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This work is a compilation of all of the name asks submitted to and answered by FenxShiral, thus the credit for the names goes to them. It is meant to be a resource for the fan community in creating and/or finding names for Dalish Wardens, Inquisitors, and other Dragon Age characters. It is also meant as a resource for fanfiction. I have compiled the various names in alphabetical order based on the Elvhen Alphabet found in Project Elvhen: Expanding the Elvhen Language. Entries are formatted as follows:
Name (gender)--> meaning. From the words: ____ +____
Alternate spellings: (where given, with gender where given)
Abbreviations for genders are as follows:
m.--> male
f.--> female
n. --> neuter
Whenever possible I will list the gender neutral spelling as the main entry for the name.
On genders and Elvhen names FenxShiral states the following:
Elvhen doesn’t really have a gendered system. Most of the system is left over from Proto-Elvhen (which did have a gendered system). Most of the items left over are various gendered words, but mostly only for pronouns and names.
Generally, a name is treated as feminine if it ends in -a, -i, -or -y. It is treated as neuter when ending in -e, -o, -u, -l, or -n. It is treated as masculine when it ends in -s, -t, or -rn.
These, however, are only general guides. For example, there are various feminine names, like Mihris, that end in -s. There are names that end in -n, such as Ilen that are considered masculine rather than neuter. There are names that end in -l, such as Merrill that are considered feminine rather than neuter.
Because of this left over system, while some names conform to it, others don’t. So names very much are done on a case-by-case basis. Which names are male or female will have started to become dictate by culture, rather than language. For example, Shannon is a neuter name, but our culture has dictated that it is feminine.
Thus genders, when given, will be based on either what FenxShiral has provided in the original post, or if the asker requested a specific gender for the name.
FenxShiral's Stance on Dalish Naming Conventions:
The Patronymic
Dalish are named with patronymics, similar to Russian names, except there is no suffix added to their patronymic.
A Dalish is given three names: Their personal name, patronymic, and clan name.
Personal Name, or Soul Name (Sal’melin): This is the personal name of the Dalish. What we might consider to be their true name. The name that identifies them.
Patronymic, or Parent Name (Linal’melin): This is the name of the same-gender parent of the Dalish. For example, if the Dalish is female, this will be their mother’s name. If the Dalish is male, this will be their father’s name. Unlike Russian names, this name would be added without any added suffixes. The ‘son of’ or ‘daughter of’ would simply be implied.
Clan Name (lethal’melin): This is the clan name of the Dalish. It is the name of the clan that the Dalish was born to, not the clan that they grow up and end up living with. Dalish have the option of adding their new clan if they wish. For example, someone like Merrill, who was traded to the Sabrae clan from the Alerion clan, could very well have two clan names.
So, Marethari and Mahariel may or may not be from a different clan, and therefore their second names (Talas in Marethari’s case) might be their clan names (lethal’melin). It is equally likely that these names are their parent names (lenal’melin). In Marethari’s case, for example, her full name might be Marethari Talas Sabrae. It is equally possible that Talas is her clan name, and that her parent name was never revealed to us.
For example: Deshanna Istimaethoriel Lavellan is the full name of clan Lavellan's Keeper. Deshanna is her sal’melin, Istimaethoriel is her lenal’melin, and Lavellan is her lethal’melin. Why the clan refers to her by her lenal’melin is unknown. It is possible that it is a way of showing deference, similar to calling a respected person by “Mrs. Lastname” instead of by their first name, which might be considered disrespectfully informal.