Auron: it may be "a Celtic name which combines 'aur' (gold) and 'on' (a divine ending or death)." Note that Aurum is Latin for "gold" as well, but I haven't been able to really link the word with the character. ^^; maybe the name is similar to Aaron, Moses' brother, from the Bible, but I personally see no similairities at all between the two people.
A more generic one (and oddly the one that seems most fitting) comes from silentshadow: The name "Auron" sounds very similar to "aura" and "aurora", both words with Latin roots related to dawning and light, and with a sort of ghostly, ethereal sense to them. Makes sense when you consider the fact that he's an Unsent, a ghostly being made of light and pyreflies. (The pyreflies kinda look like 'aurora borealis'--the northern lights...)
Belgemine: "In Japanese, can translate to 'mountain peak' ('berugu' meaning mountain, and 'mine' meaning peak or ridge). As for the possible symbolism of it, this is kind of a reach, but...mountains are viewed as a connection between the two worlds (of Heaven and Earth), and Belgemine is caught between two worlds, being that she's...well, you know if you played the game."
Calli: her Japanese name is Hikari which means "light".
Gandof: The summoner who long ago defeated Sin and built the towers in Thunder Plains and solved the Cactuar stone mystery. According to weapon_X_33 Gandof is likely a nod to Gandalf in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Kimahri: Another tough one... the closest one I got here is from Yuna Lesca who says: "Kimahri comes from the 66th spirit of the Goetia with different names like Cimeies, Cimejes and Kimaris. This spirit can also discover lost/hidden things and treasures."
Maybe: "Final Fantasy X's Kimahri is spelt as Kimari, when translated from katakana to romanized Japanese. Kimari means 'settlement', 'conclusion', 'regulation', 'rule', and 'custom' in Japanese."
Leblanc: This is French for "the white".
Logos: There are several different meanings attributed to this. Pre-Socratic philosophy holds that "logos" is the principle governing the cosmos, the source of this principle, and human reasoning about this principle. Also means "the word of God". Michael Robinson notes that Logos originally worked for the Yevonites, so it fits.
Lulu: This is a name meaning "famous warrior maiden". Also, according to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 'lulu' was an early 20th century term used to described a woman with unique talents or ability. Or: Lulu's looks and names may have been inspired by silent film star Louise Brooks.
Seymour: maybe: "I dunno what Seymour in FFX actually connatates for, but I do know the origins for his different forms. They're all Latin.
1) Solus (the very first battle, I've seen it mentioned in places) - means alone, ignored, which fits considering his circumstances.
2) Natus - this links to the idea of birth (nativity, naitre is French for to be born) which is ironic considering he just died, and this transformation could be considered as a rebirth.
3) Flux - this means change, but also links to flowing, leaking of water (the water theme of Seymour perhaps?).
4) Omnis - means "everyone, everything, the Universe" e.g Omni in English. Relevant considering at this point he plans on becoming Sin and killing/becoming one with everything.
As for his hench monster, MortiBody and Mortiorchis, these are Latin and English (Mortis/mor meaning Death, corpse) for Dead Body and Dead Plant (loosely, Orchis means orchid, esp. of fleshy stem and having spike, which kinda fits considering the look of the thing)."
Zephyr adds: "The japanese name for Seymour's Mortiorchis translated closer to Mortivessel. Quite fitting since if you look you can see Seymour Natus inside Mortivessel."
Seraph adds: "Seymour can mean "seaman" which is kinda basic but links to the water theme, but it's the religious background that is more relevant. The name Seymour is derived from several variations of a saint's name called Saint Maritius/Maurus, etc, which fits due to the fact he is a Maester of their religion. However, the French equivalent is Saint Mortez, which is even more relevant as Mort is French/Latin for death, also fitting Seymour's intentions."
Sin: I want to note first that I don't think there's any big reference behind his name other than its immediate meaning of little-s "sin". But I've gotten enough letters about it to at least post the idea that I don't agree with. Or:"Sin (Babylonian/Akkadian/Sabaean) The moon god is the husband of Shamash to the old Persians. He is symbolized by the lying sickle of the quarter moon & is equal in essence with the Sumerian Nanna. His worship centres were at Assur and Harran (Syria). Might be the god which was worked over into Allah by Muhammad."
Tidus: "Tidus" (which is pronounced Tii-da in the Japanese version, not Tee-dus or Tide-us) is from the Ryukyu (Okinawan) dialect of Japanese, and means "sun". It comes from the honorific once used to refer to an Okinawan king: Tidanukwa, or Tedako in Japanese, which means, "child of the sun".
I do NOT think that his name comes from the word "Tide", tying him in to Squall and Cloud. The words are pronounced completely differently.
Vidina: ex_soldier_ff7 informs us that Vidina, when ciphered into Al Bhed, means 'future'.
Wakka: somebody says it means "water" in the Ainu language, spoken on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Yu Yevon: that "yu" is Korean for "the spirit of the dead or afterlife; secret, obscure, or secluded" (means the same as the Japanese word "yuu"). Ryoko Habuki says it comes from the word "possession". A neat little tibit from assamite316:
In Japanese, as we all know, Yevon was "Ebon". This has nothing to do with Ebony, but is in fact based on the Hebrew Name of G-d, the Tetragrammaton. In English, this is known to be "Jehovah" or "Yahweh". An approximate (we never know) transcription of the Hebrew Name would be "Yehovah". In Japanese, it is "Ehoba". If we were to restore the proper consanants in place, we get: Ehoba = Yehova and Ebon = Yevon
Yuna: "Yuna" (Yuu-na) is also from the Ryukyu dialect, and means "night," and also refers to the hibiscus flower, which is called "yuna" because of the fact that it is more open at night than during the day. Tara Mars mentions that this flower also decorates Yuna's outfit and jewelry.
Yunalesca: the "lesca" may come from the name Leska, which means "defender of mankind" in Greek.
Zaon: From Moogle Fan: Zaon is an ancient name for the sun in Sanskrit. The relationship between Zaon (sun) and Yunalesca (moon) parallels that between Tidus (sun) and Yuna (moon).
A more generic one (and oddly the one that seems most fitting) comes from silentshadow: The name "Auron" sounds very similar to "aura" and "aurora", both words with Latin roots related to dawning and light, and with a sort of ghostly, ethereal sense to them. Makes sense when you consider the fact that he's an Unsent, a ghostly being made of light and pyreflies. (The pyreflies kinda look like 'aurora borealis'--the northern lights...)
Belgemine: "In Japanese, can translate to 'mountain peak' ('berugu' meaning mountain, and 'mine' meaning peak or ridge). As for the possible symbolism of it, this is kind of a reach, but...mountains are viewed as a connection between the two worlds (of Heaven and Earth), and Belgemine is caught between two worlds, being that she's...well, you know if you played the game."
Calli: her Japanese name is Hikari which means "light".
Gandof: The summoner who long ago defeated Sin and built the towers in Thunder Plains and solved the Cactuar stone mystery. According to weapon_X_33 Gandof is likely a nod to Gandalf in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Kimahri: Another tough one... the closest one I got here is from Yuna Lesca who says: "Kimahri comes from the 66th spirit of the Goetia with different names like Cimeies, Cimejes and Kimaris. This spirit can also discover lost/hidden things and treasures."
Maybe: "Final Fantasy X's Kimahri is spelt as Kimari, when translated from katakana to romanized Japanese. Kimari means 'settlement', 'conclusion', 'regulation', 'rule', and 'custom' in Japanese."
Leblanc: This is French for "the white".
Logos: There are several different meanings attributed to this. Pre-Socratic philosophy holds that "logos" is the principle governing the cosmos, the source of this principle, and human reasoning about this principle. Also means "the word of God". Michael Robinson notes that Logos originally worked for the Yevonites, so it fits.
Lulu: This is a name meaning "famous warrior maiden". Also, according to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 'lulu' was an early 20th century term used to described a woman with unique talents or ability. Or: Lulu's looks and names may have been inspired by silent film star Louise Brooks.
Seymour: maybe: "I dunno what Seymour in FFX actually connatates for, but I do know the origins for his different forms. They're all Latin.
1) Solus (the very first battle, I've seen it mentioned in places) - means alone, ignored, which fits considering his circumstances.
2) Natus - this links to the idea of birth (nativity, naitre is French for to be born) which is ironic considering he just died, and this transformation could be considered as a rebirth.
3) Flux - this means change, but also links to flowing, leaking of water (the water theme of Seymour perhaps?).
4) Omnis - means "everyone, everything, the Universe" e.g Omni in English. Relevant considering at this point he plans on becoming Sin and killing/becoming one with everything.
As for his hench monster, MortiBody and Mortiorchis, these are Latin and English (Mortis/mor meaning Death, corpse) for Dead Body and Dead Plant (loosely, Orchis means orchid, esp. of fleshy stem and having spike, which kinda fits considering the look of the thing)."
Zephyr adds: "The japanese name for Seymour's Mortiorchis translated closer to Mortivessel. Quite fitting since if you look you can see Seymour Natus inside Mortivessel."
Seraph adds: "Seymour can mean "seaman" which is kinda basic but links to the water theme, but it's the religious background that is more relevant. The name Seymour is derived from several variations of a saint's name called Saint Maritius/Maurus, etc, which fits due to the fact he is a Maester of their religion. However, the French equivalent is Saint Mortez, which is even more relevant as Mort is French/Latin for death, also fitting Seymour's intentions."
Sin: I want to note first that I don't think there's any big reference behind his name other than its immediate meaning of little-s "sin". But I've gotten enough letters about it to at least post the idea that I don't agree with. Or:"Sin (Babylonian/Akkadian/Sabaean) The moon god is the husband of Shamash to the old Persians. He is symbolized by the lying sickle of the quarter moon & is equal in essence with the Sumerian Nanna. His worship centres were at Assur and Harran (Syria). Might be the god which was worked over into Allah by Muhammad."
Tidus: "Tidus" (which is pronounced Tii-da in the Japanese version, not Tee-dus or Tide-us) is from the Ryukyu (Okinawan) dialect of Japanese, and means "sun". It comes from the honorific once used to refer to an Okinawan king: Tidanukwa, or Tedako in Japanese, which means, "child of the sun".
I do NOT think that his name comes from the word "Tide", tying him in to Squall and Cloud. The words are pronounced completely differently.
Vidina: ex_soldier_ff7 informs us that Vidina, when ciphered into Al Bhed, means 'future'.
Wakka: somebody says it means "water" in the Ainu language, spoken on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Yu Yevon: that "yu" is Korean for "the spirit of the dead or afterlife; secret, obscure, or secluded" (means the same as the Japanese word "yuu"). Ryoko Habuki says it comes from the word "possession". A neat little tibit from assamite316:
In Japanese, as we all know, Yevon was "Ebon". This has nothing to do with Ebony, but is in fact based on the Hebrew Name of G-d, the Tetragrammaton. In English, this is known to be "Jehovah" or "Yahweh". An approximate (we never know) transcription of the Hebrew Name would be "Yehovah". In Japanese, it is "Ehoba". If we were to restore the proper consanants in place, we get: Ehoba = Yehova and Ebon = Yevon
Yuna: "Yuna" (Yuu-na) is also from the Ryukyu dialect, and means "night," and also refers to the hibiscus flower, which is called "yuna" because of the fact that it is more open at night than during the day. Tara Mars mentions that this flower also decorates Yuna's outfit and jewelry.
Yunalesca: the "lesca" may come from the name Leska, which means "defender of mankind" in Greek.
Zaon: From Moogle Fan: Zaon is an ancient name for the sun in Sanskrit. The relationship between Zaon (sun) and Yunalesca (moon) parallels that between Tidus (sun) and Yuna (moon).
