User blog:Smurf Manian/Why the AoC Smurfs have such weird names

It may be weird seeing some of the names of Smurfs in the AoC Universe at the moment. Things like Dan'Ariz, Hamwan and Trazin'Mak would obviously sound strange to someone used to the likes of 'Hefty' or 'Grouchy'.

The reason for the naming convention is simple: in the AoC story series, the smurfs are descended from undertrolls, who in turn are descended from primordial trolls - and that is how they used to name their children. A troll generally starts with one name, then dies with another, to signify an achievement of theirs at some point in between. 'Jin' for instance, indicates great leadership - and notice how Kounjin was leader of the Smurf Magocouncil after Hamwan became Grand Vizier.

It was only after the Plague which killed every adult smurf in Tiberian's generation and forced him to take their children down from Infalion (the Smurf Town) to the iconic mushroom village they live in today, that they started receiving common names - as there would be no overlap between smurfs (whereas before, you could end up with over 10 different 'Hefty' smurfs).