Spyro the Dragon, from wikia.com
I first started to get into gaming at the age of 11, when I would spend many hours after school playing on my childminders Playstation 1 with the rest of Julie’s Crew. We numbered many, from 12 years to 5 years, which meant the games we played on the mighty PS1 had to be ones we could all have a go at. That meant games such as Rugrats, Crash Bandicoot, Lara Croft and Spyro the Dragon.
My sister, Ebba, and I have a particular fondness for Spyro. Infact, I’ve just come from playing Spyro 2 on our PS1 upstairs, yes, we still have one. Generally speaking, when we get bored during any school holiday, Spyro is the go-to game for us; it can keep us occupied for many happy hours.
So it seems apt to now cover the names of the characters involved in Spyro 2, along with some other inspiring choices. But first, a quick overview of the game in general. Spyro 2 is official called either Gateway to Glimmer or Ripto’s Rage depending on whether you have the International or American version of the game. It was released at the end of 1999, and follows on from the first Spyro game released a year earlier.
This time around, Spyro is helping the people of Avalar, which is under siege by the evil sorcerer Ripto. Spyro must travel through the various portals found in the three homeworlds to collect talismins and orbs from the world he enters. The worlds get increasingly difficult the further along the game you get.
But now, the names. There are 14 worlds in which to collect talismins, with another 4 just solely for orbs. That makes for quite a few NPC characters running around in the background:
Amper
And Electroll from Hurricos who asks for your help. He wants you to take out the Gear Grinders who keep stealing his lightning stones, and will reward you with an orb.
The Electrolls are all male from what I can tell, which makes Amper a male name. But we already have the name Amber as an established female name, which means this name may not catch on. Since there’s an electricity-theme going on in Hurricos, I can only assume Amper is a play on the word Ampere, which is the unit of electrical current.
The ‘and’ symbol you can find on your keyboard (&) is called an ampersand, which derives from the phrase and per se and, which means and [the symbol which] by itself [is] and.
Arnie
Talking to Brother Arnie in the Colossus level results in him opening a door for you by the method of chanting. The name Arnie is usually given as the short form of Arnold. In the 90s BBC comedy Red Dwarf, the character Rimmer’s first name is Arnold, and he occasionally is called Arnie, or indeed calls himself Arnie.
In 2010 there were 14 Arnies and 17 Arnolds born in England&Wales. The itself means eagle power, being of Germanic origins.
Bruno
A hippo found in Shady Oasis who will set you the challenge of retrieving three lamps that have been stolen. The name Bruno comes from the Germanic word for brown: brun. 48 Brunos were born into this world in 2010 in England&Wales which equates to a ranking of #660.
Bud
Foreman Bud will set you a series of mental challenges in Idol Springs that you need to solve; completion of them results in a nice, shiny orb.
Aside from being a short form of Budweiser, the name of a lager, the name Bud also has colloquial use as another word for friend. It’s also used as a slang word for cannabis.
If we were to step into the realms of botany, we’d know that a bud is an undeveloped shoot which normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of the stem. This is likely what inspired Jamie and Jools Oliver to use the name Buddy for their youngest child, in keeping with the floral theme of elder sisters Poppy, Daisy and Petal.
Clive
Talking to Brother Clive in the Colossus level results in him opening a door for you by the method of chanting. One of the best known Clives is Clive Anderson, who used to present Whose Line Is It Anyway? back in the 90s and now turns up on occasion on the many comedy panel shows, such as QI and Have I Got News For You. But, be wary, Mr. Anderson himself has frequently mentioned his distaste at people called him cleev, not clyv.
The name itself means cliff, and 10 males were born to the name in England&Wales in 2010.
Curtis
Talking to Brother Curtis in the Colossus level results in him raising a platform for you by the method of chanting. The name comes from Old French and means courteous.
This name is more popular than you think in England&Wales. 159 were born in 2010, which puts Curtis at a respectable #287, 2 places ahead of goldenboy Flynn.
Elora
A fawn who acts as a guide to players on their journey through Avalar. She often appears in homeworlds to give tips or point you to a world you’ve yet to enter. I used to always missay her name as Flora.
This name could potentially be an elaboration of the Hebrew name Elior, which means God is my light. It could also be a contracted from of Eleanora. Or an elaboration of Laura, which means laurel.
Greta
A little girl who indroduces the world of Scorch. I love this name, mostly because I can’t help but tap it out as great on a regular basis. It comes from the name Margaret, which means pearl. 67 were born in 2010 in England&Wales, which means the name ranked at #586.
Harry
Brother Harry introduces to you the level Colossus. I adore this name, despite him being Mr.Popularity here in England&Wales, since he currently sits at #3. He’s a consistant one though, staying put in the Top 10 now for more than a decade. I’ve had friend tout him as a potential #1 in the current years, which breaks my heart, given how much I love the name.
The name itself is a short form of Henry, as demonstrated by Prince Harry himself, who was born a Henry. There’s also Harry Potter who no doubt helped the name up, and also Harry Styles, 1/5 of the emerging boyband One Direction. The latter Harry was actually trending worldwide on twitter last night, which says a lot about the band’s popularity after coming 3rd on last year’s X Factor.
Hunter
A cheetah who also acts as a gameguide to the player. He also sets a handful challenges which end with an orb reward. 52 Hunters were born in England&Wales in 2010, which puts him at #625.
E.G.Daily, the voice of Tommy Pickles, has two daughters who she named Hunter and Tyson.
Kanga
The name of one of the NPCs you have to talk to in Glimmer. There’s also a Winnie the Pooh character, and a real-life Lady Kanga here in the UK, born Dale Elizabeth Harper, but nicknamed Kanga.
Personally, I find myself drawn to this name. It’s fun
Kipp
Brother Kipp of Colossus tells you about their love of the game hockey, and then challenges you to play for orbs. Here in England, the word kip means nap, or short sleep. I remember reading a book once that listed it as one of the words which defined our nation. 6 male Kips were born in 2010.
Kosmo
An Electroll from Hurricos who asks you to go and find out what is wrong with the factory. Cosmo is another fun name which I love, but prefer with the C spelling.
The name Cosmo comes from Cosmas, which means order or decency. It also has links with the word Cosmos which either refers to a harmonious system or outer space.
Krista
A fawn who is trapped in a building in Fracture Hills. This name originally derives from the name Christian, which simply means a Christian.
Lila
The name of the fawn who introduces the Fracture Hills level, which is my favourite of the Autumn Plains worlds. Lila is the German word for purple.
185 Lilas were born in 2010 in England&Wales putting the name at #267, perhaps spurred on by Kate Moss using the name for her daughter in 2002. The alternate spelling of Lyla is even higher at #159 with 330 births.
Ned
Another brother from Colossus who tells you that they’ve trapped the yeti terrorising them into a room. He also rewards you with the end-of-world talismin. I love the name, and think he’d make for a great alternative to Jack.
Generally speaking, he’s a short form of Edward, which means rich guard. 68 Neds were born in 2010 in England&Wales, which places him at #518.
Satyr/Faun
The bagpipe players who need help in Fracture Hills are called Satyrs. There are 6 who need to be released. The world also features female fauns with yoyos.
Satyrs exist in myths, and originally had the tail and ears of either horses or donkeys, but later aquired goat legs, making them pretty much identical to fauns. In the earliest Greek art which they appear in, they are portrayed as ugly creatures, but transitioned over time to become more youthful.
As in the world, Satyrs are associated with pipe playing. A faun was a forest God manisfestation of forest and animal spirits, meaning that it was associated with nature.
Sunny
The name of one of the worlds based in Summer Forest is Sunny Beach and involves you sheparding some sea turtles. Sunny is one of my favourite names, she’s such a cheerful name.
Sadly, only 11 of them were born in England&Wales in 2010.
Talismin
A new kind of gem-inspired name. There’s a Welsh name similar to this, Taliesin, for the less brave. Traditionally speaking, Taliesin is a male name; 16 were born in England&Wales in 2010. One features in the BBC’s Child of our Time, a documentary following children born in 2000 to further look into the nature/nurture argument.
Zephyr
The name of a world based in Autumn Plains. It involved a lot of birds flying around dropping bombs on the indigenous population of slug-like creatures.
Personally, I was very happy to see Julia Bradbury had named her newborn son Zephyr about a fortnight ago. It’s the name of the Greek God of the west wind
And of course, finally, we should look at the name Spyro. It’s a Greek name, coming from the name Spyridon, coming from the Greek spyridion, meaning basket, or from the Latin spiritus, meaning spirit.
Mer de Noms 