The King is Dead: Names in Malleus

Names in The King is Dead

"My name is Gretel!"  "Und my name is HAN-sel!"  "HAN-sel? HAN-Sel?!..."

Commoners

Given Names

The most common male name for commoners in Malleus is Johannes or some abbreviation or diminution of the name.  Johannes the Mad was a false prophet of ancient Tsion who preached against King Hordos and Princess Salome.  When Salome was given the Gift of Sathaniel (which, as is taught by all right-minded preachers, was in order to bring the Gift to her step-father), she demanded Mad Johannes as her first feast.  Because of the high honor bestowed upon the deluded human, his name was bestowed upon innumerable human servants early in the reign of Emperor Etzel and has become commonplace since then.  While John and Jack have recently become more fashionable amongst city dwellers, Johann remains the most popular variation amongst the middle class.  Jan, Hans, and the diminutive Hansel are popular in the countryside while Ian and Sean are popular variations in Clavus and Lochland.  No man of aristocratic lineage is ever named Johannes.

Other male commoner names include: Almaric (Al), Anton, Baldric, Berthold (Bert, Bertie), Bull (Bullock), Carl (Charles, Karl), Claude, Dietrich, Ferdy, Franz, Fritz, Giles, Heinrich (Henry), Igor, Otto, Ox, Ralph (Rafe, Ralf), Ram (Ramhold, Ramwin), Rickard, Roger, Walter (Walther), and Wilhelm (Gill, Gilliam, Will, William).

When Eve, wife of the first man and mother to all, ate the Fruit of Knowledge at Sathaniel’s behest, she was the first human to see through the illusion of Innocence and perceive the harsh truth of the world.  Though the jealous demons of the Unseen Creator banished her from the Valley of Plenty and doomed mankind to eternal toil, this Divine Betrayal was necessary in order for Sathaniel to later raise up the rulers of the world in his image.  Eve and its variations Eva and Evita are naturally the most popular names for female commoners. 

Other female commoner names include: Amanda, Anna, Carla (Carlotta), Elizabeth (Beth, Betty, Ella), Frieda (Freda), Gerta, Gertrude, Gretel, Gretchen (Gretchin), Hazel, Helen (Elen), Inga, Ingrid, Isobel, Janet, Katja (Katya), Kirsten, Laura, Mathilde (Matilda), Pippa, Tanja (Tania), Valerie, Wanda (Vanda), Yutte, Zena, and Ziza.

Surnames

Commoner surnames alternate between modern and archaic spellings, place names and descriptors.  There is a burgeoning trend among the educated (and rebellious) middle class to choose simplified spellings and pronunciations that separate their names from those of the nobility.

Common surnames include (among many others): Addams, Archard, Barton, Bates, Becker, Bergman, Bernstein, Brandt, Conrad, Cushing, Ebhardt, Fehring, Finch, Framsen, Frisch, Gates, Gaunt, Grost, Hardtmuth, Hargood, Heidecke, Heiss, Helder, Hertz, Hoffer, Immelmann, Jefford, Kassner, Keen (Keene), Kerro, Kleve (Klove), Lang, Lee (Leigh), Lindholm, Malleson, Merritt, Morton, Mueller, Pitt, Renton, Richter, Ripper, Ruddy, Sandor, Sangster, Secker, Seward, Sorell, Tobler, Weil, Warbeck, Wilmer, and Woodbridge.  

Yes, I've been browsing Hammer movies on IMDB.  Why do you ask?

Aristocracy

The names of the vampire nobility are deliberately archaic.  The vampires have held onto their ancient names with as much tenacity as they have held onto power in Malleus.  The few foreign names they have adopted are largely those of vampire heroes, like the Dacian rebels Prinz Vlad Zepesh and Grafin Erzebet Batory, who have either become famous worldwide or have sought sanctuary in Malleus.  

While it is common to name children after the King and the Blood Princes among mortals, it is considered gauche amongst the nobility.

Aristocratic names are more complicated than commoners’.  The given name is followed by the nobiliary particle zu and the family branch name then von and the bloodline.  When a noble (usually male) is given the Gift of Sathaniel, he (or, rarely, she) then adopts a baptismal name that follows the given name; this is usually the name of a saint or angel. 

Example: Ranulf, dampyre heir of the Hartog branch of the von Rickard bloodline, is known as Ranulf zu Hartog von Rickard while his heart still beats.  When he is made a vampire, he adopts a baptismal name and becomes Count Ranulf Barbatos zu Hartog von Rickard.

Given Names 

Male aristocratic given names include:  Adalwolf, Alaric, Alberic, Arnulf, Cain (Caine, Kain), Clovis, Conrad, Edward, Ernst, Ferdinand, Frederic (Frederick, Friedrich), Gervas, Gustav, Hagen, Hermann, Horst, Joachim, Kuno, Lambert, Lothar, Ludwig, Magnus, Manfred, Maximillian, Odovacar, Radulf (Ranulf), Sigmund, Varney, Victor, Vlad (Vladimir), Ulrich, Werner, Wolf, and Wolfgang.

Female aristocratic given names include:  Auda, Avila, Brunhild (Brunhilda), Carmilla (Marcilla, Mircalla), Clarimonde, Delilah, Eloise, Emma, Elvira, Erzebet (Alzebet), Henrietta, Ilona, Integra, Margery, Martita, Mathilde (Matilda), Millicent, Ricarda (Richenda, Richenza, Richilda, Riki), Rosamund (Rosa, Rosalind), Ruperta (Ruberta), Victoria, Wilhelmina (Mina), Zorin (Zorina).

Baptismal Names 

Male aristocratic baptismal names include: Alastor, Asmodai (Asmodeus, Astaroth), Azazel, Baal (Bael), Balam, Baphomet, Barbatos, Beelzebub, Belphegor, Dantalion, Eligos, Etzel, Focalor, Gremory (Gomory), Hordos (Hordo, Ordo),  Kerioth, Lucifer, Malphas, Mammon, Mephistopheles, Moloch, Nero, Orcus, Samael, Satan, Ukobach, Valefar, Xaphan, Ziminiar.

Female aristocratic baptismal names include: Ardatha, Lamia (Lamika), Lilim, Lilith.

Surnames 

Aristocratic surnames include (among dozens of others): zu Barchinska, zu Bek, zu Borgoff, zu Durward, zu Elbourne, zu Emmerich, zu Gellhorn, zu Gorey, zu Hartog, zu Herritzen, zu Karnstein, zu Meinster, zu Mitterhaus, zu Spielsdorf, and zu Stenzgard.