despite his name, geralt does not come from rivia (although he learned how to mimic a rivian accent and is later knighted for services to the queen of rivia): young witchers were encouraged to make up surnames for themselves by master vesemir, to make their names sound more trustworthy. he once claimed that his first choice was geralt roger eric du haute-bellegarde, but this was dismissed by vesemir as silly and pretentious.