Names are of particular significance to the Rihannsu and convey meaning and clues about the owner that will be understood by any Rihanha present. The names typically have up to four parts depending on the social status of the person.
The given name
The locative name
The House Name
The rehei
Given Name
This is the name given to the child at birth, usually by the parents. The meaning of the name reflects the hopes and ambitions of the parent for the child. It is not a literal thing but a wish to imbue the child with certain qualities associated with the name.
For examples of given names please visit: Romulan Given Names
Locative name
Is determined by birthplace or clan origin. The name will have a prefix i- (of the city of) ir- (of the region of) and in the case of a noble man who has married a woman of another Great House e- (of the House of). The only time a woman would change her name on marriage is if she married the head of a House, she would then take his name. This form is extremely rare.
A commoner will typically have only a given name and a locative name.
For examples of locations please visit; Locations
House Name
Only members and servants of a noble house have a third name. Most only have a given and a locational name. Those that do have such allegiance to a noble house prefix this name with tr’ (male) or t’ (female).
For examples of House names please visit; Noble Houses
The rehei
The rehei is a deeply personal name that an individual acquires through their life, it is told only to intimate friends and family. The meaning of a rehei is that which best describes the true soul (vaurek) of its owner.
Any Rihanha may have a rehei.
Naming Example
To illustrate I’ll use the example of Isha t’Khellian. Isha’s full name is Isha e-Khellian i-Ramnau t’Illialhlae, quite a mouthful. Her rehei is d’Ishaal.
Her given name is Isha, meaning dream which implies that her parents wanted her to achieve ambitions that others could not reach or else be such a person as to inspire dreams in others.
Isha i-Ramnau t’Khellian married Nveid i-Ihhliae tr’Illialhlae, hru’hfirh of the Illialhlae. Because she married the hru’hfirh she technically left the family of her birth and joined his becoming Isha e-Khellian t’Illialhlae she also chose to augment her House name with the location of her birth, the city of i-Ramnau. Giving the name Isha e-Khellian i-Ramnau t’Illialhlae.
Isha’s rehei is an interesting case for two reasons, first as she did not give it to herself and second it is derived from her given name. This means that not only does someone else understand her soul even better than she does, but that her parents were absolutely right in their choice of name.
The prefix D’ is used to modify a name to mean “grand” or “great” but it is coupled not only with her given name but with the diminutive suffix “al”. The meaning of Isha’s rehei can be interpreted in a number of ways but the meaning with which it was given is “the smallest dream but the greatest”.
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