Jubarian naming traditions
Due to the superstitions, jubarians are known to have several believes and traditions around names and how they are used. This can be very confusing to grasp for those that come from other cultures, but useful to learn when dealing with jubarian people.
Construction of Jubarian names
When a jubarian man over 12-years of age introduces oneself or is spoken to with their whole name, their name is divided to 3 parts. The first part is their public or birth name, next is their patronym name, and thirdly their family name is used. For example; Metin Haluk Kar is Metin by his birth name, his patronym is Haluk, and Kar is his family name.
If Metin would be addressed in a formal situation, you would use his whole name; Metin Haluk Kar. In less official circumstance, you would speak of him as simply Metin Kar. Family and friends would simply call him Metin, but if another person by name of Metin happens to be present or known by the people conversing, they might refer to him as Metin Haluk instead to show familiarity but to differentiate two Metins from one another.
With women and boys under 12-years-old, epithets are used in place of birth or public names. Only friends and family are allowed to call a woman or a young boy by their birth name. This is considered as a privacy issue and also a safety issue; one that knows someone's birth name could use it to cast vile magic on them or control them in other means. Names have power, and as such, women and children should be protected.
In the case of eunuchs, only public name and title is usually used. Eunuchs are always given a public name, and their birth name is shared with their master.
Birth names
Birth names are given to a child soon after they are born, by the mother calling the child with the chosen name, often by whispering it to their ear. The name should be given as soon as possible, at least before the next sunset, as the unnamed child is soon going to be called by spirits, demons or malicious entities. As the child comes from the mother, her call is believed to be more tempting than those who might interfere and corrupt the fresh soul.
Children whose mother died at birth are considered particularly unlucky if their mother did not name them before her death, or if their mother did not name them before the next sunset. These children are sometimes abandoned or even killed out of fear, or given to temples to grow to avoid bad luck. But sometimes a close family member or someone else might name them instead, and take the role of primary caretaker.
It is believed that the name works as a lock of sorts to protect the child from temptations of evil. While fathers can suggest birth names, it is only the mother (or the primary caretaker) that knows the child's birth name for certain from the first 6-12 months after the child is born. After this name is shared with the closest family members and is often a celebration.
Boys under 12-years old and women are only called by their birth name by the close family and their friends or family-friends chosen to share the information. This to ensure that no one has power over them. After twelve years of age in a maturity rite, a boy's birth name is made public, or they are given a public name, usually by their father or older man of the family.
Speaking publicly one's birth name when they go by epithet is considered a violation of privacy, disrespectful or even downright malicious. For someone who goes with an epithet or public name, revealing one's birth name to a person is considered somewhat of an intimate act and a sign of trust and affection, platonic or otherwise depending on the situation.
Examples of jubarian names are found in the article about jubarians.
Epithets
Epithets can be anything related to heritage, order of birth, person position, titles, their job or their looks and habits, and the epithet used can change depending on a situation. They are used by women of all ages and boys under 12-years-old, to protect them from magic and other ills that people might cause them without knowing their birth name. Some have more fixed epithets, nicknames they use almost every occasion, while others have their epithet to be chosen by others or change it depending on the situation. Epithets should always be respectful and tasteful. They are used instead of the birth or public name in public situations where there are others than just trusted family and friends present.
In the case of our example, maybe Metin Haluk Kar's father was a mason, so Metin might have been called "Son of mason Haluk Kar" before he turned 12. He might have been also called "son Kar", or "second son of Kar".
Public names
Some people want to play it safe, and instead of revealing over 12-year-old man's birth name, they use public name instead outside of the closest family and friend circle. This isn't usually outwardly stated, or otherwise advertised; public names are like any other birth name, so it will stay completely secret that a person has both public and birth name. Public name is often given by father or older male family member, but sometimes they are also taken.
Patronyms
Patronym's in most simple cases are simply the public name of one's father, or the birth name if the father has no public name. However, if the child's father is unknown or otherwise seen as irrelevant, the name of the closest male relative is used: often a grandfather or uncle. This might be on the mother's or father's side, depending on the situation: when the father is unknown, the child's patronym is likely the name of their maternal grandfather, where if the child's father has done ill and is denounced by their family but still welcome the child, they might end up using the patronym of the paternal grandfather.
Those who are adopted or taken to families different than their own, use their adoptive father's name or the name of the man who accepted them to the family. Children that grow in temples, or organisations without parents might use the name of a deity, organisation leader or founder or name of a city they were either born in or spent the most time in instead.
In the case of using names of gods, even the name of a female goddess is seen as a valid patronym, however, in other situations, female names are never used.
Family name
Family names usually come from the birth or public name of an ancestor. The family name comes from the father's side unless the father is unknown or there has been a matrilineal arrangement. After a woman has given a child to her husband, they are called with their husband's family name instead of their fathers.
Changing names
Changing names is not unusual in jubarian culture, but only done with great consideration, and it should never be done in haste and for light reasons. Most commonly only a public name is used, usually to show a change in status for better or worse, as a sign that one is starting to embrace another path in life. Was it because of spiritual enlightenment or as a sign of regret from bad behaviour, one might go through rituals to change their public name to match one's new path in life.
Changing a birth name, however, is much more difficult, and sometimes deemed necessary, if, for example, a child has been given to temples or has no knowledge of one's birth name. Knowing one's birth name is just as important as keeping it a secret from malicious forces, so a child who doesn't know their birth name is in serious danger. One's birthname should never be changed more than once, and it is a difficult and dangerous task, done with the rituals of the priests of Jergal.
Changing one's birth name is believed to mess with one's fate, and as such, it is common practice that one that's name is changed is also branded and even neutered in the process, in fear what such powers, if gone wrong might do. These are precautions to make sure that the ones that have undergone such ritual are seen, and are less likely to cause harm to their environment. It is not unusual that some of the boy children that get such fate are trained by the temples and later sent to serve the noble courts as their changed fate is believed to give them advantages.
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