In a message dated 6/27/99 5:59:00 PM Central Daylight Time,
owner-birthright@lists.imagiconline.com writes:

> In my never-ending quest for the names of PCs in Anuire, I often have to
> turn to the name sheet. Yet "Richard [Endier]" and "Michael [Roele]"
> are some more "down-to-Earth" Anuirean names (and thus easier to
> remember and pronounce :-). Does anyone know of more "normal" names
> mentioned in the supplements? Also, does anyone know the origins of
> Richard and Michael so I can look to that country(s) for other names?
>

According to the Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook (my favorite
source for finding character names), Michael is a Hebrew name related to
Matthew, Micah, Matthias, and other quite pronounceable variations (all
meaning "gift from God"). Richard is related to Reginald and some others;
it's listed under English, German, and Teutonic as meaning "powerful ruler."

I've mentioned this book on the list before as being a handy source. Lots of
name-your-baby type books will list names from cultures such as Scandanavian
or Russian, but this one also has unusual ones like Welsh, Gaelic, and Celtic
(great for elven names), Indian (Khinasi), Anglo-Saxon and Arthurian legends
(Anuire/generic fantasy).

It's in most bookstores in the writing/reference section. Author is Sherrilyn
Kenyon, ISBN 0-89879-632-6. At a cover price of US$18.95 (it's a hardcover
book) it's an investment, but it's the best all-in-one source I've seen. In
the pregnancy/parenting section you'll find lots of paperback (hence, less
expensive) baby-name books, many with themes such as Irish, African, Hebrew,
etc., which can be useful if your campaign is mostly set in one place.
Another good source for old-but-recognizeable names that you might already
have is the Bible. Your players might look askance at an NPC named Moses, but
an Abraham, Ezekiel, or Zaccheaus could be just what you're looking for.
Saints' names are another source to keep in mind; a good encyclopedia will
list the more common ones.

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