Name meanings...

[Roostershark]

I just came across something weird, I had been looking at the meaning of first names and I decided to try Link. When I looked at the meaning, it was "left hand". I thought it was probably a coincidence, but I found that Epona means "horse godess". if anybody else can find some other name meanings that would be awesome.

Proof:
Link-Quick Search: Name Meanings at Baby Names World
Epona-Quick Search: Name Meanings at Baby Names World

[Erimgard]

Epona is named after the horse goddesses, yes.
But it's been confirmed that Link was named that because he's supposed to "Link" you to the character/game.

[Roostershark]

Originally Posted by Erimgard

Epona is named after the horse goddesses, yes.

Sorry didn't know that was common knowledge..

[Erimgard]

Originally Posted by Roostershark

Sorry didn't know that was common knowledge..

Don't worry about it. Just because I know it doesn't necessarily mean that the majority of people know it.

[Axiomist]

I'm surprised that you missed 'Tetra'. I thought it was the most commonly known one.

Well, if you make a whole long list of these, then that would be cool.

[Sirius B]

This sounds right up my alley.

Zelda is named for Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. The name itself is a short form of "Griselda," from Old High German "grishild" meaning "dark battle" or "gray battle."

The name Link is, as someone pointed out, probably given because he is a "link" between the player and the game world. The word "link" itself comes from Old Norse "hlenkr". Someone suggested that Link is from the adjective "linkshändig" (left-handed) which is an amusing but probably incorrect theory.

Ganon: No idea. The proper name "Gannon" (with two n's) is Celtic in origin and means "fair-skinned." As for "Ganondorf," "dorf" is German for "village" (e.g. "Neudorf," meaning "new village") and is cognate to "thorp" in English place names.

Midna: No idea. Reminds me a lot of Swedish "midnatt" meaning "midnight."

Malon: No idea. Reminds me of the Irish surname "Malone," which is ultimately derived from Irish "Maol Eoin" meaning someone devoted to St. John.

Vaati: Looks Finnish to me. "Vaati" can be a form of "vaatia" meaning "to demand" or "to call for." This probably wasn't what Nintendo meant, however.

[FluidConcept]

Originally Posted by Erimgard

Epona is named after the horse goddesses, yes.
But it's been confirmed that Link was named that because he's supposed to "Link" you to the character/game.

Perhaps they made Link left-handed because of the fact he was called Link. I'd always thought it was strange for him to be left-handed, when the majority of people are right-handed, and generally game characters are too.

[Herooftwilight]

Originally Posted by FluidConcept

Perhaps they made Link left-handed because of the fact he was called Link. I'd always thought it was strange for him to be left-handed, when the majority of people are right-handed, and generally game characters are too.

I thought Link was made left handed cuz Mr. Miyamoto is left handed

[bitterlime]

Tetra is either named after the number 4 or the fish species called Tetra. I find the second one more likley.
Navi is obviously a play on the word navigation, which is excactly what she is doing all the time.
Tatl and Tael names form the word tattletale, which is again a hint to their function in the game.

[Ralphie]

^dang, i wanted to say the tatl - teal thing

[bitterlime]

^

By the way I just found more:

-Anju is indian and means honor, shine
-Din is a prefix common in names that include the meaning judgement(hebrew) or sun (sanskrit, indian).

Oh and thelma and her cat luise get their names from a famous movie.

Edit: And Koume and Kotake are names of japanese food I think one is a special mushroom and the other is a plum.

[sealock]

...i'm extremely confused. based on the facts, is termina an actual physical place you can get to from hyrule or not... or not proven either?

[FluidConcept]

Originally Posted by Herooftwilight

I thought Link was made left handed cuz Mr. Miyamoto is left handed

Oh, I didn't know that. You're probably right

A 'makar' is a type of Scottish poet, and a 'medley' (Medli) is several songs played one after another. 'Fado' is a genre of Portuguese music, and 'Laruto' is remarkably similar to 'Ruto' from OoT. 'Rito' is also similar to 'Ruto'. (EDIT: Just notice 'Ruto' is also a company that makes fish food ).
'Komali' is an Indian name meaning 'tender' or 'delicate', I guess reflecting his character when you first meet him. 'Quill', the postman, is a rather obvious one...
'Zephos' and 'Cyclos', very similar to 'zephyr' and 'cyclone' - appropriate for wind gods.
A 'sturgeon' is a type of fish, and an 'orca' is a whale.
'Lenzo' (pictobox guy) sounds like 'lens', and I believe a 'Zunari' is a type of Japanese helmet (Zunari gives you the magic armour).

They obviously thought quite a lot about making the names mean something in WW.
p.s. sorry for editing loads, I kept thinking of new ones to ads

[Hugh]

I can only think of one that hasn't been pointed out already:

Malon and Talon: They take their names from Lon Lon Ranch, which probably means Malon and Talon Ranch.

Epona is named after the Celtic goddess of horses by the way.

[Adam_148]

Malo and Talo get their names from Malon and Talon

[Hombre de Mundo]

Originally Posted by Sirius B

Ganon: No idea. The proper name "Gannon" (with two n's) is Celtic in origin and means "fair-skinned."

Except Gannon was a typo. The proper name is and always was Ganon.

Midna: No idea. Reminds me a lot of Swedish "midnatt" meaning "midnight."

Yep. Though it probably has nothing to to with Swedish since the japanese would say midnight like Midunaito. The step from midunaito to midna is a short one

As for "Ganondorf," "dorf" is German for "village" (e.g. "Neudorf," meaning "new village") and is cognate to "thorp" in English place names.

Thorp (along with the octothorp symbol #) is also swedish. The more you know...

[bitterlime]

Originally Posted by Hombre de Mundo

The more you know...

*plays Jingle*

[Mattocks]

The Helmarocks are a refernce to Roc, the great bird.

[Lawliete]

Originally Posted by bitterlime

Edit: And Koume and Kotake are names of Japanese food I think one is a special mushroom and the other is a plum.

Yup. Ume = Plum and Take is probably referring to the shiitake mushroom. I added an extra i so it wouldn't be censored. The prefixes Ko are common in girl names.

[GentleArtillery]

Obvious one, but the poe sisters of the Forest Temple in OoT are named after the main characters of "Little women"; Meg, Beth, Joelle, and Amy.

And also: Theorising?

[Fluteboy]

Originally Posted by GentleArtillery

And also: Theorising?

It's more like research. perhaps for future theories.

[Axiomist]

Hopefully the thread starter compiles the list and edits it into his first post. Afterall it's getting interesting. And there's a bit of posting for the same few twice.

Sheik= I think it's an arabic priest

[Hombre de Mundo]

^ Not quite, but close. The word sheik means 'elder' but can be used for many people, sometimes including priests (though I don't know if that's common or not).

[ginger17]

Well that explains why Link is a lefty and they named his horse Epona. Thats pretty cool!

[smallville boy]

-Kakariko is the french Onomatopeyic for the Rosters sound, u know in kakariko villague are a lot of cuccos(rosters/chikens).

-cuccos is something like "kakariko thing" but with the japanesse culture and lenguaje.(i dont be sure)

-Poe's(Gosht's) in honor to the Poet Edgar Alan Poe