Do you as a reader want to know where names from stories come from, when reading a fantasy story, if the names have meanings? AND if there are so many different cultures that names are taken from? That exist in our world past and present. Please note that i am estimating how many cultures there are by "language" alone. There are roughly 6,500 languages, so my estimation of cultures is about 3,750 cultures (probably less). One example is Luminita -- Means "little light", derived from Romanian lumina "light" combined with a diminutive suffix. 2nd ex. is Aelia-- Feminine form of Aelius. Aelius is a Roman family name which was derived from the Greek word ‘ηλιος (helios) meaning "sun". Please discussion your choice. And Please note that chancing your choice is not allowed. (Poll opened until December 31, 2019)
Althoug it could be interesting, but I don't really care. Unless there is something about the name that is tied to the story or really represents something. E.g. if someone named "little flame" and there is nothing in the story to go with it... well, who cares? But if someone is named because of the background or there is some meaning to it that has an impact to the story, then the name should be explained.
I agree with sgrey. Unless the name has importance to the plot or world-building, it really doesn't matter where you get the name. I would rather see how you as the author works it into the story than know the real-world location of said name.
the issue is that while this info will really interest me one night at 4 AM when I am going through the wikis, this will otherwise completely break the flow. Especially if there are a lot of characters.
like @Tiken said, I think a footnote would be good, it wouldn't ruin the flow of reading too much and I like learning stuff~ though it helps if it's a less common name and if it has story significance, that would make me enjoy the knowledge even more~
In my case if it’s a western name I can know quite well where it’s origins are from and if has its roots in the Greek language then I also know it’s meaning. Rather ones someone knows greek they will be baffled by how many Greek word there are in other languages and don’t let me start about special topics like math, science or medicine.
I don't go out my way to search for the meaning of the names. In the first, how would I know that it wasn't randomly chosen by the author or translator unless there's an explicit note about it.
I don't really need to know, unless it is germane to the plot and it's resolution ~ If you have followers, that could be something you could discuss with them in an interview or whatnot as a bit of trivia, etc.