(More) Meaning Behind the Names

[Adam Smasher]

You are probably all aware that Fire Emblem's characters are named after mythological characters. A very detailed list can be found here: http://www.serenesforest.net/general/mythology5.html

Here are some names which are also (possibly) mythologically related or otherwise ironic.

Micaiah: A prophet from the Bible. In the Bible, Micaiah is a dude.

Meg: short for Megan, meaning "brave, strong, flower bud, pearl" (lol)

Tauroneo: probably a variant on Taurus, which is a cool way of saying Tauroneo is as strong as a bull.

Tormod: Gaelic for "Thor's mind." Perhaps in development Tormod was a thunder mage?

Rafiel: As in Rapheal the archangel?

Black Knight: Obviously he's a knight dressed in black armor. However, whenever a knight did this in the old days, he was painting the heraldric crest on his armor as his way of abandoning allegiance to his Lord and being loyal to no one. Note how in Radiant Dawn the Black Knight is fighting for Daein, but he also is...you know.

Marcia: "Dedicated to Mars"

Leanne: short for Julianne "Dedicated to Jupiter"

Haar: Scots word for "Sea Mist." Looks more like a lochness monster.

Mordecai: This is mentioned on the page I linked above. What is not mentioned is that Mordecai was a warrior awarded a royal blue cloak.

Makalov: variant on Makarov, Russian for "Son of Makar." Makar is German for "supremely blessed." Blessed with mediocrity.

Ike: It's shot for Isaac, but I don't see a Biblical connection other than both had important fathers. Would the designers of a Japanese game name the greatest general of any Fire Emblem army after the general of the army of the country that defeated Japan in WWII?

Soren: Danish for "severe, serious." I'd say it fits.

Oscar: Old English for "God's spear." Good name for a lance knight.

Reyson: The only one of the Herons and Pegasi not to be named after any gods or demigods. Like most of the laguz names, I think it's a string of random characters.

Tanith: Carthaginian lunar goddess.

Skrimir: from Skrymar, a giant in Norse mythology

Gareth: Like Gawain and Pelleas, Gareth was a knight of the round. He fought a protracted battle against the Red knight of the Red Lands.

[XxWolfxX]

You are probably all aware that Fire Emblem's characters are named after mythological characters. A very detailed list can be found here: http://www.serenesforest.net/general/mythology5.html

Here are some names which are also (possibly) mythologically related or otherwise ironic.

Micaiah: A prophet from the Bible. In the Bible, Micaiah is a dude.

Meg: short for Megan, meaning "brave, strong, flower bud, pearl" (lol)

Tauroneo: probably a variant on Taurus, which is a cool way of saying Tauroneo is as strong as a bull.

Tormod: Gaelic for "Thor's mind." Perhaps in development Tormod was a thunder mage?

Rafiel: As in Rapheal the archangel?

Black Knight: Obviously he's a knight dressed in black armor. However, whenever a knight did this in the old days, he was painting the heraldric crest on his armor as his way of abandoning allegiance to his Lord and being loyal to no one. Note how in Radiant Dawn the Black Knight is fighting for Daein, but he also is...you know.

Marcia: "Dedicated to Mars"

Leanne: short for Julianne "Dedicated to Jupiter"

Haar: Scots word for "Sea Mist." Looks more like a lochness monster.

Mordecai: This is mentioned on the page I linked above. What is not mentioned is that Mordecai was a warrior awarded a royal blue cloak.

Makalov: variant on Makarov, Russian for "Son of Makar." Makar is German for "supremely blessed." Blessed with mediocrity.

Ike: It's shot for Isaac, but I don't see a Biblical connection other than both had important fathers. Would the designers of a Japanese game name the greatest general of any Fire Emblem army after the general of the army of the country that defeated Japan in WWII?

Soren: Danish for "severe, serious." I'd say it fits.

Oscar: Old English for "God's spear." Good name for a lance knight.

Reyson: The only one of the Herons and Pegasi not to be named after any gods or demigods. Like most of the laguz names, I think it's a string of random characters.

Tanith: Carthaginian lunar goddess.

Skrimir: from Skrymar, a giant in Norse mythology

Gareth: Like Gawain and Pelleas, Gareth was a knight of the round. He fought a protracted battle against the Red knight of the Red Lands.

hmmm, intriguing, this also proves you have to much time on your hands XP.

but intriguing none-the-less

[Anouleth]

Meg: short for Megan, meaning "brave, strong, flower bud, pearl" (lol)

Pearls are round, so it kinda fits.

[Mousefire]

the black knight is based off the green knight, as in GAWAIN and the green knight

[Loki Laufeyson]

the black knight is based off the green knight, as in GAWAIN and the green knight

That. Didnt really think about it until you mentioned it but yes, very much so. Good job Mousie!

Soren is also a common name in nordic regions. ;)

[Junkhead]

Actually, Micaiah is a pretty darn femenine name. I know it can also be a name for males, but...I just don't see it.

[Fayt Zelpher]

Here's one:

Sigrun - a heroine in Norse mythology and descendant of Odin through the Volsung lineage. Also the sister of Sigmund/Siegfried, one of the most famous heroes of Nordic myth. Eventually, the siblings joined and produced a son who would overthrow the king (whose name escapes me).

And that son's name is Sigurd.

[Narga_Rocks]

Here's one:

Sigrun - a heroine in Norse mythology and descendant of Odin through the Volsung lineage. Also the sister of Sigmund/Siegfried, one of the most famous heroes of Nordic myth. Eventually, the siblings joined and produced a son who would overthrow the king (whose name escapes me).

And that son's name is Sigurd.

And thus Sigrun's husband is named Vylon. No wonder we never saw her in fe4, though. Apparently she was in another reality.

[Fayt Zelpher]

And thus Sigrun's husband is named Vylon. No wonder we never saw her in fe4, though. Apparently she was in another reality.

Well, I can't be blamed for that. I'm just going with what I learned in class on the matter. And Siegfried and Sigurd had an affair. She wasn't married to her brother... At least, not in the Norse myth.

But FE logic doesn't have to make sense to any of us.

[Narga_Rocks]

Well, I can't be blamed for that. I'm just going with what I learned in class on the matter. And Siegfried and Sigurd had an affair. She wasn't married to her brother... At least, not in the Norse myth.

But FE logic doesn't have to make sense to any of us.

Well, she has a lover named Vylon, then. Whatever it is, she had to make the hero of gen1 fe4 somehow. And since sigurd does have major Baldo and Vylon was the only other, Vylon has to be sig's father.

[Fayt Zelpher]

Well, she has a lover named Vylon, then. Whatever it is, she had to make the hero of gen1 fe4 somehow. And since sigurd does have major Baldo and Vylon was the only other, Vylon has to be sig's father.

Well, I can't argue with that logic...

[Nightmare]

Nasir is a Nordic name. It has an unknown meaning.

No, not really. It's Arabic and as I said in the other topic, it means "companion" or any variant of that word.

[Zkirsche]

the black knight is based off the green knight, as in GAWAIN and the green knight

Both fits.

Actually, Micaiah is a pretty darn femenine name. I know it can also be a name for males, but...I just don't see it.

See it or not, it's clearly a fact that it originated as a man's name.

[Zanarkin]

Mordecai: This is mentioned on the page I linked above. What is not mentioned is that Mordecai was a warrior awarded a royal blue cloak.

That makes me like Mordecai even more.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Mordecai

[Adam Smasher]

As you should, Mordecai.

By the way, I just noticed that the picture of Mordecai in your avatar and sig almost looks like he's holding poo.

Anyway, there were a lot of things I omitted. Sure Nasir means "helper" in Arabic, but what's that got to do with his character? Likewise, Kieran means "dark-haired" but I think they just decided to call him Kieran because they thought the name was cool.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Adam Smasher

[Narga_Rocks]

As you should, Mordecai.

By the way, I just noticed that the picture of Mordecai in your avatar and sig almost looks like he's holding poo.

Anyway, there were a lot of things I omitted. Sure Nasir means "helper" in Arabic, but what's that got to do with his character? Likewise, Kieran means "dark-haired" but I think they just decided to call him Kieran because they thought the name was cool.

You played fe9. Nasir's name makes a bit more sense there.

[Adam Smasher]

You played fe9. Nasir's name makes a bit more sense there.

Fair. We should be glad they didn't name him something trite like Draco or Sauron.

[El Rey León]

Likewise, Kieran means "dark-haired" but I think they just decided to call him Kieran because they thought the name was cool.

Well...he does have dark hair.

His name didn't even need to be changed since his original name is the perfectly pronounceable Kevin.

[Nightmare]

Anyway, there were a lot of things I omitted. Sure Nasir means "helper" in Arabic, but what's that got to do with his character? Likewise, Kieran means "dark-haired" but I think they just decided to call him Kieran because they thought the name was cool.

The difference here is that they can get away with using any English name they want and don't even care about the meaning, but using an exotic/foreign name like Nasir is a wholly different story, at least for fantasy fiction like this. They might have wanted to have some hidden meaning in the name if they went that far. I also noticed that most, if not all, dragons have tan skin and live in a relatively dry country.

His name didn't even need to be changed since his original name is the perfectly pronounceable Kevin.

Dunno, Kevin sounds too...modern and un-knightly to me. Kieran sounds more like a name from the middle ages. Same with Stella and Astrid. Stella sounds like the name of a common person from modern times while Astrid sounds more medieval and noble.

Edited April 16, 2010 by Robin Mask

[Narga_Rocks]

Dunno, Kevin sounds too...modern and un-knightly to me. Kieran sounds more like a name from the middle ages. Same with Stella and Astrid. Stella sounds like the name of a common person from modern times while Astrid sounds more medieval and noble.

I thought she was "stellar"? That's good enough to me that it doesn't need to change to Astrid. If it was just stella, then I'd have to agree with you.

It's like Tina v. Terra for ff6. Tina just sounds too common.

[Nightmare]

I remember reading on this forum that it was Stella. The main site seems to confirm that (Sutera).

[El Rey León]

Dunno, Kevin sounds too...modern and un-knightly to me. Kieran sounds more like a name from the middle ages. Same with Stella and Astrid. Stella sounds like the name of a common person from modern times while Astrid sounds more medieval and noble.

Fair enough. But then how do you explain names like Oscar and Stefan?

[Nightmare]

Never bothered me, since they're both fairly old and not very common. Though I think Soanevalcke sounds cooler than Stefan.

[Adam Smasher]

Fair enough. But then how do you explain names like Oscar and Stefan?

Well, admittedly Oscar does seem a less appropriate name for a knight than for, say, a grouch, in my OP I did note that the etymology of Oscar means "god's spear," and he's a lance knight.

As for Stefan, you'll have to consult certain episodes of Family Matters to figure that one out ;)