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I am currently unaware if anyone has made a thread for this yet, so if someone has, then please by all means correct me. But, I think its about time someone explained the names of the characters everyone has grown to love. So, after research and lots of unsleepable nights, here we are. I thank all the donators who helped me put this together and the sites that made it possible.

Names:

Aeris Gainsborough: Officially, Square has said that Aerith (Aeris's Japanese name) was meant to sound like the word 'Earth', which illustrates her connection to Planet and it's lifestream. In translation, the last character in her name, 'su', can be translated with an 's' sound or a 'th' sound. The translators chose the former. Other connections include that the Latin word 'aeris' translates into 'air; atmosphere; cloud; aether'. This also seems to be an allusion to Aeris's connection to nature and her importance to the planet. Her first Limit Break is 'Healing Wind'. The translation 'cloud' implies that there is some kind of mystical connection between Aeris and Cloud Strife; like Cait Sith says, they are 'made for each other'. 'Aerith' is an anagram of 'I Earth' The word Aeris is pronounced similarly to 'heiress', which aptly illustrates Aeris' role as the last Cetra and the rightful heir to the planet. (NOTE: 'Sora', the name of the main character in Kingdom Hearts, who many have posited looks like a combination of Cloud and Aeris, means 'sky') There is a minor goddess in greek mythology named Eris, pronounced 'air-ies' What's more, Eris is Aries's sister and companion, thus bringing her closer to Aeris' name. Finally and the real trick: Eris is the goddess of strife! So Aeris is one letter extra from having the same name as the Greek goddess of strife." And Cloud's last name is Strife, isn't it? Aerith is ancient Greek for "divine one". Gainsborough may be named after Thomas Gainsborough, an 18th-century English painter. 'Erith' is a Hebrew word for flower. Aeris is a flower girl so it so suits her.

Barret Wallace: Could be a reference to the 13th century Scottish rebel William Wallace a.k.a. Braveheart (yes, the one in the movie). After all, both are leaders of an uprising against a tyrant government. Also, both of them are fighting to avenge their dead wives. There's a brand of firearms made by a company called Barret. Fitting for a man with a gun on his arm, don't you think? If you were to look in the Guiness Book of World Records, 2002 edition, hardcover, there is something called the 'Barret Hand', which was, at the time, the most technologically advanced robotic hand. 'Barret' also means 'dispute' in Middle English. Other dictionary sites of say it means "bear-like", as in strength.

Bugenhagen: Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-155 cool was one of the 'founding fathers' of the early Protestant church in Europe and a close friend of Martin Luther. He helped organizing the Reformation in Northern Germany and Scandinavia and became a famous theologian and scholar as well as an expert in matters of public education and social questions. Bugenhagen's name illustrates his wisdom and his reputation as a man who is master of both religious lore and science/technology. It seems that Bugenhagen is the name of a blind priest in the famous horror movie 'The Omen.' Bugenhagen warns the main character of his adoptive son's Satanic origins and how the world is in if he is allowed to live.

Cait Sith: (pronounced, roughly, 'kett shih') is Irish. It means 'fairy cat' in Gaelic. Supposedly, it's a kind of spirit that brings good luck. The name is of Gaelic origin and translates into 'fat cat'. In Irish fairy-tales, Cait Sith is the protagonist of countless 'King of the Cats' stories. That's why Cait Sith in FF7 is carrying a crown.

Cetra: In Latin, the nomen "cetra" describes a small military shield that was used in the Roman army. The Cetra are the defenders of the planet.

Cloud Strife: Both 'cloud' and 'strife' are English words. Cloud's first name alludes to his mysterious, unclear past and his unpredictable development in the future: his memory is 'clouded', he has his 'head in the clouds' and no one knows what his next move will be. In nature, clouds do not move by themselves but are driven by the wind. Likewise, Cloud's development is influenced by others rather than by his own decision. At first, Sephiroth is controlling him; later, it is Tifa who has to show him his true nature. 'Strife' illustrates Cloud's aggressive behavior towards others, as well as his inner fight that is the central conflict of the story. In the last duel between Cloud and Sephiroth, this fight finds its conclusion.

Don Corneo: 'Corneo' is Latin for 'made of horn' or 'horny' (....). The name Don Corneo also bears a vague resemblance to Don Corleone from The Godfather.

Elena: An alternate form of Eleanor, meaning light. Perhaps because she has blonde hair?

Heidegger: Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a famous German philosopher best known for his existentialist theories. Also, during World War II, there was a Wehrmacht general called Heidegger. Maybe Shin-Ra's Heidegger was modeled after the Wehrmacht general. I don't know much about the general, but if he was part of the nazi war machinery, he most likely committed war crimes. Some of Martin Heidegger's existentialist theories could have influenced the authors of FF7. It would take too long to explain this in detail, but if you are interested in Heidegger's works, simply do a Yahoo! search. Nathaniel Hawthorne (an early American writer, who wrote the Scarlet Letter) wrote a short story called Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, about a doctor who discovers the Fountain of Youth and brings it to his old friends to try out; the effects turn out to be fleeting, however.

Hojo: Better written as "Houjou" (though the pronounciation is the same to American ears, much like Tokyo vs. Toukyou), the kanji used are [Takara] ("Treasure") and [Jou/Eda] ("Branch"). In short, like most Japanese family names, Houjou doesn't have much more meaning than a surname like "Roberts." The power-related 'hojo' is a different word. The name may also mean "support" or "help", which may fit his role as the one who aids Sephiroth. Goes back to a family of hereditary regents to the shogunate of Japan who exercised actual rule from 1199 to 1333. During that period, nine successive members of the family held the regency. The Hojo took their name from their small estate in the Kanogawa Valley in Izu Province. Hojo = power.

Jenova: The Hebrew name of God is Jehovah. The last two syllables of Jenova, ‘–nova’, translate into ‘new’. Jenova is a ‘new god’, or wants to become one. She’s an usurper trying to rob the powers of the planet.

Lucrecia: Lucrecia was a woman who was raped by Tarquinius, the last Roman king. "The Rape of Lucrece" is a poem by Shakespeare based on this. This is a strong allusion to the way Lucrecia conceives her child, Sephiroth. Either Hojo raped her (which the story does not necessarily suggest) or the name is just intended to show that Hojo’s experiment are "a rape of nature", an unnatural act.

Masamune: This powerful blade is mentioned in an old Japanese legend. Muramasa was a swordsmith like Masamune long ago in Japan. His swords were famed for the 'bloodlust' they supposedly created in those who wielded them. One day, Muramasa challenged Masamune to a competition, to prove who was the better swordsmith. He placed his finest blade into a slow-moving stream; soon after, a leaf floated slowly into the edge of the blade, and was sliced, quietly and easily, into two pieces. Afterwards, Masamune placed his blade into the same stream. He soon proved that he was the better swordsmith, as leaves seemed to avoid his blade; a proof of its holy power.

Nanaki: Remove the last letter from that name and you are left with Nanak, the historical figure who is considered the founder of Sikhism, a religion of the Indian subcontinent fusing Hinduist and Muslim belief systems. All the more interestingly, Nanak was an Indian, a "true" Indian, and Red XIII, son of Seto and Cosmo Canyon, ecological warrior, wearer of headdresses, is clearly too meant to symbolize the "Indian" native peoples of North America, stereotypically viewed as scrupulous protectors of their land and devoted praisers of their forebears.

Added by Vincent. V Ex-~: Several people have also mentioned that Nanaki is an anagram for Anakin (as in Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader). However, not only does this have nothing to do with the character Red XIII, but the characters are different in Japanese (Na-na-ki and a-na-ki-n are the two words).

Palmer: "A Palmer makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In the Bible Israel is referred to as both the Holy Land and the Promised Land. This makes sense because he works for Shinra, who seek the Promised Land."

Reeve: An English word meaning-
1. The local representative of the king in a shire until the early 13th century.
2. (In medieval England) A manorial steward who supervised the daily affairs of the manor.
3. (In Canadian government) A president of a local council, especially in a rural area
4. (Formerly) A minor local official
-I think that most of these descriptions match up with Reeve's position. He's the representative for the Urban Development area for Midgar, under President Shinra who is more or less the 'King' of Midgar. He supervises the day-to-day running of the city, he's the president of the 'local council' of Urban Development and as such is a minor local official.

Reno: "Leno" is Latin for "brothel keeper", "squanderer" or "pimp" (the letters R and L and monophone in Japanese).

Rude: English Synonym for "impolite". Rude doesn’t like to socialize and isn’t very talkative at all, so the name befits him quite well

Rufus: Latin for "the red one". Not sure how this relates, but some say his hair is red.

Scarlet: A bright shade of red. She wears a red dress. This also suggests a connection to Rufus (see above). The Shin-Ra logo is also red, so maybe the colour red is meant to represent Shin-Ra.

Sephiroth: (seh-fee-rowth) has a great origin! It's Hebrew for 'numbers' and is directly related to Arabic 'sifra', French 'chiffre', German 'Ziffer', and English 'cipher'. (Sanskrit 'shunya' meaning 'void', originally.) In Hebrew (among other alphabets), each letter has a numerical value, and the art of adding the letters in a word or phrase to get a certain value is called 'gematria'. In Hebrew, the word Sephiroth has the value of 756; in Greek, 894. Can anyone find any significance in these numbers? I was hoping to relate them to the safe combination in the Shinra Mansion, but they don't seem to work. ^^; Here are the ten important Sephiroth:

1 - Khessed, Kindness
2 - Chokhmah, Wisdom
3 - Binah, Understanding
4 - Gedulah, Greatness
5 - Geburah, Strength
6 - Tiphereth, Beauty
7 - Netzach, Firmness and Victory
8 - Hod, Splendor
9 - Yesod, Foundation
10 - Malchuth, the Kingdom

(There are variations on these; this list is from 777 and the Cabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley.)

Note: Chokhmah, Binah, and Gedulah are typically not in the list. The "Kh" and "Ch" sounds are both pronounced like a hard "ch" as in "Bach". The Sephiroth are, depending on who you ask, the steps between man and God, or the different ways with which God manifests His will on earth. Either way, it fits nicely with Sephiroth's quest for godhood.

The final enemy, Safer Sephiroth, might be meant to be Sepher Sephiroth, which means 'the book of countings' in Hebrew. (No book of the Judeo/Christian Bible is actually called that, though Aura writes that there is one in the Catholic Bible.) Maybe the name also has something to do with all the little numbered black clones that are skulking around in Nibelheim. Matt Myers notes that numbers appear at the bottom of the screen after Sephiroth's Supernova attack. Or "Safer" might be a pun on the fact that he casts Wall on himself during the fight. However, I've gotten remarks from too many people to note that there was probably a mistranslation here and the word was meant to be "Seraph", a type of six-winged angel (also the highest in the angelic echelon, which is fitting for where Sephiroth's aspirations place him).

One of Sephiroth's attacks is Pale Horse, which probably refers to 'Death on a Pale Horse', a 1905 (?) painting by Ryder. Safer Sephiroth's attack Pale Horse is more likely a reference to the Revelation of St. John, the last book in the Christian Bible. ("When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature cry out, 'Come Forward.' I looked, and there was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades accompanied him." Rev. 6:7-8 )

Added by Amylin: The name "Safer Sephiroth" may have been a mis-romanization of the boss' name when translating from Japanese, as was the case with "Helletic Hojo (ヘレティック宝条 Heretikku Hōjō)," which should have been translated as "Heretic Hojo," and "Bizzaro Sephiroth (リバース セフィロス Ribāsu Sefirosu)," which should have been "Rebirth Sephiroth"[7]. A common rumor is that "Safer" is a mistranslation of "Seraph (Hebrew: שׂרף Seraph Japanese: セラフ Serafu)" due to Safer Sephiroth's angelic appearance. This may indeed be the case, though the original Japanese was セーファ (Sēfa).

Safer Sephiroth is also known as the "One-Winged Angel," which is also the title of the well-known song which accompanies the battle with Safer Sephiroth. The title is also significant to Sephiroth's character due to its fallen angel connotation, a symbolic form of reference for those who have fallen from grace. To some, the name "One-Winged Angel" seems strange, as Safer Sephiroth has a total of seven wings. However, the original Japanese name is 片翼の天使 (Katayoku no Tenshi かたよくのてんし, literally "Angel of one wing"), though even this does not describe his appearance accurately, and would only seem to apply to his unusual right wing. Yet, in Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children (right after he is defeated by Cloud and his presence fades away from Kadaj) Sephiroth appears in his classic black outfit with one large black wing protruding through his right shoulder blade.

Sephiroth's name also comes from the Kabbalah, in which the ten Sephiroth (סְפִירוֹת Sephirot) on the Tree of Life represents the ten attributes of God.

Added by Silhouette Jw: It's also stated that in Christianity, The Ten Holy Sephiroth (Used as a Collective Noun, as in Group Name) are seen in Revelations, Holding the Golden Bowls that Hold the Plagues, that are to be unleashed on Mankind near the End of Times. It would seem to be a reference that Sephiroth was Harbringer to the Doom of Mankind in the FFVII universe... Paired with the One-Winged Angel Name, This, as Stated before me, Could Represent a Falling From Grace... Perhaps Sephiroth, as he seemed to imply in many of his speeches, believed in his own 'Holy' Ideals, Seeing himself as the Sheppard of Destruction for Humankind, but was not Sanctioned 'Holy' in the terms of Deity/Holy Approval...

Shin-Ra: Probably of Egypt origin, translates into "Dark God" and is used to describe a mythological creature similar to a vampire. Shin-Ra, Inc. is evil, hungers for power and seeks total world domination, hence "dark god". Also, they rely heavily on Jenova’s powers. Barret: "It [Mako energy]'s the life blood of the planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these machines." Quite vampiric.

Added by Serpentine Fire: It's been said by Square that it was used in refence to Rome. The kanji for Shin-Ra was the same as the kanji used for Rome. It's a reference on the power they both held.

Seto: Japanese for "hidden" or "back door". As I recall, for the longest time Nanaki belived his father to be a coward because he "ran" while the Gi Tribe attacked Cosmo Canyon. But, he found out later that Seto had ran "out the back" to protect the canyon from a flank attack.

Tifa Lockheart: ‘Tiferet’ is the central aspect of the Tree of Life (see above). Lockheart is composed of the English words ‘to lock’ and ‘heart’.

The sefirot Tiferet represents beauty, balance and love- a description that applies fairly well to the role of the character, Tifa. Also, Tifa is the one who saves Cloud through her love and Christian Kabbalists believe that Tiferet symbolizes self-sacrifice and "the will to carry one’s neighbor’s cross". On Tarot cards, Tiferet is pictured as a heart (as in Lockheart!), and sometimes as an angel (Tifa’s bar is called the "Seventh Heaven" and her last Limit Break is the "Final Heaven"). Her surname, Lockheart, illustrates her natural shyness and inability to express her love for Cloud. And the key to Cloud’s past is "locked" in her "heart"


Turks: During the 20th century, a New York vice crime group known as the Turks were an active organization. This could relate to the vice, mafia-like actions of the Shin-ra Turks.

Vincent Valentine: Added by Ushigami: Vincent's first name comes from the actor Vincent Price, who was prominent in older horror films. His last name is most likely the allusion to romance, much like how his love life plays a prominent role in his backstory, because if he hadn't fallen in love with Lucrecia, he wouldn't be where he is today.

Added by thedarkonecommeth:"The brooding, lovelorn Vincent is named after Vincent Price and Saint Valentine, the former being a horror film legend while the latter was a crusading martyr who has come to be associated with romance. (Also the Latin verb "vincere" [pronounced, "vink-er-ay"] translates into "to conquer, outlast, defeat". To "outlast" would be the most fitting translation for ‘vincere’ since Vincent sleeps in the basement of the Shinra mansion for 30 years.) "

Yuffie Kisaragi: The prefix "euphe" in Old Greek translates into "joy", "happiness". I don’t think it’s too much of a stress to say that Yuffie is a lively, outgoing or downright goofy character, so the name suits her well. Kisaragi turns out to be Japanese for "the second month of the lunar calendar". Not sure of its relation.

Summons

Bahamut: He's supposed to be a great dragon of some kind, possibly the king of the dragons. But in another story, the world is being held up by an angel standing on a ruby mountain. The mountain lies on top of a bull (sometimes called Kujata, who's in FF7 as Kjata) with four thousand various body parts, which in turn stands on a fish which swims through the darkness. And it turns out that Bahamut is the fish that holds up the world!

Choco/Mog: Self explanitory.

Hades: As you probably know, is the Greek word for hell, or the underworld. It doubles as the name for the god of the underworld.

Ifrit: Originally spelled "Efreet". Efreeti are fire djinns from the elemental plane of fire who lived in the City of Brass. Another source says that Ifrit is Arabic for "The Devil".

Kjata: Kjata is from the Bahamut legend. He's the bull with numerous body parts that sits beneath the mountain, supporting the world, which is probably why he has a multi-elemental attack.

Knights of the Round: This refers to King Arthur's twelve Knights of the Round Table.

Leviathan: The Leviathan was a legendary sea monster, gigantic in size, that would send ships to a watery doom. "Leviathan" is of Hebrew origin. Being more specific, the Leviathan is supposed to surface in the times of the Messiah. The Messiah is supposed to kill it and make a sukkah (a kind of hut or as they call it in fancy language "tabernacle") out of its skin. Some say that the fish that swallowed Jonah was a leviathan, but they're mixing up two legends. A book called The Encyclopedia Of Angels which lists Leviathan as: "One of the demonic angels who is associated with the primordial deep of the sea. Leviathan (a Hebrew name means "that which gathers itself in folds") is associated with Rahab, angel of the sea. Leviathan is personified as and enormous whale who is impervious to all weapons."

Odin: The number-one Norse god, war, wisdom, and honor. One of the three sons of Borr, he was the most noble and is the father of some of the other Norse gods. Thus he can slice up just about anybody as a Esper. He's famed for having one eye. Legend tells that he traded his eye for great wisdom. Odd that in FF he still has both of 'em. His weapon, the Gunge Lance, probably came from Gungnir, the Norse God's own weapon.

Phoenix: The Phoenix is the bird of Chinese mythology "Fenghuang". Its original Japanese name is Ho-Oh, which translated into "He-She". This I've heard, is because the ressurection of the Phoenix is supposed to represent love never dying even after mortal death.

Ramuh: Could be Rama, the hero of an epic Indian poem, the Ramayana. He is handsome, brave, and a model individual. After many trials and tribulations, he becomes king, and it is revealed that Rama is actually the god Vishnu in human form. Or the intended creature is the god Lahmu (alternately Lamu). No Ramuh exists, but Lamu is fairly widely-known. Note that Ramuh and Lahmu would be spelled identically in Japanese. I've read some documents about the legend of Atlantis, in which Ra-mu is the name of the wise king of Mu, the empire rival to Atlantis in those ancient times. According to this tale, mainly based on a free interpretation of the indian poem Mahabaratha, these two great nations declared war to each other millennia ago. They both possessed high technologies through which Atlantis ruled the western part of the world and Mu the eastern. They both could develop atom bombs, used flying ships and had powerful weapons, so the war between them was destructive. A world-scale atomic conflict made Atlantis fall in the depths of the Ocean and completely annihilated Mu, so humankind had to slowly regain scientific discoveries,no one survived to teach the others the amazing Atlantian techs and the ancient artifacts from those times were considered magic tools of the gods. Probably Ramuh (a wise old man who possesses awesome powers) could be the 'japanese version' of Ra-Mu."

Shiva: Shiva is a god from Indian myths which had multiple heads and arms. Shiva was called "The Destroyer" and had lots of powerful weapons. But in the mythology, Shiva has many other powers besides the Ice attribute in Final Fantasy. A member of the triad that includes Vishnu and Brahma. Note that the Hindu Shiva is a male. Skylark tells me that the original Japanese spells her name "Siva"; Siva is also a Hindu deity, but a female one (and hence more believable as to the real name). However, Deeban Sivanesan disagrees and says that there's only one Hindu deity. It can be spelled either Siva or Shiva, but should be pronounced Shiva. It's male, but can appear as a female. Leviathan_Garden sent in yet another view from this website that indicates that Siva is actually a Slavic goddess whose name is nevertheless pronounced "Shiva" or "sheeva", and whose name means "living, being, existing".

"To clear up any questions about the Shiva/Siva thing: Often in Hindi words the S is pronounced as "Sh", hence how you say "Ashura" rather than "Asura." Shiva is often spelled as Siva, but for those who are unfamiliar with the old spelling, the name "Shiva" is usually used instead. Shiva did have a female form, but it mainly recognized by certain sub-cultures of Hinduism (Mainly practiced in southern India, I believe). It's easy to see why they thought Shiva was a woman, because of his long hair and face. Men and women's faces often look the same in Hindu art. You have to look at their clothes and bust (Obviously razz ) to tell. I hope this helps."

Titan: A giant out of Greek legend. They were encountered by Ulysses on his famous ten-year Odyssey returning home from the Trojan War. Another version has them having numerous cataclysmic clashes with the gods. Or another legend states that the Titans were actually Zeus's parents, aunts, and uncles. When Gaia(XD) and Uranus got together the 12 Titans were created. These Titans included Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, and Cronus. From Cronus and Rhea we get many of the better known gods, including Zeus.

Typoon: Originally "Chupon" from FF6, but the translator was probably thinking of "typhoon", a kind of tropical storm. Typhon was a horrifying offspring of Gaia and Tartarus. His mate was a monster known as Echidna (head of a nymph and body of a serpent), and their offspring were many monsters such as the Chimera, Sphinx, and Hydra. Typhon had hundreds of heads, with eyes dripping venom and lava for drool, and hissed and roared like a hundred snakes and a hundred lions. (not exactly like Chupon/Typhon in FF6 & FF7 but you get the idea)

Towns

Costa del Sol: This towns name is spanish for 'sun coast'. There is actually a town in Spain called Costa del Sol.

Gelnika: This is probably a misspelling of Guernica, the title of a painting by Picasso, depicting the bombing of the Spanish town Guernica by the Nazis, pre- WW2. The bombing was allegedly ordered by the Spanish government.

Midgar: Possibly an off of Midgard, a Norse mythological city meaning "Middle Earth". Kinda makes you wonder if its related to Lord of the Rings.

Nibelhiem: This towns name is the Norse frozen Hell. In ancient Norse, its meaning was "Home of the Clouds". Kinda makes you wonder...

Rocket Town: Well...self explanitory.

Wutai: Wutai is a real mountain in China's Shanxi Province and is sacred to Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of wisdom (Mahayana Buddhism). The mountain is actually a cluster of five terrace-like peaks, which is where it got the name Wutai (it means Five Terraces). It's home to the oldest Buddhist temple in China.

Any additions welcome.

Well, the main greek god that acted as the messenger for the gods was actually Hermes, in roman mythology known as Mercury. He was well known as the god of trade, the god of herds, and the god of athletics, fitting considering his job. He was well known in art for one artifact, a pair of winged shoes which gave him his ability to speed.

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Iris the goddess of the rainbow, WAS in fact a messenger of the Olympian gods. She was later described as a handmaiden and personal messenger of the goddess Hera.
Iris was a goddess of both the sea and sky - her father Thaumas "the wondrous" was a sea god, and her mother Elektra "the amber" a shining cloud godddess. For the coastal-dwelling Greeks the rainbow's arc was most often seen spanning between cloud and sea.

Iris had no distinctive mythology of her own. In myth she appears only as an errand-running messenger and was usually described as a virgin goddess.

Iris was depicted in ancient Greek vase painting as a beautiful young woman with golden wings holding a herald's rod (kerykeion), and sometimes a water-pitcher (oinochoe), in her hand. She was usually shown standing beside Zeus or Hera, often serving nectar from a jug. As nectar-pourer Iris was indistinguishable from ********* name had a clever double meaning, being connected with both iris, the rainbow, and eiris, a messenger.

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Eris (Greek Έρις, "Strife") is the Greek goddess of strife, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo. Eris, the solar system's largest known dwarf planet, is named after the goddess.

Please don't doubt me. ^_^ I'm greek.

Another thing that should be noted is that Vincent's first name comes from the actor Vincent Price, who was prominent in older horror films. His last name is most likely the allusion to romance, much like how his love life plays a prominent role in his backstory, because if he hadn't fallen in love with Lucrecia, he wouldn't be where he is today. 3nodding

I second that with kageodori-chan 3nodding

About the whole Shin-Ra thing. It's been said by Square that it was used in refence to Rome. The kanji for Shin-Ra was the same as the kanji used for Rome. It's a reference on the power they both held.

There's a bunch of streets in my city that seem to be realted to Final Fanatsy things. There are three streets in particular.
1.Malborough-like the enemy
2.Cloud-like Cloud Strife and
3.Gainsborough-like Aerith Gainsborough

I always thought that was cool.