As an avid book lover, I can’t go scroll through my Instagram or TikTok feed without seeing videos of people gushing about Fourth Wing by Rebecca Sarros. Even when I go to my local bookstore, I see beautiful displays marketing the series. If you haven’t heard of Fourth Wing, it’s a fantasy series that tells the story of Violet Sorrengail, a 20-year-old who gets ordered to enroll in Basgiath War College to become a dragon rider.
2023 was a big year for the series, with both Fourth Wing and its sequel, Iron Flame, being released on Apr. 5 and Nov. 7, respectively, along with a special holiday edition of the first book that quickly sold out. The hype over this series is only going to increase with the TV show that’s currently in production.
With so many people obsessed with this series, it’s no surprise that some have questions about certain aspects of the books, especially Fourth Wing. One thing about the novel that’s been a big topic on social media is how the names are pronounced. Many fantasy books make it difficult to know how to pronounce character’s names. In Fourth Wing, most of the names are Scottish Gaelic words, so of course, many readers had trouble trying to pronounce them.
Luckily, you won’t have to worry about pronouncing the names as you read the book because we have a pronunciation guide that’s sure to help.
Basgiath: The war college that Violet attends is pronounced Baz-guy-ith
Violet Sorrengail: The 20-year-old protagonist’s name is pronounced Vai-luht Soar-en-gale.
Xaden Riorson: Violet’s love interest and the Fourth Wing’s wing leader’s name is pronounced Zay-den Rye-er-son.
Dain Aetos: The name of Violet’s best friend is pronounced e Dane Aye-toes
Rhiannon Matthias: A first-year at the Riders Quantrant and Violet’s friend. Her name is pronounced Ree-ann-un Mi-thigh-us
Liam Mairi: The name of Violet’s friend and Xaden’s foster brother is pronounced Lee-um Mah-ree
Jack Barlowe: The name of Violet’s enemy is pronounced Jak Bar-low
General Lilith Sorrengail: Violet’s mother’s name is Li-luhth Soar-en-gale
Mira Sorrengail: Violet’s older sister name is pronounced like Mee-ra Soar-en-gale
Brennan Sorrengail: Violet’s older brother’s name is pronounced like Breh-nun Soar-en-gale
General Melgren: His name is pronounced like Jeh-nr-uhl Male-grin
King Tauri: The name of the current king of Navarre is pronounced King Taw-ree
Ridoc: Violet and Rhiannon’s friend. His name is pronounced Rye-doc
Garrick: One of Xaden’s closest friends and a third-year Rider. His name is pronounced like Geh-ruhk
Bohdi Durran: The name of Xaden’s cousin is pronounced Bow-dee Der-ran
Oren Seifert: A cadet who’s jealous of Violet and one of her enemies. His name is pronounced Or-en Sigh-fret
Jesinia Neilwart: A Scribe in the Scribes Quadrant and a good friend of Violet’s. Her name is pronounced Jes-seen-ya Neil-wart
Sloane Mairi: Liam’s sister. Her name is pronounced Slow-n Mah-ree
Catriona Cordella: Xaden’s previous fiancée. Her name is pronounced Cat-tree-on-uh Core-dell-uh.
Tairneanach: Violet’s Black Dragon. It’s name is pronounced TAHR-nyuh-nuhkh.
Andarna: Violet’s gold dragon. The name is pronounced An-dàrna-urram.
Sgaeyl: Xaden’s dragon. It’s pronounced name is Suh-gale.
Aimsir: Lilith’s dragon. It’s name is pronounced AM-shir.
Aotrom: Ridoc’s dragon. It’s name is pronounced like OO-trum.
Baide: Jack Barlowe’s dragon. The pronunciation is a bit complicated. The initial /b/ sound is similar to how you would say ‘b’ in “bed.” The vowel /a/ is like the ‘a’ in “father,” but possibly a bit shorter. The /d/ is a palatalized ‘d,’ which means it’s pronounced with the tongue raised toward the roof of the mouth near the front teeth. This can give the ‘d’ a slightly ‘y’-like quality, making it sound softer and less abrupt than the English ‘d.’
Breugan: Professor Carr’s dragon. The name is pronounced “bree-ah,” with the beginning similar to the ‘cra’ in ‘crack’ and a slightly rolled ‘r.’ The ‘dh’ at the end is silent or pronounced very softly, almost like a ‘y’ or an “ooh” sound, depending on regional dialects. This makes it have a gentle ‘y’ or ‘oo’ sound at the end.
Cath: Dain’s dragon. Its name is pronounced “kah.”
Chradh: Garrick’s dragon. The beginning of the name is similar to the ‘cra’ in “crack,” with a slightly rolled ‘r.’
Claidh: Amber’s dragon. The name is possibly derived from the word “cladh,” with the initial sound /k/ pronounced like the ‘k’ in “kite.” The sound /L/ is represented by a “voiceless lateral fricative sound,” similar to the ‘L’ sound in Welch. The vowel sound /ɤ/ is somewhat similar to the ‘u’ in the French word “fleur.” The final sound /ɣ/ is a “voiced velar fricative,” similar to the ‘g’ sound in the Scottish English word “Loch”
Cruth: Quinn’s dragon. The is pronounced like “kruh.”
Codagh: Pronounced like “KOH-guh” or “KOH-gah” because in some dialects.
Cuir: The initial sound /k/ is pronounced like the ‘k’ in “kite.” The vowel sound ‘u’ is pronounced like the ‘oo’ in “food.” The final sound /r/ is a palatalized ‘r,’ meaning that it’s pronounced with the tongue raised toward the roof of the mouth near the front teeth, giving it a slight ‘y’-like quality.
Deigh: Pronounced like “jay.”
Feirge: The “fe” is pronounced like ‘fy’ in “fye,” and the “ar” is similar to the ‘ar’ in “far,” but with a slightly rolled ‘r.’ The final ‘g’ is pronounced to sound more like the ‘g’ in the German word, “tag.”
Fuil: It’s pronounced like FOO-il, but with a slightly rolled ‘l.’
Glane: The initial /g/ is pronounced like the ‘g’ in “go.” The sound /L/ is similar to the ‘L’ sound in Welsh. The vowel sound /a/ is pronounced like the ‘a’ in “father.” The final sound /n/ is pronounced like the ’n’ in “no.”
Fann: The initial /f/ is pronounced like the ‘f’ in “fish.” The vowel sound /au/ is similar to the ‘ow’ in “cow.” The final sound /N/ is a nasal ‘ng’ sound, like the ‘ng’ in “song.”
Malla: This name can either be pronounced like “mauL” or “ma-LUKH.”
Marbh: This name is pronounced like MAHR-uhv.
Silseag: This name is pronounced like SLEE-shak.
Smachd: The “sma” part is pronounced like “smah,” with the ‘a’ sound similar to the one in “father.” The “chd” is more difficult because the “ch” is a guttural sound, similar to the “ch” in Scottish “loch.” The ‘d’ at the end is pronounced but can be soft, almost blending with the ‘ch’ sound.
Solas: This is pronounced like SOH-luhs.
Teine: This name is pronounced like “time,” but with an “n” instead of an “m.”
Thoirt: The initial /t/ is pronounced like the ’t’ in “table.” The vowel sound /ɔ/ is similar to the ‘o’ in “thought,” with the /Rʃ/ sound being a combination of a rolled ‘r’ and a palatalized ‘sh.’ The final /dʲ/ is a palatalized ‘d,’ which means it’s pronounced with the tongue raised to the roof of the mouth near the front teeth, giving it a slightly ‘y’-like sound.
I’ve always found books more enjoyable when I know how to pronounce the names of characters. Whether you’re reading the Fourth Wing series books for the first time or have read them multiple times, make sure you have this pronunciation guide handy.