D&D General Who gives demons/devils their (true) name?

[Baldurs_Underdark]

So, demons and devils have a true name, and possibly a common name. Who gives these names to them?

Demons and devils are what is left of humanoids after they die, right? But typical demon/devil names do not sound like their humanoid names (I haven't seen a devil named John Smith yet, their names are more like Xargraroch). So, what happened?

Thanks in advance, hivemind!

 

[Minigiant]

No one.
No person anyway.
A true name is what Reality calls you.
It's is essentially what one's "essence" says if you read it
Every unique being, important place, or important object has a true name.

By stating a truename, you are invoking Reality itself and altering it.
That's why fiends don't like people knowing it.

 

[Zsong]

It’s the name given to you at birth and all the titles you have. Thus the queen of England’s true name is very long.

just a different take on the previous persons post.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

I don't think they are given. In the Dresden Files, it suggests that true names are inherent to a creature's nature. Mortals also have true names, but unlike devils or demons, mortals have the capacity for change which can alter a true name to varying degrees.

Not sure if there is lore specifically in D&D to address this outside of the terrible 3.5e class that dealt with true names. But that would be my take.

 

[Rellott]

The UA with the onomancy wizard had this sidebar about true names:

True Names
Onomancy, or naming magic, is a method of spellcasting
that uses a creature’s true name to enhance a spell’s effects. A true name is the name by which a self-aware creature identifies itself. This name might be the name a person was given at birth, or one a person chose or earned later in life. Whatever a name’s origin, the simplest way for you to know your true name is to think truthfully about yourself and then think, “My name is ...” Your true name is how you finish that sentence.
You can try to hide your true name by using a pseudonym, but you must be wary not to inhabit that false name too deeply. If a false name comes to be the best expression of who you are, it becomes your true name. Changing one’s true name is never a quick choice; it’s something that happens over time as a name becomes the creature’s truth.
As a quick guide, a creature has a true name if it understands at least one language or it has an alignment.

 

[aco175]

Knowing the true name of something supposed to give you power over them, at least in myth and fiction. Kind of like my dog knows his name and comes to me when I call. Of course it may be the tone of my voice and not his name at all. The power of one's will over the demon and not his name. Not sure.

 

[MNblockhead]

I assume Asmodeus has some Byzantine set of naming regulations to cover a damned soul's forcible reidentification in hell. I mean most are going to start as larva and not given a name unless they somehow manage to ascend the infernal hierarchy.

 

[Zsong]

really it’s up to you what it means in the game. There’s a lot of lore in myths and legends that are contradictory. In the myths I like everything has a true name. I even have that the verbal components of spells are using true names. It’s part of every spell that has verbal components. It’s what power words are. Pick something and go with it.

 

[TheSword]

If devils are souls that were once evil humanoids somewhere on a material plane then it’s cool if a devils truename can be discovered from its origin. That of the soul it once was. We know that names are linked to souls, tomb stones, or memorial plaques, even war memorials or cenotaph embody this idea.

Interestingly I know of two published examples where mortals became fiends and kept their mortal name post transformation. I’m sure there are others.

Spoiler: 3e example

In 3.e the tyrant Lashan Aumersair became a larva and then rose through the ranks of Yugoloths to become a Nycaloth and was known by that name in the adventure Shadowdale.

Spoiler: 5e example

More recently in Baldurs Gate: Descent, Thavius Kreeg kept that name as an Amnizu in hell.

Clues from a fiend’s likes, dislikes and fascinations, perhaps artifacts could lead to the discovery of a true name. Until that point they hide behind their category, nycaloth, Amnizu etc or euphemism - dark one, great lord etc.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

So, demons and devils have a true name, and possibly a common name. Who gives these names to them?

That would be the Dungeon Master. You know, the "unseen and unknowable force of all of everything".
In fact, in my BECMI/BX/DD games (all of them) the whole "Immortal" path thing, where there are the "old ones" outside of even the regular Immortals...has an "outside of even the old ones". That outside is our actual reality with you, the DM, sitting at your table scribbling notes about how "The fetching young laundry maid is actually a 'reformed lich' that uses Shapechange every day".

^_^

Paul L. Ming