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.

### 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
(First name)
(Surname of highest-ranking parent)
 Aritaea

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'.

(First name)
(Surname of spouse)
 Sarena

#### 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'.