"We don't need to organise three escape routes,
Furface" said William to his dwarven companion. "We'll
compromise on two escape routes on the extreme off chance that
one might be blocked, but three is ridiculous."
"It is not ridiculous", replied Brunor. "If our
lives are at stake, we need three."
"Gaea's Breasts!" swore William, ignoring a look of
disapproval from Aleena Greenfingers, a druid who worshipped Gaea
the World Mother.
Exasperated the party scout turned to the leader of the adventuring
company.
"Tell him, Kree." Kree Firemane, capable warrior and
leader of the Company of the Boar, shook her mass of deep auburn
hair.
"William is right, Brunor. Three escape routes will be too
much trouble to implement, we'll be spreading our resources thin
just keeping open two escape routes. But what we can do is...."
The meeting was interrupted by a pounding at the door of their
room in the inn. Uncertainly Kree approached the door, while the
other members readied weapons while keeping them out of sight.
Kree opened the door a crack, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
She saw a dwarf, no doubting that, wearing a cloak covered with
the dust of long travel, and displaying the sheen of chainmail
beneath.
"I want to speak to Brun Hurkdarr," said the dwarf loudly,
his tones heavily accented. Obviously a dwarf who has not spent
much time in human lands, observed Kree.
"It seems you have the wrong room," said Kree, her tone
polite. "There is no one of that name here."
"Um, there is actually," came a voice from behind the
party leader. She and the rest of the company turned in surprise
as Brunor rose from his seat and approached the door. "My
actual name is Brun Hurkdarr, I probably should have told you."
"Well, well," said William, his grey eyes glittering.
"Our supposedly clean and honest moralising dwarven companion
has a dark secret after all."
"Shut it William," snapped Kree, sensing something important
was happening. She opened the door wider, everyone except Brunor,
or Brun, remained alert. The dwarves stood looking at each other
for a moment, then talked quickly in dwarvish, shutting everyone
else out of the conversation. The company got the impression the
dwarven stranger was giving Brun a message, and by the sound of
it the message was not one Brun had wanted to hear. The dwarves
completed their conversation, and the messenger left. Brun's face
was pale and he sat down holding his forehead with his gnarly
hand.
"Brunor, or Brun, whatever your name is," began Kree.
"Brun Hurkdarr is my name," said the dwarf, still staring
at the table.
"Brun then. What's happening?"
"My father is very sick. He may not survive the illness."
"Do you need to go home?" asked Kree.
"I must." Having made the decision, Brun walked to his
bed and began to pack his things. "If my father dies it is
my responsibility to take his place as the Hurkdarr Clan blacksmith.
It is my duty and there is no other option. I just didn't expect
it to be this soon."
"Don't you have priests?" asked Aleena. "I could
come with you.."
"My father's illness is being treated by dwarven healers,
but the sickness is caused by a magical poison from a drow arrow.
So far it is resisting all known cures. Others are sick also."
"Why did you change your name?" asked William.
"For some reason you humans expect us dwarves to have names
like Warhammer, or Rockfist, or Deepaxe, and so on. So we almost
always provide you with such names. You don't know the difference,
and it keeps our real names secret from those who might want revenge
on our relatives or clan." Brun finished his packing and
tightened and buckled up his leather backpack. "And in the
adventuring business a dwarf, as well as anyone else, makes enemies."
Brun Hurkdarr, blacksmith, member of the Company of the Boar,
looked at his fellow party members with a look of tenderness.
It made everyone else speechless, even William. Thus far in the
years they had known each other, Brun had only exhibited a hot
temper, cold rages, and occasionally laughter. Other emotions
had seemed beyond him, and now here stood one of the founding
members of the company, looking like he would burst into tears.
"In case I don't come back," said Brun, his voice thick
with emotion. "I have enjoyed my time with you all. Even
you, William. Especially you, William."
"I don't know what to say, my friend," said William,
feeling himself getting caught up in the moment. "I knew
you had a soft bone in your body somewhere, you ugly, hairy, pessimistic
old warpig!"
"I'll take that as a compliment," laughed Brun, seeming
to shake off the threatening tears. He said his farewells to the
rest of the party and left.
Despite there being three people left, the room seemed empty without
him and no one said anything for a long while.
Deepaxe, Rockfist, Trueforger, Goldthumb, Battlehammer - all
Dwarven clan names of the Forgotten Realms. I'm not too familiar
with other TSR worlds, but the dwarf in the Dragonlance novels
was named Fireforge, so it seems they have similarly structured
family names. The Dwarvish language is not at all like Common,
so why the heck do dwarves have clan/family names that are in
English/Common? Dwarves use runes to write, so it makes more sense
to render the dwarven name in the common language version of their
dwarven names - such as Hurkdarr above. Admittedly it is just
a name I made up, but I envision it to be the common spelling
of the Hurkdarr dwarven clan name, much like the english spelling
of chinese or japanese family names.
I do not play in Forgotten Realms anymore, preferring my own home-grown
world of Haven, and all the dwarves in
Haven will have dwarvish-sounding clan names, rather than the
traditional Wyrmslayer clan or the Eaglecleft clan. Those dwarves
that do have those traditional type clan names are actually pandering
to human society's expectations for reasons of their own, as Brun
explained above.
As far as the rest of dwarven names go I am borrowing (read: plaguarising) the section on Dwarven Names in TSR's FR11 Accessory "Dwarves Deep" by Ed Greenwood. This book also covers other dwarven concerns, concentrating on dwarves of the Forgotten Realms, such as what it is to be a dwarf, love and marriage, clans, brotherhoods, gods and priests, dwarven magic, The Great Rift, The Lost Kingdoms, dwarves in the North and dwarven runes. If you are a dwarf player character (and a "role player" not a "roll player") in the Forgotten Realms I heartily endorse this product (if you can get it).
As we are only talking about dwarven names, I am providing an abridged version of the section on dwarven names for those who have no access to this product which is out of print. It is intended primarily for the Forgotten Realms but can be adapted for any campaign.
Dwarves in the Realms bear only a first name (for example, "Arn"), to which are attached qualifying names and phrases. Humans can find dwarven names both long and complicated, so a brief exploration of how they come about is both valuable and necessary. A clanless of outlaw dwarf, or one ashamed of his clan or wishing to conceal its identity, commonly uses only the name of his kingdom to distinguish him from others with the same name. Surprisingly, the legitimate reasons for concealing one's clan, especially from non-dwarves, are many. To a travelling dwarf revealing his or her clan only affords enemies a chance for blackmail or deception. If Arn was a travelling merchant, he might call himself "Arn of the Deep Realm." The kingdom is commonly used only when the dwarf is not within it. Inside the kingdom the dwarf must be more specific (eg "Arn of the Fire Caverns"). Use of a mythical or extinct kingdom may be either a matter of pride, or an attempt to deceive.
Among non-dwarves, some dwarves merely use the name of a known location ("Arn of Amphail"). A dwarf deliberately concealing information (ie to a hostile questioner) will often say he is merely "of the dwarves", which to another dwarf is an insult. For example "I am Arn, of the dwarves", typically delivered in a flat tone that adds the unspoken "Any problem with that?", or "Want to make something of it?".
Among dwarves it is more common to use one's clan name (eg "Arn Deepaxe"); the kingdom name is necessary only when a clan is established in more than one realm. Dwarves are proud of their heritage; if a dwarf is descended from a dwarven hero, he or she will use the qualifier "son of" or "grandson of" (eg "Arn, son of Dorn"). Females sometimes use "son of" when trying to conceal their sex from non-dwarves, but usually prefer "daul of" (dwarvish for "daughter of"); thus "Arnette, daul of Dorn." If the descendent is further removed than two generations, the phrase "blood of" is employed - but only in the case of the most famous heroes or rulers. Thus "Arn, blood of Gordrimm".
In all cases a personal descriptive qualifier is added if two or more dwarves can be confused. This is a common situation in the ranks of a clan dwelling in one spot, where two dwarves with the same first name also share bloodlines, clan, and location. The qualifier may be something as simple as "the Younger", "One-eye" or "Blackbeard"; or may refer to some deed, employment or interest such as "Worldwalker", "Wyrmseeker" or "the Pest Exterminator". Some of the most common qualifiers are: the Bloodaxe; the Dauntless; Dragonhunter; Fardelver; Firebeard; Foeflayer; Forkbeard; Giantsbane; the Grim; Hammerhand; the Older; Orcslayer; Wildbeard; and the Younger. Of course they could be anything, derogatory appellations could be given by others. Lesser used qualifiers could include "Ratseeker", "the Rotund", or even "Nobeard".
All of these name-phrases may of course be strung together (along with any titles the dwarf gains along the way). Looking back at our example, Arn, we see that in full he could be "Arn Deepaxe the Younger, son of Dorn, blood of Gordrimm, of the Firecaverns in the Deep Realm." This ensures messages, challenges and bills belonging to Arn don't arrive at the door of his uncle "Arn Deepaxe the Elder, son of Ahrdagh, blood of Gordrimm, of the Firecaverns in the Deep Realm."
Adventuring companions of dwarves usually find it easier to give a dwarf a nickname, to use commonly as a surname when among humans; thus Arn is "Arn Ironstar" when on the trail with his adventuring group The Black Panthers of Amphail. This name might be because he has in his possession one of the rare Ironstar maces. If Arn wasn't so ashamed of the ribald exploits of his companions (especially the party leader) Arn might simply call himself "Arn Deepaxe" when among them, but he doesn't want to anger or shame his clan.
Dwarves who wander the Realms or dwell exclusively in the company of humans, and who are outlaw or have no clan affiliations from birth, usually adopt human last names. In short, a player can use any name he or she chooses for the dwarven character - the only names that might need explanation are obviously elven names, or clan names used when the dwarf is not part of that clan. A dwarf of the clan involved will always find out, and there will be BIG trouble - names are important to dwarves.
Literary and game sources have given us a wealth of names accepted as "dwarven". Every player will have favourites. For those looking for something less familiar, the Dwarven Name Table below list some of the dwarven names that could be used by DM's and players. Following the dwarven names are a list of names for other demi humans.
| Male | Female | Male | Female | ||||
|
|
Adlon |
|
Abryn |
|
Arace |
|
Arcleia |
|
|
Arn |
|
Arcleea |
|
Agamm |
|
Acantha |
|
|
Anthan |
|
Aglaya |
|
Arnvald |
|
Aourne |
|
|
Arnwold |
|
Arndaera |
|
Babras |
|
Balarba |
|
|
Baern |
|
Baerna |
|
Barr |
|
Bareena |
|
|
Barundar |
|
Baruina |
|
Beldas |
|
Baruinlla |
|
|
Belgin |
|
Belbrina |
|
Besendar |
|
Belmaera |
|
|
Bettargh |
|
Beressyn |
|
Blaeth |
|
Bethrin, Bethryn |
|
|
Blunth |
|
Blaeress |
|
Boront |
|
Boryl |
|
|
Bran |
|
Borylla |
|
Breen |
|
Breenara |
|
|
Brun |
|
Brunna |
|
Bucklai |
|
Bucklynn |
|
|
Bryth |
|
Bryara |
|
Cernd |
|
Cliara |
|
|
Cindarm |
|
Cyrlinn, Cyrlyn |
|
Dagan, Daggan |
|
Daggda |
|
|
Daurant |
|
Daglara |
|
Delg |
|
Daureala |
|
|
Dennin |
|
Delemara |
|
Dobyn |
|
Della |
|
|
Desmil |
|
Dellyna |
|
Donabar, Dunnabar |
|
Donara |
|
|
Dorn |
|
Dorna |
|
Durl |
|
Dynara |
|
|
Ebersar |
|
Eberynnil |
|
Emerlin |
|
Emerynn |
|
|
Erden |
|
Everild |
|
Faern |
|
Faernuu |
|
|
Fyrfar |
|
Fyrlynn |
|
Gadlyn |
|
Gaena |
|
|
Garn |
|
Gareena |
|
Garntar |
|
Gwythiir |
|
|
Glyir |
|
Guthniia |
|
Grysygonth |
|
Haegara |
|
|
Haeil |
|
Hathlia |
|
Hathar |
|
Helmyrra |
|
|
Helmaer |
|
Ilisar |
|
Idrin |
|
Ingaret |
|
|
Immar |
|
Isant |
|
Iolar |
|
Isdlara |
|
|
Isilar |
|
Isleen |
|
Isinghar |
|
Jaclyn |
|
|
Jalabar |
|
Jessra |
|
Jangarak |
|
Jhannon |
|
|
Jhaster |
|
Jhone |
|
Jhoebryn |
|
Joya |
|
|
Joyin, Joylin |
|
Joyuin, Joyune |
|
Keldorn |
|
Keely, Kealae |
|
|
Maegar |
|
Maegara |
|
Mairin |
|
Marlvae |
|
|
Mith |
|
Merul |
|
Morinn |
|
Miira |
|
|
Nor |
|
Nandae |
|
Obryn |
|
Oralinn |
|
|
Osk |
|
Othyil |
|
Pheldynn |
|
Phaeba |
|
|
Rindol, Rindolph |
|
Rethusra |
|
Roryn, Rorn |
|
Rorrina |
|
|
Sharn |
|
Shalagha |
|
Tasster, Teszter |
|
Teshura |
|
|
Therlarn |
|
Thelarna |
|
Thirig, Thirag |
|
Thrindel |
|
|
Tinder |
|
Tithmel |
|
Tol |
|
Tolantra, Taulantra |
|
|
Tuir |
|
Tuara, Tuathra |
|
Turbaern |
|
Tuvala |
|
|
Uldred |
|
Uldredda |
|
Ulnorn |
|
Ulurandra |
|
|
Valdyr |
|
Varuna |
|
Velm |
|
Veldine |
|
|
Ygdal |
|
Yanthaera |
|
Zuth |
|
Zarna |
These are only some of the dwarven names listed in the FR 11 sourcebook. If you want even more names see the reference book.