Gnomes

Gnomes are a small, human like people. They're roughly half the height of humans, and have slightly pointy ears. They can live to be around 500 years. 

Personality

Gnomes tend to have strong personalities. From a human perspective, their personalities can seem exaggerated or charicatured. But the truth is simply that gnomes are generally naturally good at expressing their feelings. This makes them great at empathizing with each other, which leads to very little conflict, and more contentment. They also see the humour in most things, even when they're the butt of the joke.
They also tend towards having a bit of fun at others' expense. They like playing tricks on others, or even throwing a bit of insults, but it's always in good spirit, and never with any harm meant.

Gnomes and names

Gnomes wear names like badges of honour. It can be the name they were given by their parents, a nickname given by friends, a title somehow earned, a name they chose for themself, or even some insulting name-calling they found hilarious.
Children are given names their parents think sounds good or fun, which is often taken from some other society. This is usually referred to as their "growing name". As they reach maturity, they usually find their "life name", which is the name they mostly go by throughout the rest of their lives. This name can be anything from a bundle of sounds with no actual meaning, to purely descriptive words - but they tend towards making it sound good or fun through alliteration and rhyming. Some life names might even seem like insults to the gnome wearing it, but the life name is a great part of how they have chosen to identify themselves. Merely suggesting to a gnome that they ought to change their life name is perhaps the greatest insult you can give a gnome, as they consider it an attack of their very identity.
"Never ask a gnome for their full name", is an old saying among humans, which stems from the very real possibility that you could be sitting and listening for quite some time before they're done. Most adult gnomes usually have between one and two dozen. Very old gnomes might have over a hundred names, and they have a knack for remembering every single name they've ever taken or been given.
Gnomes are one of very few creatures that might naturally become aware of their own truename, if they live long enough. It's the one name they won't share with anyone.