The following character names are used in the English versions of present and past Pin Eight releases. As in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, it is assumed that these are translations of names in the original languages of the game world that have similar meanings, possibly fudged to keep puns working (as Tolkien described in detail with regard to Merry Brandybuck in the appendix). Rereleases after the game world is further fleshed out may have superior woolseyisms.
One scout reports a tendency toward names ending in -o and -n for male and -a and -t for female, whereas another scout points out a pair of real-life counterexamples in Ellen DeGeneres and Elliot Page. We prefer to render final ה (he) in Hebrew feminine names as -a rather than -ah to emphasize the false cognate[1] between Indo-European and Semitic feminine endings.
| Name | Role in Pin Eight works | Notable namesakes | Meaning or origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acha | Thwaite villager | Toy Pop | (obscure) |
| Briar | Thwaite villager | Sleeping Beauty | From a word meaning "thorny plant" |
| Colin | |
Irish coileán meaning "puppy", Latin columba meaning "pigeon", and a short form of Greek nikolaos meaning "victory of the people". | |
| Daffle | Zap Ruder 2P | Diminutive of a Biblical Hebrew name (2 Samuel) meaning "beloved" | |
| Emily | |
Clifford the Big Red Dog | Latin aemulus meaning "rival" |
| Ethan | Concentration Room opponent | From a Biblical Hebrew name (1 Chronicles 2, 6, 15) meaning "strong or firm". | |
| Gnivad | Thwaite villager | Obscure. Let's take a look. | |
| Gus | Test suite mascot; |
Recess; A Troll in Central Park; Psych | Shortened from a conflation of Slavic Gostislav meaning "guest + glory", and the Old Norse Gautstafr meaning "staff of the Goths" |
| Hepsie | |
Diminutive of a Biblical Hebrew name (2 Kings 21:1) meaning "my delight is in her" | |
| Isca | Thwaite villager | Biblical Hebrew name (Genesis 11:29) meaning "foresight" (whence English "Jessica"). Also resembles the Irish word uisce meaning "water" (whence English "whiskey"). | |
| Justin | Thwaite villager | Bailey, Timberlake, Bieber | Latin meaning "fair, righteous". |
| Libbet | Magic Floor 1P | Diminutive for a Hebrew name meaning "God is her oath" | |
| Lillie | Concentration Room opponent | Latin word for lily | |
| L.T.D. | (spoiler) | ||
| Meg | Thwaite villager | Hairy Meg, a brownie | Diminutive of Sanskrit for pearl |
| Milca | |
Biblical Hebrew name (Genesis 11:29) meaning "queen" | |
| Milo | Thwaite 1P | & Otis, Kamalani, Thatch, Murphy | Latin miles meaning "soldier"; Old Slavonic meaning "merciful" whose Slovene reflex is mil; Germanic meaning peaceful (cognate to "mild"? the baby name sites are unclear); Greek name borne by six-time ancient Olympic champion Milo (Milwn) of Croton |
| Mindy | |
Animaniacs | Contraction of Greek melaina meaning "black", Greek melissa meaning "bee", Germanic element lind meaning "flexible", and Spanish linda meaning "beautiful" |
| Oliver | Thwaite villager | Twist, North | Conflation of an Old Norse name meaning "elf warrior", an Old Norse name meaning "ancestor's descendant", and the Latin for "olive tree" |
| Pino | Thwaite unseen voice | Shortened from a Florentine name meaning "pinenut" | |
| Podge | Zap Ruder 1P | Bracciolini | Shortened from Latin name meaning "nobleman"; Italian name meaning "dweller on a hillock"; a word meaning "chubby person" |
| Staisy | Thwaite 2P | Shortened from Greek name meaning "resurrection" | |
| Susan | Concentration Room opponent | Hebrew and Persian name meaning "lily" | |
| Thad | Thwaite villager | Aramaic for either "heart" or "gift of God", possibly an adaptation of the Greek name that became Theodore | |
| Tilda | Thwaite villager | Swinton | Shortened from Germanic compound meaning "might in battle" |
| Torben | Thwaite villager | Old Norse meaning "Thor's bear" | |
"Torben... Thor? I thought this universe was Abrahamic. So what's with the crossover cosmology?"
Samson was a man. Hercules was a man. Thor was a man. They may have been given supernatural superpowers, or even just given themselves superpowers through training, but they were still men.