Chlouvānem/Names

The Chlouvānem people have a naming tradition which strongly reflects the traditional matrilinear society and the fact that names come from a variety of sources, due to the Chlouvānem people having absorbed many other different cultures and their names being kept, sometimes regionally in the territories of the Inquisition, some other times nationwide.

All names are adapted into their language, and follow its phonological rules and nominal declensions.

Chlouvānem names are made by three different parts: the matronymic (in Chl. nāḍimāvi), the surname (leliėmihaloe), and one or more personal (or given) names (lilahaloe, pl. lilahalenī— commonly just haloe/halenī). This is the standard for people everywhere in the Inquisition, but note that ethnic Bazá people from Tūnambasā diocese may also be called with the standard names for the Bazá people; anyway in the last two decades the Chlouvānem standard has grown from being used by 25% to 93% of all Bazá people living in Tūnambasā diocese; titular ethnicities in other ethnic dioceses follow the Chlouvānem standard.
All people, everywhere in the Inquisition, also have an unofficial but commonly used informal name (laltihaloe).

The standard format is matronymic - surname - personal name(s) ; the latter are usually romanized in italic in order to better distinguish them.

Matronymics (nāḍimāvīye)

The matronymic or nāḍimāvi (from nāḍima, honorific word for "mother") are always the first part of the name and are also the simplest to form, by adding -āvi to the mother's (first) given name. For example, the children of a woman named Līṭhaljāyim will all have the matronymic Līṭhaljāyimāvi.

A few names have particular matronymics:

• Martayinām (and other rarer names compounds of -yinām) has Martayināvi
• Nouns in -ė make their matronymic in -yāvi, e.g. Lairė → Lairyāvi
• Nouns in -ca or -cha make their matronymic in -šāvi, e.g. Lañekaica → Lañekaišāvi
• The common name Bandiė has Banditiāvi.
• Lākhnī keeps the ī but shortened and therefore has Lākhniyāvi.

Surnames (leliėmihalenī)

The surname or leliėmihaloe (from leliėmita "family", and haloe "name") is of newer formation when compared to the matronymic, especially in rural areas. Chlouvānem people have a huge number of surnames, and there are different possible origins:

• Some have been derived by ancient matronymics (keeping the one of the grandmother of the first generation which had this surname), and are distinguished by ending in -lišā, -æha, -æša, or others instead of -āvi. As this has a popular origin, the original name may not be recognizable, especially because of heavy shortenings and/or vernacular influence. Some examples include Lænkæša, Nākāyæha, Ñæhūvæša, Lūmāvæha, or Jėliāvyæša.
• Some names have been derived by "extended" genitives in -iai/-ьai (sometimes also seen in placenames), often with otherwise -mi- root extension and ablaut. The original roots are often common places or professions; examples are Yālcai, Lanæmiai, Ṣveimiai, Mahāmiai (from amaha “abode”), Hāliai, Lūlulkaicai (from lūlulkita, a cocoa tree plantation), or Šītmiai. A common subpattern includes the many different, vernacular-influenced, variations on vīhatam "farm", like Vīhešai, Vaihātiai, Bahāmiai, Vīšmi, or Bīhašai.
• A few surnames are derived by prefixing or suffixing the older genitive particle ga: these are mostly originary of those areas where the local vernacular has a genitive with that origin, like the central-western Lāmiejāya plain; examples are Galeli, Nānega, or Pomega.
• Surnames derived from toponyms (of small places), especially through genitives or -ųu. Many of these toponyms, like in all of the Inquisition anyway, are of non-Chlouvānem origin due to them having displaced earlier cultures. Examples are: Paramaiti, Yuitani, Jāṇųu, Murtųu, Halьcaici, or Nuiñjuyai.
• A few surnames derive from occupations or tools, either in genitive case (e.g. Ṣāṭi, Kolьcañī) or in direct case (e.g. Kumis, Drāṇīn).
• Many Eastern surnames have their origins in Kans-Tsan clan names, like Yatakoma, Laranamon, Hantokan, Futahira, or Līkāntām.
• Many surnames have unknown origin, most probably from non-Chlouvānem now displaced languages, especially in the jungle area. Examples are Nāʔahilūma, Jāmatthāla, Naiñoʔamė, Lamichlīkyah or Nājihaufram.

Variable and invariable surnames

Chlouvānem surnames, regardless of origin, may be variable or invariable, with about 55% of people having a variable surname.

Variable surnames have three forms: one for all women in the family, one for married men, and one for unmarried men. There are a few patterns based on the ending suffixes:

• -(e)lišā (female), -orās (married male), -altīs (unmarried male) - e.g. Kāmīnelišā, Kāmīnorās, Kāmīnaltīs
• -(y)æša, -ærās, -æltīs - Nainyæša, Nainyærās, Nainyæltīs
• -(y)æha, -ąrās, -ąltīs - Lūmāvæha, Lūmāvąrās, Lūmāvąltīs
• -(i)tėsa, -tairās, -teltīs - Neamitėsa, Neamitairās, Neamiteltīs
• -(a)ṣrā, -ṣurās, -ṣraltīs - Bandikṣrā, Bandikṣurās, Bandikṣraltīs

While typically it is the matronymic-derived surnames (and sometimes the placename-derived ones) that are variable, these suffixes have also been applied to other kinds of surnames - an example being the late singer-songwriter Lālašvātyāvi Kāmilñariāh Turabayān, whose unnamed surname was Kašahitoraltīs (his mother was called Šulegāvi Kašahitorlišā Lālašvāti), of clear Kans-Tsan origin (cf. the existing, invariable modern surnames Kašahitah and Kašahitra).

In most areas of the Inquisition, men take their wife's surname (in the married male form, if variable) when they marry - so for example a hypothetical Martayināvi Lantakaltīs Kāltarvān who marries the hypothetical Namihūlšāvi Huliālišā Lairė will be known as Martayināvi Huliāyorās Kāltarvān after marrying. Their son Dalaigin's full name will be Lairyāvi Huliāltīs Dalaigin.

In some places, this is not the case, and the husband keeps his birth surname, but if it is variable, it will shift to the married form anyway.

Non-binary people get the option to choose either form, but once chosen it can't be changed without a long bureaucratic process.

Personal names (lilahalenī)

Chlouvānem personal names (lilahaloe, from lila "person" and haloe "name") have a large variety of origins.

Names inherited by the Proto-Lahob culture, or the earliest Chlouvānem names, are usually made by two elements compounded together (a kind of bahuvrihi compound), like for example the male names Gāṇakvyāta "steel hero" or Hånisrajñās "friend of toucans", or the female ones Martayinām "city protector" or Ñaiṭasamin "star child". There are also names made by a single Chlouvānem word, like Lairė "sky", Yānāh “innocence” (both female) or Hånia "toucan" (unisex but mostly female).

Anyway, possibly the majority of nationwide Chlouvānem names are not inherited from Proto-Lahob, but originally from cultures of the central Lāmiejāya plain in prehistoric times, many without a known meaning. Such names include for example the female Hæniląuya and Namihūlśa or the male Lælithiam and Nuikthalin. Other names with a known origin are for example the female Kūldendėla or Nariekaiṣa and the male Kāltarvān or Kāljivaṃṣān, all of Ancient Yodhvāyi origin (once spoken in the current-day dioceses of Galiākñijātia and Yodhvāya). A few nationwide given names also have Ancient Kūṣṛmāthi or other origins, but they're much rarer.

-likā and -mitā are usually used to form female names from common words; male counterparts to female names are formed by changing the final vowel, usually -a, with -mun. This is part of a pattern that sees most male nouns being grammatically of lotus gender and most female ones of the parrot one. Only a few nouns are unisex, for example Kailnenia (though female in the vast majority of cases), Terintān, or those ones formed with unisex names, like all of those with -samin (child).

Many areas of the Inquisition also have their own "local" names, taken from pre-Chlouvānem local languages; this is particularly common in the East with Kans-Tsan names, which often spread outside that area. Special mention also for the Dabuke female names Amabu and Nīmulšāmi, which have spread outside the local area and are commonly given nationwide.

Most common given names at the 4E 131 census

The 4E 131 Inquisitorial census found these names as the most common among the population of the Chlouvānem Inquisition.

Female names:

1. Martayinām
2. Lairė
3. Bandiė
4. Yārachilgėn
5. Amabu
6. Mæmihūmia
7. Huliāchlærim
8. Læhimausa
9. Namihūlša
10. Kælidañca

Male names:

1. Kāltarvān
2. Dalaigin
3. Bhārmatah
4. Khālbayān
5. Kāljivaṃṣān
6. Darkhām
7. Ārṣam
8. Jalgudām
9. Hūlamastān
10. Mūñcangām

Common given names and their meanings

Here is a list of common Chlouvānem given names and, where known, their origin and meaning:

Name	Origin	Meaning	Gender
Amabu	Eastern Dabuke	beauty	Female
Ārṣan	Tamukāyi	strength of the hill(s)	Male
Aubakī	unknown, probably Western		Unisex (most commonly male)
Bālagudām	Ancient Yodhvāši	long breath (= long life)	Unisex (most commonly male)
Bālagudairah	Ancient Yodhvāši	(variant of Bālagudām)	Female
Bandiė	Old Cambhaugrāyi	beauty of the wind	Female
Barhāma	Tamukāyi	sunlight	Female
Bhārmatah	Chlouvānem	lion	Male
Bradhma	Ancient Kāṃradeši	pearl	Female
Bradhulkam	Ancient Kāṃradeši	(variant of Bradhma)	Male
Braivaren	Ancient Kāṃradeši	carrying great hope	Male
Buyāna	Ancient Kāṃradeši	daughter	Female
Chališiroe	Old Cambhaugrāyi	sage word, (s)he who gives advice	Unisex
Chaukārī	unknown		Unisex (most commonly male)
Chīlgantāram	Ancient Yodhvāši	light foot	Male
Chilamulka	Ancient Yodhvāši	good foot	Female
Chlamijeniū	Chlouvānem	golden flower	Female
Chlǣvešāh	Chlouvānem	from chluvaikā (wealth), probably merged with chlǣcæm (better)	Female
Chlærьmitūh	Chlouvānem	body of light	Female
Dāgnabhrām	unknown, probably Near Eastern		Male
Dāgnabhrāni	(female version of Dāgnabhrām)		Female
Dalaigin	Ancient Kāṃradeši	having light	Male
Dalaigana	Ancient Kāṃradeši	(probably derived from Dalaigin)	Female
Dāneh	unknown (Chlouvānem?)		Female
Daṃdhigūlan	Ancient Kāṃradeši	blue star	Male
Dariāmitā	Ancient Yodhvāši	strong woman	Female
Darkhām	Ancient Yodhvāši	strong	Male
Dėlendarhām	Ancient Yodhvāši	strong leader	Male
Dėlenitā	Ancient Yodhvāši	leading woman	Female
Dulmadin	Ancient Kāṃradeši	lucky, of a miracle	Male
Dulmaidana	Ancient Kāṃradeši	(probably derived from Dulmadin)	Female
Gāṇakvyāta	Chlouvānem	iron hero	Male
Geñchīntāram	Ancient Yodhvāši	light blade	Male
Hāliehaika	Anc.Yodhvāši/unknown	hālʲ- from Anc. Yodhvāši for "reflection"; -haika unknown	Female
Hāliehulca	Anc.Yodhvāši/unknown	(post-classical corruption of Hāliehaika)	Female
Halinækha	unknown		Female
Halinurkam	unknown (variant of Halinækha)		Male
Hānimausa	Ancient Yodhvāši	beautiful reflection	Female
Hilvargholah	Ancient Namaikehi	(variant of Hilvarghom)	Female
Hilvarghom	Ancient Namaikehi	famous warrior	Male
Hūlamastān	unknown		Male
Huliāchlærim	Chlouvānem	moonlight	Female
Hūrtalgān	Ancient Yodhvāši	man of gems	Male
Hælahaika	Anc.Yodhvāši/unknown	(variant of Hāliehaika)	Female
Hæliyǣša	unknown		Female
Hæniląuya	unknown		Female
Hånisrajñas	Chlouvānem	friend of toucans	Male
Hånia	Chlouvānem	toucan	Unisex
Jādāh	Archaic Chlouvānem	wealth(y)	Female
Jalgudām	Ancient Yodhvāši	distant sight	Male
Janighālah	Ancient Namaikehi	brave	Unisex
Jardām	Ancient Yodhvāši	sight in the dark	Male
Jauhækūmi	unknown		Female
Jīvardām	Ancient Yodhvāši	fighting word	Male
Julūmausa	Ancient Yodhvāši	beautiful gold	Female
Kailemūrṣa	Tamukāyi	she whose courage is told	Female
Kailnenia	Chlouvānem	pure soul	Female
Kāljivaṃṣān	Ancient Yodhvāši	sage man	Male
Kāltarvān	Ancient Yodhvāši	painted man	Male
Khālbayān	Ancient Yodhvāši	brown man	Male
Klætsflian	unknown (probably from the Near East)		Male
Kūldendėla	Ancient Yodhvāši	beautiful flower	Female
Kuretsufan	Kans-Tsan	strong boy	Female
Kælidañca	Ancient Yodhvāši	great joy	Female
Lākhnī	unknown, probably Near Eastern		Female
Lairė	Chlouvānem	sky, air	Female
Lanaijuniā	Chlouvānem	island flower	Female
Lañekaica	Ancient Yodhvāši	(variant of Lañikaiṣa)	Female
Lañemulka	Ancient Yodhvāši	(variant of Lañimulca)	Female
Lañikaiṣa	Ancient Yodhvāši	blessed hand	Female
Lañimulca	Ancient Yodhvāši	good hand	Female
Lārta	unknown		Female
Lāyašvāti	unknown, probably Near Eastern		Female
Lāyašvūs	(male version of Lāyašvāti)		Male
Liftrantas	unknown, probably Near Eastern		Male
Liftraišī	(female version of Liftrantas)		Female
Līnænuliah	unknown		Female
Læhimausa	Tamukāyi	ray of light	Female
Lælithiam	unknown		Male
Maibeh	Eastern Dabuke/Chlouvānem	archaic diminutive of Amabu	Female
Mailhomma	Chlouvānem	water pearl	Female
Mambapinga	Eastern Dabuke	the beautiful one	Female
Mamieh	Eastern Dabuke/Chlouvānem	archaic diminutive of Amabu	Female
Martayinām	Chlouvānem	city protector	Female (historically unisex)
Miąrlenīn	Chlouvānem	(s)he who makes good choices	Unisex
Mūñcangām	Ancient Yodhvāši	warrior	Male
Mæmihomah	unknown (variant of Mæmihūmia)		Female
Mæmihūmia	unknown (possibly Laifutaši)		Female
Mæmijaiya	unknown (possibly Laifutaši)		Female
Mæmimausa	unknown/Anc. Yodhvāši	mæmi- unknown; -mausa from the Anc. Yodhvāši word for "beautiful"	Female
Naina	Old Cambhaugrāyi	melodic	Female
Naik​ā	Ancient Yodhvāši	song	Female
Nājaldhīm	Aṣasṝkhami	bringer of happiness	Female
Namihūlša	Laifutaši	?	Female
Nariejūram	Ancient Yodhvāši	woman of light	Female
Nariekaiṣa	Ancient Yodhvāši	blessed woman	Female
Nariekayah	Ancient Yodhvāši	(variant of Nariekaiṣa)	Female
Nariekūrda	Ancient Yodhvāši	woman of flowers	Female
Nilāmulka	Laifutaši	?	Female
Nimahullė	Ancient Yodhvāši	smile of the stars	Female
Nīmulšāmi	Eastern Dabuke	the young one	Female
Nukthalin	unknown		Male
Nukthælieh	unknown (probably derived from/related to Nukthalin)		Female
Ñaiṭasamin	Chlouvānem	star child	Unisex
Pirkabhrām	unknown, probably Near Eastern		Male
Pirkabhrāni	(female version of Pirkabhrām)		Female
Ṣastira	Tamukāyi	water fairy	Female
Ṣastirvam	Tamukāyi	(variant of Ṣastira)	Male
Šulega	Ancient Kāṃradeši	happiness	Female
Švaragūlan	Ancient Kāṃradeši	star of the sea	Male
Tainā	Tamukāyi	gem	Female
Tālimausa	unknown/Anc. Yodhvāši	tāli- unknown; -mausa from the Anc. Yodhvāši word for "beautiful"	Female
Terintān	Ancient Yodhvāši	fast jump	Unisex
Turabayān	Ancient Yodhvāši	brown step	Male
Turgandām	Ancient Yodhvāši	step into the dark	Male
Vælvah	Chlouvānem	cloud	Unisex (usually female)
Yāmurtān	Ancient Yodhvāši	fast kick	Male
Yānāh	inherited from Proto-Lahob	great purity	Female
Yārachilgėn	Ancient Yodhvāši	sky girl	Female
Yunaira	Tamukāyi	good doing	Female

Informal names (laltihalenī)

The Chlouvānem informal name (laltihaloe, from lalteh (friend) and haloe (name)) is the form of the given name used in many particularly informal settings. As with all things informal in the Chlouvānem-speaking world, there is no uniform rule because they are deeply influenced by the local vernacular and, more often than not, they are never even used when speaking Chlouvānem as such kind of conversations may often be exclusively in the vernacular.
However, there is a simple pattern that can be used in order to derive pan-Inquisitiorial informal names from given names: either the first or the stressed syllable of the name is taken, with optional vowel changes (usually a to æ, æ and ai to e, e to i, and often o to either a or u), and -ī for female informal names or -em for male ones. Female names often shift post-tonic velars, h, or s, to palatals.
As different syllables may be taken, there are even for this pattern different possibilities. Some examples (usually, the more common a name is and the more informal forms it has):

Martayinām [ˌmaˤ.ta.(j)iˈnaːm] → Mærī, Mætī, Matī, Næmī, Nāmī

Mæmihūmia [ˌmɛ.mʲiˈɦuː.mʲa] → Memī, Hūmī, Mæmī

Kælidañca [ˌkɛ.ɴ̆ʲiˈdaɲ.c͡ɕa] → Kelī, Kælī, Dæñī, Dañī

Kāltarvān [ˌkaːɴ̆.taɐ̯ˈʋãː] → Kālem, Kælem, Vānem, Vænem, Kāltem

Khālbayān [ˌkʰaːɴ̆.baˈjãː] → Khælem, Khālem, Yænem, Yānem

Læhimausa [ˌɴ̆ɛ.ɦiˈmaʊ̯.sa] → Læšī, Læhī, Lešī, Maušī, Mūšī, Mūsī

Using names

→ See also: Chlouvānem morphology § Honorific titles

Chlouvānem names are rarely used alone: they are most often coupled with some kind of honorific. There is a so-called "politeness scale" for their use:

1. When speaking to someone:

• All three parts of the name are used alone in roll calls exclusively;
• The most polite form is to use the appropriate honorific title or formula plus the honorifics yamei and lāma, all applied to matronymic and given name; e.g. Martayināvi yamei murkadhāna Læhimausa lāma (something like Respectable Inquisitor, Ms. Læhimausa, daughter of Martayinām). This form is usually used at the beginning of a conversation, as subsequently the norm is to use a shorter form - in this case either yamei murkadhāna or yamei Læhimausa lāma;
• The usual polite form is simply given name plus lāma (or any other appropriate title, like e.g. kauchlærīn (professor), or suntam, tanta, lallāmaha...); e.g. Læhimausa lāma (Ms. Læhimausa), Læhimausa kauchlærī (Professor Læhimausa);
• Using any of the three parts alone (usually the name) is a moderately colloquial form, usually used between colleagues or friends with a moderate degree of acquaintance. Even between colleagues of the same age this is somewhat rude if they do not each other much, and in that case tanta or lāma should be used;
• The informal name is the form used by close friends, by siblings, partners, and towards all family members of a younger generation. It is however generally rude to use any kind of personal name towards an older family member, or a non-sibling of the same generation (brothers/sisters-in-law, unless they are close friends).

2. When speaking of someone:

• If the listener is likely to not know who the person spoken of is, the full three parts of the name are used (but sometimes the surname is omitted), usually with yamei, a title (lāma, tanta, suntam), and usually the profession too (e.g. Martayināvi yamei murkadhāna Læhimausa lāma), but no titles are used (only optionally yamei) if they're of a lower rank — for example a teacher speaking about one of his/her students to another teacher;
• If the person spoken of is respected (of higher rank), then the appropriate formula is used the first time they're mentioned, then the norm is to use a shorter form - in this case, a form like yamei Læhimausa murkadhāna is accepted, while it is not when speaking directly to that person. The higher rank that person is, usually the longer it takes to completely shift to a shorter form — e.g. while the Great Inquisitor will not be referred to every time as nanū aveṣyotāra lallāmaha Hæliyǣšāvi yamei Dhīvajhūyai Lairė camimurkadhāna lāma, it will not probably get shorter than nanū aveṣyotāra yamei lallāmaha ([Her] Respectable Most Excellent Highness) or nanū aveṣyotāra lallāmaha camimurkadhāna ([Her] Most Excellent Highness, the Great Inquisitor);
• If the person spoken of is of equal rank, in a polite context they'll be referred to with tanta (the usual title for equal grades), or lāma;
• The use of the bare given name (or matronymic or surname) and of the informal name follow the same guidelines as when talking to that person. Note that, though, in a family context it will be more common to use the names of older family members in order to disambiguate about them (e.g. Amabu paṣmeinā ukulanilь Læhimausa paṣmeinā prišniliukula no (Grandma Amabu has spoken and Grandma Læhimausa has answered [her]).

The second- and third-person pronouns used with the various honorific styles also vary. See the respective section of the Grammar for more details.