Bravely Default: Character name etymology - Mass Distraction - 12-26-2015
If you've played Bravely Default you probably noticed the name's are... well, most of them not very original and usually having something to do with the characters themselves, were it a personality trait or their job. For the fun of it I decided to list the obvious ones and explain some of the less obvious ones. Admittedly I had to check some of them from the wiki, which will be linked to each character so the information is easily verified. Some of these are simple word plays while others are words taken from different languages and turned into names.
Should also probably warn that these names explained are going to be rather spoilery.
- Tiz Arrior: "Tiz" is Hungarian for "ten" and "Arrior" is clearly just "warrior" without the W. The name could then be translated to "ten warriors" or if you are looking at it more simplistically, it could just mean "this warrior".
- Ringabel: Simply enough, "ring a bell", which ties to him being an amnesiac.
- Agnès Oblige: "Agnes" could either refer to the Ancient Greek word "agnós" meaning "pure" or the French word "agnelle" (feminine) meaning "lamb". "Oblige" simply means obligation. This likely refers to her being the Wind Vestal obliged to the Crystalism faith.
- Airy: Airy's name is just "fairy" without the F.
- Edea Lee, Braev Lee and Mahzer Lee: The Lee family's names are tied to their personalities and are all just wordplays. In order "ideally", "bravely" and "motherly".
- Holly Whyte: Simple enough, "holy white", Holly being a White Mage.
- Ominas Crowe: "Ominous crow", referring to his occupation as a Black Mage and his mean personality.
- Barras Lehr: "Bear wrestler", his job is a Brawler.
- Argent Heinkel: "Silver Heinkel", "argent" being "silver" in French and Heinkel being a German aircraft. He is a knight so the name could refer to his silvery plate armor.
- Eloch Quentis Khamer VII: "Eloquent scammer", referring to what he did to his citizens.
- Erutus Profiteur: "Erutus" is Latin for "razed", "torn up" or "eradicated", while his last name is exactly what it says. This all plays to his title as "The Merchant of Death". The name could also be a word play on "A ruthless profiteer".
- Ciggma Khint: His name is an anagram for his job, "magic knight".
- Fiore DeRosa: "Fiore" is "flower" and "rosa" is "pink" in Italian, making his name "Pink Flower". His costume also has a lot of rose details.
- Artemia, Mephilia and Einheria Venus: Artemis, a Greek goddess of the moon and a huntress (Artemia is a Ranger); Mephistopheles, a collector of souls from the Faust Legend (Mephilia is a Summoner); Einherjars are warriors of Norse mythology, often associated with Valkyries (Einheria is a Valkyrie); Venus, the sisters' last name, is the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility.
- Nobutsuna Kamiizumi: Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Fujiwara-no-Nobutsuna is a famous samurai from Japan's Sengoku period and the creator of Kenjutsu, which is now an umbrella term for schools of Japanese swordmanship. Nobutsuna is a Swordmaster.
- Hayreddin Barbarossa: Shares his name with an Ottoman admiral of the fleet and an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Since he is a pirate, his last name could also refer to Captain Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean.
- Kikyo Konoe: Konoe is a regular Japanese surname. Kikyo, on the other hand, means "Chinese bellflower", of which she has pictures on her dress.
- Qada: "Qada" in Arabic means "God's will" or "divine decree", referring to his delusions of grandeur.
- Praline à la Mode: À la Mode is French roughly meaning "fashionable" but is also a kind of a dessert. Pralines are French confectioneries made of caramelized sugar, nuts, and chocolate. Praline herself is an overly sweet idol.
- Alternis Dim: "Alternate dimension", referring to a certain plot point involving Alternis.
- Victor S. Court: His middle initial and last name come together as "escort", which he serves as for Victoria.
- Victoria F. Stein: Reference to Victor Frankenstein, Victoria also being a subject to many an experiment.
- Lester DeRosso: His name may be a reference to another vampire named Lestat de Lioncourt from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles.
- Jackal: While also a species of dogs, the word "jackal" is also used to describe people performing menial and dishonest tasks, reflecting Jackal's occupation as a thief.
- Egil: He is named after the Egil's Torch key item from FFII, referring to his role as the guide through the Temple of Fire.
RE: Bravely Default: Character name etymology - Psychospacecow - 12-26-2015
From DeRosso's wiki page you linked,
Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname and is derived from the concatenation of an Old English tribal name "Ligore" and the Old English word ceaster meaning "Roman Town" or "Walled City".
This could be seen in the fact that he is an incredibly old character who is walled off, waiting for you in his castle.
I'm not seeing anything for Yulyana's name that isn't a plot point.
RE: Bravely Default: Character name etymology - Mass Distraction - 12-26-2015
(12-26-2015, 02:54 PM)Psychospacecow Wrote: From DeRosso's wiki page you linked,
Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname and is derived from the concatenation of an Old English tribal name "Ligore" and the Old English word ceaster meaning "Roman Town" or "Walled City".
This could be seen in the fact that he is an incredibly old character who is walled off, waiting for you in his castle.
I'm not seeing anything for Yulyana's name that isn't a plot point.
There were many other meanings for parts of these characters' names on the wiki but I only included one for each and only ones that could be associated with the entire name of the character, exceptions being Victor and Konoe who just happened to have normal names. Keepin' it as short and simple as I can.
As for Yulyana I didn't come up with anything since his name is only related to the forest he lives in and since it's referring to the game itself I felt it was irrelevant.
RE: Bravely Default: Character name etymology - MVr - 03-14-2019
I made an account just to add a few obvious informations you skipped:
Agnès Oblige - it's a modification of "Noblesse Oblige" which means "nobility obliges" (to acting with dignity) in french. It's also used to describe a person that takes the blame for others.
Edea Lee - also "Medea" without "M". According to Greek Mythology Medea was a princess of Colchis, she had to take over the throne for her father, fell in love in a man always fighting or traveling far away... Sounds familiar, nay?
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