In my first Enda novel, the main character is a young loatron named Sargon. He is teased and called Sargon the not-so-great. This may refer to King Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great, who ruled most of ancient Mesopotamia. Why was this loatron named Sargon and not Cairn after his father? After all, in the 10th century AD, most of Europe followed the Roman system of naming the firstborn children after their parents. But Sargon is a mythical and loatrons often name their firstborn sons or daughters after a famous relative or after the color of their scales.
The Romans gave their children three, sometimes four, names. The first name is after a relative, and the second is after their family, clan, or tribe. Some loatrons add the clan or horn name after the first name such as Marina, the curly horn. Or, as in Sargon’s family, the father or mother’s name. So, he would introduce himself as Sargon, son of Cairn, while his sister is Adorabelle, daughter of Bunny.
The humans on Enda used location, family, or occupation as their second name. In Clewside, there’s Thomas le Bakere or, Thomas the baker who runs the local pie shop. His son is Thomas le Bakere the younger, or Tom. There is also Brother Dunstan, Ulfbert the Smith, and the Earl of Badbury. Their second names tell us where they live or what they do.
Mythicals do not have as many babies as humans do. They keep the names simple. Sometimes, they earn their names like the dragons, Fyriun the Mighty, and Lilias the Wise. My favorite medieval names for humans or mythicals are the ones based on their looks or behavior. Such as Olaf the Big Nose, or Edward the Pious. I found these real names in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles: Svein Forkbeard, Harold Bluetooth, Harald Fairhair, and Eric Bloodaxe. My next book should have a conceited centaur named Harald Fairhair (fair means beautiful) tossing his flowing hair and tail around.