Roegadyn/Naming

The Roegadyn of Final Fantasy XIV bear names similar to those of the Galka of Final Fantasy XI; the Sea Wolves' names are very difficult to read and pronounce, while the Hellsguard names are adapted to the common Eorzean language (for our purposes, English).

Sea Wolves
Sea Wolf names are actually all formed from two words taken from the ancient Roegadyn language that the race's ancestors spoke before they came to Eorzea. The full known Roegadyn dictionary can be found here.

The term “known” is used here because many Roegadyn words have been forgotten after generations of disuse, with only popular terms being passed down through names. Every so often, however, a new (or should I say old) word is rediscovered in an ancient tome and added to the list for further generations to use (or ignore).

Male
Male names allow for more freedom than male names. Ahldskyf is a combination of Ahld (meaning 'old') and Skyf (meaning ‘ship’). Rostnsthal is a combination of Rostn (rusty) and Sthal (steel). Pronunciation of the names can be a bit easier after splitting the name into its two parts: Ahld + skyf (read "ald-skeeff").


 * Greintoum (grein + toum = bronze dream)
 * Mytemyrgan (myte + myrgan = middle morning)
 * Ahtmhas (aht + mhas = eight scars)

Fun Fact: The word Roegadyn actually means ‘people of the rain’: roega being a distorted form of the word ‘roegan’ (rain) and ‘dyn’ (people), as the weather in northern islands from which they hail fluctuates from thick fog to torrential downpours...and that’s when it’s too warm for snow.

Female
Female first names follow the same rules as male first names, except that the second word used in the names is almost always one of the following:


 * Swys (Sister) -> Aermswys (Poor Sister)
 * Thota (Daughter) -> Klynthota (Small Daughter)
 * Wyda (Willow) -> Dyrstwyda (Thirsty Willow)
 * Geim (Jewel) -> Rhotgeim (Red Jewel)
 * Wyb (Woman) -> Merlwyb (Sea Woman)
 * Rael (Doe) -> Doesrael (Two Does)
 * Lona (Gatherer) -> Styrnlona (Star Gatherer)
 * Bhyda (Bride) -> Blyssbryda (Blossom Bride)

Surnames
Sea Wolf last names can appear even more imposing, but in fact, they follow rules similar to the first names. A last name simply takes the father's name and adds either Syn (meaning 'son') or Wyn (meaning 'daughter'). For example, Limsa Lominsa Admiral, Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn could be broken down like this:

Merl (sea) + wyb (woman) Bloe (blue) + fhis (fish) + wyn (daughter)

In other words, "Sea Wife, daughter of Blue Fish"

Both ‘thota’ and ‘wyn’ translate as ‘daughter’; however, the use of wyn is exclusive to last names. You will never see it used in a first name (such as Klynwyn), as you will never see a last name that uses thota (such as Bloefhisthota).

Hellsguard
You will find the "old language" used in a lot of Sea Wolf names, as the Sea Wolves tend to adhere to the ancient traditions and customs the northern islands from which they hail. The Hellsguard, on the other hand, are more prone to adapt to their surroundings, and often choose to 'translate' their names from the old language to modern Eorzean. That said, the lines between the two clans aren't set in stone, and you will find some Hellsguard have chosen to use the old language in their names, and some Sea Wolves have given themselves "translated" names.

Male
Male names are formed from two words (usually a descriptor and a noun), and tend to draw heavily from nature, whether it be vegetable or animal, inanimate or animate, abstract or concrete.


 * Tall Mountain
 * Spinning Blade
 * Anonymous Moose
 * Still River
 * Bloody Catapult

Female
Female Hellsguard names follow the same rules as those for male names. In addition, there are no restrictions on the second word (as exist in Sea Wolf forenames). The only real difference between male and female Hellsguard names is that the latter tend to include plant imagery (though there are many which do not). On the other hand, the use of trees, flowers, etc. is not exclusive to female names, as there are also many male names which incorporate them.


 * Blue Lily
 * Weeping Orchid
 * Diving Sparrow
 * Silent Moss

Surnames
Highly independent in nature, Hellsguard despise being defined by the actions of anyone but themselves, and therefore those who leave their mountain homes for the city-states of Eorzea, will often completely drop their family names, choosing only to be referred to by their first.

Pronunciation
When pronouncing Sea Wolf names, you can, for the most part, follow the rules of English. There are, however, some exceptions:

Vowels:
AE: Somewhere between the 'e' in 'egg' and the 'ai' in 'air' depending on the consonant that follows it Aerg (ambitious) would be pronounced like 'airg' Aent (duck) would be closer to 'ent' (rhymes with 'sent')

Aergaent (ambitious duck)

Y: A long 'e' such as the 'ea' in 'eat' or the first 'e' in 'Steve' Alyr (alder) would be pronounced 'ah-leer' Blyss (blossom) would be pronounced like 'bleece' (rhymes with 'fleece')

Alyrblyss (alder blossom)

OE: An 'ooh' sound such as the 'ue' in 'blue' and the 'oo' in 'I pity the foo' Broen (brown) would be pronounced 'broon' (like 'broom') Loef (leaf) would be 'loof' (rhymes with 'goof')

Broenloef (brown leaf)

Consonants:
PF: Closer to an ‘f’ than a ‘p’ Pfym (five) would be 'fim' (rhymes with 'slim') Skapf (sheep) would be 'skaff' (rhymes with 'staff')

Pfymskapf (five sheep)

TH: More like a hard 't' than a soft 'th' Thosin (grey) would be 'toe-sin' Sthal (steel) would be 'stall'

Thosinsthal (grey steel)

W: Somewhere in-between a ‘w’ and a ‘v’: nowhere as hard as the ‘v’ in ‘villain,’ but with a little more zing than the ‘w’ is ‘west’ (and nothing like how Chekov pronounces ‘vessels’ in Star Trek IV) Wyzn (white) would sound like 'vee-zin' Wilf (wolf) would sound like 'vilf' (rhymes with 'filth')

Wyznwilf (white wolf)

G: Almost always hard (like the 'g' in 'guilt' but not the 'g' in 'page') The 'gin' in Swygyn (silent) would be NOT be pronounced like the drink 'gin' but like the 'gin' in 'begin' Agat (amber) would be 'ah-got'

Swygynagat (silent amber)

J: A 'y' sound like in 'year' and 'yummy' Jungh (young) would be pronounced 'yoong'

H: When paired with a vowel (before or after), almost always silent Smhid (smith) would be pronounced 'smid' (rhymes with 'kid')

Junghsmhid (young smith)