Meaning behind Names

June 24, 2007, 12:58 AM

All final Fantasy games have a character whos name has a subtle meaning to something, so this thread is to discuss them

FFVI

Terra - in Latin Terra means Earth, which i think is a reference to the fact that Terra is the bridge between two worlds, esper and human.

FFVII

Aerith - in japanese Aerith means Earth, a rather obvious reference to the fact that Aerith is important to the planet and the fact she saves the world and all that

also - Additionally, in Greek mythology, Aeris (Eris) is the goddess of Strife, adding a subtle layer to her connection to the game's hero, Cloud Strife, which just gives the whole Clerith thing an extra boost

Cloud - possibly because he wanders lonely as a cloud? okay, that sucked. i know Cloud was called cloud for some reason. i just can't think of it right now.

FFVIII

Squall - means Wind or something right? why do you think Squall was given this name?

FFIX

Vivi - as pointed out in the Vivi name thread. Vivi in spanish and Vivre and french mean "to live" which i think is a cruel Irony, if you think about it.

FFX

Tidus - means Tide? connection to Blitzball? and his connection to the Moon...

Yuna - Means Moon? which shows her connection to Tidus?

okay my summaries suck. its too early in the morning

come up with your own or discusss the ones i brought up

June 24, 2007, 1:06 AM

Squall means a gush of wind, not lightning.
Yeah, I read the dictionary, so sue me. XD

Anyways, yeah, I've practically heard all of the different explanations behind the names before already. I just don't get the hiatus for Zidane, when all the lead characters from VI onward to X, and now XIII (with Lightning), have 'elemental' names.
But yeah, it's quite noticeable that Square puts these references to the name.

Vivi's is pretty ironic, in my opinion, he 'lives' yet apparently he doesn't (from that one time with the Vivi clones)..

I can't really comment on Squall's because squalls are naturally pretty
violent and Squall was just kind of aloof to the world around him until the end and all. So it's pretty hard to make a connection there.

Tidus is the only one (quite wrong I'm sure) that I actually see something that is related to his character. The blitzball connection, in my opinion.

I'll post more later, but I can't lay my finger on all the other connections myself.

June 24, 2007, 1:09 AM

Cloud: Due to his obvious unstable and unpredictable mood, Cloud was given this name since weather can't be fully predicted without having a big chance of failing. That's what I think.

Squall: The heck, lightning? well there was a thunderstorm during his battle with Seifer in the FFVIII Intro Movie. And mostly the mixture of feelings inside him are unstable and unpredictable as well making Squall a really emotional character, though he hates to show freely express his feelings.
Added: Gush of Wind huh? That could apply with how unpredictable he is as well XD...

Tidus: though the apparent relationship between the meaning of his name and the water sport in which he is one of the best, I think that Square-Enix thought it was cool to add a meaning to his name related to Blitzball.

Yuna: I might be wrong but I think I read somewhere that Yuna means "moon flower". Yes, maybe it could be because that the Moonflow, the place in which Tidus and Yuna had their lovely moment (if my memory doesn't fails me), was a place that a great and deep meaning to both Tidus and Yuna.

Wakka: his name in the old Japanese dialect, means "Sun" if my memory doesn't fails me. Well he lives near the sea, and his attitude is as explosive and energetic as the Sun. Wakka always knows how to turn negative situations into positive ones (though he has problems dealing with the past).

June 24, 2007, 1:09 AM

Nice, apparently, you've been doing your research on everything Clerith related.
Until I read this thread, I thought her name should have been Ikebana. (Japanese word for flower arranging hobby) Eris, the goddess of Strife is a heavy blow to Cloti's, and Cluffie's like me everywhere.

June 24, 2007, 1:12 AM

Ah yes, I remember something now.

Tifa.
Tifa was most probably taken from the German word tiefer meaning 'deep', as in her deep personality and the (seemingly) deep qualities that she displays when she was nursing Cloud back to health.

Tiefer is pronounced exactly the same as Tifa. Ti-faa, by the way.

June 24, 2007, 1:15 AM

So that could explain why Tifa had such a way to hold her deepest feelings to herself, even though he was actually a "Cloud" fan XD.

Yes, Tifa may seem a bit tomboy and strong at first but deep inside she is kind and cares for others greatly.

June 24, 2007, 10:56 AM

I'm sure Tidus comes from the Japanese "tiida" which means "Sun". So, it goes hand in hand with "Yuna", "Moon".

June 24, 2007, 4:46 PM

We would be best just looking at FFCompendium as they have a whole list of characters and possible meanings behind their names.

My Character Profiles · June 25, 2007, 11:37 PM

You forgot to mention Sephiroth.
Sephiroth supposedly has this HUGE description of meaning. Something about angels and whatnot. =x