Although the author, an English Literature graduate, has always
had an interest in names, 'The Onomastikon' is not the product
of an academic study. It was originally intended to provide a
few useful names for rôle-players who needed a name from
a particular historical background. People who furnished characters
with the Biblical names Ann or Tom when playing Saxon peasants
in a world where Christianity was unknown did seem to imply that
it was needed! Saxon, Norman, Arthurian and Medieval names were
the core of the first list but they were steadily added to and
with the establishment of a web site this has continued. The term
'onomastic' is taken from the Greek for 'pertaining to a name'.
An Onomastikon was a list of proper names of subjects (including
nature, cities and professions) used in ancient times.
Meanings are not included as space is limited and any good baby
names book will contain those of the more common names of these
types. With the addition of so many further foreign and historical
sections it became necessary to provide some form of historical
background to give an indication of the various influences upon
that particular country or people. These are not yet completed
in many cases but will be added to the documents as they are written.
A suggestion that a pronunciation guide should be included has
already been received and this is being attended to where possible.
Any help with the less well-documented countries would be useful.
If anyone has any other suggestions or contributions to make they
would also be very welcome but it is not possible to reply to
every message as so many are received.
It is hoped to include as many countries or races as possible
and in the course of research it is likely that many of the existing
entries will be extended. Tolkien is the only 'fantasy' author
whose character names have been included as it is likely that
they would be useful for MERP but, if it would be of interest,
this category could be widened to include other writers.
The Onomastikon is not intended to be representative - all names
found are included whether they are rare or not. The author has
no specialist knowledge and is not able to give detailed information
about individual names. Although every effort is made to be accurate,
some mistaken attributions could have occurred as a result of
nationals of one country having moved from another. For example,
although Dallaglio, Mazrocis and Le Tissier can be found amongst
the ranks of British sportsmen, their surnames originate from
Italy, Latvia and France.