The thread still endures! and in enduring grows strong... or something like that.
SPOILER WARNING! THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS GOING ON!
FINAL CONCLUSIONS!!!
So I know it seems I am beating a dead horse here, but the confusion still continues about most of these names and most likely has even increased so I will do my best to clear a few up. In no way am I disregarding any previous contributions or ideas, I am grateful for all of those and am only trying to clear up some of the confusion, using actual in game dialogue examples to support ideas as much as possible.
Anomen - Variant spelling of "Sine Nomine" Latin for "without name". Two very good reasons confirm this common idea. First: In the game Anomen's father demands that Anomen get revenge for the murder of his sister. If Anomen refuses, his father says he is no longer his son and is nothing but a "nameless dog". Second: Vaughan-Williams' famous hymn tune to "For All the Saints" bears the name "Sine nomine". Here is the lines for that Hymn for the sake of showing how fitting this particular Hymn is for Anomen's persona.
1. For all the saints, who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest— Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia! 2. Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight; Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light— 3. Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old, And win with them the victor’s crown of gold— 4. And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long, Steals on the ear the distant triumph song, And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong— 5. From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—
Valygar - Condensed form of " Veil I Guard". One very good reason for this. In the game Valygar will have a banter with the PC after some time of traveling together. It is about how terrible magic is and also about his ancestor who was a necromancer. He goes on to say that this is why he guards against those that tamper with the veil that separates life from death.
Viconia - Anagram of "Novicia" the Latin word for novice meaning "a person new to or inexperienced in a field or situation." Here is a list of things that make Viconia a novice. -New Goddess (Shar instead of Lloth) -New world (Surface world instead of Underdark) -New ideas (Love and Honesty does not make you weak, if you romance her properly)
Imoen - Anagram of "Noemi" the Spanish name meaning "Pleasantness". Many examples of this pleasantness in the games but I think Valygar said it best "For someone who supposedly has her soul tainted by the evil of a dead god, you remind me considerably of a chipmunk with a sugar high and a death wish."
Korgan - Variant of the surname "Coogan" meaning "Hound of War". Korgan is a battlerager, interesting enough rage comes from the Latin word rabiēs (madness).
Jan Jansen - Variant of "Yon Yonson" which is an infinitely recursive poem, nursery rhyme or song, perhaps best known from the novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, although Vonnegut did not create it. Jan often bursts into very mundane stories about himself that never seem to end.
Numerous versions of the song exist, but all are similar to the following:
My name is Yon Yonson, I come from Wisconsin. I work in a lumber yard there. Everyone that I meet When I walk down the street, Says "Hello! What's your name?" And I say: My name is Yon Yonson... (repeated again and again).
Edwin Odesseiron - Edwin is likely named after the astronaut Edwin Aldrin (1930-), also known as Buzz, the second man to walk on the moon. Edwin is ambitious and constantly trying to find ways of increasing his power (Nether scroll) in ways that would make him the most powerful Mage of all time, this is akin to walking on the moon which is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. As for Odesseiron's meaning I agree with @Yannir, who says that the name Odesseiron was inspired by Homen Odesseiron who predates the BG-series. Currently, Homen Odesseiron is the tharchion of Surthay (a region in Thay). Whether he is Edwin's relative or Edwin himself in disguise is up to debate, but I think it more likely that Homen is being hinted at as his relative. Homen is one of the most powerful Mages of Thay and so Edwin's amulet (most powerful spellcaster amulet in the game) would finally be explained by his link to Homen.
Cernd - Shortened version of "Concerned". Cernd starts off by literally saying he is concerned about the troubles that Trademeet is having with animal attacks. Investigating concerns that the druids are having is his job. Funny thing is when he confronts the Shadow Druid Faldorn she states that she is not concerned with Cernd.
Minsc and Boo - Minsc is named after the Capital and largest city of Belarus "Minsk".The Rashemen are culturally similar to the Rus who eventually developed into Russia and the surrounding areas such as Belarus. Boo is named after a small locality situated in Sweden.
Jaheira - The combining of “Jehovah-Jireh” which is one of the many different names of God found in the Old Testament. “Jehovah-Jireh” (or YHWH-Yireh) means "The LORD Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14). It is the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. Jaheira is Nature's servant: Nature being Jehova to her, so her name could be considered to mean "Nature Will Provide". One example of her faith is Jaheira's battle cry "Nature, take the life she gave!"
Mazzy - Australian slang for "Amazing". Mazzy is everything a Halfling just should not seem to be. No lurking in the shadows for her, she is a skilled fighter and brave and noble as they come. Many of the other NPC's also seem to find her pretty amazing as well.
Few examples:
- Edwin tells Mazzy that for a short person she is rather attractive. He slyly points out that there is "extra room in his bedrolls".
- Mazzy talks to Aerie about the widespread corruption and how to remain true. Aerie seemed a little in awe of Mazzy.
- Minsc will, at several times, express his admiration for Mazzy's warrior spirit and noble heart.
Nalia - Shortened version of the Late Latin name "Natalia" meaning "Christmas Day". She is constantly trying to help the "common folk" being generous with her wealth when she can, much as Christmas is celebrated with gifts and generosity. Quote from one example, [after the Protagonist gives a beggar gold] That was a nice thing to do. Although I'm sure you could spare a lot more...what are you saving up for? A golden sword?
Haer'Dalis - Variant spelling of the words "Heir" meaning successor/inheritor also an archaic word for offspring and "De Lis" referring to the "Fleur de lis" which is a symbol representing French royalty. Haer'Dalis is a tiefling, which are human-based planetouched, native outsiders that are infused with the touch of the fiendish planes, most often through descent from fiends — demons, devils, evil deities, and others who have bred with humans. It's interesting that one of the French royalty was Napoleon Bonaparte who made himself Emperor and was known by some as "a megalomaniac who wrought greater misery than any man before the coming of Hitler." So you could say his name means "Offspring of Fiendish Royalty".
Aerie - Slight variant of the Latin root form "Aeri-" which has the meaning "of the air". Aerie is an Avariel, a race of winged elves.
Keldorn - Combination of the Irish name "Kel" which means Church and "Dorn" meaning Thorn in Middle High German. Keldorn then means "Church Thorn" or " Thorn of the Church".
Yoshimo - You can't really say what a Japanese name means if you don't know which kanji it's written with. Many Japanese names that are pronounced exactly the same could have very different meanings. But one example of Yoshimo could be 善最, where the first kanji means virtuous or good (as in opposite of evil), and the second one means utmost or extreme. So put together the name means "the most virtuous". Despite being geased to be a spy on you, Yoshimo is actually a really good guy and get's along well with everyone and gives helpful advice often. The exception is Haer'Dalis who can tell Yoshimo is hiding something. The name Yoshino is a fairly common name in Japan, the most common meanings (Kanji used change it) is "lucky or (good) field", and "Respectful, Good". This is not very different than "most virtuous". Yoshino I understand is a girl name though, which is probably why they altered the spelling.
I will edit this post further if my conclusions change.
Considering Edwin, I must share a bit of trivia. His last name, Odesseiron, predates the BG-series. Currently, Homen Odesseiron is the tharchion of Surthay (a region in Thay), which I presume to be somehow related to Edwin or maybe it's Edwin himself in some kind of disguise. Magic can prolong a wizards lifespan.
He was one the three consuls and then crowned himself emperor in 1804 but he has no link with the french royalty (He is his own "dynasty"). After his fall there is again a french king, this is the Bourbon restoration. By the way Napoleon's coat of arms is an eagle.
@Musigny Yes his coat of arms has an eagle. His coat of arms also has Bees, he even had the nickname "The Bee" since he loved the symbol so much. Regarding his link to the Fleur De lis here is a quote from a historian. "When Napoleon moved into the Royal Palace at Tuileries he refused to spend money on new decor. However, he could not allow the drapery - with its embroidered fleur-de-lis (the French Royal emblem) - to continue to hang in the windows of the palace. His solution was to have the rich and elegant drapes turned upside down. The inverted symbol of the overthrown monarchy looked like a bee. From then on, the tenacious bee became the emblem of Napoleon Bonaparte. " The bee was also an ancient symbol of France that may have also influenced it as his choice. Either way inverted fleur-de-lis were well known as his thing.
I am afraid that makes your theory even more fragile. Bonaparte is a child of the revolution and certainly not of french royal blood.
Btw the bee is not an ancient symbol of France itself. It is often used as a symbol of labor/prosperity/wealth. I think you are referring to a kind of symbol used in Thuringia long long ago.
Also, we already established that Viconia is made from Vic- (Abyss, deep, profound) and -onia (Rod, staff, token, wand).
There's also a Yoshimo Beach somewhere in Japan.
A few of the theories about make some sense (Jan, Aerie, Nalia) the others are borderline fantasy, than anything realistic.
Imoen seems to come from Imogen. If we go with your theories, Imoen might very well come from "I moan" because she moans when she gets hit. This is how some of these look like.
This was not "all" to build a theory. The name meaning "offspring of royal blood" alone is fine and not far fetched in my opinion. Since "royal" is really just another way of saying "different than others" when you think about it.
As for Napoleon not being of French Royal blood. Emperors are generally recognized to be of a higher honour and rank than kings. By 1811, Napoleon ruled over 70 million people across an empire that had near-total domination in Europe, which had not witnessed this level of political consolidation since the days of the Roman Empire. At Milan Cathedral on 26 May 1805, Napoleon was crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. So he was twice the King of any of the french royal bloodline. His bloodline is legitimately considered Royalty of it's own kind, and since he is French that would make it French royalty. This isn't theory at all. If anything this makes Napoleon more of a King than other King in French history.
The Bee (although it does not make a difference to any of this) is an ancient symbol of France. Here is a Quote by a Historian. By choosing the bee as the emblem of his reign, Napoleon was paying homage to Childeric (436–481), one of the ‘long-haired’ Merovingian kings of the region known as Gaul. When Childeric’s tomb was uncovered in 1653 it was found to contain 300 golden jewels, styled in the image of a bee, and these are the same bees that Napoleon had affixed to his coronation robe.
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age that was inhabited by Celtic tribes, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine.
Those theories are no more established than any other. Not sure what would make you think this. Only way to establish a theory is if the actual game developer who decided on the name confirmed it. I posted "my conclusion" on what I determined were most likely. "My conclusion" is not "the conclusion". Also anagrams are common in the game, you even run into Elminster with a name in BG2 that is just an anagram of Elminster. So thinking a few of the character names are possible anagrams holds weight.
As for Yoshimo, that beach you mentioned is also often spelled Yoshino in english. Yoshino is fairly common name in Japan, the most common meanings (Kanji used change it) is "lucky or (good) field", and "Respectful, Good". Yoshino I understand is a girl name though, which is probably why they altered the spelling.
I'm sorry if this has already been pointed out, I didn't have the patience to read this whole thread but... I thing that Aerie as a different form of spelling "Eyrie (large nest for eagles)" and the name's connection to the wind actually makes sense... I mean Aerie used to be an winged elf, right?
@Demonic Yes it has been mentioned many times. Eyrie is actually an english derivative of the latin citation form ἀέριος which in the English alphabet is aerios. Its root form is "aeri-" both of which have the meaning "of the air".
@Naten Well I saw the logic behind the name's meaning in this thread before, but I saw someone writting it doesn't make sense for him... I just wanted to point out that Aerie is technically an Avariel, a winged elf, her loosing her wings can't change that. So the name in fact makes sense
I think Balthazar's name means he's the Czar of Bhaal.
Balthazar is a name commonly attributed to one of the Biblical Magi (Three Wise Men), members of the Zoroastrian religion who come to see the baby Jesus in the Bible. The name Balthazar may come from the name "Belshazzar" which means "Bel, protect the king". Bel being the name of the Babylonian God who's name likely inspired the name Bhaal.
Considering Edwin, I must share a bit of trivia. His last name, Odesseiron, predates the BG-series. Currently, Homen Odesseiron is the tharchion of Surthay (a region in Thay), which I presume to be somehow related to Edwin or maybe it's Edwin himself in some kind of disguise. Magic can prolong a wizards lifespan.
Very interesting, and very likely to be the source of Edwin's last name I think. Mystery solved. This explain's alot about Edwin, such as how he got such a powerful amulet (most powerful spellcaster amulet in the game).
I edited my "Final Conclusions" post to reflect this. Thank you Yannir.
(While not confirmed, it mentions Grey and Gold Elves and ADnD's Complete Book of Elves.)
Baaloth also is possibly from the name Baalath which was a town of the tribe of Dan which was fortified by Solomon. It means in Hebrew " a rejoicing, our proud lord"
Bealoth is also a possibility and it is a Bible name meaning in Hebrew "citizen" or "cast under".
Bel being the name of the Babylonian God who's name likely inspired the name Bhaal.
Bhaal is actually just an alternate spelling form for Bel. It was translated as Bhaal by the romans, atleast. Many names in FR, especially of the gods, are directly taken from our history. Compare Untherian pantheon to the Egyptian pantheon. They are the same.
I think the thread is interesting, but there are masses of subtle cultural influences at play here as well.
Aerie might come from "related to the air" but any English speaking person would get the link to the phrase "Airy Fairy".
Eustace, Edmond, Edward, Edgar, tend to be seen as people who are pompous, stuffy, old fashioned and up themselves. Makes sense to have that sort of name for Edwin, he is an Edwin.
Kevin in English is seen as the most boring name in the world, so in BG you end up with Kivan. Now we all love Kivan, but lets face it, he is never going to be described as the life of the party.
"Fancy going for a drink Kivan?" "Oh how I ache for my lost Deheriwhatsit" "So that's a no then?"
Just a comment I would like to add. As an Arab, Jaheira to me means "vocal" or "loud voiced" in Arabic, but that's not really a common Arabic name, actually, I don't know of any Arab named like that. Have this page that explains the word "Jahiir", the masculine variant of Jahiira: http://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-en/جهير/
You know, guys, other than the pop culture references, I'd bet that 99% of the names were picked because they sounded cool and/or appropriate for a Faerun inhabitant.
Comments
Pai=Pie
Na=Nah
Am I a pie? Nah. I'm a spider!
Baelnorn are the good elven liches, guarding ancient elven lore. (Baelnorn means Undead House Guardian)
It turns out, Baeloth means Gate Guardian. (Bael = Guardian, -oth = Gate)
http://www.angelfire.com/rpg2/vortexshadow/names.html
(While not confirmed, it mentions Grey and Gold Elves and ADnD's Complete Book of Elves.)
SPOILER WARNING! THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS GOING ON!
FINAL CONCLUSIONS!!!
So I know it seems I am beating a dead horse here, but the confusion still continues about most of these names and most likely has even increased so I will do my best to clear a few up. In no way am I disregarding any previous contributions or ideas, I am grateful for all of those and am only trying to clear up some of the confusion, using actual in game dialogue examples to support ideas as much as possible.
Anomen - Variant spelling of "Sine Nomine" Latin for "without name". Two very good reasons confirm this common idea. First: In the game Anomen's father demands that Anomen get revenge for the murder of his sister. If Anomen refuses, his father says he is no longer his son and is nothing but a "nameless dog".
Second: Vaughan-Williams' famous hymn tune to "For All the Saints" bears the name "Sine nomine".
Here is the lines for that Hymn for the sake of showing how fitting this particular Hymn is for Anomen's persona.
1. For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest—
Refrain:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
2. Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light—
3. Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold—
4. And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong—
5. From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—
Valygar - Condensed form of " Veil I Guard". One very good reason for this. In the game Valygar will have a banter with the PC after some time of traveling together. It is about how terrible magic is and also about his ancestor who was a necromancer. He goes on to say that this is why he guards against those that tamper with the veil that separates life from death.
Viconia - Anagram of "Novicia" the Latin word for novice meaning "a person new to or inexperienced in a field or situation." Here is a list of things that make Viconia a novice.
-New Goddess (Shar instead of Lloth)
-New world (Surface world instead of Underdark)
-New ideas (Love and Honesty does not make you weak, if you romance her properly)
Imoen - Anagram of "Noemi" the Spanish name meaning "Pleasantness". Many examples of this pleasantness in the games but I think Valygar said it best "For someone who supposedly has her soul tainted by the evil of a dead god, you remind me considerably of a chipmunk with a sugar high and a death wish."
Korgan - Variant of the surname "Coogan" meaning "Hound of War". Korgan is a battlerager, interesting enough rage comes from the Latin word rabiēs (madness).
Jan Jansen - Variant of "Yon Yonson" which is an infinitely recursive poem, nursery rhyme or song, perhaps best known from the novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, although Vonnegut did not create it.
Jan often bursts into very mundane stories about himself that never seem to end.
Numerous versions of the song exist, but all are similar to the following:
My name is Yon Yonson,
I come from Wisconsin.
I work in a lumber yard there.
Everyone that I meet
When I walk down the street,
Says "Hello! What's your name?"
And I say: My name is Yon Yonson... (repeated again and again).
Edwin Odesseiron - Edwin is likely named after the astronaut Edwin Aldrin (1930-), also known as Buzz, the second man to walk on the moon. Edwin is ambitious and constantly trying to find ways of increasing his power (Nether scroll) in ways that would make him the most powerful Mage of all time, this is akin to walking on the moon which is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. As for Odesseiron's meaning I agree with @Yannir, who says that the name Odesseiron was inspired by Homen Odesseiron who predates the BG-series. Currently, Homen Odesseiron is the tharchion of Surthay (a region in Thay). Whether he is Edwin's relative or Edwin himself in disguise is up to debate, but I think it more likely that Homen is being hinted at as his relative. Homen is one of the most powerful Mages of Thay and so Edwin's amulet (most powerful spellcaster amulet in the game) would finally be explained by his link to Homen.
Cernd - Shortened version of "Concerned". Cernd starts off by literally saying he is concerned about the troubles that Trademeet is having with animal attacks. Investigating concerns that the druids are having is his job. Funny thing is when he confronts the Shadow Druid Faldorn she states that she is not concerned with Cernd.
Minsc and Boo - Minsc is named after the Capital and largest city of Belarus "Minsk".The Rashemen are culturally similar to the Rus who eventually developed into Russia and the surrounding areas such as Belarus. Boo is named after a small locality situated in Sweden.
Jaheira - The combining of “Jehovah-Jireh” which is one of the many different names of God found in the Old Testament. “Jehovah-Jireh” (or YHWH-Yireh) means "The LORD Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14). It is the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. Jaheira is Nature's servant: Nature being Jehova to her, so her name could be considered to mean "Nature Will Provide". One example of her faith is Jaheira's battle cry "Nature, take the life she gave!"
Mazzy - Australian slang for "Amazing". Mazzy is everything a Halfling just should not seem to be. No lurking in the shadows for her, she is a skilled fighter and brave and noble as they come. Many of the other NPC's also seem to find her pretty amazing as well.
Few examples:
- Edwin tells Mazzy that for a short person she is rather attractive. He slyly points out that there is "extra room in his bedrolls".
- Mazzy talks to Aerie about the widespread corruption and how to remain true. Aerie seemed a little in awe of Mazzy.
- Minsc will, at several times, express his admiration for Mazzy's warrior spirit and noble heart.
Nalia - Shortened version of the Late Latin name "Natalia" meaning "Christmas Day". She is constantly trying to help the "common folk" being generous with her wealth when she can, much as Christmas is celebrated with gifts and generosity. Quote from one example, [after the Protagonist gives a beggar gold] That was a nice thing to do. Although I'm sure you could spare a lot more...what are you saving up for? A golden sword?
Haer'Dalis - Variant spelling of the words "Heir" meaning successor/inheritor also an archaic word for offspring and "De Lis" referring to the "Fleur de lis" which is a symbol representing French royalty. Haer'Dalis is a tiefling, which are human-based planetouched, native outsiders that are infused with the touch of the fiendish planes, most often through descent from fiends — demons, devils, evil deities, and others who have bred with humans. It's interesting that one of the French royalty was Napoleon Bonaparte who made himself Emperor and was known by some as "a megalomaniac who wrought greater misery than any man before the coming of Hitler." So you could say his name means "Offspring of Fiendish Royalty".
Aerie - Slight variant of the Latin root form "Aeri-" which has the meaning "of the air". Aerie is an Avariel, a race of winged elves.
Keldorn - Combination of the Irish name "Kel" which means Church and "Dorn" meaning Thorn in Middle High German. Keldorn then means "Church Thorn" or " Thorn of the Church".
Yoshimo - You can't really say what a Japanese name means if you don't know which kanji it's written with. Many Japanese names that are pronounced exactly the same could have very different meanings. But one example of Yoshimo could be 善最, where the first kanji means virtuous or good (as in opposite of evil), and the second one means utmost or extreme. So put together the name means "the most virtuous". Despite being geased to be a spy on you, Yoshimo is actually a really good guy and get's along well with everyone and gives helpful advice often. The exception is Haer'Dalis who can tell Yoshimo is hiding something. The name Yoshino is a fairly common name in Japan, the most common meanings (Kanji used change it) is "lucky or (good) field", and "Respectful, Good". This is not very different than "most virtuous". Yoshino I understand is a girl name though, which is probably why they altered the spelling.
I will edit this post further if my conclusions change.
Special Thanks For All Contributions--> @FrdNwsm @DJ_Sweatz_2013 @wubble @Mhamza @Ravenslight @lroumen @Musigny @GoodSteve @Coutelier @semiticgod @Archaos @lolien @Yannir @Mortianna @BelgarathMTH @Moradin @Amber_Scott @AndrewFoley @Miridor @booinyoureyes @YupImMadBro @dib @BaldursCat @bengoshi
No "fleur de lys" for Napoleon, this would be a serious misinterpretation...
@Musigny He did make himself King did he not?
Bonaparte is a child of the revolution and certainly not of french royal blood.
Btw the bee is not an ancient symbol of France itself. It is often used as a symbol of labor/prosperity/wealth. I think you are referring to a kind of symbol used in Thuringia long long ago.
All of that to build a theory about Haer'Dalis ?
Also, we already established that Viconia is made from Vic- (Abyss, deep, profound) and -onia (Rod, staff, token, wand).
There's also a Yoshimo Beach somewhere in Japan.
A few of the theories about make some sense (Jan, Aerie, Nalia) the others are borderline fantasy, than anything realistic.
Imoen seems to come from Imogen. If we go with your theories, Imoen might very well come from "I moan" because she moans when she gets hit.
This is how some of these look like.
This was not "all" to build a theory. The name meaning "offspring of royal blood" alone is fine and not far fetched in my opinion. Since "royal" is really just another way of saying "different than others" when you think about it.
As for Napoleon not being of French Royal blood. Emperors are generally recognized to be of a higher honour and rank than kings. By 1811, Napoleon ruled over 70 million people across an empire that had near-total domination in Europe, which had not witnessed this level of political consolidation since the days of the Roman Empire. At Milan Cathedral on 26 May 1805, Napoleon was crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. So he was twice the King of any of the french royal bloodline. His bloodline is legitimately considered Royalty of it's own kind, and since he is French that would make it French royalty. This isn't theory at all. If anything this makes Napoleon more of a King than other King in French history.
The Bee (although it does not make a difference to any of this) is an ancient symbol of France. Here is a Quote by a Historian. By choosing the bee as the emblem of his reign, Napoleon was paying homage to Childeric (436–481), one of the ‘long-haired’ Merovingian kings of the region known as Gaul. When Childeric’s tomb was uncovered in 1653 it was found to contain 300 golden jewels, styled in the image of a bee, and these are the same bees that Napoleon had affixed to his coronation robe.
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age that was inhabited by Celtic tribes, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine.
@Archaos
Those theories are no more established than any other. Not sure what would make you think this. Only way to establish a theory is if the actual game developer who decided on the name confirmed it. I posted "my conclusion" on what I determined were most likely. "My conclusion" is not "the conclusion". Also anagrams are common in the game, you even run into Elminster with a name in BG2 that is just an anagram of Elminster. So thinking a few of the character names are possible anagrams holds weight.
As for Yoshimo, that beach you mentioned is also often spelled Yoshino in english. Yoshino is fairly common name in Japan, the most common meanings (Kanji used change it) is "lucky or (good) field", and "Respectful, Good". Yoshino I understand is a girl name though, which is probably why they altered the spelling.
Yes it has been mentioned many times. Eyrie is actually an english derivative of the latin citation form ἀέριος which in the English alphabet is aerios. Its root form is "aeri-" both of which have the meaning "of the air".
Well I saw the logic behind the name's meaning in this thread before, but I saw someone writting it doesn't make sense for him... I just wanted to point out that Aerie is technically an Avariel, a winged elf, her loosing her wings can't change that. So the name in fact makes sense
I edited my "Final Conclusions" post to reflect this. Thank you Yannir.
It means in Hebrew " a rejoicing, our proud lord"
Bealoth is also a possibility and it is a Bible name meaning in Hebrew "citizen" or "cast under".
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Bel
Also Glasya, is the new Lord of the Sixth. She's also Asmodeus' daughter.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Glasya
Aerie might come from "related to the air" but any English speaking person would get the link to the phrase "Airy Fairy".
Eustace, Edmond, Edward, Edgar, tend to be seen as people who are pompous, stuffy, old fashioned and up themselves.
Makes sense to have that sort of name for Edwin, he is an Edwin.
Kevin in English is seen as the most boring name in the world, so in BG you end up with Kivan. Now we all love Kivan, but lets face it, he is never going to be described as the life of the party.
"Fancy going for a drink Kivan?"
"Oh how I ache for my lost Deheriwhatsit"
"So that's a no then?"
Such a Kevin.
As an Arab, Jaheira to me means "vocal" or "loud voiced" in Arabic, but that's not really a common Arabic name, actually, I don't know of any Arab named like that.
Have this page that explains the word "Jahiir", the masculine variant of Jahiira:
http://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-en/جهير/