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Baldur's Gate NPC name's explained

NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
edited March 2015 in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
***MOST OF MY OPINIONS ON THESE HAVE CHANGED, GO TO PAGE 4 FOR MY CONCLUSIONS ON NAMES***

Alright, first i must say that this stuff I am about to tell you could be not true... I never read these anywhere so it is more of a strong hunch I have based on what I know about the characters and mythology, make of it what you will.

Aerie - Name is connected with the Greek Goddess of Strife named Eris and is usually depicted with feathered wings and bird feet. I think Aerie has gone through her share of strife..

Viconia - This one might seem a stretch but bear with me. Name is connected to Virgo (Viconia, Virgonia, Virgo), Virgo is the star constellation that gets its name from the goddess Astrae the star maiden, who is associated with innocence and purity, the complete opposite of Viconia which is the irony of the name influence i would guess, also Astrae is deeply tied to Justice and Viconia is deeply tied to revenge..

Jaheira - Name is connected with the Greek Goddess Hera, the queen and mother of many gods. This might be a reason why Jaheira is so bossy and well mother-like all the time..

Haer'Dalis - So Fleur de Lis means flower of the lily in french, Haer means nothing, but Hier means last or yesterday depending on the context its used in. So Haer'Dalis means Last of the Lily.. Of note is that the Fleur de Lis is also known as Flower of Light. So him being a member of the Doomguard, a faction that believe that the decay and entropy of everything was not only inevitable but a good thing, and what was "supposed" to happen, makes this a very interesting choice of name. Potentially his name means Last of the Light, makes more sense to me than last of the lily but he is a bit flowery..

now for a few more obscure ones

Minsc - This one seems so obvious i just hate to point it out but here we go. Minsc is connected to the word Misc, the short form of miscellanious which is just another way of saying different. Minsc is different? Only to some i guess..

Imoen - Name is connected to the words " I'm owing". Which is something she must do alot of since shes good natured and a thief. She probably has a list..

Anomen - Name is connected to the words " An omen". An omen are phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. For a spiritual guy that worships a dead god (Helm is dead), maybe him having this name is a kind of way of him being arrogant enough to think that his worship will bring Helm back to life?

Cernd - Name is connected to the word " concerned, which means worried, troubled or anxious. Since when you first meet him he was imprisoned for investigating a disturbance at a druid grove, that sounds concerned to me..

Edwin Odesseiron - His last name Odesseiron is connected with the words " Odds I run", or to put it in a more familiar order " I run the odds". Being a man who is constantly trying to manipulate others to get what he needs and talking to himself constantly to remind himself why he puts up with the fools, this name would seem to fit nicely..

Shar-Teel - Name is connected to sharp steel. Yup she does like it sharp..

Dorn - Name is connected to Thorn. He is a prickly sort I would say..

Solaufein - Alright he's not an NPC and the list would be massive if I started getting into all of the many names and their meanings so i won't, but I will make an exception for this drow since he was an important part of the story. Name is connected to Cellophane which is just a fancy way of saying clear plastic wrap. Compared to the other drow he becomes pretty honest about his state of affairs, no spoilers if you don't know about him but he is as transparent as drow come in terms of what kind of person he really is.

List is getting pretty long and I could probably find a bunch more but I will just finish up with a juicy one.

Sarevok Anchev - Alright so this one might seem like a big stretch as well, but I try not to waste your time with guessing and always back it up with reasons. The name Sarevok is connected to the words "scare and evoke" basically to create fear.. He wouldn't do that would he? The name Anchev is connected to the words "anchor and evil" basically to make evil take root or take hold.. He did sort of try and do that didn't he? Just a little? Maybe its just me..

That's all for today. I hope you found it insightful a little bit.

Not really sure why I felt the need to share any of this, I guess @Ravenslight efforts at luring me out of the shadows have succeeded a tiny bit... only a tiny bit.
Post edited by Naten on
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Comments

  • NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
    edited February 2015
    FrdNwsm said:

    Some of these are pretty far-fetched. Sometimes names are just names, you know.

    Anomen is derived from the latin, and means nameless. (Nomen = name, the prefix a- means without).

    Aerie is simply an elevated nesting place for airborn raptors, usually eagles.

    You could argue equally well that Minsc is derived from the name of the city of Minsk.

    In keeping with this possible Russian theme, and considering that much of the plot of BG1 revolves around iron, Odesseiron could just as easily be Odessa iron. Iron from Odessa?

    The only characters whose names I recognized directly weren't even NPCs. Two of the dinks Dorn kills are named Dorotea and Senjak. Dorotea Senjak is the secret true name of the immortal/undead Empress in Cook's "Black Company" series. It's the exact same spelling; I don't know the significance of this but the odds against it being a coincidence are astronomically high.

    So you believe that the developers just picked random names out of a hat? That could be, but since there are literally hundreds of names with all sorts of hidden meanings in the game I think they would of put some more thought into a name other than "sounds good to me".

    No wrong answers here of course, who's to say for sure what inspired what. Just figured i would give my own view on things.
  • ZaramMaldovarZaramMaldovar Member Posts: 2,309
    Naten said:


    Anomen - Name is connected to the words " An omen". An omen are phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. For a spiritual guy that worships a dead god (Helm is dead), maybe him having this name is a kind of way of him being arrogant enough to think that his worship will bring Helm back to life?

    The Problem with this theory is BG is set in the 2nd Edition D&D Template, in which Helm is NOT dead. So that rules out the idea that Anomen is worshipping a dead god. Anomen is arrogant, but not a dead power worshipper.

  • RavenslightRavenslight Member Posts: 1,609
    Some interesting theories here. It is fun to think about what influences the developers had in their own lives for the names they chose for some of the characters. Here is another one I always found cute. Larry, Darryl and Darryl. A very odd group of characters you come across in the Fire Leaf Forest. A reference to characters from The Bob Newhart Show from the 80s and 90s. You can even get their autograph!

    I have always thought that Anomen’s name might have come from, An omen, as well.
  • NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
    edited February 2015
    The Branwen thing sounds likely to me, and those were definitely Rocky and Bullwinkle. :)

    Didn't know Helm was not dead yet, the name still makes sense in other ways I would think.

    Minsc thing may be a coincidence ( they may all be ) but it is a big one that may have influenced his The Tick type personality.

    Aerie being an alternate spelling of Eyrie (large nest for eagles) never really made sense to me. I mean there are millions of words, many coincidences are going to pop up, that word being the one that was the inspiration for her name just seems strange to me..

    And I always get their autograph @Ravenslight :) that things worth big money (90 gold)

  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,508
    Weren't most npcs just DnD player characters from the developers at the time?

    Haer'Dalis could just be from german where herr means Mr. So Mr. Dalis. You pronunciate it the same as haer, I think they just made the spelling more fantasy like.

    Jan jansen is one of the most common names in the Netherlands.
  • CoutelierCoutelier Member Posts: 1,282
    Naten said:

    Aerie being an alternate spelling of Eyrie (large nest for eagles) never really made sense to me. I mean there are millions of words, many coincidences are going to pop up, that word being the one that was the inspiration for her name just seems strange to me..

    It's true however, and I think avariel just have names that are connected to birds in some way. Or maybe it's not her real name, but a name given to her in the circus that was easier to say and pronounce than her real elven name. There are indeed lots of characters in mythology who go through hardship early on but then come out of it and become heroes.

    Some of them are just names, like Khalid is an arabic name that means immortal/eternal. Irony, I guess.

    Garrick is possibly named after David Garrick, who was a famous actor and playwright in the 1700's and there is a Garrick Theatre in London named after him as well.
  • CoutelierCoutelier Member Posts: 1,282
    semiticgod said:


    I've always found it very odd, the idea of intentionally giving your characters unoriginal names. If you're writing fiction in a fantasy world, why pass up the opportunity to invent a new name? And if you're writing fiction based in the REAL world, isn't it unrealistic for your character's name to share some meaning with their personality or lifestyle? How many people have names that match who they are? My name has no connection to who I am.

    There is a theory called Nominative determinism that supposes your name does influence your job and personality, but actual examples, like Usain Bolt, aren't that common.
  • NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
    edited February 2015
    Alot of interesting stuff, where to start.

    Starting with Aerie:

    Long version - I looked into the whole eyrie thing more and found some interesting things. Eyrie is actually an english derivative of the latin citation form ἀέριος which in the English alphabet is aerios. Its root form is aeri- both of which have the meaning "of the air". What does citation form and root form mean? The citation form is the form most commonly shown in dictionaries, but this form is often unrepresentative of the word as used to form a compound word, hence the root form is also shown. In the case of verbs, the citation form is often by convention the first person singular, present indicative, (cf Latin), for instance φάγω (phagō), "I eat", rather than the infinitive ("to eat"). The Greek forms are generally in their true root form; i.e., a noun or verb derived from an earlier form will appear under the earlier form.

    Short version - So Aerie seems to fit with the "of the air" thing. But it might mean A bird of prey's nest or any high and remote but commanding place if they preferred the English derivative. The Goddess of Strife Eris is also a possibility but probably the smallest of the three.

    Next is Anomen:

    @musigny explained it very clearly, Anomen does not fit the "nameless" theory very well at all. His preference for the possibility of ad nomen -> adnomino gain a name(family) or title (knight)
    or simply in/to "one's name",is a very interesting one and is fitting. I still think "An Omen" is also likely still.

    Viconia:

    @musigny suggestion that it is an anagram is an interesting one. Novicia means beginner, apprentice or novice. This would fit i think with Viconia being new at being a surface dweller and at worship of Shar. Virgo always did seem a bit of a stretch, but i still find it a possibility... a small one.

    Imoen:

    Imoen being an anagram for Noemi "pleasentness" is a possibility of course, it does fit with her personality. I still think "I'm Owing" is very possible inspiration as well.

    Minsc:

    The city of Minsk being the inspiration of the name is possible i will finally admit given how it is the Largest city and capital of Belarus makes it not as random as i first believed. I cannot completely dismiss the idea of misc (miscellaneous) either, it does seem to fit. For this one I think it might be both, the name influenced both his backround and personality.

    Jaheira:

    This one I thought of today while with a friend who kept saying "Jah hear? Jah hear me?". Which is Jamaican slang for "you hear me?" of course, which would fit since.. you know, bossy :) I think Hera has a small possibility still.. very small.

    Dorn:

    Dorn is a German topographic name for someone who lived by a thorn bush or thorn hedge, from Middle High German dorn ‘thorn’, or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word.Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Dorn ‘thorn’.Czech: see Dornak. Interestingly if you look at the name Keldorn, in Irish the name Kel means Church; warrior; wood; holly; farm by the spring. So if you pick the most relevant of possible meanings for Keldorn it could be "Church thorn" or rather " Thorn of the Church". So Dorn is just Keldorn without the church, fitting i think. Or as @GoodSteve pointed out "The Dorn method is also a method used to correct misalignments in the spinal column or joints... maybe Dorn is a chiropractor? Also, Michael Dorn is the actor who played Worf on Star Trek who is another big warrior with a deep voice." Take your pick.

    Haer'Dalis:

    This one got very interesting. Quoting @Musigny Hier -> ier -> heri is not related to haer.
    Now if you want to follow a mix of latin and french interpretations, you may consider haer + d -> haered -> becoming hered in modern languages (as in heredity)
    You could think that haer'dalis means "of royal blood". The three lily flowers (french heraldry) being the symbol of the late French kings.
    or if you prefer to ignore the word "lis" and keep the direct spelling alis -> ancient form of alius (as in alien, other), it could be "with heredity/blood from another world" or even "bastard". End Quote. This is very fitting of course with Haer'Dalis being a tiefling (half-demon).

    Quoting @GoodSteve Hier also means holy or divine, and is the short version of hieros which is greek. So, technically his name would mean Holy Flower of Light, or if we go by your meaning it would still mean Last Flower of Light... which is just nonsense. Haer is also be herr meaning Mr. and Dalis is very close to Dali so maybe it means Mr. Dali after Salvador Dali who was a surrealist painter. Both of them are artists and both of them have seen very strange things; Salvador through his surrealist painting, and Haer'Dalis through his planeswalking. End Quote. This one got kinda confusing since the word lis (lily) was interchangeable with light in the interpretations of the Fleur-de-lis, so with out the word Fleur it wouldn't be last flower of light if using Hier to mean Hieros and lis to mean light, it would be be "Holy/divine of the light", or with lis meaning lily it would be " Holy/divine of the lily". Either way not very fitting i agree. The Mr.Dali is an interesting one though.

    In short: I believe @Musigny has the most likely interpretation of Haer'Dalis potentially meaning "of royal blood", or "with heredity/blood from another world".

    Edwin Odesseiron:

    Quoting @GoodSteve For Edwin, trying to "run the odds" is a bad idea if you constantly give away your intentions with externalized internal monologues. Odessa is also the largest city in the Ukraine and much like Rasheman, Thay is heavily influenced by soviet culture. More likely his name is derived from where he hails from and that he is greedy and power hungry. The name Edwin derives from Old English; ead meaning wealth or fortune and wine meaning friend. Literally Fortune Friend from Odessa. End Quote. Very interesting idea and I think Odessa fits well. Using the knowledge that Edwin means "wealth/fortune friend" or "Friend of Wealth/fortune", the idea that it means "odds-I-run" or "I run the odds" seems to fit
    very well too. I think that both him and Minsc possible "double meanings" might have influenced the development of the character personality as well as backrounds.

    Solaufein:

    Quoting @GoodSteve Soulafein is actually the LEAST transparent of the drow. He has been hiding his true thoughts/feelings and nature from his drow society for who knows how long. This is an incedible feat considering that Drow culture revolves around information gathering, subterfuge and murder. If anything Soulafein is the polar opposite of transparent, he deserves a medal for not getting himself killed being who he truly is. End Quote. I agree, to the drow he is the least transparent, but to the protagonist it was clear that he was not lying when explaining his "situation". The name does seem to be more ironic than literal tho, which makes me think of the Viconia/Virgo idea again, maybe ironic drow names are not such a strange idea..

    Sarevok:

    Quote @GoodSteve I think Sarevok Anchev is a little different. Sarevok is the same as "stare and gawk" and Anchev means "anchovies." So, he wants to stare and gawk at the anchovies. I mean, he is trying to take over Baldur's Gate one of the biggest PORT settlements along the Sword Coast... where else would giant shipments of anchovies, the kind that would make one stare and gawk at how many there are, come from than from a port settlement. I. Rest. My. Case. End Quote. Forsooth! Methinks you are no ordinary talking chicken!

    Thank you for all the comments it has proved interesting to me, i will end for now with Quote @Coutelier Some of them are just names, like Khalid is an arabic name that means immortal/eternal. Irony, I guess.

    Garrick is possibly named after David Garrick, who was a famous actor and playwright in the 1700's and there is a Garrick Theatre in London named after him as well. End Quote. This is very true! Thanks for pointing those ones out.

    Oh ya I have two new ones to add.

    Valygar:

    Name is possibly connected to the words "valiant and guardian". Seems to be a possible fit to me.

    Hexxat:

    Name is likely connected to the words " hex and cat", hex means "to cast a spell on, bewitch" or "a magic spell; a curse" she is a vampire after all. The letter x in greek makes a k sound like in χάος or khaos in english, so xat would be cat. She is a thief so the cat for "cat burglar" makes sense. Put them together and its "the cursed cat burglar".
  • NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
    edited February 2015
    Yes i think Quayle is more likely to do with Quail birds rather than the former president. They are small and funny shaped much like a gnome :)

    I can't believe i didn't know about the Jan Jansen and Kurt Vonnegut thing! I love Kurt Vonnegut books!
    Nice find @Coutelier
  • NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
    Kilivitz said:

    I'm honestly confused as to whether this thread is a joke or not. Mostly because of the Solaufein -> cellophane part.

    The Baldurs Gate devs weren't known for making jokes?
  • NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
    Well since the Drow of the Underdark sourcebook (3.5E) didn't come out till after the Baldur's Gate games I find it unlikely that they had any real influence on the names in the game. Who's to say, it is interesting and I appreciate the effort, the translations just don't really seem to fit in my opinion, that's just me. Honestly I always had thought that DeVir might of had a connection to Cruella de Vil. Or if i was to further my Virgo conspiracy, DeVirgo ;) I don't really think that is the case tho.
  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 1,421
    edited February 2015
    Like I said, Drow of the Underdark could have simply taken examples of an older ADnD sourcebook and re-added it.
    There's no reason not to take existing examples from older books and add them.

    Or from the Dragon magazines. I remember an old Dragon magazine in the ADnD era that had Drow names and how to create them.

    EDIT: Like I said. http://www.kismetrose.com/dnd/DrowNameGenerator.html "from the official Dragon magazine article by Owen K.C. Stephens"

  • NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
    edited February 2015
    Very true and that is a cool link, and the information about the greek being an h sound instead of a K is really good to know thank you. I still don't think it is too far-fetched to assume that the name Hexxat was made to "resemble" the word Hexcat tho all things considered.

    According to your website link Viconia would mean something different than what your sourcebook says. Vic being" Abyss, deep, profound" and onia being "rod, staff, token, wand" so viconia means rod of the abyss or something like that in this and keeper of the heir in the sourcebook.. ya this seems to not be very consistent. But the DeVir name consistently means Champions of Dominance it seems, so I will think it is now more likely that the house names meanings might have been established at least for a longer amount of time. Still no way to know for sure, but it is interesting stuff. Thank you.
  • RavenslightRavenslight Member Posts: 1,609
    DJ_Sweatz_2013 said:

    Ravenslight said:

    . The Bob Newhart Show from the 80s and 90s.

    Ummm...The Bob Newhart show ran from 1972-1978.
    Newhart, which ran from 1982-1990 was a completly different show, and the only connection the two had was when Bob Newhart woke up at the end of the latter to find that it was really just a dream that the main character of the former had.
    I stand corrected. I should have looked up my dates. I watched them in reruns and didn’t realize when they first ran.
  • RavenslightRavenslight Member Posts: 1,609
    lolien said:

    Anoman: Annoying that he is the only romancable man in the vanilla BG...

    Although I later learned to appreciate the character and his story, on this I can agree. It was very annoying that there was only one romance option for a female PC. And oh my how the forums were lit up with posts about this back then. Three to one. Female gamers were upset, to say the least. That and the fact that you had to put up with so many annoying things in order to ever get to know him and his story.
  • NatenNaten Member Posts: 138
    edited February 2015
    @Ravenslight He couldn't of been much worse than the mind games Viconia would play with you. I know alot of people who are like him and they don't seem to stay single for very long oddly enough. Only the one option was a weird thing to do tho, everyone should of had the choice of three flavors of crazy.
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