Warhammer 40k Special Characters - Origin

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**TheWoosta**

While playing and collecting Warhammer 40k, I've noticed many references to science and normal life. One thing that really caught my attention was the choice of names for the Special Characters. Here is a list of the special characters and how I think GW got their names.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them here.

*Not finished. Blanks haven't been found yet*

Space Marines

Marneus Agustus Calgar - Ultramarines Chapter Master
Marneus -
Agustus - reference to Julius Agustus Caesar (Roman General)
Calgar -

Cato Sicarius - Ultramarines 2nd Co Captain
Cato - Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (Politician in Rome. Featured in Julius Caesar by Shakespeare.)
Sicarius - Latin for "dagger"

Varro Tigurius - Ultramarines Chief Librarian
Varro - Marcus Terentius Varro (Roman scholar and writer)
Tigurius -

Ortan Cassius - Ultramarines Chaplain, Master of Sanctity
Ortan -
Cassius -

Torias Telion - Ultramarines 10th Company Brother Sergeant
Torias
Telion

Antaro Chronus - Ultramarines Armoury Brother Sergeant
Antaro
Chronus - Greek Mythology. Son of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Ouranos

Pedro Kantor - Crimson Fists Chapter Master
Pedro
Kantor

Darnath Lysander - Imperial Fists 1st Co Captain
Darnath
Lysander - Spartan general. Expert and siege and commanding.

Kayvaan Shrike - Raven Guard 3rd Co Shadow Captain
Kayvaan
Shrike - a type of bird

Vulkan He'Stan - Salamanders Forgefather
Vulkan -
He - "He stands?" o-o
Stan - "Stan": BHI 3033 - Speciimen of Tyrannosaurus (reference to Salamanders?)

Kor'Sarro Khan - White Scars 3rd Co Captain, Master of the Hunt
Kor -
Sarro -
Khan - a title for a ruler in Turkic and Mongolian languages

Space Wolves

Canis Wolfborne
Canis - Genes for Dogs/Wolf
Wolfborne
Imperial Guard

Guardsman Marbo
Guardsman - Imperial Guard
Marbo - Rambo

**Mekboy**

Ghazgull's second names.

Mag Uruk Thraka = Margaret Thatcher

**aka_tizz**

LOL the image that gave me...a mean, green Margaret Thatcher screaming in the English Parliament "WAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!"

**Inanimate**

TheWoosta wrote:
Kor'Sarro Khan - White Scars 3rd Co Captain, Master of the Hunt
Kor -
Sarro -
Khan - a title for a ruler in Turkic and Mongolian languages

Maybe Kor'Sarro is a play on the word 'corsair'? Whenever I hear that word I think of lightning raids, and I guess that would be appropriate. Something abit more farfetched would be that Sarro is a version of Zorro.

**Halsfield**

vulcan is the roman god of beneficial and hindering fire. He is opposite hephaestus the greek god of fire and forging.

cassius may refer to one of a number of romans named cassius (one including the assassin of caligula and another who was part of the plot to kill caesar. There are a ton of important cassius' though that may fit better into sanctity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius

**Whizzforatomms**

It says on wikipedia that Tigirius was a fifth century saint.

**BeRzErKeR**

Tiberius was an early Roman Emperor, successor to Augustus Caesar. This may be where "Tigerius" comes from, as well as the "Augustus" in Marneus Augustus Calgar.

Augustus was a title, actually, assumed by Octavian when he took the throne.

**Morgrim**

Dark Eldar:
Kruellagh the Vile is a pun on Cruella de Vil.
Lelith Hesperax: Lelith is likely a reference to Lilith.

**Lord of battles**

Luther (DA) is Lex Luther from superman

**Halsfield**

Lord of battles wrote:Luther (DA) is Lex Luther from superman

Not really what I would go with as the source of his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_luther is a much more likely source considering the nature of the special character.

**Shadowbrand**

Typhus- Real disease scientific name being Typhoid Fevor.

Ragnar- Was a Swedish king of the Viking age.

Like all of the Ultrasmurfs are named after Julius Caesar characters.

Eldar craftworlds are named after Pagan holidays.

Thats all I got.

**aka_tizz**

Hastur Sejanus
Sejanus - Lucius Aelius Sejanus, leader of the Roman Praetorian Guard and friend of Roman Emperor Tiberius
Hastur - fictional character of H.P. Lovecraft (1920s)

And many of Dark Angels characters, who have byblical names :
Ezekiel - third of the major Christian prophets,
Zahariel - Archangel leading souls to judgment,
Belial - one of the seven Princes of Hell
Asmodai - another one of the seven Princes of Hell

There are others, i'm just too lazy to type right now

**Halsfield**

Kayvan = a persian name that means saturn or "like king" . Essentially his name is "king of the shrikes" or "king of the birds" which obviously is a reference to his superiority over all other sm assault troops.

I always found it interesting that dark angels used demonic names for many of their champions/leaders. I guess mostly it is because many of the daemons/devils started out as angels and only after they fell from heaven were marked as evil. Still think it hints that the dark angels have ties to chaos deep within(supported by astalen(sp?)'s confession).

**Miraclefish**

A Shrike isn't just a bird - it's known as the Butcher Bird. To kill and store prey, the shrike bites the throat out of other birds then, when they're weakened, drops them from a great height onto vicious, long-spiked thorn bushes, leaving them to die and be eaten at it's leisure.

**Shaman**

Eldar craftworlds are pagan holidays?

haha..

If someone cares to break that down Im interested.

**Morgrim**

Not sure if you were being sarcastic or not, but I'll toss these up in case anyone else is interested.

Saim-Hann: Samhain. Harvest festival, modern day Halloween.
Biel-tan: Beltane. May Day.
Yme-Loc: Imbolc.
Lugganath: Lughnasadh.

Someone else will have to fill in the others, I can't remember off the top of my head or a brief glance down the calendar.

Blood Angels are all named for characters from Dante's Inferno.

**Shaman**

Thanx, I wasn't being sarcastic.. Amazing yet true..

Also hastati was the roman word for the poor spearmen in the army.. If you say it out loud it sounds similar to Astartes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastati

**aka_tizz**

Shaman wrote:Thanx, I wasn't being sarcastic.. Amazing yet true..

Also hastati was the roman word for the poor spearmen in the army.. If you say it out loud it sounds similar to Astartes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastati

So, are you implying the Astartes may actually be those poor spermen in the army? That may be deemed heretical, you know...

**BeRzErKeR**

Actually, Astarte was a goddess in the Middle East/eastern Europe in the early Iron Age. She was a goddess of sexuality and war. "Adeptus Astartes" would mean "The Adepts of Astarte".

Astarte was probably the origin of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Which, when you think about the Space Marines, makes the whole thing REALLY ODD.

**Lottrup**

Pedro Kantor is name after the guy that played Crimson fist in the rouge trader books battle at the farm.

Mvh.

**crazykiwi**

isnt he from Custlers last stand?

**person person**

Lottrup wrote:Pedro Kantor is name after the guy that played Crimson fist in the rouge trader books battle at the farm.

Mvh.

Peter Cantor!!!

**Corvus**

Necrons = "Necro" as in greek for "dead" (duh)

That is all.