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Names to Run Away From Really Fast/Foreign Language Names: Difference between revisions

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Names to Run Away From Really Fast/Foreign Language Names (view source)

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== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'''s Katou's seldom mentioned first name is Yue, given by his father, because he was not his child, but the result of his mother's betrayal. It didn't finish him off after birth, but in the course of the series he gets killed - or most often kills himself - four times total.
* Yue from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' counts as well, since as the Judge he had the power to strip away the memories and emotions of everyone Sakura knew and loved. Sakura certainly seemed intimidated by him, though that may also have been due to his appearance and [[The Stoic|emotionless facade]].
** Yue's name in CCS is actually meant to be Chinese and carries the meaning of 'moon', not the above mentioned meanings. Could still be sort of playing with this meaning, though.
* Yue Ayase from [[Mahou Sensei Negima]] averts the majority of this trope, despite all signs that she might.
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== Film ==
* [[Conrad Veidt]]'s role as the evil grand vizier, later caliph in ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (Film)|The Thief of Bagdad]]''.
 
== [[Video Games]] ==
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Jafar seems to be the perfect name for an Arabic [[Evil Chancellor]], as demonstrated in ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' and ''[[Prince of Persia]]''.
 
== [[Real Life]] ==
* The original Jafar, the one they were all named after, was Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, who was of all things a pious warrior and a cousin/companion of the Prophet Muhammad. Yep.
* Ja'far ibn Abi Talib's great-umpty-great nephew, Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, was the Sixth Imam of Shi'a Islam (being a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Prophet's daughter Fatima) and one of the founders of Islamic jurisprudence. As indicated by his ''laqab'' (nickname), he was noted for being upright, honest, trustworthy, and not in the least bit interested in actually ruling (despite claiming to be the legitimate leader of the Muslims).
* Ja'far ibn Yahya al-Barmaki, aka the [[Grand Vizier Jafar]], was a Persian nobleman and the Grand Vizier (i.e. Prime Minister) of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid. He was executed under suspicion of having an affair with the Caliph's sister Abbasa. He appears in the ''[[Arabian Nights (Literature)|Arabian Nights]]'' as a sort of detective (in a tale often cited as the [[Ur Example]] of the [[Detective Story]]), but his patronage of learning--specifically the revival of Greek and Persian science and the encouragement of the paper industry, recently arrived from China--may have led to a reputation as a sorcerer: hence the villainous connotations.
** It wasn't exactly "having an ''affair'' with Abbasa." Harun al-Rashid basically told Ja'far and Abbasa to get married but not to sleep together. He then flipped out when they disobeyed him. Honestly, ''he's'' the one who should have gotten the [[Historical Villain Upgrade]].
 
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* Signum from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's]]'' can summon the Panzergeist (Armored Ghost).
** This is more commonly translated as "Tank Spirit", which is more accurate given the effect that it has.
* In the new .hack manga and video game series, [http[wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.hack//Link |''.hack//Link'']], one of the [[Big Bad]]'s minions is thus named. It's interesting to note that within [[Nebulous Evil Organisation|Schicksal]] all members other members are named after musical instruments in German, making Geist the [[Odd Name Out]]. {{spoiler|This later proves to be a quite [[Meaningful Name]] when it's revealed that Geist is actually Saika's brother in the real world, as well as the person who sent a virus replica of Aura named Death Queen Aura into ''The World R:X.''}}
 
== [[Film]] ==
* The remake of ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Film)|The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]'' gives this as Francis' surname.
 
== [[Literature]] ==
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* [[Geist: The Sin Eaters (Tabletop Game)|Geist: The Sin Eaters]], of course.
 
== [[Video Games]] ==
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== [[Real Life]] ==
* The ''[http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_station:Ghost station#Ghost_stations_in_BerlinGhost stations in Berlin|Geisterbahnhöfe]]'' in the days of the [[Berlin Wall]] were ''quite'' creepy.
** Duh. German uses ''Geist-'' in the same way as English. ''Geisterstadt'' is 'ghost town'.
 
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* The Malfoy family from ''[[Harry Potter]]''. This one is actually only indirectly derived from Latin; thanks to Rowling's obsession with French/Old French wordplay, the name is rough Old French for "bad faith" (modern French would have something else).
* ''[[Ivanhoe]]'' has a lot of these. The [[The Knights Templar|Templar]] Preceptor Albert de Malvoisin ("bad neighbor"), for one.
* Maladict{{spoiler|a}}, [[Must Have Caffeine|coffee-addicted]] [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampire]] {{spoiler|and [[Sweet Polly Oliver]]}} from ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]''.
* Matron Malice from the ''Dark Elf Trilogy''.
* ''[[The Demonata]]'' - Malice.
* Maleagant, a villain from [[King Arthur|Arthurian legend]], introduced by [[ChretienChrétien Dede Troyes (Creator)|Chretien De Troyes]].
* Gualterio Malatesta, an assassin and villain from the ''[[Alatriste|Captain Alatriste]]'' series.
 
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* Bishop Malveaux from ''[[Zork Nemesis (Video Game)|Zork: Nemesis]]''.
* Special mention to Dr. Malcolm Betruger, the villainous [[Mad Scientist]] responsible for the demon invasion in ''[[Doom]] 3''. Not just "mal" in the name but [[Bilingual Bonus]] as "Betrüger" is German for "deceiver" or "swindler," not to mention sounding a lot like "betrayer," which he does to you early on.
** And then in ''Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil'', {{spoiler|Betruger is turned into a new and powerful demon known as the Maledict}}.
* Malus from ''[[Castlevania|Castlevania 64]]''.
* Malus, the {{spoiler|final}} colossus in ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]''. The other colossi have much more harmless-sounding Latin titles.
* There's also Dreadlord Mal'Ganis from the ''[[War CraftWarcraft]]'' universe.
** There are a few more, like Malas, Malakk etc. However, the trope is also often subverted, most notably with Malfurion Stormrage, who is one of the good guys.
* Malin Keshar from ''[[Battle for Wesnoth]]''. And the necromancers / liches from the Mal- line.
* And there's Malpercio from the ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' series. Origins reveals {{spoiler|it is a subversion, "Malpercio" is just the name of a random hill}}.
* [[Knights of the Old Republic|Darth Malak]].
* [[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks|Malladus]]. Hoo boy.
* Malicia, the [[Wicked Witch]] from ''[[King's Quest VII]]''.
* [[Runescape|Mother Mallum]], the ancient, evil Slug Queen that gets {{spoiler|[[Memetic Mutation|squashed by a pillar!]] }}
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* ''[[El Tigre]]'' features a gigantic monster named El Mal Verde (The Green Evil).
* The DCAU Superman series had Superman free a trapped Phantom Zone Kryptonian named Mala. Any Spanish speaking viewer knew immediately where the episode was going.
* The witch Maleficent, the villain of ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'' from 1959. As one of the most (maybe the most) distinguished Disney villains, she also appeared in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' video game series.
 
=== Tod / tot ===
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== [[Film]] ==
* Major Arnold Toht, the Nazi [[Torture Technician]] in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark (Film)|Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''.
* Dr. Totenkopf (= Death's Head) in ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]''.
 
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* Skeith from ''[[.hack]]''. It means "shadow". And for added Run Away Now points, it carries the [[Boss Subtitles|Boss Subtitle]] "The Terror of Death".
* In ''Adventures of Rad Gravity'', Kakos' name vaguely hints at him being the true [[Big Bad]]. The [[Final Dungeon|final planet]] is named Telos, the Greek word for "end".
* The bosses Sonnenblume (German for sunflower), Loewenzahn (dandelion), and Alraune (mandrake, a hallucinogenic nightshade) in ''[[PN P.N.03]]''.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Kamikaze Kate from ''[[Misfile]]'', evoking images of the Kamikaze suicide pilots from [[World War Two]] and also has the hard "K" sound for bonus scariness.
** It also refers to a [http://www.amazon.com/Hasegawa-Nakajima-Carrier-Attack-Bomber/dp/B001I8V5A2 specific type of Japanese attack bomber], codenamed "Kate" by the Allies, that would be the type to commit kamikaze runs.
* Veled from ''[[Last Res 0 rtRes0rt]]''. It's Arameic for "Rose", which isn't terrifying in itself, [[Chaotic Evil|but she sure is thorny.]]
 
== [[Web Original]] ==
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