The elves know me as Fi’ang Yalok. The dwarfs know me as Zoenen Hoogstandjes. And I am also known in the Northeast as Gaismunēnas Meistar.
Seriously, why are the local humans such dicks? Had a human wizard that was known as Katherine the Great by the wizard-hating dwarves, because she spoke draconic and brokered a peace between them and the kobolds. The orcs called her Katherine the Timeless, because she got ahold of a potion of heal, and a philosopher’s stone before her 17th birthday, and made herself a potion of eternal youth/ immortality. The local humans called her Katherine Lady of Death…
Or when you didn’t come up with a name for an NPC.
“There are those that call me… Tim?”
I’m looking at you, Olórin, Mithrandir, Incánus, Tharkûn, Greyhame, Stormcrow, Láthspell, and/or Gandalf.
For us, the opposite happened
The DM had a list of names but forgot to delete one and reused it 10 sessions later
Turns out the old noble is the grandpa of the guard drinking at the tavern, and therefore, they share their name
Nah, do what Adventure is Nigh did. The first NPC they met was Jeremy Goodsex, and when a guard yelled at another guard, he used the name Jeremy. He then argued that it’s a very common name, and lots of people are called Jeremy.
So for every NPC in season 1, about a quarter had the name Jeremy. It’s a very common name.
Hey if it’s good enough for From software…
