Lalafell naming conventions

The Lalafell in Final Fantasy XIV use names that are ruled by rhythm, repetition, rhyming, and alliteration. Syllable count also plays a large part. There are four unique sets of phoneme patterns based on the person's background, and these rules are rarely deviated from. Once the rules are learned, one can potentially discern a Lalafell's clan and gender by simply looking at a name. Surnames are only surnames in placement, as they are not taken from the mother or father and are unique to the individual.
== Plainsfolk ==
Plainsfolk lalafell use the phoneme patterns AB-CB for males, with each phoneme usually limited to one or two syllables. In everyday speech, Plainsfolk males will usually always use their full names, rarely ever breaking them down into solely first or last. As male Plainsfolk names are slightly less strict, it can lead to some mix-up with male Dunesfolk names, as the rules behind male Dunesfolk names also satisfy the Plainsfolk rule. One example of this is the Plainsfolk Papalymo Totolymo, whose name satisfies both Plainsfolk and Dunesfolk rules.
Females will use the pattern ABB-AB, where each phoneme is always a single syllable typically made up of only one to two letters.
=== Example names ===
==== Male ====
* Zorido Manarido
* Kopel Yorpel
* Alka Zolka
* Waguda Mabaguda
==== Female ====
* Mimomo Mimo
* Tokiki Toki
* Ulala Ula
* Honmeme Honme
=== Random Plainsfolk names ===
The following are the potential segments generated by the in-game name generator for Plainsfolk characters. 
Male forenameFirst segment	Male surnameFirst segment	MaleSecond segment	FemaleFirst segment	FemaleSecond segment
A 	An 	aka 	Ba 	ba
Aby 	Aro 	bas 	Bi 	cha
Apa 	Ato 	cho 	Bu 	da
Ba 	Bu 	gin 	Cha 	fu
Cha 	Buli 	guda 	Chu 	i
Du 	Buoy 	hoy 	Da 	ka
E 	Dala 	ipo 	De 	ke
Fe 	Du 	jika 	Di 	ki
Fu 	E 	jin 	Fa 	ku
Ga 	Gami 	lado 	Fi 	la
Gol 	Gu 	lbi 	Fu 	le
Ha 	Ha 	lgo 	Ga 	lo
Ho 	Hamy 	lin 	Go 	lu
Ja 	Hon 	lito 	Ha 	mo
Ka 	Ke 	lka 	Hi 	mu
Kam 	Kelu 	lno 	Ja 	na
Ke 	Kesu 	lto 	Ji 	ne
Ko 	Kog 	lugi 	Ke 	ni
Lif 	Loh 	lyo 	Ki 	no
Mo 	Ma 	lza 	Ko 	po
Na 	Maba 	maga 	Ku 	pu
No 	Mada 	mani 	La 	re
O 	Magu 	micha 	Le 	ro
Pe 	Mena 	mono 	Li 	sa
Pu 	Mesha 	nan 	Lo 	sha
Ra 	Mol 	nco 	Lu 	shu
Ro 	Na 	neko 	Ma 	si
Sha 	Po 	neli 	Mi 	su
Sho 	Poto 	nga 	Mo 	ta
Su 	Ra 	ngi 	Na 	to
Te 	Rala 	ngo 	Ni 	tsu
Va 	Rom 	on 	No 	wa
Wa 	Tam 	pas 	Nu 	wo
Ya 	Taya 	ppo 	Pa 	ya
Yu 	Tha 	ral 	Pe 	yo
Za 	Tun 	rimu 	Po 	za
Zo 	Vu 	rok 	Pu 	ze
 	Yara 	tan 	Qu 	
 	Yu 	toni 	Ru 	
 	Za 	topa 	Sa 	
 	Zo 	wazi 	Se 	
 	Zu 	zai 	Sho 	
 	Zuka 	zak 	So 	
 	 	zon 	Ta 	
 	 	zyl 	Te 	
 	 	zyn 	To 	
 	 	 	Tu 	
 	 	 	Va 	
 	 	 	Wa 	
 	 	 	Wo 	
 	 	 	Ya 	
 	 	 	Yo 	
 	 	 	Yu 	
 	 	 	Ze 	
 	 	 	Zo 	
 	 	 	Zu 	
== Dunesfolk ==
Dunesfolk lalafell use the pattern AAB-CCB for males, where A and C are always one syllable and B two syllables. There are rare cases when the B phoneme will seemingly have one syllable such as Zozonan or Nanalai. The N and I here are, in fact, the remnants of sounds that were once paired with a Lalafellin vowel that, over time, has disappeared from speech, and therefore become silent in names.
Females use the pattern AAB-AB, with each phoneme being a single syllable.
Members of the Ul'dah and Sil'dih royal families also bear the names of their respective sultanates (Ul and Sil) as a middle name.
===Example names===
==== Male ====
* Jajariku Nanariku
* Momomena Lolomena
* Nunulupa Tatalupa
* Fafajoni Kukujoni
* Lalawefu Sil Tatawefu
==== Female ====
* Jajano Jano
* Kokobi Kobi
* Yayamo Yamo
* Chuchumu Chumu
* Nanamo Ul Namo
=== Random Dunesfolk names ===
The following are the potential segments generated by the in-game name generator for Dunesfolk characters. For males, while the first segment of both their fore- and surnames are drawn from the same list, the generator will never draw the same first segment for both names. For example, it will not generate Bibian Bibian, but may generate Bibian Bubuan.
MaleFirst segment	MaleSecond segment	FemaleFirst segment	FemaleSecond segment
Bibi 	an 	Ba 	ba
Bubu 	beta 	Bi 	cha
Chacha 	doa 	Bu 	da
Cheche 	doga 	Cha 	fu
Coco 	fono 	Chu 	i
Dada 	issa 	Da 	ka
Didi 	joni 	De 	ke
Fafa 	lai 	Di 	ki
Fofo 	lan 	Fa 	ku
Fufu 	lao 	Fi 	la
Gaga 	lata 	Fu 	le
Gigi 	mai 	Ga 	lo
Gogo 	maya 	Go 	lu
Gugu 	muko 	Ha 	mo
Haha 	mun 	Hi 	mu
Hihi 	nasu 	Ja 	na
Jaja 	neja 	Ji 	ne
Jiji 	nen 	Ke 	ni
Jojo 	nima 	Ki 	no
Koko 	nji 	Ko 	po
Kuku 	nori 	Ku 	pu
Lala 	npa 	La 	re
Lili 	nzo 	Le 	ro
Lolo 	poki 	Li 	sa
Mama 	raji 	Lo 	sha
Meme 	raka 	Lu 	shu
Mimi 	rya 	Ma 	si
Nana 	samu 	Mi 	su
Nono 	shan 	Mo 	ta
Papa 	tuni 	Na 	to
Pepe 	ulu 	Ni 	tsu
Popo 	vachi 	No 	wa
Ququ 	wai 	Nu 	wo
Rara 	wazu 	Pa 	ya
Rere 	yadi 	Pe 	yo
Riri 	yako 	Po 	za
Roro 	yon 	Pu 	ze
Ruru 	zan 	Qu 	
Sasa 	zigo 	Ru 	
Hehe 	 	Sa 	
Sese 	 	Se 	
Tata 	 	Sho 	
Tutu 	 	So 	
Wawa 	 	Ta 	
Yaya 	 	Te 	
Yoyo 	 	To 	
Yuyu 	 	Tu 	
Zaza 	 	Va 	
Zeze 	 	Wa 	
Zuzu 	 	Wo 	
 	 	Ya 	
 	 	Yo 	
 	 	Yu 	
 	 	Ze 	
 	 	Zo 	
 	 	Zu 	
==Behind the scenes==
Unlike other races, the in-game name generator for lalafells creates their names in smaller segments before combining them into their patterned full name.
The name generator generates three unique segments for male lalafell names, rather than the two used by all other characters. As such there is a far greater variety of randomly generated male lalafell names than any other race/gender combination, with 95,550 potential unique male Dunesfolk names and 73,186 unique male Plainsfolk names. For comparison, most race/gender combinations have only 10,000 potential unique names, which is the next highest total after Plainsfolk.
Female Plainsfolk and Dunesfolk draw from the same lists of phonemes for their names, just arranged slightly differently. As both lists feature some of the same phonemes, it is possible to generate names consisting of a single repeating phoneme such as Bababa Baba for both Plainsfolk and Dunesfolk females, which satisfies both of their naming conventions.
== References ==
* Lalafell Naming Conventions on the official forums
Category:Lalafell