Question about name lists for the smaller factions

I need some advice from you experiences experienced modders out there.

I'm having some difficulty with some name lists for my fledgling personal mod. I need some suggestions on what type of names to use for the smaller factions/possible factions.

I know that Croat and Serb names are close but not identical. I also know that the Danube Bulgars were Turkic; and so, at times, the names for them would be Turkic (Pecheneg then later Cuman) or Byzantine or later Slavic like the Croats and Serbs. By the time of the 2nd Bulgarian empire, the rulers were using Byzantine/Western forenames names like John; but the surname/house name was decidedly Cuman like Asen or Shishman. And yet, and most of the people were Slavic and the culture was mostly a mix of Slavic and Byztantine.

My question is which would you use? Should I resort to using different name lists for each era or just pick one for all three and stick with it, or even worse three lists for each group for each era?

And for the Volga-Bulgars. From about 922 or so they were Muslim; and most of the names of rulers from then on are heavily influenced by Arabic names. But they also use Turkic names, Mongol names and even some Jewish influenced names later after they gain independence from the Khazar Khanate. So you get oddly mixed names like Khisam Anbal ibn Selim Kolyn who ruled the Volga Bulgar Khanate from 1135-1162. Would it be worthwhile to attempt making a name list just for the Volga Bulgars, even though they might really only be used in the early and high eras, prior to the Mongol invasion?

I writer turkish names list...
but pure turkish names list.



you want mixed names.
as for me in vain confusion.


ruler lists necessary.
volga bulgarians-hazars-danube bulgars-selcuks-cumans-peçeneks .... to desire ... I write.
but as tome unnecessary.

list of Bulgarian rulers

I don't know, as you can see from the list, most names were used in Byzantine empire (Constantine, Theodore, Michael, John, George, Peter). However, there are some Slavic (Svetoslav, Boris) and others names (Asen, Caloian). I'm also creating a Bulgarian faction for high period, I plan to create a new names list which would include some Byzantine, Slavic and Cuman names. For princesses will have Byzantine names. I'm still thinking about surnames.

I finally just broke down and created separate name lists for Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria. I'm still working on the early era, but I've been using the lists at Regnal Chronologies for the most part.

For the Bulgarians, I stuck mostly with the list there for Bulgaria. The Asens began the 2nd Bulgarian Empire. Oddly enough, the name Asen is a Cuman name and probably goes all the way back to the great Gokturks Empire, whose ruling family were called the Ashina or Ashena, after the first ruler in the 5th century. Many of the names on that list have Cuman or more generally Turkic origins, such as Tihomir. At about the same time that the Terter dynasty took over in Bulgaria, the name Tihomir reappears as the father of the first Prince of Wallachia, Basarab. Also, the later dynasty in Bulgaria of the Sishmans takes their house name from a Cuman name as well, Şişman. (Thanks to Boskirsovalyesi for that wonderful list of Cuman info in the Med Mod IV v4 thread)