The first name is simple: it's a first name. Middle names are an occasional addition and are placed between the first name and surname, though it should be noted that not many characters have middle names as it is a relatively uncommon practice in Vicious' territory where most of the main characters were born and raised.

The surname proves slightly more complicated. It depends almost entirely on where the family is located. If the family is currently living in the territory of a female deity, the children--and husband, for that matter--take the mother and wife's surname. The opposite is true for a family living in the territory of a male deity. Of course, these practices are merely based on tradition, so it is perfectly acceptable for one spouse to take the other's name in a society where it would normally be the other way around. Or to simply keep their name and figure something else out for the kids. This IS a modern world, after all.

Gods do not have surnames, however, only first names. The naming system was created early on in human society in order to differentiate which person belonged to what family, but memorizing not only the names of the Gods but also which Universals produced them is part of common education worldwide, so no further names are needed. This does, however, have an interesting impact on the children of the Gods. As a result, a God parent's first name is handed down to his or her children instead of a surname.

Godspawn recieve both of their parents' names as surnames since there is no ruling entity to dictate which gender should pass on their name to the next generation. In the case of female Godspawn, their mother's name will come before their father's, whereas male Godspawn will place their father's name before their mother's.

Demi-gods always place the surname of their mortal parent before the first name of their divine parent, regardless of gender.

In the case of Godspawn that result from parthenogenesis, they take only their mother's name--it is extremely uncommon for a male God to reproduce asexually, though it is possible.

The nombrenam, as it has come to be called, is exactly what it almost sounds like: a number name. This is often only included on official documents--or when a parent is very, VERY angry. Most people will respond with only their first and surname when asked. Nombrenams are merely a way to determine who came first, second, third, etc. In the case of remarriage when one or both spouses have children from a previous marriage, the numbering for new children is usually picked up from where the youngest of the other children left off. That, or new numbering is started. Due to the rarity of the nombrenam's use in casual conversation, though, whatever the parents decide on really isn't that important.

The number names used to create nombrenams are taken from either the Latin cardinal or ordinal number names, though the use of the ordinal is far more common. Each name's ending is adjusted depending on the child's gender.

Orphans usually have parents either giving them up or deceased to take a surname from. Although some recieve nombrenams derived from how many siblings their lost family had, many are given such names based on how many other children were given to their individual caretaker before them. More still are granted none at all. Cases of abandoned orphans are rather difficult. The procedures for naming such children differ depending on the temple that takes them in (there are few cultures in which temples and priests don't double as homes and caretakers for parentless children). Some places give them the name of the town, city, or region as a surname, others give them the current head preist's surname or they inherit the name of the priest who is assigned as their caretaker, and others still simply give them a first name and nothing more. This is especially common in small communities when the orphan in question was abandoned by travelers passing through. The logic behind this practice is that the child has no roots in the community and thus should not be granted a name that connects them to it. This virtually never happens in larger communities since in such places there is no way of really knowing whether or not the child belongs to a local woman or not, whereas in small towns everyone is bound to know when a woman falls pregnant and suddenly lacks a child when the time comes for her to have one. Most single name children grow up to take their spouse's name, regardless of what the tradition in the area happens to be.