Vocan

Naming Traditions

Family names

Nobility

Aside from the Exsil Vis family, there are several noble houses in Voco, both Greater and Lesser, as well as several families who are said to be related to nobility, distantly, and thus whose last names do not follow commoner conventions. Noble names are ancient, most said to have been on Voco since it was first founded. The meaning behind many of them has been utterly lost.

Commoners

There are two types of commoner surname in Voco: those based on profession and those based on qualities. For example, you have the Smythes and the Smithys, both families of strong smithing reputation. You also have the Stout-Hearts, a farming family, or the shepherding clan of Brightgaze.

Descent and Lineage

For both nobility and commoner alike surnames in Voco are passed from father to child and from husband to wife. However, Voco also follows a strictly Atherian naming convention: the matrilineal pseudo-surname. In Athering most commonfolk lack proper surnames and instead go by the first name of their mother, with the prefix "de" in front of it. deZameera, deHelene, etc. That same tradition is observed in Voco, but it does not supersede the surname passed down from the father. Example: Lares deNaomi Stout-Heart.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Women

The ideal of a woman's beauty in Voco is best described by the phrase "silk over steel". Women in Voco are expected to be soft, and feminine, but with a hidden, underlying strength. However, this is not strictly a physical ideal. "Strength" in Voco can be understood to refer to many different types of strength, and what Vocans would consider strong, Atherians might not. An ideally beautiful woman in Voco is not described in absolute physical terms except in a few cases: long hair is considered feminine, and thus women with short hair are not seen as beautiful. Angular features are considered less attractive than softer ones; particularly skinny women with sharp angles will often try to gain bits of weight to soften out their features. On the other hand, gaining too much weight is to be avoided, as being overweight in Voco is a symbol of deceit and weakness. A beautiful woman in Voco is soft-spoken and saves her criticism of her husband for private.

Men

Men in Voco are expected to be the sharp, hard, and unrelenting -- everything a woman is not. Softness in males is not tolerated, and though men -- like women -- in Voco are accepted at all levels of physical ability, they are still expected to take leadership roles, embrace the martial side of Vocan culture, and be ruthless. An attractive Vocan man has short hair and neatly trimmed facial hair, if he has any at all. He speaks decisively and brooks no argument, but is not wantonly cruel. No matter his physical ability, he stands or sits as straight as he is able, and he keeps his body in the best condition he can. Whereas women in Voco have a very large spectrum in which their weight can fluctuate, men in Voco do not. They are expected to keep their bodies in a certain state so they can always be ready to protect and defend their country, their homes, and their wives. Even Vulcanus was a warrior too, as the saying goes, and if a man in Voco wishes to be seen as attractive he will remember to aspire to godliness.

Encompassed species