#name req

[clowndestroyer2000]

justmadeacharacterireallylikeonaccidentwhatdoinamethemwhataarrrgghh

NAME SUGGESTIONS!!! THEY ARE VERY ALIEN LIKE IDK SILLY BLEURGHHH

also please send asks idk im bored:3

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Hi there, I'm so sorry to bug you! I love your work for Project Elvhen, it's been an incredible resource for my writing! But I need some translation help. I've looked through the tags and the AO3 Lexicon, but I can't seem to string together a logical translation for the names "Valyssa" or "Ashurel". I was wondering if you could help! And again, thank you very much for your time and effort! No rush!

Valyssa wouldn’t mean anything. However, it’s possible that it’s an alternate to either Val’lassa which would be a name variant of the verb, “To remember,” or Valassa, which would be a name variant of the verb, “to write,” “to record,” or “to paint.”

Ashurel would likewise not mean anything by itself. It’s possible, however, that it is a variant to Asharel which would mean “Female trickster,” "Female rebel,” or “dreaded woman.”

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i know you get this kind of question a lot so i apologize in advance, but i was hoping you could come up with an elvhen name that means "ocean", "deep ocean", or something along those lines? i couldnt find if you'd translated these anywhere else (i looked, but im currently restricted to a half-broken phone for my internet needs, so i may have missed it). thank you so much!! project elvhen is truly incredible.

Ocean is manaan. Deep ocean would be bremanaan (for an ocean that is deep), or durmanaan (for the parts of the ocean that are deep).

Given that the Elvhen word for ‘ocean’ is literally “large water,” there really isn’t anything you could do to either word, if you wanted them as a name, without losing at least part of their meaning. For example, Breman, Bremana, or Bremani would all mean “Deep water,” not “Deep ocean.”

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Hi! Sorry for bothering you! I love your work, it's amazing what you've done here! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I thought I could ask you a little thing. I've been through all the AO3 lexicon, book of names and even the DA Wikia page because I'm not sure how it would be "Lyrindanael" translated into. I tried with: ly = lin = person / in =within / d = da = small / an = Vhen'an /a /el = rebel ==> Person within small dread heart. I'm not quite sure if it's a good name, as I'm looking for an artistic one :S

The name works fine if that’s how you wish it to be translated. The name system I’ve “Figured out” so to speak requires a lot of guesswork, and therefore is a lot more flexible than “real world” naming conventions.

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Hey, sorry to bother! I was just wondering what Tanaleth means? I checked it out a bit but couldnt really find anything? Well have a lovely day! Youve been doing such lovely work!

Tanaleth would basically mean “third kin” or “kin of three.” Perhaps referring to the child being third born.

Tan-a-leththree-F-family

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Hello! Thank you for all your hard work with DA-linguistics! Before your "elvhen project" caught my eyes, I really thought that DA-creators just give us a set of words. But it's not just a cipher, but a full-fledged language with its grammar! It's amazing! And I have a question. From «Expanding the Elvhen Language» I learned that Velanna means "she who rides the wheels of time", but how it sounds in its full form in elvish? I mean, elven names are abbreviated sentences after all, right?

You were right in your first assumption. Elvhen is a cipher, with it essentially just being a list of words, as you said. Project Elvhen is a fan created conlang to expand that cipher, and all of my own work. Bioware and the Dragon Age creators had nothing to do with it. I have created all of the grammar by extrapolating Bioware’s work.

As for your question, the full meaning of Velanna is inferred. The long form would be Vel’melanna which is a name variant of the word Vel’melana which basically means “ship of time.” Vel’melanna as a name is adding the extra na to imply a feminine aspect to it, thus essentially changing the meaning to either “She is the ship of time” or “She rides the ship of time,” which would really be more understood as “She who rides on the wheels of time” or “She who allows time to carry her.”

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Savhalla! I hope you are well! I have been creating a Dalish clan and was thinking of calling them Ethisha, which I think would mean to protect hope. I am wondering if I have done this right by combining etha (to protect) with athisha (peace)? If not, how would you recommend writing it?

Ethisha wouldn’t really work as a name, at least not a name with any understandable meaning. Additionally, even if it were ‘corrected’ to something like Ethatisha, it would have nothing to do with ‘hope.’ In order to convey the meaning of ‘hope’ you would need to use one of the words for it. Depending on your definition of ‘hope’ the word you would want to use would either be las (hope, ambition, anticipation), or nuven (wish, desire). 

Therefore, something along the lines of “to protect hope” or “hope protected” or “protect hopefully” would be either Ethlas, Laseth, Ethnuven, or Nuveneth. Ethatisha, or Ethisha as you have it, would only mean ‘to protect peace’ or ‘peace protected’ or ‘to peacefully protect.’

Hope that helps.

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Savhalla ha’hren. First of all, thank you for Project Elvhen! If you have a moment, I was hoping to confirm the meaning of my Inquisitor Lavellan's name: Maren. I believe it could be translated as “Yours.” Mar [your] + -en [many, plural]. If correct, the name is perfect for her as she is incredibly giving of herself to others. Ma serannas – keep up the great work!

Firstly, I would state that trying to name characters based upon features, instead of naming them as a parent would name a child, usually results in disappointment. That’s my first part of advice.

Secondly, unfortunately, no, Maren would not mean ‘yours.’ You’re mistaken the -s in ‘yours’ for a plural, when it is not. The difference between your and yours is a declension that denotes the grammatical difference between the dependent possessive (your) and the independent possessive (yours). This is also sometimes called the possessive and the possessive determiner. 

In Elvhen, -en is not used to indicate the difference between the dependent and independent possessives. Instead, the dependent possessive is mar while 

With that said, however, Elvhen names do not follow the traditional grammar rules. It is perfectly acceptable to use Maren to mean ‘yours’ instead of using Nar, especially if the parents decided that they simply just liked the sound if Maren better than Nar. It is also possible that it is a name that has changed sounds over time. For example, it could have originally been Maran (your place) or Marain (your little one). It could have also possibly originally been Miran (the place ahead) or Mir’ara’aan (the great journey forward). So really, it’s up to you.

Hope that helps.