Men's and Women's Names

[Wanderer]

I noticed after finishing Avernum 1 that most of the male characteres are known by their last names and the female characters by their first names.

[Jerakeen]

How do you know those are last names? People can name their kids anything, and this is another universe, after all.

[Rugila]

Is 'X' men's or women's name? It could be either methinks.

[Tyranicus]

Is 'X' men's or women's name? It could be either methinks.

In the original Avernum trilogy, X has a beard, but then so does Linda...

[ĐªгŦĦ Єяŋϊε]

Is it a first name or a last name?

[Triumph]

There's hardly anyone with last names in Avernum, is there? I mean, by far most people have only one name, at least that we ever know about. There are a few exceptions, people who have both a personal name and a family name, but they are rare (Erika and Tor are examples of this, if I remember correctly).

[adc.]

In the original Avernum trilogy, X has a beard, but then so does Linda...

 

During my playthrough, I doubted what my eyes saw

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

Tor's second wife refers to herself as "Carol, of the Hamer clan" which presumably means that was her last name. As for archmagi, Aimee, Solberg, and Patrick all have last names as well. Eric Threescars seems to have acquired a last name in the original manner, which is that as towns grew in size, people had to differentiate between Jimbo Baker, who made bread, and Jimbo Smith, who made metal goods. Eric, however, was most visibly differentiated by his three prominent scars, which he takes as a mark of pride. Avernum seems like it may be in the middle of that period when last names were growing in level of use. Gunston and Hamer are probably the names of towns on the surface, and Hawthorne is a thorny tree with supposed cardiac health benefits when consumed. Maybe that's a testament to the original Emperor Hawthorne being skilled at organizing defense and having physical fortitude, all three names passed down through family lines. On the other hand, Redmark and Fartraveler are most likely given to the bearers based on some characteristic of themselves. Padraig, of course, is literally Irish for Patrick, so maybe he's renowned for being himself and sticking to his values or something?

[Slawbug]

Also, given that we know the origins of most of those names from real life, it's clear that both genders pull from first and last names alike.

[Edgwyn]

In addition to the historical progression of naming that ADOS listed, I would also think that the fact that the original inhabitants were all exiles provided for a more fluid take on names. Some of the outright rebels had probably lived under various aliases for years prior to being exiled. Some of the true criminals had probably done the same. Some of the political types had probably needed to change their names to protect the guilty.