not all of my characters have meaningful names, but a lot of them do, mostly because i suck at settling on names.

• cendra, the orphaned mariner — catalan, nickname / given name, meaning cinder.
• léon rousseau, the servant — french first name, meaning lion and symbolizing courage. french surname, homage to jean-jacques rousseau, "man is born free and everywhere he is in chains."
• françois "beau" beauregard, the enterpriser — french first name, meaning free man, homage to voltaire, spirited philosophical opponent of rousseau. beau means handsome or beautiful in french, and regard means look.
• asa jin (金) "the hound", the bounty hunter — chinese surname, meaning gold. nickname referencing the tracking ability of dogs, and the chinese idiom "兔死狗烹," lit. "to cook the (hunting) dog when the rabbit dies."
• reverend isaiah ames, the pastor — hebrew first name, meaning salvation of the lord. french surname, meaning amicable; friend.
• sage siannodel, the protégé — english, from latin sapere "be wise", meaning having, showing, or indicating profound wisdom.
• vigil nilsen, the folk hero — english first name, from latin vigil "awake", meaning a period of keeping awake during the time usually spent asleep, especially to keep watch or pray. norwegian surname loosely meaning descendant of a hero.
• yves, the plague doctor — french first name, meaning yew tree, symbolizing everlasting life, death, and rebirth - healing and poison in one.