Before I get to Mark Rosa's main section, I found a very interesting FF7 name section by Moritz Sommet, on his FF7 Revelation site. Most of it takes the FF7 names and works them into religious contexts; definitely worth a look. There's a little bit of repetition/overlap in the two documents. ^^; I'll let you know when we return to the main Name Origins page.

Main Characters:

Cloud Strife
Both "cloud" and "strife" are English words.

-Cloud’s Christian name alludes to his mysterious, unclear past and his unpredictable development in the future: his memory is ‘clouded’, he has his ‘head in the clouds’ and no one knows what his next move will be. In nature, clouds do not move by themselves but are driven by the wind. Likewise, Cloud’s development is influenced by others rather than by his own decision. At first, Sephiroth/Jenova is controlling him; later, it is Tifa who has to show him his true nature.
-"Strife" illustrates Cloud’s