denote qualities, roles, or kinship.
Names within families often are alliterative (siblings often share prefixes), and many lineages share compounds (e.g., Harmast son of Hardrinor).
A person is typically identified by their adult name, and their relationship (son or daughter) to their higher status parent. If both parents are of equal status, the father is typically given.
Example:
“My father was Maniski, as honorable and brave a warrior as has ever walked among the Sartari. My mother was Yanioth Two‑sight, the huntress who ran down the red deer in the Dog‑rat valley. Everyone knows her mother, for she was the daughter of Arene Thunderqueen, who commanded the triceratops to destroy Janastan. Arene Thunderqueen’s mother was famous, for she was Minara, the good one of the three sisters who staunched the wounds of Kostajor Wolf-Champion. Everyone knows the three sisters were daughters of Onelisin Cat‑Witch.
“Princess Onelisin was the daughter of Prince Saronil Sartarsson, the First Prince of the land. Onelisin was the sister of kings: Jarolar was her elder brother, and he was famous for fighting the Lunars. And King Tarkalor was her younger brother, who is the most famous king of Sartar.”
Naming Patterns
Liberation/Rebellion Roots: Ar-/Arg- (as in Argrath/Arkat) = breaker of bonds. Pairs well with storm motifs (Orlanth as rebel king).
Storm/War: Orl-, Bro-, Har-, Jar-, Var-, Ven-, -brast, -harl, -tar.
Earth/Fertility: Dara-, Dor-, Esrol-, -sulva, -a, -eva, -vale.
Heroic/Ancestral: Gar-, Harm-, Sar-, Tark-, Ivarn-.
Qualities: -and (enduring), -kos/-stakos (steadfast), -mast (mighty), -lanth (great).
Male Names
- Argrath — “Liberator”. A title/name for one who frees people from oppression, often with destroyer-rebel connotations.
- Andrin — “Andr-” (strong/ancestor) + “-in” (person/diminutive) → “Strong Man” or “Enduring Companion”.
- Aslandar — “Asl-” (ash/remnant/survivor) + “-andar” (enduring/great) → “Enduring Great One” or “Survivor Chief”.
- Broyan — “Bro-” (storm/thunder strength) + “-yan” (youth/descendant) → “Young Storm Leader” or “Thunder Youth”.
- Dorasar / Dorasor — “Dor-” (gift/earth) + “-asar/-asor” (hero/spear) → “Earth-Gifted Hero”.
- Garadangian — “Gara-” (founder/ancestor Garan, “Blessed Star” or “Near Star”) + “-dangian” (great/ruling) → “Great Near Star”.
- Harmast — “Har-” (high/battle) + “-mast” (might/strength) → “Battle Might” or “High Martial Leader”.
- Jarstakos — “Jar-” (star/leader) + “-stakos” (steadfast) → “Steadfast Sky Leader”.
- Orlbrast — “Orl-” (Orlanth/storm) + “-brast” (burst/thunder) → “Storm Burst” or “Orlanth’s Thunder”.
- Saronil — “Sar-” (Sartar) + “-onil” (heroic/little) → “Little Builder” or “Son of the First Leader”.
- Tarkalor — “Tar(k)-” (high/thunder/kingly) + “-kalor” (glorious/ruler) → “High Glorious Leader” or “Thunder King”.
- Venharl — “Ven-” (wind) + “-harl” (battle) → “Wind Battle Companion”.
Female Names
- Andrasta — “Andr-” (strong) + “-asta” (heroic/feminine) → “Strong Heroine” or “Unconquerable Woman”.
- Beneva — “Ben-” (good/blessed) + “-eva” (life/earth) → “Blessed Earth Life”.
- Daralsulva — “Dara-” (earth/gift) + “-sulva” (flowing/beautiful) → “Flowing Earth Gift” or “Beautiful Ground Queen”.
- Dorasa — “Dor-” (gift/earth) + “-asa” (feminine) → “Earth Gift” or “Daughter of the Ground” (fertility Queen).
- Esrolvula — “Esrol-” (Esrola/earth goddess) + “-vula” (child/flower) → “Little Esrola” or “Earth Flower Child”.
- Ivarne — “Ivarn-” (heroic/goddess) + “-e” (feminine) → “Heroic Woman” or “She Who Leads” (heroic Queenor foremother).
- Jareen — “Jar-” (star/leader) + “-een” (diminutive/feminine) → “Little Star” or “Bright Foremost Woman”(star-seer leader).
- Kallyr — “Kall-” (strong/call) + “-yr” (ruler/feminine) → “Strong Caller” or “Battle Queen”.
- Leika — “Lei-” (free/play) + “-ka” (diminutive) → “Little Free One”.
- Onelisen — “Onel-” (ancestor) + “-isen” (feminine/wisdom) → “Wise Ancestor’s Daughter”.
- Vareena — “Var-” (wind/true) + “-eena” (feminine) → “True Wind Maiden”.
- Yanioth — “Yan-” (common root) + “-ioth” (star/sight) → “Far Sighted Woman”.
Common Thematic Patterns (Tied to Titles)
- Leadership Roots: Tar(k)-, Jar-, Sar-, -dangian, -kalor, -lanth, -mast → (“First/Foremost”), or (“Leader”).
- Martial/Thane Roots: Har-, Bro-, Ven-, -brast, -harl → (“Lord”, “Warrior”).
- Liberation/Rebel: Ar(g)- (as in Argrath) → (“Unbinder”).
- Earth/Queenly: Dara-, Dor-, Esrol-, -a, -eva, -sulva → (“Great Mother”).
- Great One/Chief: -and (enduring), -kos (steadfast), Jar- or Har- → (“Great One/Big Man”).
A Sartarite parent might name a son Tarkalor hoping he becomes a glorious leader, or a daughter Kallyr expecting a strong ruler who calls warriors to battle. Names like Argrath are often earned or adopted upon great deeds, not just given at birth.
Nicknames
Nicknames are very common among the Sartarites. Some nicknames are poetic, others are prosaic. Some are badges of honor, others of mockery and ridicule. A nickname should reflect an ability or a past event that you choose for your player character.
Examples: Bald, Barefoot, Chaoskiller, Dragonslayer, Flier, Glum, Greybeard, Handsome, Hairy, Long-nose, Lucky, Many-Kin, Purple, Red, Raven-Tresses, Restless, Short, Strong, Sure-handed, Swift, Swimmer, Tall, Two-Sight, Poet, Ugly, Wanderer, Wideread.
See also
So going all Gene Wolfe, we might introduce our character as:
“I am Warlike Might, son of Battle Wind, of the Mighty Warriors clan. My wife is Earth Gift from the Little Earth Mother clan.”
Translation I am Vargast son of Venharl of the Varmandi Clan. My wife is Dorasa of the Ernaldori Clan.
Something I think is cool if we run with this is that Sartarite names are their own meanings. “Vargast” is Warlike Might. When someone is called “Vargast the Strong,” listeners understand the full meaning as Strong Warlike Might. Epithets and titles layer naturally onto the inherent meaning of the name.
But if we are a native New Pelorian speaker who has learned Sartarite, these names are so inherently boastful.
How many names are derived from Stormspeech or Earth Tongue? I imagine a lot. The relationship between Sartarite and Stormspeech is like that between Modern Arabic and Classical Arabic or between French/Italian/Spanish and Latin.