Darunians generally prefer to translate any foreign name that has a Darunian version. (The exceptions are usually when they wish to add a foreign flavor to something, or, as mentioned above, when it creates confusion.) So if your name is Mary, Marie, Maria, Mariam, Miriam, etc., just introduce yourself as Maria (the accent is on the first syllable)--or, if presenting as male while in Daruny, as Mariu (the masculine version, corresponding to Spanish/Italian Mario). If your name is Dawn, introduce yourself as Aurora, because aurora means "dawn" in Darunian.
A Darunian's Three Names
Every Darunian has three names: their first name, their mother's maiden name, and their father's last name. A married woman has her husband's name as a fourth name. So if Emilia Liskomanu Anderi marries Robetu Decolina Cosalacu, she becomes Emilia Liskomanu Anderi Cosalacu, and if they name their daughter Alisa, their daughter's full name will be Alisa Anderi Cosalacu. Some Americans do this by choice, but Darunians do it by custom.
If Alisa decides she prefers to function socially as a boy, her parents can choose a new name for her, or she can choose one herself. She may pick Alisu, though that name is used mostly when parents have a son and wish to honor a female relative named Alisa; Alisa would probably only take this name if she was named for someone. If not, the parents may decide on the name they would have given a boy, or Alisa may choose a male name she likes (with restrictions imposed by the parents). If Alisa decides on the name Mariu (lots of cross-sexed boys do because it's common and because of the Super Mario games), then from then on, he is known as Mariu Anderi Cosalacu. If Mariu later decides he would rather be a girl (some children change gender at puberty), he will change back to Alisa. Some children have two names: a male name and a female name, one of which will most likely be discarded before adulthood. If you meet such a child, you will have to ask the child's name twice: once when he's a boy, and once when she's a girl. It is not uncommon to hear, "She has two names. When she's a girl, we call her Nicola; when he's a boy, we call him Nicolu." Platea Sesamu's character Mariu/Maria is a perfect example of this.
And if Alisa emigrates to the United States, she will write her full name as Alice Andrews Lakeside (or Lakeshore if she prefers that name) and go by the name Alice Lakeside (or Lakeshore). While traveling in Spain, she will go by Alicia Costalago y Andrez; in Japan, Kougan Arisu. However, if she emigrates to a country with no equivalent of her name, she will be Alisa on all formal documents and go by a similar local name socially.
Almost all foreigners who immigrate to Daruny are European, so many translate their names into Darunian. Transgendered immigrants often choose the gender-appropriate Darunian version; Luigi becomes Luisa and Stephanie becomes Sefanu. Even if their names have no Darunian versions, they choose a Darunian name if they're transgendered; after all, if they're going to choose opposite-gender names, why not have those names be Darunian? Most choose common names that sound similar to common names from their own countries. Many American-born cross-sexed women are named Sara, Melisa, or Laura, while many of their German-born counterparts are named Maria, Ana, Emilia, or Yulia. If you're curious about what people from your country choose, take a look at the Wikipedia article on the most popular given names in various countries and translate those names into Darunian using the table below.
Your Name In Darunian
Hopefully this will give you a sense of some of the sound changes from Latin to Darunian. Some names are not listed here because they are the same in Darunian, like Daniel and Paula.
Female names:
| Your Name | Darunian Name |
|---|---|
| Alice, Alicia, Alyssa, Allison, Alison | Alisa |
| Ann, Anna, Anne, Annie | Ana |
| Ariel, Ariella, Arielle | Ariela |
| Barbara | Babara |
| Bonnie | Bonita |
| Carol, Caroline, Carla, Charlotte, Carlota | Carola |
| Catherine, Cathy, Cassie, Cass, Kate, Katie, Katrina | Caterina |
| Christine, Christina, Kirsten, Kristin, etc. | Crisina |
| Danielle | Daniela |
| Deborah, Debra, Debbie, Deb | Debora |
| Diane | Diana |
| Dorothy | Dorotea |
| Elizabeth, Beth, Betty, Bess, Bessie, Lisa, Liz, Lisbet, Lisabeth, etc. | Elisabeta, Lisa |
| Ellen, Helen | Elena |
| Emily | Emilia |
| Jane, Janet, Jenny, Jean, Jeanne, Joan, Joann, Joanna, Juana, Johanna, etc. | Yoana, Yana (as a nickname) |
| Laura, Lauren, Lori, etc. | Laura |
| Lillian, Lilly | Liliana |
| Louise | Luisa |
| Margaret | Magara |
| Mary, Marie, Mariam, Miriam, etc. | Maria |
| Melissa | Melisa, Lisa |
| Michaela, Michelle | Mikela |
| Nicole | Nicola |
| Patricia | Paticia |
| Rachel | Rakel |
| Sarah | Sara |
| Sophia | Sofia |
| Stephanie | Sefana |
| Susan, Sue | Susana |
| Theresa | Teresa |
| Victoria, Vicky | Vitoria |
In general, there are no double letters, J becomes Y, -a is added to feminine names that end in a consonant, and K becomes C whenever possible.
If you have a Latin name, such as Amanda or Cecilia, it's probably the same in Darunian. Also, if your name is a word, such as April or Hope, translate the word directly into Darunian. Many of these have masculinizations, so if you plan to present as a man while in Daruny, change the -a to -u, or use the recognized masculinization.
Male names:
| Your Name | Darunian Name |
|---|---|
| Albert | Abetu |
| Alexander, Alex | Alesanderu |
| Andrew | Anderu |
| Anthony, Tony, Antoine, Antonio | Antoniu |
| Arnold | Anodu |
| Arthur, Arturo | Aturu |
| Benjamin | Benyaminu |
| Charles, Charlie, Chuck, Carl, Carlos, Karl, etc. | Carolu |
| David, Dave | Davidu |
| Dennis | Denisu |
| Edward | Eduadu |
| Emmanuel, Immanuel, Manuel | Emanuel |
| Eric | Ericu |
| Ernest | Enesu |
| Frank | Francu |
| George | Joju |
| Gerald | Jeradu |
| Harold | Arodu |
| Henry | Enricu |
| Jack | Yanu |
| Jacob, James, Jake, Jim | Yakobu |
| John, Jean, Juan, Johannes, Sean, Jan, Ian, Ivan, etc. | Yoanu |
| Joseph, Joe, Jose, Giuseppe, etc. | Yosefu |
| Joshua, Jesus | Yesu |
| Lawrence, Larry | Laurente |
| Louis, Lewis, Luis, Luigi | Luisu |
| Mario, Marius | Mariu |
| Martin, Marty | Matinu |
| Michael, Mike, Michel, Miguel, Mikhail, etc. | Mikel |
| Nicholas, Nick, Niccolo | Nicolu |
| Patrick, Pat | Paticiu |
| Paul, Pablo, Paolo, Paulo | Paulu |
| Peter, Pierre, Pedro | Peteru |
| Phillip, Philippe, Felipe, Filippo | Filipu |
| Raymond, Ray, Ramon | Raimondu |
| Richard, Rich, Rick, Dick | Ricadu |
| Ronald, Ronnie, Ron | Ronadu |
| Stephen, Steven, Steve, Stephane, Esteban, Stefan, etc. | Sefanu |
| Thomas, Tom | Tomasu |
| Timothy, Tim | Timoteu |
| Victor, Vic | Vitoriu |
| William | Guliemu, Lemu (nickname) |
Many of these have feminizations; either the last vowel becomes -a, or -a is added to the end. So Mikel becomes Mikela and Anderu becomes Andera.
Other Darunian Names
Many Darunian names do not come from Latin or Germanic, but from the native Darun language that was spoken before Latin replaced it. These are the most common ones:
Female: Kasloi, Kasuala, Kiwali, Lopuna, Wilona, Yalina, Yampana
Male: Akeli, Laupo, Samye, Soyase, Sulunte, Taslete, Yantal
Many others survive to this day, but they are relatively rare.