How to Say Your Name in Dothraki (With Real Examples)

How to Say Your Name in Dothraki

If your name is Sarah, the Dothraki cannot say it. Their language does not allow the consonant cluster /sair/ at the end of a syllable, and the soft H is not part of their phoneme inventory. They will hear your name and say Sarra.

This is not unusual. Every language reshapes foreign names. Japanese turns "Christopher" into Kurisutofa. Mandarin turns "David" into Dawei. Dothraki does the same thing — it just does it according to its own rules.

This is a guide to those rules, with worked examples, the phrase you need to introduce yourself, and the cultural patterns Dothraki names follow.

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The Phrase: "My Name Is X"

Hake anni X — "My name is X."

Word by word:

• Hake — name
• anni — my (genitive)
• X — your name

So:

• Hake anni Sarra — "My name is Sarra"
• Hake anni Mikel — "My name is Mikel"
• Hake anni Mehmet — "My name is Mehmet"

To ask someone's name: Fin hake yeri? — "What is your name?"

To respond just with the name: simply say it. Sarra.

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Dothraki Phonology: What's In, What's Out

Three rules govern what a Dothraki word can sound like.

Rule 1: Banned Sounds

Dothraki does not have:

• /v/ at the start of a word — vase becomes ase or wase
• /p/ in most positions — Peter becomes Beter or Eter
• /f/ before a vowel in many environments — though fonat (to hunt) shows /f/ does exist medially
• /u/ as an independent vowel — must shift to /o/ or /i/

Rule 2: No Complex Consonant Clusters

Dothraki strongly prefers words that start with a single consonant. Cluster-heavy names get simplified.

• Christopher → Kistofer or Kistofo
• Stephen → Stefan or Tefan
• Blanca → Balanka

Rule 3: Words Like to End in Vowels

Most Dothraki nouns end in -a, -e, -i, or -o. Names ending in consonants often get a vowel added.

• Mark → Marko or Marka
• Robert → Roberto
• Liam → Liama

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Worked Examples by Real Name

These are the adaptations Tengwar's AI tutor Mithrandir suggests, following Peterson's documented phonological rules. They are extrapolations from canon rules rather than directly attested in show dialogue.

Common English Names

Name	Dothraki Adaptation	Reasoning
Sarah	Sarra	The soft /h/ drops; double R for percussive feel
Michael	Mikel	/ch/ becomes /k/; drop the trailing schwa
Emma	Ema	Single M for smoother syllable break
Jessica	Jesika	/ss/ stays single; /c/ to /k/
David	Dovid or Davo	/v/ stays medially; drop the /d/ at end optional
Peter	Beter	/p/ shifts to /b/ since /p/ initial is disallowed
Anna	Ana	Same as Emma
Christopher	Kistofo	Cluster simplification + vowel ending
Mark	Marko	Vowel added at end
Robert	Roberto	Vowel added at end

Spanish and Romance Names

Name	Dothraki Adaptation	Reasoning
Carlos	Karlo	/s/ at end drops optionally
Maria	Marria	Double R for emphasis
Diego	Dyego	Stays close to original — already Dothraki-compatible
Pedro	Bedro	/p/ shifts to /b/

Turkish, Arabic, and Persian Names

These often work with minimal change because they share phonological features with Dothraki — consonant-heavy roots, vowel endings, hard consonants.

Name	Dothraki Adaptation	Reasoning
Mehmet	Mehmet	Already fits
Hassan	Hazan	/ss/ shifts to /z/ for Dothraki feel
Ali	Ali	Already fits
Layla	Layla	Already fits
Omar	Omar	Already fits
Yusuf	Yosof	/u/ shifts to /o/

East Asian Names

Name	Dothraki Adaptation	Reasoning
Yuki	Jiki	/u/ to /i/; /y/ to /j/
Hiroshi	Hirosi	/sh/ stays as canon sh
Mei	Mei	Already fits
Jung	Jeng	/u/ to /e/; cluster simplification
Aiko	Aiko	Already fits

South Asian Names

Name	Dothraki Adaptation	Reasoning
Priya	Briya	/p/ to /b/
Rohan	Rohan	Already fits
Anjali	Anjali	Already fits
Vikram	Wikram	Initial /v/ shifts to /w/

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How Dothraki Themselves Are Named

A note on cultural context: Dothraki names in canon follow specific patterns.

Male warrior names often end in -o (Drogo, Aggo, Cohollo, Pono, Jhaqo). The -o ending sounds firm and percussive in Dothraki ears.

Female names more often end in -a, -i, or vowel sequences (Doreah, Irri, Jhiqui, Eroeh).

Both genders avoid soft sounds. Names like "Lily" or "Theo" would be reshaped into something harder — Lila, Teho.

Two or three syllables is typical. Longer names get compressed.

There is no Dothraki surname system. A Dothraki is known by their given name and their khalasar — for example, "Cohollo of Drogo's khalasar."

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Introducing Yourself: A Full Exchange

Here is how a Dothraki introduction goes, end to end:

You arrive at the camp. Dothraki host: M'athchomaroon. ("With respect.") You: Athchomar chomakea. ("Respect to those who are respectful.") Host: Fin hake yeri? ("What is your name?") You: Hake anni Sarra. Anha jadak Lannisportoon. ("My name is Sarra. I come from Lannisport.") Host: San athchomari yeraan, Sarra. Yer chomoe anhaan. ("Much respect to you, Sarra. You honour me.")

The verb jadak is "I come" (from jadat, to come). The case ending -oon on Lannisport marks "from" — Dothraki's ablative case.

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Tattoo and Wedding Use

Many Tengwar users want their name in Dothraki for tattoos, wedding programmes, or fan film roles. Three tips before you ink anything:

1. Verify with Mithrandir. The free tier on Tengwar lets you chat five times with the AI tutor, which is enough to verify a name adaptation against Peterson's rules.

2. Cross-check with the Dothraki wiki. If your adapted name accidentally matches a real Dothraki word, you may want to know — mahrazh means "man," qoy means "blood," etc.

3. Decide on style. Names in canon are usually rendered in the Latin alphabet using Peterson's spelling. There is no canonical Dothraki script. If you want a more "ancient" look, some fans use stylised letterforms, but these are not canon.

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A Note on Authenticity

Adapting your name to Dothraki phonology is an extrapolation — Peterson did not personally Dothraki-ify every English name in existence. The rules we apply here are derived from the patterns visible in canon material plus Peterson's published phonotactic rules.

Two Tengwar users with the same starting name might land on different adaptations and both be valid. The point is that the adaptation respects the language's rules, not that it matches an official list.

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Related Reading

• Dothraki Names and Their Meanings
• Dothraki Tattoo Phrases
• Dothraki Grammar Guide

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