Help Naming Aliens

[Nouh_Bdee]

I'm writing a Sci-Fi story that includes a species of aliens that communicates telepathically, and I'm having trouble naming them.

They are not even aware of the concept of words until they meet humans, and they primarily communicate by "feeling" concepts at each other, for lack of a better way to phrase it. I plan to have them being using words (communicated telepathically) almost immediately, because I don't feel like I could sustain concept-based communication for very long at all.

Anyway, their "name" for their species would just be "feeling" the concept of self at you. So, the most literal "translation" would be the word Self, or Selves. I plan to refer to them as that temporarily in my story, but soon the characters will realize that will be confusing as more people are introduced to them. They will want to come up with a more useful name for this species.

This is my sticking point. I thought of having a human suggest using a dead human language, like Latin, but I don't know any Latin. I looked online, and even if what I found are accurate translations I don't like the result. Sui and Ipsi just don't sound good to me. Maybe it's because they're so short?

Is there anyone out there in the friendly world of Lit who knows a dead language with a good word for a similar concept that I could use?

Thank you in advance, kind souls.

Nouh

 

[Voboy]

Insert comic relief by having one of their first contacts be with a practical joker with a passion for the ancient comedy writers of the bygone 20th century. He'll tell them the seven most common Earth names are Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits.

They'll believe him. Comic hilarity ensues.

 

[NotWise]

This is my sticking point. I thought of having a human suggest using a dead human language, like Latin, but I don't know any Latin. I looked online, and even if what I found are accurate translations I don't like the result. Sui and Ipsi just don't sound good to me. Maybe it's because they're so short?

Is there anyone out there in the friendly world of Lit who knows a dead language with a good word for a similar concept that I could use?

Thank you in advance, kind souls.

Nouh

I don't know of any dead languages for you to use. You've created the rest of the story, why not create the names, too?

 

[HeyYoureThatGuy]

Do you want words from a dead language or names? Sumerian might be an excellent place to start. You could go with the names of Sumerian gods (a quick google) there's The Epic of Gilgamesh that has some names in there.

And also, this site has names in abundance for all sorts of things.
https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/sumerian-names.php

I chose Sumerian just because it's like a really dead language.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

Incan, Mayan, Sumarian, Babalonian, Aztec, Gaelic, ancient Egyptian, are some languages you could use.

For some MMO and RPG's I took my kids names and spelled them backward. For nonhuman characters I add either apostrophes or a capital letter randomly.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Incan, Mayan, Sumarian, Babalonian, Aztec, Gaelic, ancient Egyptian, are some languages you could use.

For some MMO and RPG's I took my kids names and spelled them backward. For nonhuman characters I add either apostrophes or a capital letter randomly.

Quechua was the language of the Inca Empire. The Aztec spoke Nahuatl. Both Quechua and Nahuatl are still spoken, as is Maya. Sumerian and Babylonian, as well as ancient Egyptian, are "dead" languages. The three Gaelic languages - Irish, Manx, and Erse - are very similar, but do have some differences in the spelling and pronunciation of names. The other 'Celtic' languages - Welsh, Cornish, and Bretonne - also offer possibilities for alien-looking names.

But how about keeping to the theme of your story...they communicate through sensing feelings, why not give them names that reflect each their own dominant sense of self. You could use English, or look for the word for the feeling in a language of your choice.

 

[TxRad]

I'm working on a story with a dozen clones of the same person. To stop confusion I numbered them. Simple and easy.

Why complicate things?

 

[Tio_Narratore]

I'm working on a story with a dozen clones of the same person. To stop confusion I numbered them. Simple and easy.

Why complicate things?

Why? For fun, Tx, for fun.

 

[Sextified]

I'm writing a Sci-Fi story that includes a species of aliens that communicates telepathically, and I'm having trouble naming them.

Being a huge fan of science fiction and sword & sorcery, I find that a very interesting question.

I think everything depends on the eventual direction of your story and how the aliens interact with the humans.

Think of a hive mind species. The 'aliens' there think of themselves more often by their role in their society. Queen, Drone, worker, builder, soldier, etc. Or think of a speciality. Scientist, mathematician, translator, judge, teacher. If the Aliens are more important than humans in your story, I would write it that way, and force the humans to change the way they think of individuals.

If the majority of your story focuses on how "we" react to the alien species, I would go ahead and "humanize" the critters. If your a fan of the Stargate tv series, you know that Jack O'neil just renamed any thing and every one unpronounceable, to suit his fancy. He hated acronyms, tech-speak and alien words.

I do have a race of "others" to deal with near the end of the first book of my S&S series. They do not have true names, at least like we think of them. As a group, they are predatory and monolithic. To become a true individual in "their" culture is basically a death sentence, if you are ever found out. They tolerate differences in their society with an extreme distaste. Individuality does not serve their common goal. Uniqueness is only allowed it if provides a specific need not met anywhere else in their society.

To give you a concrete suggestion, I would search for baby names, especially in the Welsh, Gaelic or Irish cultures. Then I would simply add a unique capitalization and punctuation scheme.

aTell'or
aKelek'
Mor'ladim

Use a suffix or prefix to denote rank or purpose, to help keep things straight in your reader's minds.

Alternately, pick one ancient language, and search for words with meanings, not names. What's the word for Healer, Fighter, Traitor, Tall, Short, Angry? Look at all the words with similar meanings, too. Pick one that you like, then alter it in a consistent manner.

In a few short stories, with Japanese themes, I looked up the animals that most represented the dominant character trait, and found wonderful sounding and looking names. Mouse was a good starting point for one character, and I even chose that for my Gamer Tag.

Just pull from the same sources, and the readers will adapt.

In Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince, in my mind, I totally mangled the pronunciation of one of the pivotal character's name. I had already read four of the six books until I ran across an interview with the author, and she finally settled the correct way of saying it. But she also said that her readers should stick with THEIR interpretation of the name. She wasn't going to worry about it!

So, in my mind, I still think Sioned has to sound MY way!

Let us know how you handle this, I at least would like to know.

Oh, one word of caution! Hammer this out EARLY! The use of temporary names is a real pain, come editing time! Also, your character's name really does affect the way you think of them. It's insidious, and after awhile, it's all YOU will know them by!

John Steakley wrote two very different books in two separate genres. It may be just an urban legend, but he basically lifted the characters from one book and put them in the other, even keeping the same names. Supposedly just a temporary solution. Then BAM! They ended up in the final printed version. He had to answer that question, over and over, for years! So be careful!

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

If I undestand correctly, you are looking for a species name. I think Latin made sense, because while it's not spoken, it's still accessible, and it's what we already use for species naming. The other dead languages suggested here could work well, too, with just a teensy bit of explanation. If the humans named them in Sumerian, maybe it's because whoever did the naming was an archaeologist whose work focused on ancient Sumeria.

I thought both sui and especially ipsi sounded good. Sometimes a very short name sounds more "foreign" than a longer one. But, if you wanted something longer, you could go with sui generis, or run it together and make it suigeneris (literally meaning "of its own kind" with a colloquial meaning of "unique.")

Ipsisui would make less sense, but it would be longer.

Sibi or illis\ (Latin for "themselves" and "they") are possibilities. but just as short.

Eorem generis (literally, of their own kind; colloquially, species are) could work, but the meaning is a bit less elegant.

Sentire is the Latin infinitive for the verb, "feel." I don't know what the Latin would be for "one who feels."

Any of the suggestions I've offered should be checked by someone who actually knows Latin, since I do not.

 

[Emirus]

Keep it simple

There’s a race of telepaths associated with Doctor Who called the Ood. Not that I’m suggesting you use that name but I’m just citing it as how I would be thinking regarding selecting a name.

I would have a name that’s easy to understand. I wouldn’t have a name which the reader would have to wonder how it’s pronounced. So nothing complicated. I wouldn’t have a word that in any way could be connected to telepathic. I wouldn’t be bothered about looking at ancient languages unless something jumps out at you that you think 99.99% of readers wouldn’t know. I would be original and make up my own word.

I’ve been thinking of words they would fit my criteria. These are examples and if one of them suits you by all means use it but I’m not saying they’re the best words to use. The first word that sprang to mind before I began to think was the Ghaarn. It fits the requirements I’ve outlined. Then I began to think about it and as you will see I like the double letter. I came up with the Aarkan, the Bandaar, the Careen, the Darmoon, the Ellergan. You get the idea. You don’t need a great imagination to come up with something original although it would be funny if someone said one of my examples is a word which already exists.

I hope that’s been of assistance. One other point that’s already been mentioned, by Sextified, is make a decision soon to save yourself the problem of editing. As sure as eggs are eggs you’ll miss at least one.

 

[Handley_Page]

In his 'Lensman' series of books, EE Doc Smith used to put a paragraph or so explaining that direct translations are not possible, but the names given are for the purposes of 'readers help' rather than information.

 

[Sextified]

Then I began to think about it and as you will see I like the double letter.

All good points and ideas . . . but for heaven's sake . . . don't use Quagaars!

All the Red Dwarf fans will break out the torches and pitchforks!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Make something up. I named a winged angel alien critter Ixtil because I liked the sound of it - then jumped on Google to find out if there was any other use of the name. Gave him (because weird alien sex with a spunky female astronaut, so gender needed, right?) some logical but non-human speech characteristics/constructs, hyper fast reflexes, strength and wings. And a shit ton of curiosity and intelligence. Add human astronaut trapped on Titan, a smart computer (the HAL14000 Quadruple Moral Redundancy - because the boffins had to fix the machine intelligence fail from 2001...). Make stuff up!

 

[Brutal_One]

I like EON’s suggestion of Sibi. If you see them as a superior race to the ‘puny humans’ then ‘themselves’ seem a good choice. It also reminds me that most Sci Fi writers assume that alien races are more rather than less intelligent than humans. I still remember the old UK advert for Smash instant mashed potato where the aliens belittled humanities solution “they peel them with their metal knives”.

Brutal One

 

[Brutal_One]

Make something up. I named a winged angel alien critter Ixtil because I liked the sound of it - then jumped on Google to find out if there was any other use of the name. Gave him (because weird alien sex with a spunky female astronaut, so gender needed, right?) some logical but non-human speech characteristics/constructs, hyper fast reflexes, strength and wings. And a shit ton of curiosity and intelligence. Add human astronaut trapped on Titan, a smart computer (the HAL14000 Quadruple Moral Redundancy - because the boffins had to fix the machine intelligence fail from 2001...). Make stuff up!

As for intelligent computers go I still love the name coined by Douglas Adams in the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy .... “the Bamblweeny 57 Submeson brain”, part of the finite improbability generator.

 

[oggbashan]

I suggest looking for names in Sanscrit or another language.

But naming aliens can be a minefield. Xsprkx? No. Like some long Russian novels if the names are not memorable a reader might struggle following the story.

 

[ishtat]

Do you want words from a dead language or names? Sumerian might be an excellent place to start. You could go with the names of Sumerian gods (a quick google) there's The Epic of Gilgamesh that has some names in there.

I chose Sumerian just because it's like a really dead language.

Sumerian is an agglutinative language. If you adopted that principle your names would have consistent structure. Klingon and Esperanto are examples of agglutinative languages but there are many different ones found on all continents. The Turkic languages for example are all constructed this way. Some computer languages have some agglutinative characteristics (but only some).

 

[SimonDoom]

The latin word "mutus" means speechless or mute, so you could use some version of "mutus" to name the species. The mutai, for example.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

If I undestand correctly, you are looking for a species name. I think Latin made sense, because while it's not spoken, it's still accessible, and it's what we already use for species naming. The other dead languages suggested here could work well, too, with just a teensy bit of explanation. If the humans named them in Sumerian, maybe it's because whoever did the naming was an archaeologist whose work focused on ancient Sumeria.

I thought both sui and especially ipsi sounded good. Sometimes a very short name sounds more "foreign" than a longer one. But, if you wanted something longer, you could go with sui generis, or run it together and make it suigeneris (literally meaning "of its own kind" with a colloquial meaning of "unique.")

Ipsisui would make less sense, but it would be longer.

Sibi or illis\ (Latin for "themselves" and "they") are possibilities. but just as short.

Eorem generis (literally, of their own kind; colloquially, species are) could work, but the meaning is a bit less elegant.

Sentire is the Latin infinitive for the verb, "feel." I don't know what the Latin would be for "one who feels."

Any of the suggestions I've offered should be checked by someone who actually knows Latin, since I do not.

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I didn't think of combining multiple words!
And, EoN, you're exactly right: I'm looking for one name for the species as a whole. They're not at all collectivist, so they already have individual names based on concepts that are less confusing to hear used as a name, like Hearthsit or Rainscent.

I'm not sure how much I want to say about their biology, because I'm kind of excited about the reveal in my story, but I'm leaning towards something like the Verpasui, or maybe just name their world Verpa Orbis or Orbis Verpa. Maybe I'll do that for the planet name and call the aliens themselves the Sibillis. (They're genderless so a translation of They/Themselves would be appropriate)

Thank you to everyone for responding. This is so much better than what I was coming up with on my own.

Thank you,
Nouh

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

As for intelligent computers go I still love the name coined by Douglas Adams in the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy .... “the Bamblweeny 57 Submeson brain”, part of the finite improbability generator.

EVERYTHING in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has an awesome name. I would have liked to tour the inside of Douglas Adams' head. (Figuratively, of course. I wouldn't want to slush around through brains.)

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I didn't think of combining multiple words!
And, EoN, you're exactly right: I'm looking for one name for the species as a whole. They're not at all collectivist, so they already have individual names based on concepts that are less confusing to hear used as a name, like Hearthsit or Rainscent.

I'm not sure how much I want to say about their biology, because I'm kind of excited about the reveal in my story, but I'm leaning towards something like the Verpasui, or maybe just name their world Verpa Orbis or Orbis Verpa. Maybe I'll do that for the planet name and call the aliens themselves the Sibillis. (They're genderless so a translation of They/Themselves would be appropriate)

Thank you to everyone for responding. This is so much better than what I was coming up with on my own.

Thank you,
Nouh

Verpa? You've got me curious. I'm guessing they don't really look anything like the 'shroom people that are now dancing around in my head.

You know, you could ask an artist to do a drawing for one of your characters. That's if, of course, you're willing to have them reduced to something more concrete. Monikafotze likes creating art depicting characters from Lit stories. You can find her on the Visual Artist's board. I've only seen her do human subjects, but when I think of her black and white piece with a woman riding a buffalo, I think she probably has a sensitivity toward the fantastic.

I really like the examples of individual names you mentioned. They remind me of Ent names (the short versions) in Lord of the Rings.

Update us when it's published, please!

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Verpa? You've got me curious. I'm guessing they don't really look anything like the 'shroom people that are now dancing around in my head.

You know, you could ask an artist to do a drawing for one of your characters. That's if, of course, you're willing to have them reduced to something more concrete. Monikafotze likes creating art depicting characters from Lit stories. You can find her on the Visual Artist's board. I've only seen her do human subjects, but when I think of her black and white piece with a woman riding a buffalo, I think she probably has a sensitivity toward the fantastic.

I really like the examples of individual names you mentioned. They remind me of Ent names (the short versions) in Lord of the Rings.

Update us when it's published, please!

I would feel so honored if an artist wanted to draw something from one of my stories! I've seen her art, though, and it's gorgeous but she seems to always work with a model, right? I wonder if my aliens would be too far from human for her.

I will reply on this thread once Chapter 3 is published. That's the first time we visit Orbis Verpa. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are finished--I'm just waiting for an editor to review them. I'm just getting started with Chapter 3, which is why I wanted to get this question answered.

One more question: If the species is called Sibillis, what would the singular be? Sibillis as well? Sibill? I think we can take some liberties with the Latin translation, but what sounds good?

Thank you so much for your help,

Nouh

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

I would feel so honored if an artist wanted to draw something from one of my stories! I've seen her art, though, and it's gorgeous but she seems to always work with a model, right? I wonder if my aliens would be too far from human for her.

I will reply on this thread once Chapter 3 is published. That's the first time we visit Orbis Verpa. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are finished--I'm just waiting for an editor to review them. I'm just getting started with Chapter 3, which is why I wanted to get this question answered.

One more question: If the species is called Sibillis, what would the singular be? Sibillis as well? Sibill? I think we can take some liberties with the Latin translation, but what sounds good?

Thank you so much for your help,

Nouh

She did mention on her first thread that she worked from photos of models. Those weren't intended to look like any particular characters as far as I know. On her more recent thread, there are examples of character-based designs. They're all human and there is a certain body type she gravitates toward, but she did tailor them the specific characters' descriptions.

Can't hurt to ask, though, right? She might enjoy branching out a bit. The way and speed at which her style evolves gives me the impression that she's very experimental. If she isn't interested in trying one of your aliens, she could always work with you on a human character.

As far as the plural name goes, I think you're right about taking liberty with the Latin there. Making the plural "Sibill" would probably make it easier for readers to follow, which is more important than conforming to Latin rules, in my opinion anyway. It's your world, though. If you want to make the plural and the singular the same, I'm sure readers will figure it out. We figure out "sheep" and "deer" without too much trouble.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

She did mention on her first thread that she worked from photos of models. Those weren't intended to look like any particular characters as far as I know. On her more recent thread, there are examples of character-based designs. They're all human and there is a certain body type she gravitates toward, but she did tailor them the specific characters' descriptions.

Can't hurt to ask, though, right? She might enjoy branching out a bit. The way and speed at which her style evolves gives me the impression that she's very experimental. If she isn't interested in trying one of your aliens, she could always work with you on a human character.

As far as the plural name goes, I think you're right about taking liberty with the Latin there. Making the plural "Sibill" would probably make it easier for readers to follow, which is more important than conforming to Latin rules, in my opinion anyway. It's your world, though. If you want to make the plural and the singular the same, I'm sure readers will figure it out. We figure out "sheep" and "deer" without too much trouble.

That is a very good point. I’ll reach out. It had never occurred to me to ask anyone about doing that.

Okay, I’ve decided. My aliens will be called the Sibillis, and an individual Sibill will be joining my fictional crew. Thank you to everyone, especially Enchantment_of_Nyx, for your help. I’m excited about this. I can’t wait to get my story on the site!

Thanks again,

Nouh