Drow Naming Practices

Revised Jan. 2026

"Dark Elf" by Sephiroth-Art (resized) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Dedication To A Deity

Some drow children are named in honor of divine figures at birth, usually due to the devotion of one or both of their parents. Others re-name themselves in dedication when they're older and have taken on religious titles or vows. A few drow take religious names after undergoing dramatic life events, like being saved through divine intervention. Some drow name a child after a deity in a bid to win their favor, but this doesn't always end well, especially with evil gods.

A drow is never named after a deity directly, however. Anyone who calls herself "Lolth" had better be Lolth or some other very powerful being, because such vanity and impudence will be punished quickly. Instead, pieces of holy names are employed, either at the start, in the middle, or at the end of a name.

• Using -lolth or -loth is a common form of homage to the Spider Queen, such as in the names Lolthmiira and Rualoth.

  • Some devout followers use -yoch or -lol because yochlol are the handmaidens of the goddess (as in Yochmara and Lolsyn).

  • Likewise, -myr and -myrlo are used in honor of the myrlochar, a lesser demonic species dedicated to Lolth (such as Myrvorn or Myrlodra).

• The faithful of Ghaunadaur occasionally use -ghaun, -adaur, or -daur in their naming practices (for example, T'larghaun, Nyladaur, and Midaura).

• The followers of Kiaransalee sometimes use -kiaran or -salee in their naming (as in B'kiaran and Quel'salee).

• Those devoted to Selvetarm might have -selve or -tarm in their names (such as Selvedar or Xyltarm).

• The worshipers of Vhaeraun use -vhae, -vhaer, and -aun in their naming (for example, Vhaeliira, Synvhaerix, and Zoraun).

Family Position

Birth Order

Sometimes a drow's place in the family is reflected in their name. For instance, Lolthian drow might use this method to number the children women give birth to while a patriarchal society would use it to indicate the birth order in a father's line. This is most often done by using the drow words for numbers, but they can be placed in different ways: as a prefix, a suffix, or a separate title.

• "Uss" means "one," and "ust" means "first" in the drow language, so the first child might be named Faeryn'Ust.

• "Draa" translates to "two," and "drada" means "second," so the second child might be named Aeryn'Drada.

• "Llar" amounts to "three," and "llarnbuss" means "third." The third child might thus be named Rynllar.

• Sometimes children are directly named Ust, Drada, or Llar.

• An only child might be referred to as the "maglust" child, since that word means "apart, alone" in the drow tongue.

Particularly prolific and cynical parents might only call their children by their birth order designation, asking for "Ust" to do this, or "Drada" to do that, even if their kids have other names.

Lolthian mothers usually divide their children by gender. Even if a mother has a son first, a daughter next, a son, and then another daughter, she won't name her son as her only firstborn child. Instead, she'll divide the sons from her daughters and name them accordingly. So the first son would be named with "ust," and the next son would be named with "drada" - but the first daughter would be named with "ust" and the next daughter would be named with "drada," as well. In this way, a drow mother has a first son, second son, and so on. She also has a first daughter, second daughter, etc.

This practice is common in powerful drow families that tie privileges to birth order, but they usually don't continue beyond the third child. The firstborn bears the terrible weight of most family expectations and the secondborn is always urged to be better than the first in order to amount to anything. The thirdborn child is in a precarious position indeed, having two older siblings to contend with. Any children beyond the third are simply extra, until they prove otherwise.

If an older drow dies, their remaining siblings may shift as those who came later are moved up one category. If, for example, Faeryn'Ust the firstborn dies, when Aeryn'Drada moves up to take her place, she takes the name Ust'Aeryn and is considered the firstborn. Rynllar is given the name Ryndrada when she becomes the secondborn, and Triel, the previously disregarded fourth daughter, becomes the new thirdborn, Trillarel.

Order of Favor

In some drow families, numbers indicate the order of approval, responsibility, and privilege a child has instead of when they were born. Generally, one parent has more power than the other and assigns the numbers early on. As the children compete for a parent's affection (or their parent's whims change), they move up and down the rankings. They may be assigned different rooms, given certain gifts, or expected to perform particular duties when they attain a new position. The ultimate goal for many is to be the favorite when a parent passes, since they will inherit the lion's share of their parent's wealth, or all of it.

If all this jockeying for position sounds confusing and ridiculous, consider this: most drow who do this are dedicated to Lolth, and she is dedicated to pitting her followers against each other. The instability, resentment, and unfairness keeps drow resenting and fighting one another instead of realizing why they should turn on their goddess.

Matronymics & Patronymics

In Lolthian societies, children's names may have a matronymic element that clearly ties them to their mothers. Since males are devalued, children aren't named for their fathers at all.

The drow word "xund," which means "striving, effort, work" is used as a matronymic element in the names of drow daughters. It refers not only to the trouble of pregnancy and childbirth but also to the expectation that daughters will take on the striving and work. This word is placed after the first name of the daughter, and then is followed by the name of the mother [first name + xund + mother's name]. So, for instance, the drow mother Yasrena names her daughter Vierna; the child's full name is then Vierna xund Yasrena of House Abbylan. Yasrena's own name is Yasrena xund Liilyss of House Abbylan. Sometimes drow daughters are called upon to recite as much of their family line as they can, and are often punished when they aren't able to recall any more of their foremothers. Young Vierna might be asked to recite her line thusly: "I am Vierna xund Yasrena xund Liilyss xund..."

The drow word "kulg," which means "snag, hitch, blockage" is used as a matronymic element for drow sons. Though they may not value sons as highly, most mothers will claim them as a sign of their own power. Draa'zoran kulg Yasrena would be Yasrena's second son ("draa"=two + zoran). He might be asked to recite the names of his foremothers as many times as Vierna (or more, as a punishment), but he won't be able to track his forefathers the same way. He would recite his line thusly: "I am Draa'zoran kulg Yasrena xund Liilyss xund..."

Not all drow make commentary when naming their children. The word "dal" means "from" and drow sometimes use it in this sort of naming. Instead kulg Yasrena, Draa'zoran could be dal Yasrena - from her, but not necessarily a bad thing.

In patriarchal groups, children are named for the father, often using "dal." If the group feels particularly hateful, they will divide sons from daughers as above, except that sons will be "alurl" or "best" and the daughters will be "harl" or "below." Draa'zoran alurl Rizzym and Vierna harl Rizzym would be claimed by their father in this sort of arrangement.

Drow words and definitions used here are found in the glossary of The Drow of the Underdark by Ed Greenwood.