As gaming audiences can see in recent releases such as Forspoken, there is no limit to how creative a video game character's name can be. It must not only stand out, but reflect the best parts of their personality or goal. It's no wonder that parents tend to borrow these names for their own children. Whether they're existing names that suddenly got more attention after a game's release, or a name that originated with the character, many unique names in the real world are derived from video games.
10 Cloud (Final Fantasy VII)
Plenty of unique and interesting names can be found in his Zodiac sign, Cloud Strife has a name to fit his painful past and sometimes stormy personality, which contrasts him from the man he's trying to emulate, the energetic and sunny Zack Fair.
Even so, enough parents ignore the name's significance and focus on its beauty to see it become popular in the real world. Cloud, which means exactly what it says, fits in well with the already beloved genre of nature names, and has slowly but surely been climbing the ranks, currently nearing the top 3,000 most popular names for boys and girls alike (via Datayze).
9 Leon (Resident Evil)
A Greek name meaning “lion,” Leon has always been a popular name for boys and its variant Leona equally popular for girls, wishing the child a lion’s strength. They’re certainly qualities exhibited by Leon S. Kennedy as he battles his way through scores of the most powerful monsters in the Resident Evil games.
After the release of Resident Evil 4 in 2005, starring recurring protagonist Leon, the name saw a jump in popularity (per The Bump), and in the subsequent years has made its way up the rankings, going from 502nd most popular in 2006 all the way to 177th in 2021. Perhaps not coincidentally, the name Ashley began a steep drop in popularity among baby boys the same year (per The Bump).
8 Alyx (Half-Life)
The names Alexander, Alexandra, and their variants have been popular for millennia. While the trend of modifying typical names with a "Y" to make them more unique is also popular, the name Alyx didn't quite take the spotlight until the character Alyx Vance was featured in the Half-Life franchise.
In her first few non-playable appearances in the 2000s, Alyx was a ing character, but after the release of Half-Life: Alyx in 2020, the VR game bearing her name has caused her name to shoot up in popularity in recent years (per Baby Center).
7 Samus (Metroid)
Samus Aran's name comes from several places. According to Silliconera, developer Hiroji Kiyotake states that it comes from the full name of the late soccer player Pelé (Edison Arantes do Nascimento), but Samus' first name can also be a female variant of the Irish name Seamus, which means "supplanter." Samus also shares her name with a Macedonian poet and a genus of sea sponges.
Whatever the origin, there's no question that the alien-fighting hero is the one who made the name widely known around the world. Though there are only a few baby girls named Samus per year (via Metroid weren't around.
6 Kratos & Atreus (God Of War)
As a symbol of pure "power and strength," as the name means, there are few heroes better suited than Kratos, dethroner of the Greek gods. After the first God of War's release in 2005, this name saw a marked increase in usage. According to Baby Center, it got close to the top 5,000 which is no small feat for a name that hasn't been commonly used since the days of ancient Greece.
Even more popular since the release of 2018’s God of War reboot featuring the Norse pantheon is Atreus, meaning "fearless." It's first the name of Kratos’ brother-in-arms and now the name of his teenage son. In 2019, Atreus was the 790th most popular male name in the United States, and in 2021, amid the hype for the release of the sequel God of War: Ragnarök the next year, its popularity jumped up to 633rd place (per Name Berry).
5 Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)
Despite Kingdom Hearts being massively popular since the release of its first game in 2002, the names of heroes Sora and Riku have never broken the top 1,000 names in the United States in any year since. It's tritagonist Kairi who has, coming in from the rear to break into that coveted ranking in 2010 and staying ever since, currently sitting at the 852nd most popular name for baby girls (per Name Berry).
The Japanese name means "ocean village," making Kairi the "water" part of the "water, land, and sky" themed set of names that she, Sora ("sky"), and Riku ("land") make up. Both its meaning and its melodic sound make it a lovely name for a girl. Interestingly, it reached the height of its popularity in the United States in 2019, the year of the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III's release.
4 Raiden (Metal Gear Solid)
While very few people would opt to name their child Solid Snake, other names in the famous action franchise Metal Gear Solid are more popular. 2001's some of the best plot twists in video games.
Raiden is a Japanese name meaning "thunder and lightning," derived from the storm god Raijin, and was largely unused in the United States until the mid-2000s (per Behind the Name), growing alongside players' love for Raiden as a character (he wasn't much liked until his appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots in 2008). It's currently the most popular it has ever been, as the 383rd most popular name for baby boys in 2021 (per SSA).
3 Dante (Devil May Cry)
The hero of the perfect Capcom game for Scorpio signs, Dante was named after the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, author of The Divine Comedy in which he journeys through Hell. The name itself means "enduring," which is fitting for both the demon hunter and for the parents gearing their children up to get through everything life throws at them.
Starting in the early 2000s when the games began to release, the name got a sharp spike in popularity (per Behind the Name). Dante's brother Vergil, named for the Roman poet who guides Dante through Hell, and his nephew Nero, named for the famously cruel Roman emperor, aren't so lucky as their names haven't been popular in centuries.
2 Zelda (The Legend Of Zelda)
The name Link (originally short for Lincoln, given to the famous hero for his status as the "link" between player and game) became more well known after the Legend of Zelda games began releasing in 1986. But it’s the titular princess’s name, meaning "fighting maiden," that really shot up in the rankings as a result of her many incarnations over the years.
In the past several years, Zelda has been among the top 1,000 baby girl names in the United States (per Name Berry), hitting peak popularity in 2020, the year of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity's release. Famously, celebrated actor and comedian Robin Williams named his daughter Zelda after the character, with the two of them even appearing in commercials together to promote new installments in the franchise. Zelda Williams remains an avid gamer and fan of the series, citing particular love for Majora’s Mask.
1 Dovahkiin (Elder Scrolls)
This one is popular more in the “newsworthy” and “received national attention” sense than the “in widespread usage” sense, but it would still be remiss not to mention the contest Bethesda ran when The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was first released. Any set of parents who had a child on November 11, 2011, the day the game first hit shelves, and named them Dovahkiin, after the protagonist’s title meaning “Dragonborn,” would win them and “presumably” the newborn any and all Bethesda games for the rest of their lives.
Two parents answered the call, presenting their son Dovahkiin Tom Kelleymeyer to the world on release day, generating considerable Internet buzz and netting them the promised prize. An update issued by Megan Kelleymeyer a few years later claims that while young Dovahkiin hadn’t yet played Skyrim, he enjoys his unique name and refuses to be called by nicknames or his more typical middle name (via GamesRadar).