What's in a Name?

     Having a faire name is fun. It adds to the amusing and entertaining part of creating a faire persona. A faire name also gives you a starting point in creating your persona or the person you become at faire, your alter ego. At first it might seem like a large task to create a whole different character to step into, but looking at it another way, there is so much freedom in creating a new you.
     Think about what country or region of Europe you would like to be from. Some might think that it will be difficult to come from Germany because you can't get the German accent just right. But accents are something that comes with practice, lots of it, and from a different aspect, try to see the accent as a finishing touch to a well thought out character. So, pick a country in Europe, mainly France, Germany, Spain, Italy and also England, as these countries were widely represented in the Renaissance era and you will find research much easier.
     If you really want a character from someplace different, there are smaller countries in the area, Portugal, Corsica etc, and if you know a lot about these countries because it is in your family background then it would be a great help. On the other hand, your character can be from one country by birth, but raised in another country. Suppose your character is Spanish, but you spend so much time with the French Guard that you are beginning to think and act like them. There are endless possibilities. Why am I talking about countries in Europe when the subject is faire names? Because your faire name will in some cases denote your country of origin.
     Sometimes it is easy to recognize the origin of a name. If your name is Frank and you want your character to be from France, you might simply change it to the French version, Francois. The same holds true for William, Guillome, (sorry the French spelling isn't correct). Perhaps you might just have a fancy for a certain name from the country you wish your character to be from. Welsh names are very appropriate, although difficult to spell. Say your name is John and you only wish to change the name according to the country you choose to be from; Juan is from Spain, Johann is from Germany, Giovanni is from Italy, Ivan is from Russia, Shane is from Wales, Ian is from Ireland, Jean is from France, all are John.
     Another route you might want to think of is naming your alter ego with a label that describes something about your character. Names that have been used in this vein can be comical too. Magnus for a tall person, (Latin, the common speech), Somnus for a sleepy person, (Latin also), I have heard of a character called Nefar, which is short for nefarious.
     Let's say your mundane name is an appropriate name for the Renaissance period and you really want to keep it, you could add something to the end of it, a label that tells something about your character or where your character is from. You could be "John the Strong" or "John of Nottingham" or "John the Young" or "John the Archer" or "John the Hunter".
     Some names have no ethnic origin nor tell anything about you. Before I could thoughtfully choose a faire name for myself one was given to me. My faire name for instance is Mina, a made up name that bears no likeness to any name from any country and tells nothing about my character, (other than it's connection to Vlad from a storybook). On the other hand, if you don't pick a faire name for yourself then it will only be a matter of time before someone notices something about your character and figures out a name for you. Maybe you remember "Badger" from the Raven's Guard?
     Now for some guidelines in what not to do when choosing a faire name. Don't pick a name that is difficult to spell and/or pronounce with ease. If you're not too sure whether a name is difficult or easy, try it out on a few people and get their opinion. This is also be a good idea if you have more than one name in mind. Furthermore, an Italian sounding name is not right if your character is from Germany, you wouldn't be Giovanni from Frankfurt or Ian from Venice. Please be kind to the people who must use your name most often, your friends, don't pick a name that is overly long or you will find that eventually people will tire of it and it will be shortened for you over time.
     Here are some examples of faire names and how they came about. There is Dante, a name given to Chris and then he added de Montaine to the end of it and he was made a knight, now the full name is Sir Dante de Montaine. Katie wanted a name that was somewhat like her own, but didn't like the name Catherine that was the period version of Katie. So her faire name is Katianna, she wears the noble garb of a lady and adds to this name Chris' surname of de Montaine and you have Lady Katianna de Montaine. Some names are perfect just as they are, like Hannah, Sara, Jenna and most of the common, everyday girl and boy names from the bible. The common names you want to avoid are names of British nobility like Elizabeth and Henry.
    You can find good examples of faire names in history books, renaissance websites and also just in going to faire and finding out what people's faire names are and asking how they came up with their names. Other good locations for researching names might be movies or storybooks, but beware adopting the name of a well-known character like Beowulf or Dartagnion or the name of a mythological figure, as you will never erase the history of the name. Although a made up name is okay if it sounds Renaissance like Druegan or Demolite, you would not use a 21st century name like Brittany.
    As you can see there is a lot that goes into choosing a faire name for yourself. The basic requirement for starters is just a first name because there aren't many occasions to use a last name if you had one. An exception to this would be Brooke's faire name, Jean Baptiste Racgazony, no one calls him Jean Baptiste, but everyone calls him by his last name Racgazony or Maestro Racgazony. If nothing else, you can bring into play the place of origin as an ending to your name, such as Giovanni of Florence.
     Some people have a faire name in mind right in the beginning, it sounds cool, it's easy to say, easy to spell and pronounce and it sounds Renaissance, like the names Druegan and Deacon. Some of us take so long in choosing a name that one is given to us and it will eventually grow on you, like mine. At first I thought it was too simple and said nothing about me, but now I like the fact that I have a unique faire name and since it doesn't sound as if its from a certain geographical region I have the freedom to be from any country. I can even use the same name but then change my persona to suit whatever particular faire I am attending.
     In the end all it takes is a little research on your part to create an easy name to go with your character. Initially it seems odd to answer to a faire name, but you become accustomed to it. And after all, once you have a faire name then you can really begin to explore the possibilities for your character's storyline because now you have a point of reference.
Have fun with it.