How each race names itself
- Elves use long, flowing names and often take an adult name when they come of age.
- Dwarves have a short personal name and a clan name, such as Stoneaxe or Goldvein.
- Halflings have short, friendly first names and homely family names drawn from the countryside.
- Tieflings carry either an infernal name or a "virtue" name for an idea they want to live up to, like Reverie or Verity.
- Dragonborn put the clan name first, then the personal name, so in Bhorrandesk Rhazkar the clan is Bhorrandesk.
- Orcs use short, hard names; gnomes collect several names and nicknames over a long life.
- Humans vary by region, which is why this list mixes Sword Coast names like Perrin Westwater with northern ones like Kjeld Greysail.
Picking a name at the table
Choose a name the other players can say. If the table keeps stumbling over Malthrenkazhar, they will call your dragonborn "Mal" by the second session, so you might as well plan a short form. A name that hints at the character's past (a halfling called Quickwater who can't swim) gives you something to role-play.
For a whole party, vary the first letters and lengths so names don't blur together in play: Vymira, Dagith and Ozzie are easier to keep apart than Vymira, Vireth and Velryna.