Guild Wars 2

Hey Lore community, hope you guys are having a good day.

I wish to create a a character sooner or later from an Elonian descent, but I’m having trouble with finding a good name for him or her. What I wish to know is exactly where did all the Elonian names come from? I know that Elona is inspired by Africa and its many cultures, but I want to know which specific cultures. If anyone can help me, feel free to post.

Well, went to google and searched for guild wars elona names and found this —

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/938738-guild-wars-2/62098751

— which suggests that Elonian names are derived from Arabic, Farsi, and Swahili.

Also: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Human#Names which says ‘Elonian names were typically African.’

You have a big range to choose from. First decide what area of Elona. Then go from there

If you want to use African names, you can always use
http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/resources/slaves.faces
It’s a scholarly website tracing the known names of Africans who entered the trans-Atlantic slave trade from 1550-1890 or thereabouts. There are over 90,000 records, so likely you can find something that feels right. I use names from similar sources for my own Elonians because they don’t limit me to a given ethnic group or belief system generally.
In short, authentic African names with enough age to not be specific to a postcolonial environment likely affected by European culture.
<— cultural historian who studies West Africa here ^.^
Hope that helps!