I base the stories on various Medieval lands (England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Netherlands, and others). I research the myths of these lands for some of the names, but for others I create names from the language that mean something related to the creature. For instance there is an old Welsh name Tesni that means "warmth". Today it's pronounced Tesnee.  I named a dragon in the Dragon-Called series Tesne. Another example are creatures that I call Surikats. They resemble large Meerkats, but with human capabilities. The Dutch word for Meerkat is Suricate.