Xanian naming conventions

**Xanian names** are the traditional naming customs held by the Xanians of Zhakar. They serve to differentiate the individual Xanians from one another, helping to build a sense of self, as well as denoting one's rank and caste within Xanian society. Because of the highly family-centric nature of Xanian civilization, the importance of one's house, family, and clan, play an important role in one's name, and are featured prominently within the names of a Xanian. There are more than 2,500 surnames in modern usage within Xania, though the relatively limited number of names has never been an issue for the Xanians given their smaller population and longer lives. Likewise, because of these traits, the Xanians have never witnessed the same level of name extinction within human cultures.

## Origin and development

Xanian names have historically been incredibly complex, the harsh way of life and survivalist nature of the Xanians giving rise to a naming convention in where one's linage was of great importance. Detailed records kept by the *ionaki* priesthood helped to facilitate the growth of the deep naming system of the Xanian species, as well as the many honorifics that sprung from it as well. Starting with Xanus, the progenitor of the Xanians, the first Xanians were quick to link themselves to the first of their kind through their names, with the rise of patronymic name aiding with this. The Xanian historian Nazhono Shevaza wrote that the first such patronymic was given to Xanus, linking him to the Xanian god, Zhauti by way of *Zhautioko*, or "son of Zhauti". This naming system would be copied by Xanus' descendants, all of whom carried the tradition on throughout the rest of their civilization. Overtime, the system would grow to encompass more than six hundred patronymics. All of these would be coalesced into the *zhazharun*, literally "father name".

The development of the *uvadiyorun*, or "family name", came about as the number of Xanians began to increase during the Age of Growth. The relative peace and prosperity during the period saw a boom in the Xanian population, giving rise to the issue of multiple individuals holding the same names as fathers gave birth to more surviving offspring. The combination of given names and patronymics, themselves based off of given names, resulted in a bottleneck of sorts for the Xanian naming convention. The priesthood intervened, and began linking together brothers and cousins, and splitting them off into small clan units which were linked to the eldest surviving apex in the family. These units were then named using a combination of places, directions, colors, and elements, which ultimately ended in the formation of the 2,500 name *uvadiyorun*, which would serve as the new Xanian surnames. All Xanians coming of age would be given a *uvadiyorun*, though this rule woul be lifted following the formation of the Xanian Empire, and surnames would be given immediately after birth.

Naturally, as the Xanian population continued to grow and the accessibility of resources on Zhakar strained by the hostile wildlife and natural forces of the planet, warfare erupted leading to the Age of Conquest. Polities built around a series of interconnected family units and martial bonds, led to hundreds of thousands of Xanians banding together to establish the first households on Zhakar. The largest of these households was that of House Zhara, formed and named from an unbroken line of Xanian apexes drawn from the eldest son of Xanus, Zhara. Originally, the Xanians identified themselves as children of Xanus, but as soon as war broke out across the planet, loyalty shifted from Xanus to one of the twelve sons of Xanus. This resulted in the creation of the *hakiyorun*, or "house name", which would form an important part of Xanian society and civilization as a whole. The benefit of this development, was the organization of the Xanian species into polities based on larger household units rather than the family units, which simply fought for survival. Thus, the creation of the house names indirectly pooled together both Xanians and resources, that helped to advance of the species' technology and unity as a whole.

Names such as *Zhe'Vayan* and *Zhe'Dejan*, immediately followed by the birthplace of the Xanian, were introduced into the Xanian naming system. Ultimately, names such as *Thedon Zhe'Dakhan'Tuyama Veshonaioko-Ekivashona*, came to dominate the scrolls of *ionaki* and the bureaucracy of the various households of Zhakar. The introduction of the caste system would only complicate the system when during the end of the Age of Conquest, and the beginning of the Age of Unification, Zharuk Mikan Zharanokan established the Zhautaza caste system in House Zhara, dividing his people and reorganizing them into an effective control and command hierarchy. This development channeled the aggression of the Xanians in a productive manner, while exploiting their "rule of the strong" mentality. All Xanians received two of forty-two new names, based on their new caste and rank, with members of the nobility receiving the title of *Zhan* and workers the title of *Zhi*, and so on with the other castes. Thus, already long Xanian names grew even longer to become *Va'Kar'Thedon Zhe'Dakhan'Tuyama Veshonaioko-Ekivashona*.