Potential baby names may be hiding in the titles of classic arcade games of the ’80s and early ’90s. No, I’m not talking Q*Bert or Pac-Man. But how about Azurian, Zaviga, or Cadash?
Below are a bunch of possibilities, most not even as daring as Dovahkiin or Tali’Zorah. Three of them — Kage, Raiden, and Truxton — have already popped up in the SSA data. (And if you’re in the mood to play, click through to check out playable versions of the games hosted by the Internet Archive!)
- Amidar (1981)
- “Amidar” is based on Amidakuji (the name of a Japanese game) which is based on Amida (the name of a figure in East Asian Buddhism).
- Bosconian (1981)
- Zarzon (1981)
- Azurian, from Azurian Attack (1982)
- Zaxxon (1982)
- Zektor (1982)
- Cavelon (1983)
- Ixion (1983)
- Regulus (1983)
- Xevious, from Super Xevious (1983)
- Zaviga (1984)
- Kage (“kah-gay”), from Legend of Kage (1985)
- Rygar (1986)
- Gryzor (1987)
- Sauro (1987)
- Ordyne (1988)
- Syvalion (1988)
- Truxton (1988)
- Xenon (1988)
- Cadash (1989)
- Dyger (1989)
- Sagaia (1989)
- Tonma, from Legend of Hero Tonma (1989)
- “Tonma” is translated to “Tommy” within the game, interestingly.
- Xyonix (1989)
- Aurail (1990)
- Raiden (1990)
- “Raiden” was used again a couple of years later in the original Mortal Kombat.
- Trigon (1990)
- Solvalou (1991), one of several Xevious sequels
- Vimana (1991)
- “Vimana” is a Sanskrit word that refers to a flying palace or chariot in Hindu mythology.
I half-expect to see Zaxxon on the charts soon, now that Jaxon and Jaxxon are trendy and variants like Maxxon and Daxxon have emerged.
