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The Origin of FINAL FANTASY Characters
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About the Origin of Final Fantasy Characters
This ia an excerpt from one of my favorite sites thast tells about the origin of mainly everything Final Fantasy has to offer!
The Four Fiends of FF1 all have mythological names. The idea of four elements (earth, fire, air, and water) making up all matter in the cosmos goes back to the ancient Greeks. But the Fiends' names aren't all Greek. They're more obscure than most, and many game players might miss them. So I've outlined them here...
Kraken: A mythical giant squid, supposedly. I've also heard stories of Kraken being a sea monster. Could be either Scandinavian or Greek in origin. Supposedly a Kraken lies in the Straits of Gibraltar waiting for unlucky ships. [Arcanus Dominus writes: "From Norse mythology and Scandinavian lore. The Kraken is widely thought of as being Greek *only* because the monster appeared in the film "Clash of the Titans."]
Kary: The Fiend of Fire in FF1, Kary could be an alternate spelling of Kali from Indian myths. Kali demanded human sacrifices of her worshipers and had skin blacker than the night sky. She had three eyes, four arms, and giant tusks coming from her mouth.
Lich: "Lich" is Old English for "corpse" or "dead body". (The German word for "dead body" is "Leiche"; they're related.) Also, a Lich is a kind of undead mage with no soul; a powerful magic user who chose to trade his soul for immortality as an undead.
Tiamat: See Monsters.
[Garland: A garland is a wreath of flowers worn about the head. Garland's alterego, Chaos, is self-explanatory.]
From FF2:
Cid's name was probably inspired by the Spanish story "El Cid". The Tale of El Cid was one told by Spanish minstrels and bards called juglares. It was a well known story throughout Spanish cities and towns as it was told in town squares across the land; each bard had a different interpretation for the tale. It is also believed that there was an actual Cid de Castilla who took the kingdom of Valencia from Moorish rule through certain artifacts that were found in Valencia. Some people claim that they found his two mythical swords La Tizona and La Colada which he used to slay actual Moorish kings. The whole story was written down by Miguel de Cervantes and the music score was done by Miklos Rosza.
[From Megaman984: In an engine, cylinders displace air. The amount of air displaced used to be given in Cubic Inches Displaced or Cid for short. This actually makes a lot of sense considering Cid is the main inventor of the FF series. ]
[Interesting to note that two main characters are Richard and Lionheart... put them together to get the famous British king from the Middle Ages.]
From FF3:
A Jinn is a mythical being who could be summoned to influence mankind (also spelled "djinn"; actually, "djinni" is one and "djinn" is plural). [Probably why Ifrit was translated as Jinn in FF4; an ifrit is a type of djinn.]
[Archmage Noah is undoubtedly named after the biblical Noah, who began a new world after the great Flood (or Deluge). Delilah is also a biblical name, but seems to have no bearing on this particular character.]
From FF4:
Rydia is supposedly named after the legendary country of Lydia (the names are the same in Japanese), which was the richest in the world in its day and the first to use coins as money. They once had a king named Croesus, and he's the one they're talking about in the (seldom-heard) expression "as rich as Croesus".
I'd like to think Cecil was named after former Hanshin Tiger Cecil Fielder (they're pronounced the same way), but this probably can't be proven. There's a person in the Christian Bible named Cain, similar to FF4's Cain. [In the Bible Cain was doomed to be a wanderer, which might be where Cain got his "wandering" loyalties from. Or, as many people have noted, Cain's jealousy for his brother Abel might parallel FF4's Cain's jealousy for Cecil over Rosa.]
Rosa's name just means 'rose'. (How could I forget to put this in? :) [Ed - The original compiler's name is Mark Rosa, ahem...]
Namingway and the tribe of Humingways probably got their names from twentieth-century American writer Ernest Hemingway.
The Four Fiends in this game are all demons who show up in Dante's Inferno. In the story, Dante and the Roman poet Virgil make a journey through the nine circles of Hell. The book was written around the beginning of the 14th century, and the story takes place on Good Friday, 1300. Three of the Fiends' names are misspelled in the American version...
Milon, or Scarmiglione in FF4j, is one of the demons in Malebolge, the eighth circle of Hell. His name was probably shortened to 'Milon' because of space limitations.
Rubicant is another demon in Canto XXII. His name means "he who grows red"; appropriate for the Fire Fiend.
Kainazzo, a. k. a. Cagnazzo is another demon from the same circle. It means, roughly, 'the big Kain'. Another coincidental explanation (I thought of this long ago and assumed it to be true ^^;) is the Japanese kanji 'kai' (sea) + 'nazo' (mystery). That's coincidental though.
Valvalis, a. k. a. Barbariccia: (In Japanese, 'b' and 'v' sometimes aren't distinguished, like 'r' and 'l'.) Barbariccia is the leader of the ten demons that Virgil and Dante meet when exploring Hell.
[And from Chase: Calcabrina was also a demon featured in the Divine Comedy.
From FF5:
Gilgamesh: He was a legendary hero in Mesopotamian culture. In the library of Nineveh, there exist 12 slabs on which are written the exploits of Gilgamesh. The real Gilgamesh ruled Uruk in the 3d millennium BC, and later his tale was embellished to the point where Gilgamesh was a hero of legendary magnitude. Supposedly he was rather harsh as king, and so the god Anu created a wild man named Enkidu to stop him. However, Enkidu became the companion and servant of Gilgamesh after the two men had a test of their strength. There are many stories about the two of them; in one, they travel to defeat the forest guardian Humbaba (a. k. a. Huwawa); in another, Gilgamesh rejects a marriage propposal from Ishtar, the love goddess. Later Enkidu dies and Gilgamesh learns the location of a plant that granted eternal youth from Utnaphistim, survivor of the great flood. But a serpent steals it and Gilgamesh dies. The epic ends with the spirit of Enkidu promising to recover the objects that Ishtar gave to Gilgamesh. In FF5, Gilgamesh has a partner named Enkidou; surely this is the Enkidu from legend. [DarkFalzz mentions that Humbaba is also known as Phunbaba, probably the origin of the monster from FF6.]
The Dark Mage Exdeath: This name just means "exceeding death".
[Boco, Butz's faithful steed, is a pun in Japanese: the characters for Chocobo are "Chi-yo-ko-bo" and for Boco are "bo-ko" - it's just the last two characters of "Chocobo" backwards.]
Gogo - In the play "Waiting for Godot," there is a character named Estragon, nicknamed Gogo. WTG3 notes that Vladamir and Estragon spend a lot of time repeating each other (one will ask "Does it hurt?" and the other will respond "Hurt? He wants to know if it hurts!" et cetera).
Tycoon, Alexander Highwind - see Tycoon (Places).
From FF6:
Locke Cole: Could be named after John Locke, a philospher whose beliefs were instrumental in shaping America's early history. There's also the obvious pun on the word "lock" - you need him to unlock the doors in Narshe - and in that vein, there's a company named "Cole" that produces keys!
Setzer: OK, here's some more speculation. "Setzer" by itself means "typesetter" (hardly a meaningful name). But the German expression used when betting on numbers or horses is "setzen"! For example, "10 Mark auf Nummer 23 setzen" means "bet 10 Marks on number 23". So "Setzer" could imply "the one who puts down the money -> "gambler"; though I've never heard the word "Setzer" used to mean "gambler". Anyway, it's still nice-sounding even if it's a coincidence. It's my single favorite character name in the entire FF series.
Terra: Her name means "earth". Could have something to do with her being the link between the Earth and the Esper world...? But also, there was a building named "Terra Firm" located just outside the Square offices in Washington... maybe Ted Woolsey looked out the window and thought, "Hmmm....? [In the Japanese version her name is Tina, though. Javier Alvarado notes that there's a famous midieval Spanish book called La Celestina. That's Celes + Tina. 8-)]
Daryl - Her name means "well-loved." Appropriate for her relationship with Setzer. Here are some more of the main characters' name etymologies, thanks to Kate Malloy (so she's the "I" in the next few entries).
Edgar Figaro - His name is of Teutonic origin. I've seen it defined as either "wealthy gentleman" (he is a king) or "fortunate spear" (the spear is his best weapon) There is also an opera called "Edgar," so he's got a double operatic name. The famous opera "The Marriage of Figaro" features music by Mozart.
Sabin - His name is of Italian origin. It comes from the Sabine tribe. According to legend, the Roman settlers kidnapped all of the Sabine women. (That part has nothing to do with Sabin.) The name is more common in Europe in the feminine form, Sabine. His middle name, Rene, means "reborn" and is also more common in the feminine form. Also there was a biologist named Sabin, who was responsible for curing a muscle virus. And Sabin's muscles look pretty tough, right? [In the Japanese version his name is Mash, which probably refers to his ability to mash his opponents into a pulp. 8-)]
[Also note that Edgar and Sabin have middle names: Edgar's is Roni and Sabin's is Rene. Sounds very similar to the legendary brothers Remulus and Romus, the ones who founded Rome.]
Celes Chere - Celes's last name is French and means "dear." Her first name could be related to "celestial", or heavenly, which would be in contrast to Terra's "earth".
[From The Final Fantasy Usenet FAQ: Celes probably got her name from the Roman goddess of grain and harvests, Ceres ("Demeter" in Greek mythology). According to Greek myth, Ceres's habits and work schedules were what caused seasons to happen - her daughter, Persephone, was taken by Pluto to be his wife. Jupiter would allow Persephone to be with Ceres half of the year (between late March and early September) and be with Pluto the other half; therefore, when Persephone was with Ceres, she would be at work and crops would prosper, and when Persephone was with Pluto, Ceres would confine herself to mourning and crops would be affected. Thus, the seasons are created - Spring and Summer when Ceres is at work, and Fall and Winter when Ceres is sequested in mourning.]
Gau - Back in the times of the Romans, France was known as Gaul. There were tribes of wild men living in the north. They might have been called Gaus, or Gauls.
Gogo - See Gogo from FF5.
Cyan Garamonde - "Monde" means "world" in French; I've no clue about the "Gara" part. (It could be "train station" in French??) Also there was a famous typesetter named Garamonde. The font named for him is used in Apple's manuals. (that has nothing to do with Cyan, of course :) [Cyan is a light-blue color. In Japan his name was Cayenne, a kind of pepper.]
Elayne - Elaine was the "Lily Maiden" of Arthurian legend. She was related to several important people (Lancelot, I think, was one) and when she died, she was sent out to sea in a funeral barge. In fact, she is the mother of Galahad in T. H. White's "The Once and Future King".
Owain - Uwain was one of Arthur's knights and a king in the English legends. He was Gawain's brother and he ruled the kingdom for a time.
Billy: In FF6j, Baram (from Shadow's dreams) is called Billy. Since he's a train robber, maybe his name was inspired by Billy the Kid, famous outlaw from the American Old West? Also Shadow's real name is Clyde, like one half of the famous pair of outlaws "Bonnie and Clyde". Also, in Bret Harte's story The Outcasts of Poker Flat, there was a thief named Billy Setzer (!) who gets kicked out of town.
Vicks and Wedge, the two soldiers from the Empire, are characters in the famous 1977 George Lucas film "Star Wars". They're pilots for the rebel alliance. But in actuality, Vicks should be Biggs... [In later FF games, the Biggs was restored, and even in the FF Anthology re-release of FF6. However, in Chrono Trigger it's still Vicks.]
Siegfried ('ziek-friet): Named for the hero of the legendary German tale of the Ring of the Nibelung. (This was the story upon which Richard Wagner based his opera, which contains many famous music pieces including "The Ride of the Valkyries". Trust me, you've heard some of these before.) Incidentally, Siegfried literally means "victory" (Sieg) and "peace" (Friede).
Here's a short summary of Siegfried's story:
The god Wotan (aka the very familiar Odin) wanted to reclaim the Ring of the Nibelung and tried to use the hero Siegfried to do it. Siegfried's body was invulnerable except for his shoulder blades, and he could talk to animals. He was born and raised in a forest and proved his heroism by killing Fafner, the evil dragon. The sword he used was made by a dwarf named Regin, and the idea that dwarves make the best weapons (which frequently pops up in these games) came from this mythology. But he ends up getting killed and his beloved Brunnhilde kills herself in the end. (That's in one version of the story; in another, he and Brunnhilde survive Ragnarok and repopulate the world.)
The Evil Emperor Gestahl (gesh-'tahl): Well, this name sounds a bit like "gestohlen" or "stahl", both of which mean "stole" in German. (For grammar experts, "gestohlen" is in perfect tense. "Stahl" the noun means steel.) In the original FF6j his name was "Ghastra" - [probably from the word "ghastly"] but they changed it in FF3.
Kefka: Well, his name vaguely resembles that of German author Franz Kafka. One of his works is entitled "Metamorphosis", and that's the effect of the Ragnarok Esper - "Metamorph". That doesn't have anything to do with Kefka though.
Hidon: Now this name is interesting! It's the same in both the Japanese and American games, but has two completely diferent meanings. In the English version, Gungho says something about "as his name implies," referring to the word 'hide' embeded in 'Hidon'. In the Japanese version, however, 'Hidon' brings to mind the word 'hidoi', which means 'terrible' or 'scary'. A nice coincidence!
Maduin: Originally spelled "Mael Duin." (but "Madin" in FF6j) Mael Duin is a major hero of Irish Mythology. Son of Ailill, he was raised by nuns after his father was killed by raiders. When told his father's story, Mael Duin sets out with sixteen warriors to avenge his death, and his subsquesent voyages have been called the "Irish Odyssey."
Ramuh: See Summons.
Yura: Just a nickname for "Yuri", a popular Russian male name.
From FF7:
[Before I get to Mark Rosa's main section, I found a very interesting FF7 name section by Moritz Sommet, on his FF7 Revelation site. Most of it takes the FF7 names and works them into religious contexts; definitely worth a look. There's a little bit of repetition/overlap in the two documents. ^^;]
Main Characters:
Cloud Strife
Both "cloud" and "strife" are English words.
-Cloud’s Christian name alludes to his mysterious, unclear past and his unpredictable development in the future: his memory is ‘clouded’, he has his ‘head in the clouds’ and no one knows what his next move will be. In nature, clouds do not move by themselves but are driven by the wind. Likewise, Cloud’s development is influenced by others rather than by his own decision. At first, Sephiroth/Jenova is controlling him; later, it is Tifa who has to show him his true nature.
-"Strife" illustrates Cloud’s aggressive behavior towards others, as well as his inner fight that is the central conflict of the story. In the last duel between Cloud and Sephiroth, this fight finds its conclusion.
Aeris (Aerith) Gainsborough (Gast)
The Latin word "aeris" translates into "air; atmosphere; cloud; aether".
-"Air" and "atmosphere": this seems to be an allusion to Aeris’ connection to nature and her importance to the planet. Without air and an atmosphere, there would be no life. C.f. her first Limit Break, the "Healing Wind".
~The translation "cloud" implies that there is some kind of mystical connection between Aeris and Cloud Strife; like Cait Sith says, they are "made for each other".
~"Aerith" is an anagram of "I Earth"
~The word Aeris is pronounced similarly to "heiress", which aptly illustrates Aeris’ role as the last Cetra and the rightful heir to the planet.
Sephiroth
This name derives from the Kabbala, a religious lore that has its origins in Jewish mysticism:
"At the Creation," explains Kabbalist spokesman Steve Edelman, "God sent out a pulse of energy into the void. It presently branched and sorted into ten distinct spheres or aspects, corresponding to the numbers 1-10. These are known as the Sephiroth. To return to God, the soul must negotiate each of the Sephiroth, from ten back to one. Armed with magic and faith, Kabbalists have set out to conquer the Sephiroth. Many Kabbalist secrets have to do with making the trip successfully.
"Now the Sephiroth fall into a pattern, which is called the Tree of Life. It is also the body of God. Drawn among the ten spheres are 22 paths. Each path corresponds to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and also to one of the cards called 'Major Arcana' in the Tarot.
"Some Sephiroth are active or masculine, others passive or feminine. But the Tree itself is a unity, rooted exactly at the Bodenplatte. It is the axis of a particular Earth, a new dispensation, brought into being by the Great Firing."
(Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon, p. 753)
–The character Sephiroth tries to become a god by destroying the planet, hence the religiously connoted name. Also, Kabbalists believe that mastering the Tree of Life is a method to achieve divine enlightenment, and that’s basically what Hojo wants Sephiroth to do: "Ha, ha, ha...... Go beyond the powers of science...Before your presence, science is powerless...". The ‘Great Firing’ that brings a new world into being reminds us of the Nibelheim accident where Sephiroth becomes insane.
Jenova
The Hebrew name of God is Jehovah. The last two syllables of Jenova, ‘–nova’, translate into ‘new’.
Jenova is a ‘new god’, or wants to become one. She’s an usurper trying to rob the powers of the planet.
Tifa Lockheart
‘Tiferet’ is the central aspect of the Tree of Life (see above). Lockheart is composed of the English words ‘to lock’ and ‘heart’.
-The sefirot Tiferet represents beauty, balance and love- a description that applies fairly well to the role of the character, Tifa. Also, Tifa is the one who saves Cloud through her love and Christian Kabbalists believe that Tiferet symbolizes self-sacrifice and "the will to carry one’s neighbor’s cross". On Tarot cards, Tiferet is pictured as a heart (as in Lockheart!), and sometimes as an angel (Tifa’s bar is called the "Seventh Heaven" and her last Limit Break is the "Final Heaven").
-Her surname, Lockheart, illustrates her natural shyness and inability to express her love for Cloud. And the key to Cloud’s past is "locked" in her "heart".
Side Characters:
Vincent Valentine
The Latin verb "vincere" translates into "to conquer, outlast, defeat"; St. Valentine is a Christian Saint protecting lovers.
-"to outlast" would be the most fitting translation for ‘vincere’ since Vincent sleeps in the basement of the Shin-Ra Villa for almost 30 years.
-Vincent’s sub-plot with Lucrecia is a tragic love story, hence his surname.
Yuffie
The prefix "euphe" in Old Greek translates into "joy", "happiness"
–I don’t think it’s too much of a stress to say that Yuffie is a lively, outgoing or downright goofy character, so the name suits her well.
Barret Wallace
Could be a reference to the 13th century Scottish rebel William Wallace a.k.a. Braveheart (yes, the one in the movie).
-After all, both are leaders of an uprising against a tyrant government. Also, both of them are fighting to avenge their dead wifes.
Hojo
Goes back to a f amily of hereditary regents to the shogunate of Japan who exercised actual rule from 1199 to 1333. During that period, nine successive members of the family held the regency. The Hojo took their name from their small estate in the Kanogawa Valley in Izu Province.
-Hojo = power. There may be a more subtle meaning to this, but I fail to see it. Any Japanese out there willing to help me?
Cait Sith
The name is of Gaelic origin and translates into "fat cat".
-In Irish fairy-tales, Cait Sith is the protagonist of countless "King of the Cats" stories. That’s why Cait Sith in FF7 is carrying a crown.
Reeve
An English word meaning:
1. The local representative of the king in a shire until the early 13th century.
2. (In medieval England) A manorial steward who supervised the daily affairs of the manor.
3. (In Canadian government) A president of a local council, especially in a rural area
4. (Formerly) A minor local official
-I think that most of these descriptions match up with Reeve's position. He's the representative for the Urban Development area for Midgar, under President Shinra who is more or less the 'King' of Midgar. He supervises the day-to-day running of the city, he's the president of the 'local council' of Urban Development and as such is a minor local official.
Palmer
-a person wearing two crossed palm leaves as a sign of a pilgrimage made to the Holy Land
-wife of G. H. American educator; president, Wellesley Coll
-American chiropractor; founder of chiropractic in America
-American scholar & educator; author of The Odyssey of Homer (translation), The Field of Ethics, etc.
-Several geographic areas are named Palmer (all in the antarctic region)
-The Palmer in the game seems to be the direct opposite of these definitions (Palmer was not a man with two crossed palm leaves, or a scholar, and certainly not the author of a book about ethics). Unless the Square designers thought Palmer looked like a penguin from the Antarctic region, I don't see a connection.
Lucrecia
Lucrecia was a woman who was raped by Tarquinius, the last Roman king. "The Rape of Lucrece" is a poem by Shakespeare based on this.
-This is a strong allusion to the way Lucrecia conceives her child, Sephiroth. Either Hojo raped her (which the story does not necessarily suggest) or the name is just intended to show that Hojo’s experiment are "a rape of nature", an unnatural act.
Rufus
Latin for "the red one".
-Rufus has red hair.
Reno
"Leno" is Latin for "brothel keeper", "squanderer" or "pimp" (the letters R and L and monophone in Japanese).
-well...
Rude
English Synonym for "impolite"
–Rude doesn’t like to socialize and isn’t very talkative at all, so the name befits him quite well
Elena
An alternate form of Eleanor, meaning light.
–Perhaps because she has blonde hair?
Scarlet
A bright shade of red.
-She wears a red dress. This also suggests a connection to Rufus (see above). The Shin-Ra logo is also red, so maybe the colour red is meant to represent Shin-Ra.
Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a famous German philosopher best known for his existentialist theories. Also, during World War II, there was a Wehrmacht general called Heidegger.
-Maybe Shin-Ra’s Heidegger was modeled after the Wehrmacht general. I don’t know much about the general, but if he was part of the nazi war machinery, he most likely committed war crimes.
~Some of Martin Heidegger’s existentialist theories could have influenced the authors of Final Fantasy VII. It would take too long to explain this in detail, but if you are interested in Heidegger’s works, simply do a Yahoo! search.
Don Corneo
"Corneo" is Latin for "made of horn" or "horny" (sic!).
-Umm... err...
~The name Don Corneo also bears a vague resemblance to Don Corleone from The Godfather
Shin-Ra
~Probably of Egypt origin, translates into "Dark God" and is used to describe a mythological creature similar to a vampire.
-Shin-Ra, Inc. is evil, hungers for power and seeks total world domination- hence "dark god". Also, they rely heavily on Jenova’s powers.
-Barret: "It [Mako energy]'s the life blood of the planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these machines." Quite vampiric.
Bugenhagen
Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558) was one of the "founding fathers" of the early Protestant church in Europe and a close friend of Martin Luther. He helped organizing the Reformation in Northern Germany and Scandinavia and became a famous theologian and scholar as well as an expert in matters of public education and social questions.
-Bugenhagen’s name illustrates his wisdom and his reputation as a man who is master of both religious lore and science/technology.
Cetra
In Latin, the nomen "cetra" describes a small military shield that was used in the Roman army.
-The Cetra are the defenders of the planet.
Gorky and Chekhov
These two bosses appear in Yuffie’s pagoda. Their names derive from the famous (dead) Russian writers Anton P. Chekhov and Maxim Gorky.
-One of the other bosses in the pagoda is called Shake- possibly an allusion to Shakespeare, making the pagoda a veritable Dead Poets Society. Another boss, Yuffie’s father, is called Godo. This may be a stretch, but he could be named after Godot from Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot".
I have absolutely no clue why Square included these names.
à MSommet
Additional contributions by FFOnline's Forums' Members Blackjack Gabbiani, Dark Knight, Slipstream. Thanks a lot!
End of FF7 Revelation name origins; we now return to Mark Rosa's document.
[Aeris: John-Peter sent in this neat piece of info: "There is a minor goddess in greek mythology named Eris. Now when I was taking a mythology class at the University of Wisconsin Madison, I asked the professer how to pronounce that name, he told me air-ies (that may be hard to understand but it was basicly just a minor corruption of Ares). What's more, Eris is Ares' sister and companion, thus bringing her closer to Aeris' name. Finally and the real trick: Eris is the goddess of Strife! So Aeris is one letter extra from having the same name as the Greek goddess of Strife."
Bugenhagen: Sam Massey has the following to offer: "It seems that Bugenhagen is the name of a blind priest in the famous horror movie 'The Omen.' Bugenhagen warns the main character of his adoptive son's Satanic origins and how the world is in if he is allowed to live. Sounds a bit like the Bugenhagen in FF7, right?" Verified by Alex.]
Cait Sith (pronounced, roughly, 'kett shih') is Irish. It means 'fairy cat' in Gaelic. Supposedly, it's a kind of spirit that brings good luck. Of course, they don't normally ride around on moogles. ^^;
Sephiroth has a great origin! It's Hebrew for 'numbers' and is directly related to Arabic 'sifra', French 'chiffre', German 'Ziffer', and English 'cipher'. (Sanskrit 'shunya' meaning 'void', originally.) In Hebrew (among other alphabets), each letter has a numerical value, and the art of adding the letters in a word or phrase to get a certain value is called 'gematria'. In Hebrew, the word Sephiroth has the value of 756; in Greek, 894. Can anyone find any significance in these numbers? I was hoping to relate them to the safe combination in the Shinra Mansion, but they don't seem to work. ^^; Here are the ten important Sephiroth:
1 - Khessed, Kindness
2 - Chokhmah, Wisdom
3 - Binah, Understanding
4 - Gedulah, Greatness
5 - Geburah, Strength
6 - Tiphereth, Beauty
7 - Netzach, Firmness and Victory
8 - Hod, Splendor
9 - Yesod, Foundation
10 - Malchuth, the Kingdom
(There are variations on these; this list is from 777 and the Cabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley.)
[Note: Chokhmah, Binah, and Gedulah are typically not in the list. The "Kh" and "Ch" sounds are both pronounced like a hard "ch" as in "Bach". The Sephiroth are, depending on who you ask, the steps between man and God, or the different ways with which God manifests His will on earth. Either way, it fits nicely with Sephiroth's quest for godhood.]
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The final enemy, Safer Sephiroth, should probably be Sepher Sephiroth, which means 'the book of numbers' in Hebrew. (I'm not sure if the Bible book has that exact name in Hebrew, though.) [It doesn't.] Maybe the name also has something to do with all the little numbered black clones that are skulking around in Nibelheim. One of his attacks is Pale Horse, which probably refers to 'Death on a Pale Horse', a 1905 (?) painting by Ryder. [From WTG3: Safer Sephiroth's attack Pale Horse is more likely a reference to the Revelation of St. John, the last book in the Christian Bible. ("When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature cry out, 'Come Forward.' I looked, and there was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades accompanied him." Rev. 6:7-8)
"Safer" might be a pun on the fact that he casts Wall on himself during the fight. However, I've gotten remarks from too many people to note that there was probably a mistranslation here and the word was meant to be "Seraph", a type of six-winged angel (also the highest in the angelic echelon, which is fitting for where Sephiroth's aspirations place him).]
Shinra goon Heidegger shares a name with an early 20th-century German philosopher, Martin Heidegger. Coincidence, probably. Also, Reno is a city in Nevada and Miss Scarlet is a character in Clue, the board game and film starring Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, and others.
[Thanks to Jeffrey Goebeler for this tip: There's a brand of firearms made by a company called Barret. Fitting for a man with a gun on his arm, don't you think?
The names of Elder Bugah and Elder Hargo, two old men in Cosmo Canyon, are just Bugenhagen's name split into two.
Dyne: From Ultima Mage Dyne: dyne (din [long 'i']) noun. Physics The fundemental unit of force in the cgs system that, if applied to a mass of one gram, would give it an acceleration of one centimeter per second per second. Abbv. d., D. What that has to do with the character, I don't know, but maybe the word was just going through their heads at the time. ^^; Zidane's Trance skill in FF9 is also called Dyne; the the meaning fits a *little* better for that.
From FF8:
[Before anything else, here's a neat tidbit from Jason Copeland: "There had been somewhat of a mystery as to Squall's paternity. What seemed obvious (and possibly an intentional red herring, which I'm sure Square enjoys creating to enrich the whole FF mythos), was that Laguna and Raine were Squall's parents. What was the hint? That all of their names are water-related. "Squall" referring to a storm at sea, as was mentioned on your site; "Laguna" is Spanish for "lake" and is also close to lagoon (a calm, enclosed body of water sharply contrasting a squall); and "Raine"...well for rain." Continuing on that theme, WTG3@aol.com also mentions that Laguna's last name, Loire, is a river in France.]
Fujin and Raijin means "wind god" and "thunder god" - which explains Fujin's absorbance of Wind elementals and Raijin's Thunder elementals.
Irvine is similar to the names Irwin/Irving, both of which come from Gaelic "handsome". See next entry as well.
Laguna comes from the word Ragnarok, a sword used throughout the series and a spaceship in this game. Those who don't speak Japanese may be in the dark until they find out that Ragnarok spelled out in Japanese is "La-gu-na-ro-ku". Druff has an anecdote from what sounds like a very reputable source, as follows: "FF creator Hironobu Sakaguchi had been spending a good amount of time at Square's offices in So. California, Costa Mesa to be exact. During his visits he came to really fall for two neighboring towns: Laguna Beach, and Irvine. It was said that he liked them so much that he insisted on naming two characters from the upcoming FF8 after them."
Piet is the head of the Esthar space program. There's an Admiral Piett in The Empire Strikes Back (the second Star Wars film). "Piette" also accompanies Wedge and Vicks (Biggs) in Chrono Trigger, in Norstein Bekkler's lab.
Quistis Trepe - I have no clue about Quistis, but the Trepe may come from the word "trepidation", which basically means nervousness - a state many students find themselves in when around her. 8-)
Seifer: Just a coincidence, probably, but in Hebrew this word has the same root as Sephiroth. Arcanus Dominus writes: "I haven't been able to confirm this, but I believe "Seifer" refers to the type of cross that is Seifer has on his outfit." An uncomfirmed e-mail from Strom 4 says that there's actually a type of cactus called the seifer almasy. O_o Anyone to confirm this?
Squall Leonheart: A squall has a few meanings in English: a sudden storm at sea, a scream, or (as lately it's been used) trouble of any kind. I think Square meant for him to sound like someone who enters your life and then leaves it, like a sea storm. Leonheart is close to Lionheart; either a reference to his lion symbol, Griever (the music for the final battle is also called "Maybe I'm A Lion") or the character Lionheart from FF2.
Ultimecia: Well, her name comes from the world Ultimate or (since this is FF) the Ultima spell. Arcanus Dominus thinks it may come from Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon. "In Greek mythology, Artemis was part of the triple goddess (along with Selene and Hecate) associated with the moon, women, and witchcraft. Hecate in particular was considered the goddess of witchcraft and magic."
From FF9:
Amarant Coral: Amaranth (poetically, 'amarant') is a flower. The original Greek means 'everlasting'. It was imaginary and was supposed to never fade, but now several species of flowers are called amaranths. It can also mean 'purple'. (OED) (From Nora Stevens.) Galaway Nosora says the following: "Amaranth" was a name for Red Dye #2 (That's the toxic one). This could be the reason for Amarant's disturbing personality (And will to fight, like Red 2 making you sick...maybe?). Anyway, my theory is that he would have been named Amaranth, except there isn't enough space in the name- It only supports 7 characters.
Artemicion, the purple Moogle who runs Mognet, was probably named after Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon.
Baku: From The Squaresoft Repository: "In Japan, it is said that nightmares are caused by evil spirits. If one was troubled by nightmares, one could call upon Baku, the devourers of dreams, to take away one's nightmares, and turning one's nightmares into good fortune."
Beatrix: According to SapiekaFam@aol.com, she might be named after Beatrice, the young lady beloved by Dante in his Divine Comedy. However, Mandy Roberts from the FF Forum opines that, keeping in touch with all the Shakespearean tendencies of FF9, she's probably named after Beatrice, the strong female lead in Much Ado About Nothing. She also says "There are some similarities in her relationship with Benedick as Beatrix's relationship with Steiner. In the beginning, they seem not to like each other much - they're competitive, but by the end, there's something there."
Cid Fabool: "Fabool" = "Fabul" from FF4. (From Nora Stevens.)
Cinna: This is actually the name of not one, but TWO characters from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar". One is a conspirator to assassinate Caesar, the second is a poet who is mistaken for the first one and lynched. 8-)
Freya: The Norse god of love. (From Bucherschrank@aol.com. Sephy1024 elaborates: "Freya was Odin's wife, and helped him devour the souls of the dead.")
Garland: See above.
Garnet: A reddish semiprecious gem. Thanks to Sephy1024 for reminding me.
Puck: The name of a mischievous spirit from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
Stilztkin: Probably named after Rumpelstiltzkin, a legendary dwarf who could spin thread into gold (Stiltzkin's coat is a bright yellow).
Leo and Cornelia, from the play at the start, sound remarkably like King Lear and his daughter Cordelia, from Shakespeare's "King Lear".]
Zidane: Several people have sent me the name of a popular French soccer player named Zinedine Zidane. I'm extremely skeptical that Square would base one of their main characters on an actual person, though.
From FFMQ:
Phoebe: Her name means "moon." She was one of the Titans in Greek mythology.
Tristam: His name means sorrowful. In the Arthurian legends, there is a knight named Tristan or Tristram, the nephew of King Mark (hey, that's me) of Cornwall. Tristan fell in love with Mark's bride to be, Isolde (Iseult) because of a love potion. This legendary romance is the subject of an opera by the great Richard Wagner ("Tristan und Isolde" in German). Also baseball Hall of Famer Tris Speaker's real first name is "Tristram".
Kaeli: Kaeli Kreider was one of the producers at Squaresoft. No myths here. ^_^
[From Justin: "I believe Kaeli is also the feminine of the Gaelic name Kael (also Kaellen, and about 6 other spellings). This name means 'mighty warrior'."
Reuben is a biblical name; he was the oldest son of Jacob.]
Pazuzu: There was a demon named Pazuzu in Mesopotamian myths.
From FF Tactics:
Alma's name comes from Hebrew and means "young woman". [Ãgueda Oliveira mentions that it's also Latin for "soul".
Altima: His name also probably comes from Ultima.]
Beowulf, one of your companions, has the same name as the hero from the ancient Anglo-Saxon legend. In the story, Beowulf kills Grendel, a monster who's been preying on the people.
[Bordam Daravon: His first name sounds uncannily like "boredom". 8-)
Orlandu: SapiekaFam@aol.com writes in that he might be named after "Orlando, a Paladin of Charlemagne, a hero of romance and Italian epic."]
Wiglaf, called Wiegraf in the English version, is one of Beowulf's "thanes", or warriors, in the Beowulf saga.
If you wanna know more, go to this URL:
http://www.ffcompendium.com/
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