I was at a bit of a loss when trying to find data for this name generator. Elves? Dwarves? Plenty of stuff on them; just loot Tolkien, or the various Norse and Celtic myths; you'll find plenty to suit you there. Gnomes, on the other hand, are a different matter. They're one of the most neglected of the stock fantasy races. Here's the sum total of my gnomish knowledge:
- They're a bit like dwarves, only not quite.
- They have big noses.
- If you cast flesh to stone on one you can put it on your lawn.
- They wear pointy hats.
- Some of them are fond of alchemy, technology or illusions. With hilarious consequences.
- Er…
- That's it.
Not a great deal to go on, I think you'll agree. With that in mind, I had to make some decisions. Since I based dwarf names on Old Norse, I figured the more urbane gnomes might take some names from modern Norwegian. Gnomes strike me as being fairly scholarly, so raiding Greek seemed like an idea too. I don't know where we got Japanese from or why Tabitha suggested it, but I want gnomish samurai in my campaign now, dammit. And because more people are playing World of Warcrack these days, I thought I might try to pander to that lot too because I have no shame.