Turian naming conventions

=== Male and female forms ===
Every turian name in existence has both a male and female form, allowing for greater flexibility when naming children. The suffixes added to the principal part of a name determine its gender. These suffixes can easily be dropped and replaced with suffixes of the opposite gender, to change the overall gender of the name. 
==== Male suffixes ====
Suffix	Meaning 	Usage 	Example
-us 	Nominative single suffix
Added to names that end with consonants	Most common male suffix
Widespread use, especially by Palavenians	Septimus
-es 	"Son of _"	In use by Epyrans, Thracians and Uchaldans	Antraxes; lit. "Son of antrax" 
(antrax is the turian word for cinnabar)
-ian 	Forms adjectives of belonging or origin from a noun
"One from", "belonging to", "relating to", or "like".	 	
-ien 	"" 	Bostran form of the -ian suffix
In use by Bostrans	Valexien; lit. "like Valexus"
(Valexus was the founder of House Victus)
-ion 	Diminutive suffix used to express small size
Lit. "little"	 	Fidellion; lit. "little faithful one"
-ios 	 	 	
-ius 	Forms adjectives of relation from nouns
Example: ‎pater (“father”) + ‎-ius = ‎patrius (“paternal”)	 	Claudius
-n 	 	 	
-is 	 	 	
==== Female suffixes ====
=== Ancestral names ===
=== Tria Nomina ===
==== Birth names and structure ====
When a turian is born, they are given three names (tria nomina). The parents choose the first name, the nomen, as a personal identifier for the child. This name is most commonly that of an ancestor or deceased family friend, either verbatim or altered with a different suffix. The second name, known as the nomen gentilicium maior, meaning 'greater family name', is the surname of their highest-ranking parent. As rank is not sex-based, the highest-ranking parent may be either the father or the mother. The third name, the nomen gentilicium minor, meaning 'lesser family name', is the surname of the lowest-ranking parent, be it that of the father or the mother. This surname is altered with a specific suffix to denote that while the child is related to this house they do not actively belong to it. This suffix is added to the surname's principal part, or stem. -inus is used for boys, while -ina is used for girls. Both of these suffixes roughly translate as "of" or "pertaining to", and indicate a relationship or origin.
Examples of the Tria Nomina, showing the -inus and -ina suffixes in use 
Nomen
(First name)	Nomen Gentilicium Maior
(Surname of highest-ranking parent)	Nomen Gentilicium Minor
(Surname of lowest-ranking parent)
Fidellion	Victus	Parvinus (Fidellion's mother's surname is Parvus, thus it becomes Parvinus when the male suffix is applied)
Aritaea 	Victus	Parvina (Aritaea's mother's surname is also Parvus, thus it becomes Parvina when the female suffix is applied)
These names combined are recorded in both the Registrum Civilis ('Civil Register') and the genealogical records of the child's family. 
==== Married names ====
Children will keep their birth name for their entire lives unless they wed a person of higher rank. If they do, the lowest-ranking parent's surname is dropped and replaced with the highest-ranking parent's. This new third name also is given a specific suffix to denote one's birth house, albeit different from the type of suffix used in their birth name. This suffix is added to the surname's principal part, or stem. -ianus is used for men, while -iana is used for women. Both of these suffixes are used to create the adjectival form of a surname and indicate a parronymic relationship of belonging. They will take their new spouse's name in place of their old second name. This name is called the nomen gentilicium maritale, meaning 'marital family name'. 
Nomen
(First name)	Nomen Gentilicium Maritale
(Surname of spouse)	Nomen Gentilicium Maior
(Surname of highest-ranking parent)
Pireius	Arterius	Lokarianus (Pireius' highest-ranking parent's name is Lokarion, thus it becomes Lokarianus when the male suffix is applied)
Sarena 	Victus 	Arteriana (Sarena's highest-ranking parent's name is Arterius, thus it becomes Arteriana when the female suffix is applied)
==== Usage in common parlance ====
As important as the tria nomina is for tracing a turian's ancestry, this naming convention is very rarely used outside of genealogical record keeping. In common parlance, a turian will be referred to by their nomen and nomen gentilicium maior, by those of higher or equal rank. When being addressed by those of a lower rank, they would use simply the person's rank followed by their nomen gentilicium maior, as a mark of respect. Only close friends and family are permitted to call a turian by their nomen only. A turian's family will often bestow diminutive nicknames upon them, either as a display of affection or to differentiate them from family members with whom share the same nomen (the practice of having multiple family members with the same name is extremely common in the upper classes of turian society, eg: members of House Abrudas are commonly named Markus, Aurelion and Trebia.)
Take the example of Fidellion Victus, before he became Primarch: to his subordinates, he was Duarch Victus (rank + nomen gentilicium maior); to his peers and superiors he was Fidellion Victus (nomen + nomen gentilicium maior; this would sometimes be accompanied by his rank, depending on the setting and manner of correspondence); to his friends, he was Fidellion (nomen) and to his family, he was Fi (nomen in the form of a diminutive nickname). Only in the Caudex Gentis Victi and the Registrum Civilis was his name ever inscribed as 'Fidellion Victus Parvinus'.
Category:Turian Culture
Category:Lore