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Following

Canon Name

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Game X gives you the option of naming your character at the start. In the sequel, that character appears as an Optional Boss, Secret Character, Previous Player-Character Cameo, etc., and as such the developers had to give them a name. Alternatively, Game X gets a book or movie adaptation/spin-off/sequel, and rather than set it in first person, or have everyone call them barkeep, they just make up a name for the character.

Occasionally, a sequel to a game will work around this by making the character an old save bonus boss, only showing up if you played the previous game anyway. Another workaround is to give a name that was one of several suggested choices in the first game.

This does not include cases where the character's "True" name is revealed in the first work as a Tomato Surprise.

See also Cutting Off the Branches, where several possible endings are collapsed into a "true" one for the sequel; and Canon Identifier, where future works use a title or codename for the character instead of deciding on a birth name.

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 stated in Game B or material in a non-interactive medium (such as films or books) released later should be added here.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Action-Adventure 
  • In Crusader of Centy, you name the main character at the start of the game, but the manual identifies him as Corona.
  • Infernax: Upon starting a new save file, you get to register your character's name, and certain names significantly change the gameplay. The name input by default is Alcedor.
  • The Legend of Zelda:
    • Most games in the series let you name the hero; canonically, however, his name is always Link. Notably, from Twilight Princess onwards, "Link" had been given by default in the namespace, reflecting how Link had been drifting away from being an Audience Surrogate and into his own character. Breath of the Wild finally removed the customization completely as voice acting was introduced.
    • Similarly, the hero's steed is a horse that the player can name in Twilight Princess; however, her canon name is Epona.

    Action RPG 
  • Eivor in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla has the surname Varinsdottir as revealed by Goodwin's letter and the Song of Glory comic series which confirms that the character is a woman.
  • Diablo II:
    • While the game hints at the fate of the three possible characters from the original game, it only explicitly states that one of them (hinted to be the Warrior) became Diablo, and Blood Raven, the Rogue, is the only one given an actual name. Diablo III states that the warrior of the first game is named Aidan. Further materials reveal the Rogue used to be named 'Moreina' before corrupted into Blood Raven.
    • The Sorcerer from the original game also reappears in the sequel, where he's called the Summoner. More of a title than a name, but that's as close as a unique identifier as we got. He does get his name later: Jazreth, but looks like he discarded it when he becomes simply known as the Summoner.
    • While the heroes in II remain unnamed so far, in III, if using the Wizard, the Sorceress' name is revealed: Isendra. And later on, Heroes of the Storm gives one to the Necromancer, Xul, and then the Amazon, Cassia. Diablo IV reveals the name of the Paladin as Carthas.
    • The supplemental materials also named the female Demon Hunter as 'Valla' and female Wizard as 'Li-Ming', which carries over when they get included into Heroes of the Storm. In addition, female Barbarian, male Witch Doctor, female Crusader, male Monk are ported into that game and given the names Sonya, Nazeebo, Johanna and Kharazim respectively.
    • Some unused data suggests that the male Barbarian might make an appearance in Heroes of the Storm and if that happens, Blizzard already prepared a Canon Name for him: Kronan.
  • Dungeon Siege III states that the hero of the first Dungeon Siege was a female warrior known as Lady Montbarron, who was also the ancestor of Player Characters Lucas and Katarina.
  • God Eater: The protagonist can be named and customized whatever the player wanted. However, the official names for all canonically default male protagonists are revealed in media adaptations and fully confirmed in God Eater: Resonant Ops.
    • God Eater: Yuu Kannagi, or Aki Tamashiro for the female protagonist. Unless the players are able to import a God Eater Burst save into God Eater 2, the game automatically uses the former as the original protagonist for GE1. This also carries over into the English version of Rage Burst where, due to players being unable to transfer save files due to GE2 having never been localized, the game automatically goes with Yuu Kannagi as well.
    • God Eater 2: Hiro Kamui
    • God Eater 3: Luca Pennywort. The female protagonist also shares the same name.
    • God Eater Mobile: The GEM Protagonist is the sole exception to this, due to Project G.E. Team quietly put God Eater Mobile to Canon Discontinuity before he could have one. This also makes the GEM Protagonist, the only male protagonist in the entire God Eater series whose name was never officially revealed.
    • God Eater Online: Sei Yagami
    • God Eater: Resonant Ops: Leo Kamiki for the male protagonist, and Rio Kamiki for female protagonist.
  • Mega Man Star Force's protagonist can be named in the first game, but Capcom uses the default name (Subaru Hoshikawa in Japan; Geo Stelar in North America) for the second and third.
  • While the titular protagonist of OMORI cannot be renamed, you are prompted to input the other protagonist's name after the end of the tutorial. The default name for him if you do not decide to change it is Sunny.
  • The Player Character in Phantasy Star Online 2 uses Hello, [Insert Name Here] and Character Customization, but in the Anime of the Game, Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode Oracle, the protagonist is a human male Hunter named Ash, based on the default character who appears in nearly every opening movie and named after the character from Phantasy Star Online.
  • Secret of Mana
    • The Japanese instruction manual calls the three main characters Randi, Purim and Popoie. Interesting in that nobody is really sure what gave them the idea to use those names in the Enclosed Instruction Book. Some say that it was from a magazine previewing the game.
    • The mobile version gives them the default names of Randi, Primm, and Popoi.
    • Final Fantasy Brave Exvius also uses Randi, Primm, and Popoi as the names of the heroes.
    • The remake has the canon name as the default name for each character.
  • In Torchlight II, the Vanquisher of the previous game is given the name Commander Vale, though the Alchemist and the Destroyer are still known by their class names.

    Adventure Game 
  • The Kickstarter page of Chicory: A Colorful Tale names the protagonist "Pizza", and when cycling through name choices that the game gives you, "Pizza" is the first option.
  • The Player Character in King's Heir: Rise to the Throne can be given whatever name the player chooses when the file is created, although the default is "Edmund", and he's never called by his first name in-game. However, all promotional material, game summaries, and walkthroughs use "Edmund" as his name.
  • The Quest for Glory series has an odd example; the authorized strategy guide has its walkthrough written in novel format, which gives the protagonist the name "Devon Aidendale". However, series creators Corey and Lori Ann Cole stated that "Devon Aidendale" is simply a name invented by the author of the guide and that the Hero was never supposed to have an official name so the player could more easily step into his shoes. However, they also said that if players want to use the name they can, and thus fans tend to use "Devon" in this fashion.
  • In the first two Space Quest games, you can name the main character anything you want, but if you choose to leave it blank, the game instead defaults to "Roger Wilco". This is the name used in subsequent installments since they avert Hello, [Insert Name Here]. The remake of the first game does not let you enter the name and instead goes with "Roger Wilco."
  • Wandersong: According to the developer commentary, the Bard's canon name is Kiwi, named after the novelty tea Kiwi's Big Adventure (Which was originally going to be the title of the game).

    Eastern RPG 
  • Boktai: The default name of the protagonist is Django, a reference to the spaghetti western hero of the same name. The sequel's title emphasizes this by being titled Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django.
  • Breath of Fire allows the player to name the main characters in all entries. Although in side material his canonical name has always been Ryu, a default name option was first added to Breath of Fire II. For Breath of Fire I, the option was retroactively added to its Game Boy Advance port, but the English translator for some reason changed "Ryu" as the default to "Zack".
    • Breath of Fire 6 breaks tradition by making Ryu a NPC and his little sibling the player character instead, and the player can choose not only the name, but also the gender to their liking. All released side material (mangas and web novel), however, establish the main character is Ryu's little brother named Kai.
  • Chrono Trigger allows you to choose a name for all six party members but the default options are their canon names: Crono, Lucca Ashtear, Marle, Frog, Robo and Ayla
  • Several Dragon Quest examples:
    • The Dragon Quest II characters are generally 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). While Laurasia/Midenhall rarely appears and never received a proper name, his cousins have made occasional guest appearances:
      • In Japanese versions of Fortune Street, Cannock and Moonbrooke were named Cookie and Purin ("Pudding"), respectively; which were possible names for them in the original versions of II. Mobile spinoffs keep Moonbrooke's name consistent in Japanese as Purin, but Dragon Quest of the Stars named Cannock as Caradoc and Dragon Quest Tact named him Tonnura (another option from II that had become memetic in the years since).
      • In the English Fortune Street and a cameo in Dragon Quest IX, their English names were Princeton and Princessa. However, Dragon Quest Tact named them Rickerd (a play on the cousins' ancestor Erdrick) and Peronel (seemingly a close but not exact transliteration of her Japanese name Purin) instead.
    • The Hero of Dragon Quest III is referred to in other works as Erdrick (Loto/Roto in Japanese), the title they receive at the end of the game. It's not clear if this is a Meaningful Rename or a Canon Identifier title.
    • In Dragon Quest IV, the male hero is Solo and the female hero is Sofia, according to the instruction booklet for the Japan-only Playstation remake (or so The Other Wiki says), and confirmed by cameos in Dragon Quest VI.
    • Dragon Quest V:
      • The Hero cameos in DQVI alongside the heroes of IV and is named Abel in Japanese and Madason in English, which in the original game was his father's choice for his name before going with the player-provided one (except in the very first SNES version, where the father suggests "Tonnura" as an in-joke to II). Various other adaptations tend to name the hero Lucas (which is sometimes transliterated as Ryuka). He's also known as Luca in Dragon Quest: Your Story, but it's an in-universe version of Hello, [Insert Name Here], and the kid playing DQV always names his heroes "Luca".
      • The game gives default names (which you can change) to the twin children of the hero in any remake and modern spinoff: Cooper and Annie in the Japanese SNES games, Rex and Tabatha in later Japanese games, and Parry and Madchen in English. The names are confirmed as canon in their DQVI cameo with their father, and the later Japanese ones were also used in Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory and Dragon Quest Rivals.
      • The manga adaption gives uses the names Abel for the hero and Sora and Ten for his children.
    • The heroes of Dragon Quest VI, Dragon Quest VII and Dragon Quest X were named Botsu, Arus, and Sora in manga adaptations.
    • Promotional material for the English 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII names the hero as Auster.
    • Starting with Dragon Quest VIII, the default hero name used when promoting a game tends to be the game's number — for instance, VIII's hero is known as Eight. Fans also do this with previous games as Fan Nicknames, and it's not clear which group started the practice.
    • Due to the Massive Multiplayer Crossover element of Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road, featuring Rex and Tabatha as player's avatars, most unnamed supporting heroes are named in this series.
    • The Dragon Quest Drama CDs gave names for each of the heroes featured.
  • Fate/EXTRA: The protagonist can be named whatever the player wants, and the player can even choose their gender. However, their canon name (whether they are male or female) is "Hakuno Kishinami".
  • Fate/Grand Order: 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. Later manga adaptations, the stage adaptations, and Fate/Grand Carnival gave the female protagonist the same name.
  • Final Fantasy uses it at times:
    • Final Fantasy III allowed the player to name all four characters. The official manga serialization gave them the names Muuchi, Doug, J. Bowie, and Melfi. The DS remake decided instead to make them four unique characters of their own, with the canon names of Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus. Dissidia Final Fantasy simply calls the hero representing the game "The Onion Knight", though his first alternate costume in Duodecim is called "Luneth" as a Shout-Out. Final Fantasy Record Keeper uses both, as both the Onion Knight from Dissidia and Luneth's gang from the remake are in the game.
    • Final Fantasy doesn't even have canon characters, let alone names. Similar to how it handled FFIII, Dissidia dubs the FFI representative (the Warrior from the Famicom version's packaging illustration) "Warrior of Light." In Duodecim, the Warrior of Light does not remember his past, and thus, never reveals his name.
      • In the Final Fantasy - Memory of Heroes novel, the Warrior's name is given as Zest. Whether or not that makes it the official name of the "Warrior of Light" from Dissidia is uncertain.
      • The prequel/Revision to Final Fantasy, Mobius Final Fantasy, gives the Warrior's name as "Wol" (a likely nod to the acronym-based Fan Nickname that originated with Dissidia) although the player can still rename him (and is encouraged to do so via the social mechanics).
    • The instruction booklet for Final Fantasy Mystic Quest says the main character's name is Benjamin, though you can name him whatever you want.
    • In Final Fantasy IV for the SNES, an NPC named Namingway allowed you to change the character's default names (Cecil, Rosa, Kain, Edge, and Rydia). However, since the DS version (and its ports) added voice in cutscenes, you cannot rename the characters in that version. This severely disappoints Namingway and creates a completely new sidequest where Namingway tries to find his place in life.
    • The Final Fantasy VI ending uses movie-style "Character as Himself" credits ("[Player-selected Name] as Canon Name") to show everyone's canon names, including surnames that never come up elsewhere. If you kept the default names, you get something like "Cyan as Cyan Garamonde."
    • When one of the previously playable and player-named Turks from Before Crisis appears in Crisis Core 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.
    • Final Fantasy X-2 had an interesting time dealing with the absence of this trope, as the protagonist of Final Fantasy X is officially named Tidus, but, for some reason, they declined to name him in X-2 despite him not being present until the Golden Ending. 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).
  • In Fossil Fighters, the hero has no default name—and indeed, you can change his name as often as you like! However, the official mini-manga gives his name as "Hunter," probably after the series' Japanese name (Fossil Hunters).
  • In Golden Sun and its first sequel Golden Sun: The Lost Age, you could name The Hero (along with the rest of the player characters if you punched in certain codes at the naming screen) whatever you wanted. In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, however, the Warriors of Vale all go by their default names.
  • The protagonist of Granblue Fantasy is named whatever you want to call them (with voiced characters getting around that by only calling them "Captain"), but in canon the name of the protagonist is Gran for male and Djeeta for female.
  • In .hack, as you could rename your main character in the first four games and you could load data from any of them to G.U. and it would change the name of the final boss of Vol. 1 to your character's name in the first series. If you don't do that, however, the character's name is given as "Kite". This is also his name in his appearance in Project × Zone.
  • Each of the Lufia games past the first have a canon name for their hero (with Maxim's name established in the first game). You can still change Maxim, Wain, and Eldin's names, except in Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals where Maxim's name is used during voice acting.
  • Metal Saga: Seijin no Kusari: In the original Japanese version, the player character's canon name is "Syu," but it isn't mentioned in the English version.
    • Metal Max Xeno's player character canon name is "Talis." This is also what his voice talent is listed as in the end credits.
  • Mother:
    • Earthbound Beginnings: Originally the protagonist had no official name. The name "Ninten" note  was used in the manual for the Famicom version, but it's a placeholder name that Nintendo typically used in games where the protagonist can be named (examples can be seen in the various Zelda manuals). However, the name Ninten stuck around and became the definite name for the character.
    • The main characters in EarthBound (1994) and Mother 3 are Ness and Lucas, respectively. In fact, all of the canonical names for nameable characters in the series are the first names given to you from the name creator's "Don't Care" option. These names are also all used in Super Smash Bros..
  • You're asked to enter a four-letter name without any context when you begin Phantasy Star II. If you leave the space blank, it defaults to Rolf.
  • Pokémon:
    • The hero from Pokémon Red and Blue is officially named Red, and his rival is Blue (Green in Japanese). Both names are revealed when you fight them in Pokémon Gold and Silver. These names are also brought on over to Pokémon Adventures. In the TFG however, the male protagonists gets three names, Red, Green and Yellow.
    • During Pokémon Red and Blue's original release in 1996, an unnamed female character drawn by the art director Ken Sugimori was revealed on the cover of the official strategy guide for the game◊ (as well the cover for the revised version). The canonical name for this character differs with each medium. Her counterpart in Pokémon Adventures is named Green (or Blue in Japanese). As the female protagonist in FireRed and LeafGreen, Leaf is the name she's given as her placeholder name, internal game data, promotional game screenshots, her Kotobukiya ARTFX J figurine and her Bandai Pokémon Scale World figure, with the name finally being canonized in Pokémon Masters. Her name as an NPC trainer in Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! is Green, being based on the unnamed female character concept through the trend of having fully-evolved versions of the starter (Red has Venusaur, Blue has Charizard whilst Green has Blastoise), whilst also being based personality-wise off her manga counterpart.
    • Pokémon Gold and Silver 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 Pokémon Gold and Silver, HeartGold and SoulSilver, would later establish Gold's real name as Ethan (Hibiki in Japanese). 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." Pokemon Masters cemented this as his canon name. The manga uses Gold for the male protagonist and Silver for the rival, whilst the anime names the male protagonist as "Jimmy".
    • The heroine from 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 (Kotone in Japanese). Kris's counterpart in the anime is named "Marina" whilst Lyra uses the same name. The manga forgoes this by naming her "Crystal" as well as being both Kris and Lyra's counterparts.
    • Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire has the hero as Brendan (Yuuki in Japanese) and the heroine as May (Haruka in Japanese). The Rival is whichever gender option you didn't choose. Pre-release material for the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (including the demo) had them known as Orlando and Anna (Omega and Alpha in Japanese respectively) as well as Japanese pre-release material for Emerald had them known as Rald and Emy respectively. The manga uses Ruby and Sapphire for the two whilst the TFG utilizes three different names for the male protagonist, Brandan, Landon and Sean.
    • Pokémon Diamond and Pearl has Lucas (Kouki in Japanese) and Dawn (Hikari in Japanese) as your playable choice (again with the non-chosen character appearing as an NPC), and a rival in the form of Barry (Jun in Japanese), who can be freely named by the player in these games. Though Barry's name was de-facto canonized by the anime, it wouldn't appear in a games contest until Pokémon Masters over a decade later since the game's internal data uses the name Cedric (Pearl in Japanese) instead. The manga uses the names Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Berlitz for the male protagonist, rival and female protagonist respectively.
    • In Pokémon Black and White, the player characters are named Hilbert and Hilda (Touya and Touko in Japanese) on the Battle Subway. Their pre-release names were Blair and Whitlea, referencing the game titles. Some promotional screenshots as well as OT name of a transferred Pokemon whose name is deemed as vulgur uses "Kuro" and "Shiro" in English ("Black" and "White" in Japanese), with the demos using Black and White respectively in both English and Japanese. The manga uses Black for the male protagonist and White for the female protagonist respectively.
    • In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, the protagonists are again named by the Battle Subway: Rosa (Mei in Japanese) and Nate (Kyouhei in Japanese), a pun on "Resonate" ("Kyoumei" in Japanese) when said together, one of the game's themes. Though this is usually missed because people tend to list the male name first. Pre-release media uses the names Black 2 and White 2 for the male and female protagonists respectively. The manga uses different names in different languages, with the original Japanese release naming the male protagonist as "Lacktsu" and the female protagonist as "Whitsu" (pronounced as "Wai-Tsu") as corruptions of the pronounciations of the games they're from (Burakku-Tsu and Waito-Tsu). The Viz Media translation eschews this by naming them "Blake" and "Whitley".
    • In Pokémon X and Y the official names are Calem and Serena, with the non-chosen character as a rival yet again, but their pre-release names were Xavier and Yvonne, once again reflect the game titles (funnily enough, the Viz Media translation of the XY chapter of Pokémon Adventures has the female character's full name as Yvonne "Y" Gabena).
    • The names of Pokémon Sun and Moon's protagonists were notably never officially revealed, and many went by their pre-release names of "Elio" and "Selene" ("You" and "Mizuki" in Japanese respectively), or reverted to the convention of naming them after the game titles as is the trend in the manga. Pokemon Masters EX canonized the pre-release names of Elio and Selene (with the same Japanese names connected to them). Prior to that, the demo as well as promotional videos and officially supported material called the two as "Sun" and "Moon" respectively. This wasn't brought over to the Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon promotional campaign which uses Ray and Ailey (Kouta and Koumi in Japanese) for the protagonists respectively.
    • The canon names of the protagonists of Pokémon Sword and Shield are Victor and Gloria. Pre-release material also gave their names as Sword and Shield. The manga uses Henry Sword and Casey Shield in the English release, and Sodo Tsurugi and Shieldmilia Tate in the Japanese release.
    • In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the official names of the protagonists are Florian and Juliana.
    • Most Pokémon spin-off games follow this rule as well. Surprisingly, the protagonists of Pokémon Conquest avert this; they are literally Hero and Heroine otherwise.
    • It is worth noting that the most popular manga adaptation, Pokémon Adventures, retains the pattern of naming the protagonists after the game versions, even after the games abandoned this. For example, the manga counterparts of the aforementioned Brendan and May are Ruby and Sapphire; Lucas, Barry, and Dawn are Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum; Hilbert and Hilda are Black and White; Nate and Rosa are Lack-Two and Whi-Two note ; and Calem and Serena are X and Y note . A few translations, such as the English one, take minor liberties in order to make the names plausible while still referencing the game titles; with Y becoming Yvonne (though still carrying the nickname Y) and Lack-Two and Whi-Two becoming Blake and Whitley. note 
  • The original Shadow Hearts lets you rename everyone... setting up a gag where you're given the "Rename" screen for Roger Bacon, who promptly informs you he isn't joining your party and you shouldn't be so presumptuous. Covenant reveals that the default names for everyone were the canonical ones, and does away with renaming (except that the screen still pops up for Roger).
  • Shin Megami Tensei:
    • The protagonist of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is given the name of Naoki Kashima in the radio play adaptation, but is known as Shin Managi in the novelization.
    • The player character of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is called Murdock in most of the English manual's screenshots. However, one set of screenshots near the end calls him Langdon Alger. It's unlikely that either is his "real" name, but it's as close as the game gets. In the drama CD (and supplementary japanese materials), however, he is given the name Tadano Hitonari, a pun on "tada no hito nari" which means "just an ordinary person" in Japanese.
    • Though the player can rename Shin Megami Tensei IV's protagonist, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse only uses his default name Flynn.
    • In a somewhat straighter example, the main character of Shin Megami Tensei if... isn't even given a set gender, much less a name. However, the female version of the character appears in Persona and Persona 2 with the name Tamaki Uchida, and in P1 she talks openly about the events of if..., establishing herself as the canon hero of that game.
    • Persona:
    • The Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army prequel novelization gives the eponymous protagonist the first name Jouhei, as "Raidou Kuzunoha" is actually his title, not his birth name (which is chosen by the player in-game).
    • The protagonists of the two Devil Survivor games are named by the player and don't have a set name. The protagonist of the first gets named Kazuya Minegushi in the manga adaptation, though the protagonist of the second gets two names depending on the adaptation, either Hiro Kageyama in the manga or Hibiki Kuze in the anime adaptation.
  • The Star Ocean games let you rename characters, but in voice clips (both inside and outside battle), the original name is always used.

    Real Time Strategy 
  • 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 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.

    Rhythm Game 
  • Subverted with Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS whose Player Character is nameable. When its anime adaptation, Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, was announced, fans were given the opportunity to suggest and vote for a name for the player character's anime stand-in, who became Yu Takasaki. However, the player character from the game and Yu Takasaki are not the same character, as while they share similar story roles and similar character traits, they are considered distinct entities due to the game and anime existing in separate continuities despite sharing virtually all of the same characters and general plot outline. The easiest way to tell if a derivative work or spin-off is set in the continuity of the game or the anime is to check if the protagonist is referred to by name, as in the game all the characters universally refer to the player character by some sort of nickname.

    Roguelike 
  • The main character of Spelunky, most commonly known as the "Spelunky Guy", gets a name in the sequel: Guy Spelunky.

    Shoot 'Em Up 
  • The heroine of The Guardian Legend doesn't have a name in the English version, but in Japan, her name is Miria.
  • Star Control II: The Captain'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 non-canon novel Star Control: Interbellum.

    Simulation Game 
  • Ensemble Stars!: The name that pops up if you don't call the protagonist anything is "Anzu". Appropriately enough, this gives a hint to who is the erstwhile character referred to as "Angie" throughout Ensemble Girls!.
  • Harvest Moon:
    • The male protagonists name as "Pete" was the default (as in, already filled in) name of the male farmer in 2001's Harvest Moon 3 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".
    • Island of Happiness, for instance, names the male and female protagonists Mark and Chelsea, respectively. However, you can't use "Chelsea" as your character's name, since you only get six character slots.
    • The A Wonderful Life protagonist is also named "Mark". And your child's name is Andy.
    • The Magical Melody protagonist, who is based off the SNES version of Pete, is named "Adam" (US) and "Tito" (Japan).
  • I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, while the protagonist's name is customizable, they're known internally as "Sol", and the game suggests Solane/Solana/Solanaceae as their full name.
  • Littlewood: The player can name the village they are rebuilding what they want, but the game's title is its default name.
  • In Potion Permit, the Chemist's and their dog's names are officially Logan and Noxe, respectively, which appear in the name box of the Character Customization screen, where you can rename them whatever you want.
  • Pou: The default, official name of the game's pet is Pou, although you can change its name whenever you want.
  • The Princess Maker series has one for nearly all the daughters. first and last names, giving a canon father's surname as well. Princess Maker 3 has "Lisa Anderson".
  • The Urbz: The purple-haired main character shown in the game's cover is named Jayde in the official comics. However, since the player can modify their PC at will (including changing their gender), it's unknown if this name applies to every iteration of the PC.
  • Wing Commander:
    • For Wing Commander III, which used live-action video instead of animated cutscenes, the main character (same as from the first two games) was given the name Christopher Blair. You still got to pick your callsign, which later games (and the novels, and the movie...) would establish as "Maverick".
    • Wing Commander I and II had a command line Cheat Code that allowed you to select any mission you wanted. This skipped you past continuity bits like choosing a name; in these circumstances your character was known as "BLUEHAIR". Speed it up a little and...

    Stealth-Based Game 
  • Metal Gear:
    • The reason why Solid Snake's real name was never mentioned in the MSX2 Metal Gear games had little to do with maintaining the character's mystique and more to do with the fact that he was meant to be an avatar for the player. When Snake's character was fleshed out in Metal Gear Solid, he was given the name of "David", allowing for Theme Naming with both Meryl (Canon Immigrant from Policenauts, where Meryl was partnered with a guy named Dave) and with Otacon (Hal and Dave).
      • Some early Metal Gear novelisations and spinoffs used other real names for the character, such as Justin Halley (from the Worlds of Power novelisation).
    • At the beginning of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the player is asked to input their name and details for Raiden's dog tags. Most appearances of them in non-interactive media (official videos, strategy guides, the zoomable Demo Theatre version in Document of Metal Gear Solid 2, etc) use Hideo Kojima's details instead.

    Strategy RPG 
  • Fire Emblem:
    • In Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the player is the strategist/protagonist that Lyndis finds when the game begins. You're allowed to name him or her whatever you choose, but canonically, he goes by the name Mark.
    • The Avatar in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem is canonically named Kris, alternatively romanized as Chris in Japanese.
    • The Avatar in Fire Emblem: Awakening is canonically named Reflet in Japanese, Robin in English, and Daraen in some European languages, further cemented by his/her appearance in Super Smash Bros. Note how all of these names are gender-neutral.
    • Ditto for the Avatar in Fire Emblem Fates. He or she can be named whatever you want, but the default name is Kamui for Japan and Corrin for the West, regardless of gender, which is also futher cemented by their appearance in Super Smash Bros.
    • Fire Emblem: Three Houses also gives you the choice of naming your player avatar, but their official name is Byleth in the West and Bereto (male) or Beresu (female) in Japan.
    • Fire Emblem Heroes continues the tradition with the Summoner; the player chooses the name, but the default/official name is Kiran.
    • Fire Emblem Engage: You get to name your Avatar once again, and their official name regardless of gender is Alear in the West and Lueur in Japan.
  • King's Bounty: The Legend lets the player choose the player character's name, but in the backstory of the sequel Armored Princess, he is always named Bill Gilbert, the default name in The Legend.
  • In Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen, the player can choose between a male Lord and a female and name either one. In Ogre Battle 64, the male version of the Lord appears as a character named Destin Faroda, while the female Lord is named Europea Rheda.
  • The hero(ine) of Soul Nomad & the World Eaters has the default name Revya. The Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice cameo appears to establish Revya as female and taking the Normal Path, but who can say with Nippon Ichi? It literally calls her just the hero from Soul Nomad "(default name: Revya)".
  • While many Super Robot Wars allow the player to rename the protagonist (and sometimes their original mech), the default names are generally taken as canon. Characters who appear in the Super Robot Wars: Original Generation subseries always use their default names.
  • Symphony of War: The Hero's default name is Lindly for the female and Devoa for the male.

    Third-Person Shooter 
  • Like all amiibo, the Splatoon series amiibo can be named by the player. That said, the Splatoon Direct shows the name for the orange Inkling Girl as Inky, the blue Inkling Boy as Inked, and the green Inkling Squid as Slippy.

    Tower Defense 

    Visual Novel 

    Wide Open Sandbox 

    Western RPG 
  • In Always Sometimes Monsters, most of the characters at the party at the beginning of the game (which functions as the "character select" screen) have default names, but you don't learn them until you make your choice and talk to one of the other characters. Three of the potential partners (the character you select in the patio) aren't given names.
  • Divine Divinity lets you pick a male or female character and write a name for them. In every game afterwards they are canonically male and named Lucian, allowing him to appear in other games throughout the series.
  • Dragon Age has a number of canon names depending on race, origin and gender for the Warden, Hawke or the Inquisitor. In order: Aeden/Elissa Cousland*, Daylan/Solana Amell*, Alim/Neria Surana*, Darrian/Kallian Tabris*, Theron/Lyna Mahariel*, Duran/Sereda Aeducan*, Faren/Natla Brosca*; Garrett/Marian Hawke; Maxwell/Evelyn Trevelyan*, Mahanon/Ellana Lavellan*, Edric/Malika Cadash*, Kaaras/Herah Adaar*.
  • In the original Fallout there are three premade characters, one of whom, Albert Cole, appears to be the character we see in flashbacks in Fallout 2, though his name is never actually mentioned there.
  • In Fallout 4, you choose between a wife and a husband as your player character. The one you didn't choose is given the name Nate (the husband) and Nora (the wife).
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda has Scott and Sara as the default name for the Ryder you choose as your protagonist. The one you don't choose uses those names and if you choose it as your default name then it gets used in-game.
  • The player character of Planescape: Torment is only known as The Nameless One, because his real name has been lost for millennia. Although the character learns his true name towards the end of the game, the player never does. The 1999 novelization (which most fans ignore) has him pick the name "Thane" early on.
  • In South Park: The Stick of Truth, the protagonist will always be dubbed "Douchebag" no matter what the players choose to name him. At the end of the game, the Big Bad Government Guy pursuing him reveals his true name: "Dovahkiin".
  • Pretty much every Star Wars Legends game that allows the player to create the player character gives them at least an official gender (and species where applicable) as a necessity of Legends' multimedia nature making its lore intertwined across novels, video games and comic books. Revan from Knights of the Old Republic is male, Jaden Korr from Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is likewise a male human, the Exile from Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is female, and so on. The Featureless Protagonist of X-Wing 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 TIE Fighter is Maarek Stele, and he pops up very sporadically in other material. Averted in X-Wing Alliance, 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.
    • Knights of the Old Republic generally uses the name of the hero's original identity, Revan to refer to him, leading to a Late-Arrival Spoiler situation in later games. The Exile's name is later stated to be Meetra Surik in Revan, the book prequel to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Oddly enough though, Revan never has his birth name revealed; as shown by a flashback in a prequel comic he changed his name to Revan upon deciding to leave the Jedi Order to fight the Mandalorians.
    • The Force Unleashed includes a variation on this: The main character is codenamed Starkiller (incidentally, the original last name of the Skywalkers in early Star Wars drafts) and his real name, as revealed in the books, but not (overtly) the games, is Galen Marek.
  • Part 1 of Trick Comes Home allows you to choose the name of a newborn chick, the default (and later confirmed canon) name being Phoenix.
  • In Undertale, you get to name the Fallen Child. 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 referred to in Toby Fox's storyboards as Chara*, something alluded to in the final game— not only does the text "the true name" appear when one uses that name, but it's also what the game defaults to if the player somehow skips the naming sequence.

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