What's in a Name?

I thought it might be fun to look at the various characters in the games and answer the important question: “why are they named that?”

This is mostly for fun, but I think it might be a little interesting to tell you my rationale for these names, like where they came from, why I chose them, and why I feel they represent the character in question. Please note that this post will contain some spoilers for the game’s story if you care about that sort of thing.

Gray

Gray is one of the first characters you meet in the game. The name Gray is one I’ve used for tabletop and video game characters a few times over the years, and I don’t remember where I initially got it from.

To me, the name Gray represents neutrality, even-temperedness, and maybe even a bit of boringness. Gray starts off a bit standoffish toward the player character, and his personality is rather tame compared to many of the other characters in the game. He’s stable and neutral, like his namesake.

Carol

Okay, so, I never watched Tiger King. I never heard of Carole Baskin before it was pointed out to me that I gave a character the exact same name. I independently developed the name, and actually, Carol’s first name went through several revisions. I wanted Carol to have a more mundane name compared to the other characters to signify her as more of an “ordinary person.” Some of the other names I considered were Lisa and Jennifer. I actually almost went with Jennifer because I like the nickname “Jen” but I ultimately felt Jennifer was a bit too modern.

What really sealed the deal for the name Carol, though, was the way it sounded to me when paired with “Gray.” I can’t exactly explain why, but maybe you’ll agree; “Carol and Gray” sounded better to me than “Lisa and Gray” or “Jennifer and Gray.” So that’s what I went with. It really was that arbitrary in the end.

Roland

Roland is usually a sort of heroic kind of name, it’s sounds very “main character” I think, to a lot of people. I like it as a name overall, it’s a rare enough name that it doesn’t feel too mundane, but it also isn’t too fantastical.  Overall, I actually think the name has a “bounce” to it; a liveliness that makes it sound less like a badass main character to me and more like a ride or die best friend. And go figure, that’s basically Roland’s main job in the plot.

There’s honestly not much more to it than that. I like the name, and I think it fits the character!

Charlotte

To me, Charlotte is a pretty name that actually is a bit of a counterpoint to the character’s intensity. Charlotte is the leader of a group of bandits, but beyond that, she’s probably the strongest fighter in the game's plot. I think the rough-and-tumble lifestyle and the impressive combat ability almost run counter to her feminine and gentle-sounding name.

Like the name “Roland,” I also feel like Charlotte sounds exotic, but not too exotic. It’s an uncommon name, but not a fantastical one, and that makes it match Roland’s well, which is important since they’re siblings.

Priscilla

To me, the name Priscilla is dainty and almost fragile sounding, but because of Dark Souls also seems like an appropriate name for a character hiding a lot of power. Priscilla, like her namesake Crossbreed Priscilla from the first Dark Souls, is a soft-spoken and gentle character who nonetheless is able to wield a great deal of power when needed.

Rais

Rais actually is a real name/word. It means something to the effect of “leader” in Arabic. The pronunciation is like "ruh-ees" or "raw-ees," with the second syllable rhyming with "geese."

I think this name fits well, both in terms of the character’s role and as a more exotic, but still earthly, name.

Tamar

Tamar is a Hebrew name, and means “date” (as in the fruit). There are a few characters named Tamar in the Bible/Torah, and one Tamar in particular may remind you vaguely of the character if you read it. The more modern name “Tamara” is a variation of this name.

Rachel

As befitting a pair of sisters, Rachel is another Hebrew name that appears a few times in the Bible/Torah. Unlike Tamar’s name, Rachel doesn’t really share any parallels with her biblical counterparts, instead I just like the intensity of the name Rachel. It’s got some of the same letters as “Tamar” but where the name Tamar is gentle and the vowel sounds are soft, the name Rachel has more harsh and abrupt vowel sounds.

The name Rachel means “ewe” (as in a female sheep). There are multiple ways to interpret what this might mean, both with positive connotations and negative ones, but I’ll leave that interpretive work up to you.