Whether it'd Sabin Rene Figaro, Bartz Klauser or Cecil Harvey, the characters in FF have the most exotic names in any series but I wonder about them? I know some of them have name meanings but the characters have the most amazing names I had ever heard in my life. What does every FF character have the most exotic names? And how does Square come up with them?
Exotic Names
- Thread starter Guernsey
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Most names they use are either extremely unused or from an old culture like Greece and Rome.
Let's use Edgar's name for an example. The meaning "Protector of the good" matches the fact that he is a king, protecting the good. So, when they think of names, they try their best to make it exotic and fresh. Like Cloud and Squall, how often did you see those names about? Never.
Now, here is another example. When SE (SS at the time) chose "Tina" they wanted something exotic to them. The name came from the western hemisphere. Since the Japanese rarely used Tina and thought it was exotic, they chose it (its also short for Christina).
Cecil Harvey was a very exotic name at the time. Since he was a knight, they thought knight. In Latin, which I presume SE went for at the time, Cecil meant "Blind" and in the game, Cecil was "Blind" to what the king was doing and the evil he had committed.
So, when SE thinks of their names, whether they are exotic or not, they try their best to do the following:
Something that matches the character
Something that matches what character has been through
Something that is rarely used
Something that is either related to the planet or the universe
Something that has significance to either the developer or character maker
Something that is fresh and funky, also sexy and new
And finally something Latin.
Let's use Edgar's name for an example. The meaning "Protector of the good" matches the fact that he is a king, protecting the good. So, when they think of names, they try their best to make it exotic and fresh. Like Cloud and Squall, how often did you see those names about? Never.
Now, here is another example. When SE (SS at the time) chose "Tina" they wanted something exotic to them. The name came from the western hemisphere. Since the Japanese rarely used Tina and thought it was exotic, they chose it (its also short for Christina).
Cecil Harvey was a very exotic name at the time. Since he was a knight, they thought knight. In Latin, which I presume SE went for at the time, Cecil meant "Blind" and in the game, Cecil was "Blind" to what the king was doing and the evil he had committed.
So, when SE thinks of their names, whether they are exotic or not, they try their best to do the following:
Something that matches the character
Something that matches what character has been through
Something that is rarely used
Something that is either related to the planet or the universe
Something that has significance to either the developer or character maker
Something that is fresh and funky, also sexy and new
And finally something Latin.
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Or they start throwing darts at a map!
(I just happen to live halfway between Irvine and Laguna. I've heard there is or used to be a Square-Enix office in Santa Ana, the next city north of those two.)
A lot of names in the FF games are mythological, everything from Babylonian to Okinawan Japanese. In those cases the myth usually matches the character in some way.
But I swear in FFVIII the goal was "Let's see how many really REALLY hard to pronounce names we can come up with!" Think about it. There's no proper L sound in Japanese; there's just this R/L sound that's halfway between the two. Q and Z are both foreign to Japanese phonetics.
Imagine being a native Japanese speaker and trying to pronounce Squall, Quistis, Laguna, Irvine, Zell, Angelo, Ellone, Selphie, or just about any of them! Rinoa's almost the only one with a native-sounding name.
(I just happen to live halfway between Irvine and Laguna. I've heard there is or used to be a Square-Enix office in Santa Ana, the next city north of those two.)
A lot of names in the FF games are mythological, everything from Babylonian to Okinawan Japanese. In those cases the myth usually matches the character in some way.
But I swear in FFVIII the goal was "Let's see how many really REALLY hard to pronounce names we can come up with!" Think about it. There's no proper L sound in Japanese; there's just this R/L sound that's halfway between the two. Q and Z are both foreign to Japanese phonetics.
Imagine being a native Japanese speaker and trying to pronounce Squall, Quistis, Laguna, Irvine, Zell, Angelo, Ellone, Selphie, or just about any of them! Rinoa's almost the only one with a native-sounding name.