The construction of Romulan names varies by region and class, however, in general, formal names follow a standard format of Given Name + Locative + House-Clan or for married males Given Name + Maternal House-Clan + Wife's House-Clan.

This long form name is used for official and formal occasions. Common usage of names is simply Given Name + House-Clan. Romulans do not address each other by their given names unless they are family members or on intimate terms. One should always address a Romulan by their House-Clan name only unless given permission otherwise. Thus, a woman named Emni i-Mhiessan t'Mrian would be commonly referred to as Emni Mrian and addressed simply as Mrian by her acquaintances or Emni by her family.

It must be noted that not all Romulans use this standard of naming. Differing traditions and personal choice often dictate a deviation from common usage. When in doubt, it is polite to ask a person's preferred name.

Given Names

For a list of given names, see Common Romulan Names.

Clan Prefixes

Male members of a clan take the prefix tr' before their clan name. Females take t'. Thus, a male member of the s'Nai clan would use tr'Nai, while a female would use t'Nai.

The prefix s' is dropped from the clan name when used in this manner. The use of s' denotes the clan as a whole. s' is the singular genitive affix for Proper Names (see Nouns) and has the meaning "of the (clan)" or "belonging to the (clan)." A person would only refer to themselves with the s' prefix when stating their clan membership, e.g. Ahr's'Nai arhem, "I am s'Nai."

The Clan Prefix is only used in a formal name. All other forms of names use only the clan name itself without any prefix.

Locative

The locative in a Romulan name denotes where the person was born and is prefix by either i-, if they were born in a city, or ir-, if they were born outside of a major population area. Thus, if a person was born in the city of Mnæha on Romulus, their locative would be i-Mnæha. If they were born in a town or village or in a rural section of a province or district, they would use the name of that province or district prefixed by ir-. Someone born on a farm in the district of Korthre would have ir-Korthre as their locative.

A person born in an unincorporated portion of planet, such as a small colony world, would have the name of the planet as their locative. Someone born in a rural area of Menhei would use ir-Menhei as their locative. A woman named Areinnye Sei, born on Menhei, would thus have Areinnye ir-Menhei t'Sei as her formal name.

Marriage and Leaving One's House-Clan

Membership in a house-clan is matrilineal. Males who marry take the name of their wife's house-clan. When a male marries, he leaves his former house-clan with honor, and thus retains their name, though he no longer uses it. The name of his birth clan takes the place of his locative name and is prefixed by e-. Thus, a man named Hexce from the s'Sei, born in Mnæha, who marries a woman from the s'Mrian would change his name from Hexce i-Mnæha tr'Sei to Hexce e-Sei tr'Mrian.

One who leaves their house for other reasons, on honorable terms, would also use the e- prefix. This often occurs in adoptions or as part of a political alliance.

The Prefix ei-

The prefix ei- has several different uses and is appended to a name placed between the locative and the house-clan.

• It denotes that a person is from a particular part of a city. A man named Hexce, born in the Sæhhe section of the capital Ra'tleihfi, might call himself Hexce i-Ra'tleihfi ei-Sæhhe tr'Miran.
• It also denotes an Elder-name, which is a second given name, a rare occurrence usually meant to honor a great ancestor. A person named Hexce Mrian would call himself Hexce i-Ra'tleihfi ei-Firh tr'Mrian in honor of an ancestor named Firh.
• It is also used to denote an important event in a person's life. An admiral in the Imperial Fleet who wins an important battle in the Samnethe system may adopt the designation ei-Samnethe to commemorate their victory. Another person may choose an ei- name to designate an important change in their status or position.

A Romulan may have several ei- names, but typically only one is used when addressed formally. A person may also choose to adopt their ei- name as their preferred method of being commonly addressed in place of their house-clan name.

Nahi

A nahi is a false name that someone may call themselves when they wish to remain anonymous or otherwise not direct attention to their actions. Many Romulans travel and do business under a nahi, especially if such travel or business has the chance of attracting the Tal'Shiar's attention.