The ever-lovely forums of The Longest Journey gave birth to this little list. Well, actually, my obsession with names and etymology spawned and delivered this, but the subforum Winter really bred this.

Now, for the fans' curiosity and entertainment, list of names and their etymology from Dreamfall.

At the bottom is a list of names I haven't been able to find anything about. If you could help, it would be more than appreciated!

Sources:
Dictionary.com
Wikipedia
Online Etymology Dictionary
Behind the Name
Behind the Surname


Female
Abya = city/town in Burma
Alisa = ultimately from Germanic Adalheidis via Adelaide and Alice, adal 'noble', heid 'kind, sort, type'
April = Latin 'to open', 'opening'
Brenda = Old Norse brandr 'sword', occasionally as feminization of Brendan, Welsh 'prince'
Calia = Genus of the Mescalbean; a plant all parts of which are very poisonous
Carlita = variant of Caroline, Old German 'free man'
Clara = Latin 'clear, brilliant'
Diane = from Diana, probably Indo-European root 'heavenly, divine'
Emiliana = feminization of Emiliano, from Roman family name Aemilianus, ultimately from Latin aemulus 'rival'
Emma = German 'whole, complete'
Ena = related to Aithne (Irish/Gaelic 'fire') and Ina
Faith = ultimately from Latin fidere 'to trust'
Fatimah = Arabic 'to abstain'
Fiona = Irish fion 'vine', Gaelic fionn 'fair, white'
Hana = Arabic 'bliss, happiness', Japanese 'flower' or 'favourite',
Hanna = Hebrew origin 'favored grace'
Helena = variant of Helen, Greek 'light'
Jama = Jamie, Hebrew 'he who supplants'
Jeanine = related to Jean (Hebrew 'the Lord is gracious')
Jeanne = related to Jean (Hebrew 'the Lord is gracious')
Kara = Celtic/Gaelic 'sweet melody'; variant of Latin Cara, 'beloved'
Karen = Danish origin, short of Greek Aikaterine via Katherine (etymology under debate)
Katrina = Greek Aikaterine via Katherine (etymology under debate)
Lenya = city/town in Burma
Lucia = Italian origin, variant of Latin Lucy 'light'
Magda = Slavic/German corruption of Magdalena ('of Magdala', Hebrew for 'tower') or Maida (old English 'maiden')
Maha = Sanskrit 'great', Arabic 'oryx; wild cow' (claimed to mean also thin and very sharp sword and clear crystal), Finnish 'belly'
Nana = Japanese 'apple'; along with Nanny, has come to be associated with 'grandmother' or 'person who looks after children'
Nia = Gaelic/Swahili origin 'lustrous; goal, purpose', may be a shortening of a name ending with -nia, ie. Antonia
Nina = Spanish niña 'little girl', Babylonian 'enclosure of fish', Quechua 'fire'; short for many names ending in -nina, ie. Yonina
Obaasan = Japanese 'granmother, aunt'
Olivia = Latin 'olive tree'; Liv = Old Norse 'defense'
Riko = Japanese 'jasmine (female) child'
Rio = Spanish/Portuguese 'river'
Sam = Samantha, feminization of Samuel (Hebrew) 'God heard'; contains the greek -antha, 'flower'
Sara = Hebrew 'lady' or 'princess'
Sela = Se'lah, Hebrew 'rock', may be a variant of Greek Selena 'the moon'
Tara = Sanskrit 'star'; anglicized form of Irish place Teamhair, possibly Gaelic for 'elevated place'
Vivian = Latin vivus 'alive'
Yona = related to Yonina, Hebrew 'dove', Pali word used in ancient India about ancient Greek people
Yuriko = Japanese 'lily (female) child'
Zoë = Greek 'life'


Male
Aleksander = Greek origin, 'defender, warrior'
Alvin = Old English 'elf or supernatural being, friend'; German 'light skinned'
Ary = variant of Ari, Hebrew 'lion', Old Norse 'eagle, Armenian 'brave'
Bael = similar to Semitic ba'al 'lord' or 'possessor'
Baptiste = French 'baptist', originally Greek bapto 'to dip'
Bob = short for Robert, Old German 'shining with fame'
Brian = Celtic/Irish/Gaelic 'high, noble'
Brynn = variant of Bryn, Welsh '(small) hill'
Charlie = variant of Charles, Old German 'free man'
Chawan = a bowl used for preparing and drinking matcha (powdered green tea) in Japanese tea seremonies. Chava = Hebrew 'life'
Cornelius = Roman family name, possibly from Latin cornu 'horn'
Crow = any of several large glossy black birds of the genus Corvus, having a characteristic raucous call, especially C. brachyrhynchos of North America; Corvus = a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Crater and Virgo. Also called Crow
Daen = Could be a short form of Daniel, Hebrew 'God is my Judge'
Dagdam = Place in Senegal
Damien = Damian, Greek possibly meaning 'to tame, subdue', also close to the word for 'spirit'
David = Hebrew 'beloved'
Gabriel = Hebrew 'God's able-bodied one; hero of God'
Garmon = related to Garman, Old English 'spearman'
Gordon = Old English/Gaelic 'large fortification', 'round hill'
Hamesh = From Jacob ('supplanter'/('May God Protect) -> James -> Scottish Seumas -> anglicized spelling Hamish
Hiro = Japanese 'large, big, vast, broad, wide'
Iqbal = Arabic 'fortunate'
Ivar = Old Norse, yr 'yew, bow' and arr 'warrior'
Jawhar = a town and a hill station in the Thane District of Maharastra state, India
Jericho = Arabic origin, 'city of the moon'
Kano = Japanese origin, 'one's masculine power, capability'
Kenji = Japanese 'strong second son'
Kian = Persian 'generations' or 'King', variant of Cian, Gaelic 'ancient'
Manny = variant of Emmanuel via Manuel, Spanish 'with us is God'
Marcus = Latin 'dedicated to Mars'
Martin = from Mars' genitive case Martis, 'dedicated to Mars'
Murron = Scottish form of Gaelic Muireann 'fair sea'; Feminine name!
Othello = Germanic via Otto, od meaning 'wealth, fortune'
Ren = Japanese 'water lily/lotus'
Reza = variant of Rida via Raza, Arabic 'contentment'
Roper = Old English 'rope maker'
Ryan = Irish/Gaelic 'little king'
Sharif = Arabic 'eminent, virtuous'
Torbear = Probably from Torbjörn, Old Norse 'Thor's bear'
Vinnie = Vincent, Latin vincere 'to conquer'


Surnames
Alvane = Alvena, feminization of Alvin, Old English 'elf-friend'
Castillo = Spanish for 'castle'
Cavanaugh = ultimately Gaelic for 'son of Caomhán' or 'son of the monk'
Chang = Chinese 'flourishing, prosperity' or 'smooth' or 'strength'
Chavez = Babynames.com translates this as Spanish for 'dream maker'
Crozier = Crosier is the stylized staff of office often carried by high-ranking Christian prelates; origins in 'staff/cross bearer', ultimately from 'cross'
D'Amato = patronymic ultimately from Latin Amatus 'beloved'
Gilmore = ultimately from Gaelic 'servant of (the Virgin) Mary'
Jensen = Danish 'son of Jens'; Jens is Danish form of John
Lee = Chinese Li, 'minister' and 'plum'; Old Norse hlíõ 'moutain slope, hillside'
de Marco = Spanish marco 'frame', so 'from frame'?
Mullins = Possibly from Mullen, from Gaelic Ó Maoláin, 'descendant of Maolán' (Maolán, 'devotee')
Nya = Japanese, cat's 'meow'
O'Meara = from O'Meadhra, 'descendant of Meadhra', Gaelic meadhar 'merry, happy'
Peats = peat: "Partially carbonized vegetable matter, usually mosses, found in bogs and used as fertilizer and fuel."
Russell = English/Scottish/Irish, Rousel, nickname for someone with red hair
Ryan = Irish/Gaelic 'little king'
Susan = Arabic 'lily', Occitan 'above, higher'
Temiz = Turkish 'clean'
ul-Haq = Apparently quite common Pakistani surname
de Vrijer = Dutch 'the lover'
Westhouse = house in the west
Zhu = Chinese Tianzhu, 'India'. "When Buddhist monks came to China from India, they often used Zhu as part of their name, and it gradually came to be used as a surname."
Zubov = Russian surname, derived from zub 'a tooth'


Who the Heck?-characters:
Elwyn = of Welsh origin, 'fair brow'
Roberto = Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Robert, Germanic 'bright fame'
Yacob = Jacob, 'supplanter' or 'may God protect'
Hannah = Hebrew 'favour' or 'grace'
Lorayne = Lorraine, 'kingdom of Lothair', region in France (Lothair = Germanic 'famous army')
Usman = variant of Uthman, Arabic 'baby bustard'


People:
Azadi = Urdu 'Freedom', Hindi 'Freedom'; Azad = Hindi 'Free'; fictional game in the book The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. Translates as 'machine' or 'system'.
Casawi = inhabitant of Casablanca
Eingana = All-Mother of the Aborigines who lives in the Dreamtime
Samare = variant of Samara? Derived from Samaria Hebrew 'watch mountain'; or Samar, Arabic 'evening conversation'
Tyren = Danish & Norwegian tyr 'bull', French tyran 'despot, oppressor, tyrant'
Wazza (the Watilla) = a Web Services Aware application, proposed synonym for Smart Client; can also be short for Warren or Warwick in Australia; means "what's up"
Zhid = offensive word of Old Slavic origin, and Russian. NOTE: April pronounces this without the 'h', rendering it meaningless, but in the subtitles and in the 'dialogue record', the word is always written as 'Zhid'


Places:
Arcadia = also Arcady, a region offering rural simplicity and contentment
Bunnvik = Scandinavian surname, Norvegian bunn 'base, root, stem', vik 'bay, cove, gulf'
Casablanca = Spanish 'white house'
Corasan = Venetian word, a literal translation of the French croissant 'crescent', Spanish corazón, 'heart'; Persian Khurasan, 'east'
Dayava(n watersnake) = 1988 Bollywood movie; Tamil Dayava Sheydh 'please'
Europolis = Greek polis 'city, city-state', ευρυ- "wide" or "broad"
Ge'en = Dutch geen 'nothing'
Hokkaido = Japanese literal meaning 'North Sea Route'
Irhad = http://www.namesdir.com/F_Irhad was all I could find...
Jarl (Street) = variant of Earl, Old English eorl 'nobleman, warrior'
Marcuria = Mercury/Marcus?
Sadir = a Hindu temple dance performed by devadasis
Stark = adj 1: devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment; 2: severely simple; 3: complete or extreme; 4: without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers; 5: providing no shelter or sustenance
Tahran = variant of Tehran, capital of Iran; Finnish tahra 'blemish, stain, flaw'
Venice = from Veneti, name of an ancient people of Illyrian origin
Zaan = place/river/area in Holland


Firms, institutions, clubs, etc.:
Alchera = Dreamtime of the Aborigines
Asad (Robotics) = Arabic 'lion'
Bitte = German 'please'
Jiva = in Hinduism and Jainism, the immortal essence of a living being, free of illusion; analogous, but not identical to the concept of 'soul', so best left untranslated
Macchiavelli (Bar & Lounge) = Italian macchia 'spot, blot, shrub', vello 'vellum, pergament'
Moca Loco = Spanish loco 'crazy, mad, absurd, silly'
Morpheus = Greek "he who forms, shapes, molds" via morphe
Niyom (Media) = Thailand-related, Sitiporn Niyom (actor), Rat Niyom (a commune in the disctrict of Amphoe Sai Noi)
Roma('s Pizza) = personification of the city Rome
Seshadri (Building & Industries)= Indian mathematician C. S. Seshadri, Seshadri constant in algebraic geometry
Trisha (West's) = from Patricius via Patricia, Latin 'nobleman'
WATI(corp) = in Aboriginal mythology, Wati-kutjara are the lizard men "who originally came from a mountain in the Dreamtime (they later taught shamans how to use and communicate with the Dreamtime). They created sacred talismans and gave them to the people."
Yamashiro (Station) = Japanese yamashiro 'mountain castle'


Names lacking info:
Aaralyn
Anae
Ayela
Benrime
Elynna
Na'ane
Sahya

Amanon
Awad
Beleris
Beonon
Ceran
Garod
Hiro
Jiran
Nozan
Semban

Abaza(s, the)
Brytt
Grondal
Kinryn
Klacks
Koumas
Kuroki
Landas
Mbaye
Messod
Salmin
Vamon

Ayrede
Dolmari
Eruden


© Jelena Rosenberg-Vahtera 2006