History Main / CanonName

* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', you get to name the Fallen Child. [[spoiler:It's [[TomatoSurprise eventually revealed]] that you actually named the ''first'' child who fell into the Underground, not your character. Your character's real name is Frisk. Additionally, the first fallen human is commonly referred to by fans as "Chara"[[labelnote:*]]A programming abbreviation of "'''CHARA'''CTER".[[/labelnote]] due to the text 'the true name' appearing when one uses that name.]]

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' had an interesting time dealing with the absence of this trope, as the protagonist of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' is officially named Tidus; but, for some reason, they declined to name him in ''X-2'' despite him not being present [[spoiler:until the GoldenEnding]]. This resulted in every single character being required to obliquely refer to him through titles or nicknames (especially jarring given the presence of voice acting).

** The male protagonists name as "Pete" was the default (as in, already filled in) name of the male farmer in 2001's ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon3'' GBC if playing as a girl. ''Puzzle De Harvest Moon'' also names him "Pete". The default name for the female farmer if you were playing as a boy was "Sara."

** When one of the previously playable and player-named Turks from ''VideoGame/BeforeCrisis'' appears in ''VideoGame/CrisisCoreFinalFantasyVII'' in a prominent role, she initially introduces herself to Zack as "Cissnei." However, she later reveals that the name is an alias, implying whatever name the player gave her in ''Before Crisis'' is still valid in some capacity.

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': For a long time the protagonist was officially nameless, again being called whatever the player wanted. With the advent of the ''Grand Order'' prologue being animated, the protagonist was given a canon name: Ritsuka Fujimaru. Only the male version of the protagonist appears in the animated feature, but a stage adaptation featuring the female protagonist gave her the same name.

* Pretty much every ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' game that allows the player to create the PC gives them at least an official gender (and species where applicable) as a necessity of ''Legends''[='=]s multimedia nature making its lore intertwined across novels, video games and comic books. [[spoiler:Revan]] from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is male, Jaden Korr from ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' is likewise a male human, the Exile from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' is female, and so on. The FeaturelessProtagonist of ''VideoGame/XWing'' is revealed in a novella included with the Limited Edition to be Keyan Farlander, a human male from Agamar, who later ''Legends'' material reveals was later trained as a Jedi by Luke Skywalker and became a Jedi Master in his own right. The one from ''VideoGame/TIEFighter'' is Maarek Stele, and he pops up very sporadically in other material. Averted in ''VideoGame/XWingAlliance'', where the hero has a name (Ace Azzameen) from the start, and although it's possible for the player to change it at the beginning, there's little point as his family relations with the other Azzameens is a big part of the plot.

Game X gives you the option of [[HelloInsertNameHere naming your character]] at the start. In the sequel, that character appears as a BonusBoss, SecretCharacter, PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo, etc., and as such the developers had to give them a name. Alternatively, Game X gets a book or movie adaptation, and rather than [[TheAllConcealingI set it in first person]], or have [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep everyone call them barkeep,]] they just make up a name for the character.

* Pretty much every ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' game that allows the player to create the PC gives them at least an official gender (and species where applicable). [[spoiler:Revan]] from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is male, Jaden Korr from ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' is likewise a male human, the Exile from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' is female, and so on. The FeaturelessProtagonist of ''VideoGame/XWing'' is revealed in a novella included with the Limited Edition to be Keyan Farlander, a human male from Agamar, who the ExpandedUniverse reveals was later trained as a Jedi by Luke Skywalker and became a Jedi Master in his own right. The one from ''VideoGame/TIEFighter'' is Maarek Stele, and he pops up very sporadically in other ExpandedUniverse material. Averted in ''VideoGame/XWingAlliance'', where the hero has a name (Ace Azzameen) from the start, and although it's possible for the player to change it at the beginning, there's little point as his family relations with the other Azzameens is a big part of the plot.

[[AC: Note:]] This is not about any game that lets you name the characters. Only cases in which you can name the characters in Game A, and the character's official name is shown in Game B, The Movie, or The Book version released later should be added here.

** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'' starts giving default names (which you can change) to the twin children of the hero in any remake and modern spinoff: ''Rex'' and ''Tabatha'' for Japanese locale, and ''Parry'' and ''Madchen'' for English DS version. The aforementioned ''DQVI'' remake also cameos the ''V'' cast, confirming the kids' names and dubbing the hero as Madason (which in the original game was his father's choice for his name before going with the player-provided one). The manga adaption gives uses the names Abel for the hero and Sora and Ten for his children. Various other adaptations tend to name the hero Lucas (which is sometimes transliterated as Ryuka).

* The main character of ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', the Spelunky Guy, gets a name in the sequel: [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep Guy Spelunky]].

** Of course, that's just within the canon of the games. Many kids were probably inspired by [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} the anime]] [[AnimeOfTheGame that followed]] the ''Red'' game's suggestion in naming the hero Ash, and his rival Gary. Likewise with the Japanese games, Satoshi and Shigeru for the characters Red and Blue/Green, respectively.

* Every game in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series (except ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'') lets you name the hero; canonically, however, his name is always Link.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', you get to name Fallen Child. [[spoiler:It's [[TomatoSurprise eventually revealed]] that you actually named the ''first'' child who fell into the Underground, not your character. Your character's real name is Frisk. Additionally, the first fallen human is commonly referred to by fans as "Chara"[[labelnote:*]]A programming abbreviation of "'''CHARA'''CTER".[[/labelnote]] due to the text 'the true name' appearing when one uses that name.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', you get to name Fallen Child. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that you actually named the ''first'' child who fell into the Underground, not your character. Your character's real name is Frisk. Additionally, the first fallen human is commonly referred to by fans as "Chara" due to the text 'the true name' appearing when one uses that name.]]

* The ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' has succeeded in remaining nameless until TheMovie ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', at which point it became absurd, and he was given the name Dastan, which means "[[TheTrickster trickster]]", drawn from the Persian epic ''Literature/TheShahnameh''.

[[folder:Fighting Game]]
* Thanks to ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', we ''finally'' have names for the [[LegacyCharacter Sub-Zero Bros.]]: the elder one (the brother that killed Scorpion, then was killed by Scorpion after the first game, and descended into the Netherrealm to become Noob Saibot) is Bi-Han, while his younger brother (the one who took his place from ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat2 MK2]]'' onward) is Kuai Liang. The same game reveals that fellow (former) [[McNinja Lin Kuei]] member Smoke is a man hailing from Prague named Tomas Vrbada. This (and Cyrax's [[SuddenlyEthnicity ethnicity]] [[note]]after Cyrax's ending in ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat4 Gold]]'' removed his faceplate to show that he was, at the very least, AmbiguouslyBrown, ''[=MK9=]'' established that he's from Botswana in Africa and was scouted by the organization[[/note]]) lends credibility to the theory that the Lin Kuei is not entirely made up of Chinese warriors.

[[folder:First Person Shooter]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', the [[PlayerCharacter "Doomguy"]] is officially called Flynn "Fly" Taggart in the [[Literature/{{Doom}} book]] [[AdaptationDistillation series]], and "Stan [[VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D Blazkowicz]]" in the mobile RPG. However, [[WordOfGod John Romero]] maintains that this does not apply to the games, and that Doomguy is unnamed by design because he's meant to represent the player. In ''VideoGame/Doom2016'', the character still doesn't have an actual name, but [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname is referred to in-game]] by the epithet "[[RedBaron Doom Slayer]]".
* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' novels, Master Chief was given the name John-[[YouAreNumberSix 117]], and characters close to him occasionally call him such in the later games, with Cortana first calling him "John" in the ending of ''VideoGame/Halo3''.
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the names of certain characters have been cropping up as the game is updated. So far, the Demoman's name is Tavish Finnegan Degroot, the Engineer is Dell Conagher, the Sniper's surname is Mundy (and his birth name is [[spoiler:Mun-dee]]), the Soldier goes by the alias "Mister Jane Doe", the Heavy's first name is Misha (short for Mikhail), the Scout's first name is Jeremy, the Medic's last name is Ludwig and the Administrator's first name is Helen.
* The novelization of ''VideoGame/{{RAGE}}'' establishes the protagonist as Nicholas Raine and expounds on his life, noting that he was a lieutenant in the USMC Force Recon and was his Ark's military adviser after they found that the old one had cancer. This also explains why Dan Hagar immediately gave what the game implies is just a random Ark Survivor the task of wiping out a gang of bandits single handedly, and why the protagonist is so capable.

[[folder:Real Time Strategy]]
* The canon ending for the original ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' has the Orcs winning, making the player the new Warchief. In ''VideoGame/WarcraftII'', it's revealed that the Warchief is named Orgrim Doomhammer, who becomes an important figure for the Orcs. After all, [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Orgrimmar]] is named after him.
* The Executor from the original ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' Protoss campaign is revealed in ''Brood War'' to have been named Artanis. From this, {{Fanon}} likes to neatly speculate that the Executor from ''Brood War'' is Selendis and that the Magistrate from the original terran campaign is Matt Horner (both of these characters show up in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII''). That leaves the UED Commander from ''Brood War'' and both zerg Cerebrates. While they all still remain nameless, it's generally assumed that the first Cerebrate is one of those killed by Zeratul in the original protoss campaign, and that the second one was probably killed by Kerrigan (or simply died off without an Overmind to sustain it) some time after ''Brood War'' - that Cerebrate might in fact have been the last of its kind. The UED Commander was probably killed anonymously at some point in the ''Brood War'' zerg campaign, along with the rest of the UED forces.
* ''[[VideoGame/DawnOfWar Dawn of War 2]]'' (and ''Chaos Rising'') let you name your captain, but he is called "Aramus" in the novel. Granted, the novel is ''probably'' not canon. In the novel, Aramus is ''never'' a captain (and barely a sergeant, for that matter), the Eldar never showed up at any point, Administrator Derossa and the Meridian governor both had different names, and [[spoiler:Tarkus dies at the end.]] ''Retribution'' lets you ostensibly name your commander for whichever faction you choose to play, but it's more of just a save-slot name as the commanders are all named and referred to as such throughout the campaigns.
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[[folder:Shoot 'Em Up]]
* The heroine of ''VideoGame/TheGuardianLegend'' doesn't have a name in the English version, but in Japan, her name is Miria.
* The ''VideoGame/TwinBee'' series originally starred a lineage of nameless pilots assigned to drive the titular ship and [=WinBee=], starting with Dr. Cinammon's sons from the first game. When ''Deta na!! [=TwinBee=]'' got a radio drama titled ''[=TwinBee=] Paradise'', their pilots were named Light and Pastel. Eventually Creator/{{Konami}} released a family tree of the series' characters for the ''[=TwinBee=] Deluxe Pack'' collection for the [=PlayStation=] and UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, which not only retroactively named all the pilots of the older games, but also retconned some of the history established up to that point (for example, Dr. Cinnamon's unseen sons, Annamon and Donnamon, were changed into being non-related sibling disciples).
* ''VideoGame/StarControlII'': TheCaptain's default name is "Zelnick" and the ship's is "Vindicator" when the game was ported to the [=3DO=]. Most folks refer to him as this now. This is the name used in the [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] novel ''Star Control: Interbellum''.
[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Golden Sun|2001}}'' and its first sequel ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'', you could name TheHero (along with the rest of the player characters if you punched in certain codes at the naming screen) whatever you wanted. In ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'', however, the Warriors of Vale all go by their default names.

*** ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': Alef

** The ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' characters are generally [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep known by their titles]]: The Prince of Laurasia (or of Midenhall, depending on the translation), the Prince of Cannock, and the Princess of Moonbrooke (or just Laurasia/Midenhall, Cannock, and Moonbrooke for short). When they made appearances in Japanese versions of ''VideoGame/ItadakiStreet'', Cannock and Moonbrooke were named Cookie and Pudding, respectively. A ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' cameo later gave them English names of Princeton and Princessa. Laurasia/Midenhall remains unnamed.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' gave us the hero Gold and the rival Silver, though this was less canon and more so player assumption based on the naming conventions of the previous games. The remakes of ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]'', would later establish Gold's real name as Ethan. Silver didn't receive a new name ''per se'', but his default name was changed from "Silver" to "Soul," while his data is still stored under the name "Silver." ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' cemented this as his canon name. The heroine from ''[[UpdatedRerelease Crystal]]'' is Kris, as noted in the game description on the back of the box, who was replaced in the aforementioned ''HGSS'' by a new character named Lyra.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' gave us the hero Gold and the rival Silver, though this was less canon and more so player assumption based on the naming conventions of the previous games. The remakes of ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]'', would later establish Gold's real name as Ethan. Silver didn't receive a new name ''per se'', but his default name was changed from "Silver" to "Soul," while his data is still stored under the name "Silver." The heroine from ''[[UpdatedRerelease Crystal]]'' is Kris, as noted in the game description on the back of the box, who was replaced in the aforementioned ''HGSS'' by a new character named Lyra.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pou}}'': The pet of the game's default and official name is Pou, although you can change it's name whenever you want.