History Main / LukeNounverber

It should also be noted that some names look like this, but are actually mistranslations or corruptions of non-English names; Weatherwax is probably a corruption of a similar-sounding Dutch name[[hottip:*:Except [[{{Discworld}} that one]]. There's no Holland on the Disc for her name to come from.]], and the name Poundmaker is a perfectly normal Cree Indian name. Interestingly, ''first'' names of that nature seem to have been [[OlderThanDirt very common in Proto-Indo-European culture]], common enough that they're attested in ''many'' descendant languages -- {{Sophocles}} meant "famed for wisdom", for example, and Alfred originally meant something like "counsel of elves'' [[hottip:*:NOT a Council of Elves; that's from {{TheLordOfTheRings}} a book]].

It should also be noted that some names look like this, but are actually mistranslations or corruptions of non-English names; Weatherwax is probably a corruption of a similar-sounding Dutch name[[hottip:*:Except [[{{Discworld}} that one]]. There's no Holland on the Disc for her name to come from.]], and the name Poundmaker is a perfectly normal Cree Indian name. Interestingly, ''first'' names of that nature seem to have been [[very common in OlderThanDirt Proto-Indo-European culture]], common enough that they're attested in ''many'' descendant languages -- {{Sophocles}} meant "famed for wisdom", for example, and Alfred originally meant something like "counsel of elves''.[[hottip:*: NOT a Council of Elves; that's from [[TheLordOfTheRings a book.]]

It should also be noted that some names look like this, but are actually mistranslations or corruptions of non-English names; Weatherwax is probably a corruption of a similar-sounding Dutch name[[hottip:*:Except [[{{Discworld}} that one]]. There's no Holland on the Disc for her name to come from.]], and the name Poundmaker is a perfectly normal Cree Indian name. Interestingly, ''first'' names of that nature seem to have been [[very common in OlderThanDirt Proto-Indo-European culture]], common enough that they're attested in ''many'' descendant languages -- {{Sophocles}} meant "famed for wisdom", for example, and Alfred originally meant something like "counsel of elves''.[[hottip:*NOT a Council of Elves; that's from [[TheLordOfTheRings a book.]]

So in fiction, a guy could be called Olaf Skullcrusher, it's treated as though that's a normal surname. In reality, if a king was called Olaf Skullcrusher, it was because he was literally known for crushing skulls in battle. Now later on, that name might ascend to a surname, but fiction rarely gives such justification.

It should also be noted that some names look like this, but are actually mistranslations or corruptions of non-English names; Weatherwax is probably a corruption of a similar-sounding Dutch name[[hottip:*:Except [[{{Discworld}} that one]]. There's no Holland on the Disc for her name to come from.]], and the name Poundmaker is a perfectly normal Cree Indian name. Interestingly, ''first'' names of that nature seem to have been very common in Proto-Indo-European culture, common enough that they're attested in ''many'' descendant languages -- {{Sophocles}} meant "famed for wisdom", for example, and Alfred originally meant something like "counsel of elves''.

* Named for [[StarWars Luke Skywalker]] (a verb and a noun compound).
** His MauveShirt friend Biggs Darklighter - survived by relatives with the same last name - makes only a little more sense, if you assume that some ancestor was really, really, really good at lighting dark places.

** Luna Lovegood combines this with StellarName. And then there's her dad Xenophilius.

* ''Kenny Starfighter''.

** The overwhelming majority of Night Elf NPCs have combinations of "Moon," "Silver," "Bow," "Breeze," "Runner," "Star," and others, while Blood Elves have similar ones, but more uses of "Sun," "Dawn," and "Fire" than their nocturnal counterparts.

* ''WarhammerOnline'' has mostly "normal" names, although very Germanic, for the Empire NPCs. For Chaos and all the non-human races, this trope applies. For example, "Garik Bludfist", "Kargesh Fellgaze", "Bjorn Warpmask", "N'rarch Fleshreaper", "Vaardek Skullsplitter", "Alaric Grimstone" and "Brok Boarsmasha". No surprise that player characters who purchase a last name tend to either choose "[=NounVerber=]", "[=AdjectiveNoun=]" or a pop-culture reference.

This was very rarely done in RealLife. Such names were actually epithets given to people for notable things, as in there was a reason. Scandinavian kings often acquired cool epithets during their reigns. Their actual surnames were of the patronymic variety (like Gunnarson meant "Son of Gunnar"). But their real surnames were often eclipsed by their epithets in posterity.

** Not sure Khelghar fits into this trope either, since his name Ironfist fits as a title. He is, after all, training to be a warrior monk fighting with only his hands.

This was not done in RealLife. Such names were actually epithets given to people for notable things, as in there was a reason. Scandinavian kings often acquired cool epithets during their reigns. Their actual surnames were of the patronymic variety (like Gunnarson meant "Son of Gunnar"). But their real surnames were often eclipsed by their epithets in posterity.

** Cartwright, Goldsmith, Wainwright and other names indicating specialized craftsmen
** Eisenhower - from "Eisenhauer" (iron-hewer) is a German version of this
** Shakespeare - "spear-shaker"

It should also be noted that some names look like this, but are actually mistranslations or corruptions of non-English names; Weatherwax is probably a corruption of a similar-sounding Dutch name, and the name Poundmaker is a perfectly normal Cree Indian name. Interestingly, ''first'' names of that nature seem to have been very common in Proto-Indo-European culture, common enough that they're attested in ''many'' descendant languages -- {{Sophocles}} meant "famed for wisdom", for example, and [[AlfredHitchcock Alfred]] originally meant something like "counsel of elves''.

* The PvP - Penny Arcade 4th Edition Podcasts bring us dwarf fighter Binwin Bronzebottom and Jim Darkmagic of the New Hampshire Darkmagics.

*** Actually easily explained by its port-in-the-middle-of-nowhere status. Local single motherhood rates would be predictably through the roof, provincial mores would frown upon a fatherless kid, and a child carrying his maternal family's surname in such a sparsely-populated area would suffer from his own name being a constant reminder of said stigma to everyone. Hence, local teenage mums would invent suitably heroic surnames for their suitably heroic and conveniently called-to-duty or killed in action imaginary husbands and pass these on to their kids.

** Four thousand years before that - about forty years before [=KotOR=] the game - we had Nomi Sunrider. Since 'Sunrider' was also a name being taken by some kind of Jeep(''why'' would the Jeep people care about the name of a comic book character?), there was legal wrestling, and now we will never again hear her cool-if-nonsensical last name.

* ''{{A Bit of Fry and Laurie}}'' used these at times, most notably in a sketch about viewers writing in to tell about mildly amusing names they've come across, where all the letter-writers themselves have names that are filthy phrases -- so you have Peter Cuminmyear writing to say he went to school with a Donald Duck. There's also Ted Cunterblast from the library sketch, which they inexplicably got away with.

* From the Hank The Cowdog books, we get the coyote Chief "Many-Rabbit-Gut-Eat-In-Full-Moon". And his daughter, "Girl-Who-Drinks-Blood".