Meaningful Name/Fan Works

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Original characters in fan works are not unknown for having names that describe their place in the story.


  • Oracle Lunara from Of Darkness and Light (a D.N.Angel fanfic) can be considered somewhat insane: she speaks backwards when giving predictions, has a really weird sense of humor, etc. Oh, and she loves the moon.
  • In Kyon: Big Damn Hero, via Gratuitous Japanese.
    • The surname Michikyuu is commonly written with two kanji. Among others meanings, the first kanji can be translated as journey or teachings and the second one as gift or grant. Like this, the word "Michikyuu" can be read as "the gift of journey" or "to grant teachings". She's a slider and her arrival enabled Kyon to learn martial arts at a ridiculous pace.
    • Kyon's own name as revealed at the beginning of some chapters is equally meaningful. Taira no Tadamichi (aka Usui Sadamitsu) is the real name of a samurai involved in a Japanese legend, who was from one of the four families that held the power behind the Japanese throne from the 9th to 12th centuries. The other three families were Fujiwara (the other time traveler), Tachibana (the other esper), and Minamoto (which was historically based in the same geographic region as Nishinomiya). As for the meanings of the names, Tadamichi can mean straightaway/honest/frank/fix/repair | person/alternative/direction and Kyousuke can mean great | law/rule/ceremony/code. Think how Kyon has affected Haruhi. It has also been discovered that Kyon is likely descended from Usui Sadamitsu and certainly owns what's left of their sword.
  • In Kira Is Justice, Justin's real name is Justice. He just happens to be the New Kira.
  • In The Ollivander Children, the Ollivander children were deliberately given significant middle names by their father - Clemence, Fortitude, and Blithe - to reflect his gratitude at their safe births. Appropriately, his son Linus Fortitude is The Stoic, but less so, Calliope Blithe, has a Sugar and Ice Personality through and through.
  • In Smash Generation, there is an original character named Shiroi Karasu, who is the only person in the entire Karasu clan with white hair and a white crow. In contrast to her name, she has a twin sister who follows tradition of having black hair and a black crow... named Kuroi.
  • In the Elemental Chess Trilogy, the Big Bad is called Acheron, which is the name of a river in Greece. In ancient Greek mythology, the Acheron was one of the five rivers of Hades and was known as "the river of pain." Also, in the third installment, meaningful names are given to Roy and Riza's twins; since in the series' Chess Motif Roy and Riza are the king and queen, their son is called Brendan, which means "prince," and their daughter is Riana, which means "little queen".
  • All of Mr.Evil's original characters have meaningful names, usually having some reference to their powers or abilities in a Bilingual Bonus.
  • Ace Swift from Turnabout Storm, a pegasus that has won every single athletic event he's ever compited in. Also fitting considering that both series involved in the crossover are crammed with characters with meaningful names.
  • Many are found in The Tainted Grimoire.
    • Cheney's middle name, Difronte, is Italian for opposite, since his two jobs virtually contrast the other in function and purpose. The actual Italian term for opposite is 'di fronte', but the two separate words was combined into one to create the name.
    • Kanin's middle name, Leporidae, comes from the Classification Family for Rabbits. She's a Feol Viera.
    • Crockett, his name is derived from the crook of a shepherd's cane. His ability to control and herd Baknamy are reminiscent to that of a shepherd controlling a flock of sheep.
    • Cama Leonte. Camaleonte is Italian for chameleon. His success at blending into the Archbishop guard reflects the animal's ability to blend into its surroundings.
  • Fusion Gundam in Final Stand of Death has the well-known nicknames of football clubs, colors included, from their original homes. In the beginning of the Celebrity Deathmatch Fic, Marilyn Manson had walked by the logos of each team.
    • Redd/( Melanie): Liverpool F.C.(The Reds)
    • Spur/(Emma): Tottenham Hotspur F.C.(Spurs, The Lilywhites)
    • Hornet/( Geri): Watford F.C. (The Hornets)
    • United/( Mel): Leeds United F.C. (The Whites, United, The Peacocks)
    • Hawk/( Victoria): Harlow Town F.C. (The Hawks)
  • They pop up occasionally in Drunkard's Walk. For instance, in Drunkard's Walk S: Heart of Steel, the trope is deliberately invoked when Usagi is briefly visited by Dawn Summers, who chooses to call herself "Reimei Midori" ("Green Dawn"). And the newspaper reporter who is following the Senshi is Jitsuha Yoshi ("devoted to telling the truth").