George R.R. Martin Tips On Naming Characters

[@axrye800]

I do wonder if George ever thought "Fuck it, I'll name this one Aegon too."

[@pokegod99]

Aegon Frey was that one for sure.

[@lingy69]

You mean Aegon II from House of the Dragon?

[@-ShootTheGlass-]

Aegon, Aegen,Aegin, Aegun,Aegyn, Aegan… smh

[@Kairichi]

Isn't it because of the prophecy of ice and fire? In hope that their Aegon is gonna be "the one"

[@nonome8206]

​@Kairichi I don't think the prophecy has anything to do with Aegon beyond being his descendant. It's ultimately just a name that has implications of power. Even if you don't think it's prophetic you're still pushing for your kid to be synomous with the most important King they'll ever have.

[@jamesbubbastewartjr]

Makes sense why everyone is named Aegon

[@vetnome]

Or aegor or aemon/aemond

[@rosshugecaulk]

Quite literally 4 people named aegon and 2 of them have been dead and are barely mentioned. If you're slow, just say it💀

[@rosshugecaulk]

​@@vetnomethere is 1 character named aemond and one named aemon. You guys are terrible readers if this is a problem you have💀

[@RenaissanceK]

@@rosshugecaulki think they just mean in the targaryen line in general, not necessarily characters we meet or talk about explicitly in the books. in which case there are multiple aegon’s and aemon’s and different combinations of these names, as well as of rhaenys etc

[@TemariNaraannaschatz]

@@rosshugecaulk There are 11 Aegons in the Targaryen family alone. Just because they don't show up in asoiaf doesn't mean they don't exist in universe.

[@yourbigheadcousin5434]

There are 26 characters named Aegon in ASOIAF.

[@RooseveltAliWashingtonX]

Brandon has to be a close second.

[@perlundgren7797]

How did you get that number?

[@CJonesApple]

​@@perlundgren7797They were making a joke at when GRRM saying if he followed the advice of each character starting with a different letter of the alphabet he'd have issues since he wanted more than 26 characters, there's 26 letters to the alphabet. There's a lot of Aegons in ASOIAF works.

[@perlundgren7797]

@@CJonesApple Oh, thanks. That (obviously) flew right over my head. I blame my native alphabet for having 29... 🙄

[@matthewlanoue9492]

There’s actually 15 aegons, 16 if you count Jon and 22 Brandon’s

[@amitklain4199]

Lysa confusing king Robert and her son Robert when Jon Arryn said that Robert's seed was strong is still one of the great twists

[@thomasparker5721]

Was confused then realized they named him Robyn for the show

[@Cmanisthecoolest]

@@thomasparker5721they called him Robyn, but they did clarify that his name is actually Robert at one point

[@danteaghoulfromspace2996]

​@@Cmanisthecoolest a robyn is a bird right? Could be result of his nickname sweetrobyn, with the sigil of arryn and all that

[@fort809]

@@danteaghoulfromspace2996”could be” this is directly explained in the books as being the case

[@jennyinutil2018]

"I'm planning on having more than 26 characters" is the funniedt way he could have phrased that

[@Ar1AnX1x]

and I'd argue most of those characters are pretty much main characters, or at least not just side characters, I'd argue Tyrion, Jon/Aegon and Daenerys are the protagonists, even the side characters are better written than a lot of other story's main characters

[@Caroline-fy2vi]

Even the characters get confused with the name Aegon. Like it fundamentally affects the plot.

[@splaar]

"From this point on, we will be referring to Aegon, son of Viserys as Aegon the Elder, and to Aegon, son of Rhaenyra as Aegon the Younger"

[@romilrh]

How so? Haven't read the books

[@gordonwilliams5729]

@@romilrhthe comment above you is a quote from fire and blood

[@romilrh]

@@gordonwilliams5729 ok but how does that fundamentally affect the plot?

[@TheBigFormerlyPurpleT]

​@@romilrh Because they have the same name. Are you not following?

[@grantzolldan]

"Edward and Henry and the Occasional Richard" is my favorite adult novel.

[@FunkyNige]

With their wives Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary…

[@cristhianramirez6939]

-Charles joining in

[@nickyholt8511]

They forgot all the Thomas' that were the right-hand man of all the kings. Just in King Henry XIII, the court alone has like 5 Thomas'

[@koiloylo]

can’t believe they forgot about the random uprising of georges

[@MrTussey91]

Eddie, Hank, and the occasional Dick 🤣

[@liamcassidy5992]

He really went with “Asha” and “Osha” for two separate shield-maiden type women from raiding warrior cultures

[@MaverickHistorian]

But it is easy to tell them apart because one of them is obsessed with workplace safety

[@calebkeyes5628]

@@MaverickHistorianthat was really good

[@norecuerdomisueno3468]

@@MaverickHistorian One of them also let her brother get his finger wet

[@Prince_Luci]

@@MaverickHistorianstraight from the hip

[@carp0x]

I love how they comply to the given rule of not starting with the same alphabetic character, whilst being and sounding almost identical

[@SayoriOwO]

There are like 10+ important character that begin with M in elden ring: Malenia, miquella, melina, morgott (margit), mohg, marika, millicent, messmer, maureen, mary, maliketh.. He REALLY decides to ignore that rule

[@flowerasteroid6241]

Rannai, renna, renalla, radahn, radagon, shit rlly pissed me off

[@Achridian]

Even better: all the main characters in Elden Ring have names that start with HIS INITIALS. Godfrey, Godwyn, Godrick, Gideon, Rykard, Rennalla, Ranni, Radahn, Radagon, Miquella, Marika, Melina, Malenia, Mohg, Morgott, etc

[@fjcracing1318]

Tyrion and Tyrwin always gets me

[@1FM1397]

And tyland 😂

[@ronaldoneto8547]

​@@1FM1397 tytos

[@JackMcRae-k2f]

Tygot is the funniest one to me

[@1FM1397]

@@JackMcRae-k2f don’t forget Tyman 😂😂

[@marijakraktus9500]

Whos that

[@amilliondone3018]

Why does George always look like a 1950s train driver?

[@nediAW]

He was before He wrote and described a time machine so well it popped of the page. He then traveled to the present and started a writing career.

[@kayzeaza]

Dress for the job you want, not the one you have

[@seansullivan7928]

Cause hes a dork

[@hamzamahmood9565]

Nooooo he's my favorite Santa Claus

[@twelvecatsinatrenchcoat]

​@@nediAWI was gonna come up with a reply. But you pretty much nailed it.

[@bendova_smith]

There's unironically 39 characters named Jon in the full ASOIAF canon

[@anon2427]

Wait until you find out about real life John’s…

[@AATE97]

​@@anon2427there is no way real life has more than 39 people named Jon??

[@panspermiapancakes]

While this is true, all of them had nicknames or titles which helped make it easier to not confuse them. The only time things get very confusing is the Targaryens and Frey's. Since most of the Targaryens are dead anyways, it's mostly just an issue with House Frey, as most of them seem to be named Walder. It's easier to hate them all as a result of it, even the few who don't actually deserve it.

[@bendova_smith]

@@panspermiapancakes oh for sure. I don't think anyone with repeating names has ever caused me issue, with the exception of the Freys, like you mentioned. I'm several re-reads deep and only really now just understanding the house alliances of the outlier Freys, mostly bc they're all named the same and solely identified as the "Crakehall Freys" for example.

[@Konoronn]

Imagine if they were called Jon ironically. Chilling.

[@Kangakool]

I’ve noticed this before; in most books there are no repeat names, but in life there are so many people with the same name.

[@TheJimmyp427]

The US has had two pairs of presidents with the same first and last name. Five pairs with the same last name. And six James's and five Johns.

[@straightupnothavingagoodtime]

Similar thing is how story writers/world creators have to think of such creative names for every place, and can never name two places something similar, god forbid the same thing. But that’s just not how the real world works, there are thousands of towns in the U.S. alone that have the same name, sometimes even in the same county.

[@kayzeaza]

I was specifically told in a creative writing class not to give anyone a regular name, they had to be unique to hook the reader. So naturally every story had Xavier and Amethyst as the main characters LOL

[@ashtar3876]

Similar names could prob work

[@JuMiKu]

​@@kayzeazaTo be fair, the problem with John, Tom, Mike and Bob is that using common, ordinary names is a staple of humoristic writing. It can set up false expectations. Writing isn't about reflecting reality accurately. If people are too busy being distracted by silly names, too normal names, repeating names and such it distracts from the story. You can break any rule, but it should serve the story.

[@JustAnotherAccount8]

I love that each house has their own naming conventions aswell. Makes it easier to determine where and what house a character is from

[@pinkapollo5121]

can't put my finger on why, but the way this man speaks, you can tell he's a professional story teller

[@Garbageday666]

Godrick, Godwyn, Godfrey, Godfroy, Gowry, Ranni, Renna, Rennala, Radhan, Radagon, Melina, Melania, Miquella, Marika, Maliketh, Millicent, Mohg, Morgott, Margit.

[@midnight.a3]

And now Mesmer 🗣️

[@ottokarl5427]

I'm 100% convinced that was the only contribution GRRM did for Elden Ring :D

[@ottokarl5427]

btw, you forgot that we not only have Godwyn, but also Godewyn!

[@JackieMonet44]

ERDTREE BURIAL WATCHDOG 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@Garbageday666]

@@ottokarl5427 no he also contributed all the brotherfucking stuff with mohg and miquella. Nothing else though

[@thewateringwiz7118]

It honestly makes a lot of sense and accurately reflects king names in history. In France we had so many Louis…

[@twilliamspro]

16 king Louis'

[@adedayooyegunju828]

​@@twilliamsproand charles

[@antoniojalba2335]

We Spanish loved Charles (Carlos), Felipe and Fernando, but the last Fernando was so bad that we will never had another

[@rivertam7827]

Not only nobility, but ordinary people too, it reflects real life.

[@craigmassey2973]

And then he named everyone in Elden Ring identically... Thus the circle is complete

[@lordgodmaster6944]

I better NEVER catch you in the comments EVER again lil bro... i'll pump that asshole until it looks like a puff pastry, like a Krispy Kreme donut..

[@CompiledGabriel]

The ring you might say

[@Nerazmus]

He didn't name anyone in Elden Ring. He just wrote some of the backstory.

[@thedeadpoolwhochuckles.6852]

well no matter who you said did what, you'll always be right.

[@LTSlugg]

In the lore of elden ring they are named as the first letter of their parent or some shit like that

[@felixnimo]

Saruman and Sauron: 😬💀😈

[@Rang89]

I always mixed these two up as a kid 😅

[@gordonneverdies]

Or Arwen and Aowyn

[@SamRose-rk3of]

*Eowyn

[@jimmyr545]

I wish he hadn't done that

[@mattk7182]

Not to mention the names in the Silmarillion.

[@allbottledup9513]

Trust the audience enough to differentiate. “You can’t give the same name, readers will get confused.” “My audience is more than smart enough to understand and separate the two. I don’t need to baby them.”

[@Shwazooka]

Then in Elden Ring he just said "fuck it"

[@whyisyes3957]

I mean some names in that get really fucking similar, Like you have Melina, and Melania as separate characters

[@DrMontgomeryMontgomery]

Godwin, Goddrick, Godfrey, Godefroy, Rennala, Radagon, Radahn, Rykard, Ranni, Renna, Malenina, Millicent, Miquella, Marika, Maliketh, Melina, Miriel, Margit, Morgott, Mogh

[@whyisyes3957]

@@DrMontgomeryMontgomery They all have G, R, or M… his funding initials

[@JS-kc1tm]

marika + godfrey = godrick, godwyn (also maybe mohg & margit? can't remember) marika + radagon = malenia, miquella rennala + radagon = ranni, rykard, radahn you can see where the inspiration comes from

[@sadeknight9112]

Character names that start with the same letter are related, it’s a good way to show who’s whose kid. You have the Godwyn and Godrick from Godfrey, Morgott, Mogh, Malenia, and Miquella (and Melina) from Marika, Rykard, Radahn, and Ranni from Renala and Radagon. It checks out

[@owenmcguire525]

Sauron and Saruman from lord of the rings plus they are both the antagonists

[@TheChristianImperialist]

When I was a child this was a major obstacle to my LOTR enjoyment.

[@anon2427]

Glad I’m not the only one

[@nothanks7892]

I wrote the same comment... brutal when you're a kid reading it.

[@GiacomoJimmi]

Same, cuz.

[@SimicFishCrab]

and then you have Fingolfin, Fingon, Feanor, Finarfin, Finwe, Findis, Finrod....

[@scottyboy9906]

Shes really pushing that laughter out

[@manwiththeredface7821]

The kind of people that repells me most in life.

[@aquabotstudios4444]

It’s killing me man😂

[@TrueNorth1217]

​@@manwiththeredface7821you dont make anyone laugh anyway

[@justalittlerest]

@@TrueNorth1217 He makes me laugh, so you’re wrong.

[@TrueNorth1217]

@@justalittlerest youre just like her then

[@GinervaWeasleyPotter]

Studying Tudor history and Thomas Boleyn, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Howard, Thomas Wyatt, Thomas Wolsey, and Thomas More are all in the same room 😂

[@nightwolfkakana]

this just reminds me of the horroble histories English monarch song XD

[@underware_pr]

Gabriel García Márquez must be nodding his head in approval somewhere 😂

[@Wellcosh]

Jose Arcadio Buendia approves this comment

[@Ajehy]

He really pulled out the stops in Elden Ring. Good luck trying to keep this family straight: Marika, Malenia, Melina, Miquella, Margott, Mhog, Godwyn, Godfrey, Godrick, Radogan, Rennala, Ranni and Radahn.

[@HomeNuke]

Rhaenys, Rhayna, Rhaynera, Layna, Laenor, and Baela are all directly related and share scenes together.

[@HomeNuke]

In the GOT TV show, Jon's original name is the same name as his only other brother, that of course being Aegon.

[@andv993]

Walder frey being the name of an entire family

[@matthewfarmer9500]

That’s why I love Wikipedia. It has a link to which John and which Margaret it’s talking about.

[@redheadsapien]

This makes sense- I always confuse the Tarly's, Tyrells, and Tullys. lol

[@viceb7]

I started laughing immediately thinking of him trolling naming everyone fing Aegon 😂

[@AK_-xn1fm]

Even though people such as us may not understand. Back then names meant everything. Especially last names. It represented where you come from and what your status typically way. George does this amazingly with the different families and houses as well as the symbolism in everyone’s names and titles.

[@eltravos99]

This is an assumption but I think a name's meaning has only applied to wealthy and powerful. Which is still the case today. I might be wrong.

[@SilvX610]

Then he named everyone Aegon 😂

[@kristiankopera]

It absolutely makes sense. Aegon "conqueror " targaryen was a huge deal. Last living valyrian nobility who conquered 7 kingdoms and secured their lineage. Of course all his his family want to name their kids after him 😄

[@SilvX610]

@@kristiankopera yet most, or even none, lived up to the expectations of that name

[@generalbelisarius8103]

Just like most emperors in Ancient Rome has "Augustus" or "Caesar" in their name.

[@edwardcardona717]

@@SilvX610That’s just how it is in History. Names get popular in lineages, and the they’re all still different people. The Targaryens continually chased and claimed the greatness of Aegon but could never match it. It’s fitting, realistic, and provides a sense of what defines the Targaryens

[@teamcyeborg]

American history isn't made by the victors; It's made by seven different guys all named John Smith

[@karlmarx8158]

"Everyone in english history is either edwin or henry and occasionaly a richard" but those couple richards are absolute mad lads who alter the course of history.

[@postpunk6947]

Fun Fact: George made 2302 named characters in ASOIAF.

[@captainblighe7297]

To quote Glidus, there’s a scene in HoTD with characters named Rhaenyra, Rhaenys, and Rhaena. So yeah

[@rosshugecaulk]

All from the same family 😮😮 almost like 😮😮 they're gonna have similar names you absolute fucking idiot 💀

[@TheLloydLightning]

He should hold his rhaen's a little when naming his characters.

[@sounsure9108]

If you go to the æthestan part of history it’s like that

[@anon2427]

That show sucks

[@someguitardude8462]

A scene with characters named Rhaenyra, Rhaenys, Rhaena, as well as Aemond, Daemon and Vaemond, as well as Viserys, Lucerys and Jacaerys. And let’s not forget that scene with Viserys and Viserys. And the fact that the Dance started because Alicent couldn’t tell which Aegon was it that Viserys was refering to. Also, siblings named Laenor and Laena.

[@philip8498]

"Never give two characters names that start with the same letter" Tyrion, tywin, tytos, tysha have all left the chat. Aegon, aegon, aegon, aegon, aegon, aegon and aegon have all entered the chat

[@Fisolenmann]

Along with Brandon, Brandon and Brandon

[@HafidzMurshidie]

And then he said “So I decided to abandon that rule”… So he’s not lying with his statement..

[@TheFreakyVader]

Radagon, Ranni, Renna, Rykard, Radahn Marika, Melina, Malenia, Miquella Godfrey, Godrick, Godefroy, Morgott, “Margit”, Mohg… Followed his advice to a tee I guess. 😅

[@nova3752]

Dweeb alert dweeb alert the virgin surgeon has been found

[@mattiabontempo7843]

Oh my god you put aisatsana in the background! I love Aphex Twin, great musical choice

[@knotlock]

I went in search, and found this comment.

[@mattiabontempo7843]

@@knotlock welcome

[@fatboyslim496]

Or when he writes twins, they must always have the same name, but make it look different.

[@heathers2581]

And honestly, sometimes you just find the absolute perfect names that fit your characters perfectly, and people just have to deal with it if the names happen to be similar.

[@88happiness]

the only really confusing name was Aegon.

[@Jade.Phoenix]

Don't forget all the Walders

[@rosshugecaulk]

How?

[@adrianpamintuan5876]

​@@Jade.PhoenixAll the different flavors of Late Frey Walder

[@SennaHawx]

Jon

[@zer1c-c2p]

@@adrianpamintuan5876i loled

[@RooseveltAliWashingtonX]

I love George as an author. Several of the characters from, A Song of Ice and Fire series do not have proper names. Husband, comes to mind. Weasel, aka the crying girl. And my absolute favorite, All-for-Joffrey! We never find out the true names of these characters.

[@macsmith2013]

He's still considered an author these days? Funny.

[@RooseveltAliWashingtonX]

@@macsmith2013 --- I hope that he's still writing lol!!!

[@macsmith2013]

@@RooseveltAliWashingtonX Either way, I've long given up on ever reading another ASOIAF book anytime soon, let alone a conclusion to the series.

[@RooseveltAliWashingtonX]

@@macsmith2013 --- No you haven't! If you had, you wouldn't be here. You are as hopeful as we all are.

[@goblin6587]

patchface!

[@Donny-G]

I love how he unashamedly says I'm gonna make things confusing just to be confusing

[@penteractgaming]

He solved the "more than 26 characters" problem by killing most of them.

[@liamcassidy5992]

The man named a dynasty that ruled the Riverlands “Mudd”

[@justagachaplayerpassingby5073]

At least they have a cool sigil tho

[@liamcassidy5992]

@@justagachaplayerpassingby5073 fair

[@TemariNaraannaschatz]

During the Dance the Muppets were in charge. So Riverlands, wet, Kermit the Frog, Mudd, seems fair.

[@officialhawke]

meanwhile, his characters in elden ring are melina, malenia, marika, miquella, mohg, morgott, maliketh, ranni, radagon, rykard, radahn, godfrey, godrick, godwyn, and godefroy. not confusing at all lmao

[@Fullbatteri]

And then you read One Hundred Years of Solitude and everyone is called José Arcadio, Aureliano, Remedios or Amaranta.

[@ritamargherita]

Came here to say this 😂

[@thephantoman14]

The revolutionary war having two Georges, one on each side and both being staunchly opposed to each other

[@aguacatedealer]

one hundred years of solitude handled this perfectly. there's 2 names shared by about 5 main characters, and around 20 named "aureliano". Fun read!

[@BlackwoodSupremacy]

Same guy who names two characters Osha and Asha.

[@noemiv8248]

Mirri and Irri

[@whyisyes3957]

This isn’t ASOIAF but in the game Elden ring which he wrote the lore for, you get Melina and Melenia, like even in projects he contributes to the names are similar

[@dominiccarpino8768]

​@@whyisyes3957 The similarities in naming in Elden Ring are done on purpose. You'll notice that most of the demigods have names that start with G, M, or R. A lot of it comes down to familiarity, they say. Generally speaking, the children/descendants of Godfrey have names that begin with G; children of Marika have names that start with M; children of Rennala/Radagon have names that start with R. This convention is followed most of the time, but not always.

[@dominiccarpino8768]

The names are tied to Elden Ring's lore, basically. It connects characters and things.

[@креветочкакреветочная]

100 years of solitude be like:

[@KingJori_]

Well, in the case of 100 Years, the repetition of names is central to the plot, or at least its message.

[@BailensdeLykenos]

To be fair, it is accurate and does reflect real life in a sense. Imagine how annoying it was for the peasents to hear; "we're now headed by King George the 11th"

[@Hollyberrystreats]

And yet we're only on Charles the 3rd...

[@Gallic_Gabagool]

@@Hollyberrystreats The first Charles had some bad luck with keeping his head on his shoulders so maybe that made it unpopular? Lol

[@st0rmforce]

8 Henry's, 8 Edwards, 6 Georges... not many Jameses or Charleses. Only the one John and Stephen. Soon we're probably going to get the 5th William

[@archervine8064]

And, sticking with English history but the distaff side, Mary, Elizabeth, Anne, Catherine, Jane.

[@cursman1289]

Radahn, Radagon, Rykard, Ranni, Rennala, Rellana, Marika, Malenia, Messmer, Morgott, Miquella, seems like he ignored this with Elden Ring

[@colinahlen6254]

Elden Ring character names… Mohg, Margit, Margott, Miquella, Malenia, Melina, Marika, Renna, Rennala, Ranni, Radahn, Radagon, Rykard, Rogier, Godrick, Godfrey, Godwin, Gideon, Goldmask, Sellen, Seluvin.

[@randy42000]

In the last kingdom books, I believe there's 11 Uhtread son of Uhtread throughout the books

[@nanhunter87]

His Dad, his older brother, him, his first son (died in childhood), his second son (became a eunuch priest), his third son (bad ass), and his cousin (who died when he took Bebbenburg). Feel like there's more? Was there another Utred from his uncles line? Even them I'm only at 8 Utred. If you can remember any more it would tickle my memberberries quite pleasantly 😂🤓

[@nanhunter87]

Definitely feel like there was another Utred in his uncles line. Didn't he take a son and daughter, plus wife, off his uncle in his failed attempt at Bebz? Finnan the BAMF used them to save everyone. Then Osferth shacked up with them only for them to die of sickness on him 😢 Meaning he took Bebz off his uncle? That seems right actually, as he was trying to bang Aethelhelm's young daughter. Only for her to end up with Bad Ass Utred (the son)!!! Only read the books. Need to start the TV show. But moved straight on to the Sharpe books!!

[@randy42000]

@@nanhunter87 His Uncle might've changed his name to uhtread when he took bebbeennneebber, I'm not sure if I'm right on that tho. But his Uncle's son was Uhtread and that Uhtread had a son named Uhtread. Also I think the bad ass son had a son named Uhtread as well. If his Uncle changed his name then him and his gets added to the list that would get up to 11. The first 2 seasons of the show is really good, the rest of the seasons were a bit disappointing cause of book changes. The worst changes was to Cnut, he was such a great book character and the show version was terrible on every level.

[@randy42000]

@@nanhunter87 I need to try the sharpe books, they look very good. I also really want to read his books on Camelot, they just released a trailer for the show that's coming out on that.

[@33amra33]

Those people would have an aneurysm with "A hundred years of solitude".

[@crispybatman480]

"So I named them all Aegon, and now I'm out of names for ky last book."

[@rapmabida9813]

The look she gave at first made me believe she just realised she fkd up and named multiple characters in the same letter in her own novel

[@ShebbyYT]

Make a character thats interesting enough to be memorable and you won't have to worry about names at all.

[@shuukenji6585]

Also George: *Jon*

[@sum8601]

yeah! and how you gonna have a guy called Tywin another called Kevin in the same family?? Its like Ancient Rome meets Walmart.

[@DWargs]

​@@sum8601No, No. You see, It's spelled Kevan with an A, so it's different.

[@sum8601]

@@DWargs Ah, Kevan....so eBay username then, not Walmart. This does change things, indeed it does.

[@coledoyle5950]

Chick ain't even listening

[@aldahirlopez3757]

and then we get to Elden Ring....

[@wrden3354]

Love how all of the demigods all have names starting with his initials

[@sundae9897]

​@@wrden3354you just blew my mind! How have I not picked up on that as an avid George fan and 700+ hours of elden ring. WTF

[@whyisyes3957]

Godrick, Godfrey, and Godwyn… I guess old habits die hard

[@edinmassana4532]

​@@whyisyes3957they're also what you would call theophoruc names

[@floopsfooglie213]

The best stories are the ones that ignore all the rules about treating your readers like 3 year olds

[@LUKA_911]

Renalla amd Rellana was DEFINITELY his work

[@chair2945]

This is the same man who named one of his characters “Drinkwater”.

[@pcbassoon3892]

I knew someone who's last name was Drinkwater.

[@RoiDeSeptua]

This man named his dragon Drogon

[@rosshugecaulk]

​@@RoiDeSeptuabecause dany had a husband. Named drogo. You can see where the two collided, if you can't you're being ignorant and retarded 💀

[@jacobosullivan2018]

Sopranos, David Chase, did that too lol 😂

[@AJK17.5]

Surprisingly a common English last name

[@medman6649]

This is true. If you don't pay attention to it while writing you end up with several characters who have very similar names. It can be confusing for readers.

[@insert_username_here707]

This is especially true for non-English literature i.e Japanese manga etc use a lot of similar sounding and spelt names.

[@afonsosilvestre7626]

Why does that women laugh every moment

[@Canessa1298]

To be on camera, having nothing to say

[@kevinf8439]

She's weird. Like serial killer weird

[@prememp6438]

George also wrote Elden Ring, where every characters name starts with G, R or M (George R R Martin)

[@MintBiscuit]

she is having the most fun she ever has

[@lucasbelmonte2832]

All the James, George’s and Charles be crying right now

[@maiasavich2767]

Oh how could i confuse daemon daemon daemon and daeron? Or aegon aegon aegon aegon aegon aemon? Or fucking rhaenys, rhaenyra, rhaena, rhaenerys, another rhaeneys, im constantly so confused

[@jeffthampuran6054]

That’s why most are known by their nicknames…

[@tertmemelur1880]

so he's the reason why I can't understand any of Elden Ring's lore

[@thedicehavespoken6234]

One of the greatest fantasy writers of the modern era: "What am I supposed to name them, X-Fred?" 😂😂

[@YemYum]

I think it adds to the story when characters share a first letter, or even sound alike. It’s confusing at first but after a bit you can easily distinguish em.

[@grego1328]

House tarly house tully

[@Qbgarden]

Aegon the 49th

[@kap2652]

It aegon the 5 only 5 Targaryen named aegon have sat the throne

[@FEEC-tm1mq]

@@kap2652 and 17 not-king targeryen aegons

[@kap2652]

@@FEEC-tm1mq yea that’s a lot but only 5 kings

[@allal755]

Still get Tywin and Tyrion mixed up and watched it all 1000’s of times!! 🙈🤣

[@leighmcmillan6282]

I enjoy GRRM's comments - for such a sophisticated and educated author, he's so genial.

[@yukinolover148]

Wataru Watari(oregairu author) did that with his characters. Hikigaya Hachiman, Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuigahama Yui

[@christianrameka9749]

I actually liked how he doubled up on names especially in the context of knights and castles and lords and kings because a lot of places around the world did this for hundreds of years.

[@monkeyman5477]

and now in Eldin Ring, characters are literally purposefully named with the same first letter to indicate they’re related

[@YuYuAkuRyo]

Might be confusing sometimes, but its also way more accurate & authentic. Historically, royalty and other influencial families inherit the names of their honorable ancestors. Hence why we have sooo many King Henry's 😂

[@ibbitysnoosni]

Like of course Aegon is the one we think of immeditely, but this also makes Arryk and Erryk even funnier

[@alanallanalan]

I could hear that aphex twin breaking through this video like it does my heart every time I hear it. It can be faint. Or blasted. I’m there when it’s there.

[@chefbenji1880]

He clearly brought that same philosophy to his writing for eldin ring

[@ConorDrew]

Tolkien still gets me every so often with Sauron and Saruman, both key characters in LOTR, both the bad guy, both have army’s and for a dyslexic, not the easiest to navigate when next to each other.

[@ahmadiskandarzulkarnain5833]

It's so interesting to hear how the thougth process from the GOAT

[@Ninjalilly]

I love all the names and Game of Thrones. The first names, the last names, the dragons names. I love Daenerys and Rhaenyra!

[@tristenn292]

the aegons got me when i was trying to understand the lore

[@samuelfawell9159]

While I may have my criticisms of Martin, it does add a sense of “realism” to his worlds

[@ZuckerbergsAi]

actually helps the world building, having children named after their famous ancestors makes a lot of sense in a medieval setti g

[@ryansteffen1452]

And i LOVE IT, sure it can be confusing at first but its so much more realistic.

[@HeretiCflow]

So he said "fuck it" and created a story where everyone has similar names, looks similar and is fucking each other. Absolute mad man.

[@yungblink]

You didn’t decide to ignore that rule, you decided to say “fuck that rule”.

[@HazeLmao]

So that’s why elden ring is like: Marika, Malenia, Miquella, Melina, Morgot, Mohg, Messmer, Renalla, Rykard, Radahn, Ranni, Rellana, Godwyn, Godfrey, Goodrick and of course Godefroy.

[@johannvonbabylon]

In my fantasy series, I occasionally give throwaway side characters the same first name as main and secondary characters just to make the world feel real

[@SuperSilver7591]

The irony of him saying "And occasionally Richard sneaks it" but it's cut off just as he snuck in there

[@SkullivanBones]

The first letter thing makes sense for short stories that aren't connected, but when you're building an entire world kinda dont have a choice lol. Like martin said "im planning on having more than 26 characters"

[@KonstantineMortis13]

And Dostoevsky just gave each character six different names that different people would call them because, as the saying goes: "that's how we do it in Mother Russia."