I am a rabid fan of Larry Niven, and the Man Kzinti wars.
And i was wondering, Did you guys pick your names, Or where they given to you by a Patriarch?
I have no problem with it i was just wondering.
Good to hear from another Niven fan. Chuut told me about the series, and I started reading them as a nice diversion.
Niven is still the best damn sci-fi writer I've read. Lucifer's Hammer is probably his top work.
I've read all of the Man-Kzin Wars (though still working on the most recent one) and have spun off on Flatlander as a diversion (no Kzin, but still a pretty good story).
As for the name thing ...
Rule One. Lyrans are monkey-dogs. A mix of the worse fauna known. Small, flea-bitten, useless to the universe monkey-dogs.
Rule Two. Please don't confuse the regal Kzin with the lowly butt-sniffers. Hexx is Lyran ... that says it all right there
.
Rule Three. No. No one was given a name by a Patriarch. Though, as Fluf noted, Chuut did take his name from a character in the books. As far as I know, he is the only one. (PS - As a fellow Man-Kzin Wars fan, I feel it is my duty to note that Chuut mispelled his name ... Chutt-Ritt is the actual spelling ... but he brow-beats me every time I point this out).