I've always found the meanings of names pretty interesting and the meanings behind the names of the Kingdom Hearts characters are particularly interesting in how they link characters together. Therefore for anyone interested I've compiled a list of Kingdom Hearts character names and their full meanings, some of which most of you will already know and some of which you may not.

 

1. 'Sora' means 'sky' in Japanese

2. The 'kai' in Kairi means 'ocean' in Japanese

3. 'Riku' means 'land' in Japanese

4. 'Ventus' means 'wind' in Latin (tying him with Sora)

5. 'Aqua' means 'water' in Latin (tying her with Kairi)

6. 'Terra' means 'earth' in Latin (tying him with Riku)

7. 'Naminé' means 'ocean wave' (tying her with Kairi)

8. 'Xion', when spelt as 'shion', means 'remembrance' in Japanese (which can refer to her being created from Sora's memories and no one remembering her after she disappears). Additionally 'shio' means 'tide' which also connects her to Kairi and in the style of all Organization members her name is an anagram of 'No.i' (this being her experiment name) with an 'x' added to it.

9. 'Vanitas' means 'empty' or 'vanity' in Latin (and the name physically resembles Ventus' name). Also 'vanitas' is written in Japanese in the same way as 'sora'.   

10. 'Roxas' is an anagram of 'Sora' with an 'x' added to it and comes from the name 'Rojas' meaning 'the red dawn of day'.

11. 'Eraqus' is an anagram of 'Square'.

12. 'DiZ' stands for 'Darkness in Zero'

13. 'Xemnas' is an anagram for 'Ansem' with an 'x' added.

14. 'Xigbar' is an anagram for 'Braig' with an 'x' added.

15. 'Xaldin' is an anagram for 'Dilan' with an 'x' added.

16. 'Vexen' is an anagram for 'Even' with an 'x' added.

17. 'Lexaeus' is an anagram for 'Aeleus' with an 'x' added.

18. 'Zexion' is an anagram for 'Ienzo' with an 'x' added.

19. 'Saix' is an anagram for 'Isa' with an 'x' added.

20. 'Axel' is an anagram for 'Lea' with an 'x' added.

 

As yet I haven't found any other original Kingdom Hearts characters whose name meanings are significant (some of them do have specific meanings but their meanings aren't significant to their characters or the story in any way) but if you manage to find any I've missed please tell me  

 

 

 

Also, if you take off the x from xion, it spells out ion.  Ions are unstable sort of like her and attracted to other unstable things, like Roxas and Axel (due to his friendship with Saix crumbling)

 

Also the Master Keeper's 'key' part shows an E, could stand for Enix.  Square Enix.

Edited August 4, 201312 yr by Prince Sky Heart

thanks for themeaning.I've searched Riku but I didn't find anywhere

And Luxord could have  anything about light in his origin,because of the meaning of Lux in Latin.

this is a good post.

*gives a seal*

I always thought the reason behind the names was an interesting thing.  I knew the meanings of Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua and Terra but not Ven, Vanitas, Xion, and Namine. Thank you for posting this, now I know

thanks for themeaning.I've searched Riku but I didn't find anywhereAnd Luxord could have  anything about light in his origin,because of the meaning of Lux in Latin.

this is a good post.*gives a seal*

I always thought the reason behind the names was an interesting thing.  I knew the meanings of Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua and Terra but not Ven, Vanitas, Xion, and Namine. Thank you for posting this, now I know

Kairi also means the vast distance that separates the land, Riku and Riku is the pain of separation.  Sora is the sky that connects all together.

Edited August 4, 201312 yr by Prince Sky Heart

I always thought the reason behind the names was an interesting thing.  I knew the meanings of Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua and Terra but not Ven, Vanitas, Xion, and Namine. Thank you for posting this, now I know

 

I always thought the reason behind the names was an interesting thing.  I knew the meanings of Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua and Terra but not Ven, Vanitas, Xion, and Namine. Thank you for posting this, now I know

 

thanks for themeaning.I've searched Riku but I didn't find anywhere

And Luxord could have  anything about light in his origin,because of the meaning of Lux in Latin.

You're very welcome!

Not really a meaning behind it, but Yensid is basically disney backwards, but that's something pretty much everyone knows.

Not really a meaning behind it, but Yensid is basically disney backwards, but that's something pretty much everyone knows.

that isnt a kh specific character though

nice post. a lot of these i already knew but some of these were interesting.

I knew all of this except for the thing with XIon

Actually, if I remember the poem that Kairi wrote in KH2 she said at the end,

"They share one sky, one destiny."

In English it didn't translate to make significance. However sora is sky in Japanese so It has more meaning to it. If you read it in Japenses you would hear sora.

They share the same Sora, sky, and destiny.

It shows the significance of Sora.

Sora is symbolic to his name.Everyone shares the connection of the sky. Hence why everyone looks at the sky at the end of BBS secret ending. He is something everyone share. If you look in the inside of the MoM edition of KH3D, there is this very symbolic picture of Sora, Riku, and Mickey.

 

Sora can also mean empty in Japanese. However, vanitas is not the primary word for empty in Latin.

 

That is why I always like to watch the Japanese versions. English sometimes does not do enough explaining when translated to it.

Edited August 4, 201312 yr by HikariYami

Actually, if I remember the poem that Kairi wrote in KH2 she said at the end,"They share one sky, one destiny."In English it didn't translate to make significance. However sora is sky in Japanese so It has more meaning to it. If you read it in Japenses you would hear sora.They share the same Sora, sky, and destiny.It shows the significance of Sora.Sora is symbolic to his name.Everyone shares the connection of the sky. Hence why everyone looks at the sky at the end of BBS secret ending. He is something everyone share. If you look in the inside of the MoM edition of KH3D, there is this very symbolic picture of Sora, Riku, and Mickey.Sora can also mean empty in Japanese. However, vanitas is not the primary word for empty in Latin.That is why I always like to watch the Japanese versions. English sometimes does not do enough explaining when translated to it.

Aah! I'm not sure I noticed that before about the sky connecting all worlds like everyone is connected to Sora! Yeah it is annoying how some things get lost in translation. I always watch animé in Japanese but I watch KH in English because I only know a tiny bit of Japanese and the Japanese cutscenes don't come with English subtitles. Having said that I like the English voices in KH anyway (not so much Xion's though) so it's not a problem.

 

I know 'vanitas' is more used to mean 'vanity' than 'empty' in Latin but Nomura specifically searched for a name that meant 'empty' when he was choosing Vanitas' name.

I knew some of these, but origins of Roxas' name were a suprise.

I knew some of these, but origins of Roxas' name were a suprise.

Yeah I only found that one out yesterday myself!

I knew most of these but i didnt know the one about Xion thats really cool 

Huh,

I always thought kairi meant seperation.

Huh,I always thought kairi meant seperation.

Someone else said something about that but when I did a Google search for the meaning I only got 'ocean village' for the Japanese meaning and 'song or melody' for the French meaning so I'm not sure where that idea comes from. 

if you write Xion's name in Japanese Floriography, itll be read as Shion which means 'i won't forget you' 

 

namine's name can also be translated as nami no ne meaning in japanese 'the sound of the waves' since ne means sound. but basically the same meaning as you said.

 

did you know that Roxas is also a popular filipino last or first name in the Phillipines?

I like how Xion's name seems to have the most meaning in the kingdom hearts series. her name has so many meanings

if you write Xion's name in Japanese Floriography, itll be read as Shion which means 'i won't forget you' 

 

namine's name can also be translated as nami no ne meaning in japanese 'the sound of the waves' since ne means sound. but basically the same meaning as you said.

 

did you know that Roxas is also a popular filipino last or first name in the Phillipines?

I like how Xion's name seems to have the most meaning in the kingdom hearts series. her name has so many meanings

I think I did read that actually There's even a place called Roxas City in the Phillipines as well!

I think I did read that actually There's even a place called Roxas City in the Phillipines as well!

yep. and one of the former presidents of the phillipines has the first name Roxas . i wonder what that means in tagalog...i should ask my parents even though they're not filipino and there's a Roxas Blvd. in Manila. i've seen it. but i could take a picture of it cuz it was nighttime

Lux ord means "light century" in Latin(If the word are translated separately)

Marluxias somebodies name is  Lauriam

Luxord: Ludor + X

Ludor in Latin means “I play”

So that’s cool.

Xemnas is an anagram for Ansem plus the X

But Xemnas can also be an anagram for names plus X.

The X of the organization names is "very probably" not an X, but an greeck X (chi) as seen on Vanitas X-blade inside the game it's sound goes a little closer to the word "key"

So Xemnas would thus became the key of names, this was seen when he gave Roxas his name from Sora's

That could also imply that at least at some point, Roxas was the key for Sora, as in Sora would not be able to wake up without Roxas (KH2) 

Then Xehanort would be or keep the key to No Heart

Just some theories.