As many know, names are powerful in storytelling. A weak name is less likely to capture the awe of a story, while many names often carry a major underlying meaning. At the very least, they add definition to characters and help establish that identity, which has always been key to theAssassin’s Creedfranchise. Despite a variety of changes in time and settings, powerful names likeEzio Auditore de Firenzeall the way to Bayek of Siwa have remained a constant.
That is, untilAssassin’s Creed Odysseydropped and ended that tradition. In a way,Assassin’s Creed Valhallaattempts its balancing act between the old school and new school approach ofAssassin’s Creedhere by changing the approach to this tradition. It works for many of the games mechanics, but ultimately, it feels like a disservice to Eivor here. PLEASE NOTE: This article containsMAJOR SPOILERSforAssassin’s Creed Valhalla.
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Assassin’s Creed: From Altair to Edward
FromAssassin’s Creed 1toAssassin’s Creed Origins, the franchise’s use of names has relied on all of the characters mentioned above: capturing awe with powerful names, names that themselves carry an underlying meaning, and names that define and identify characters.
For example,Altair Ibn La’Ahadis loaded with Assassin-related meaning. Altair is directly named after a star in the Aquila constellation, with that star being known as “The Flying One” and the entire constellation being known as “The Eagle.” Not only that, but his surname can be translated to “Son of No One.” This may seem a bit odd for a number of reasons, as it’s a surname not taken from an ancestor as it would initially seem. Furthermore, Altair was familiar with his father, Umar, and the easiest way to explain this is how Altair is the first of a line of Assassins. Perhaps no longer in terms of history, but Altair will always be the Father of theAssassin’s Creedgames—establishing, not following, like a son of no one.
Of course, Altair was followed byEzio Auditore de Firenze, who took everything Altair established and perfected it. There’s a reason Ezio is the onlyAssassin’s Creedcharacterto receive his own trilogy (alongside other media). Like Altair, this is a bit on the nose as Ezio means “eagle” and Da Firenze is added to, indeed, identify the place of his birth but also identify where he comes from in a metaphorical sense. It’s the deaths of his family that sees Ezio transform from a juvenile young man to a full-fledged Assassin to, eventually, a wise mentor of the Brotherhood.
ComeAssassin’s Creed 3, player are introduced toConnor Kenwayand his Templar father,Haytham. Unlike Altair and Ezio, Connor doesn’t really deal with any Assassin imagery in his name, but as his name can be traced back toEdward KenwayfromAssassin’s Creed Black Flag, it does tie into its own trilogy and franchise theme: family. Connor’s naming conventions itself come more from his tribe, which still has their meaning unto itself, while Haytham does take the same approach as Ezio and Altair. His name is a transliteration of the Arabic to mean “young eagle.”
With Haytham and Connor’s surname, it made many fans excited when they learned that Edward was Connor’s grandfather. Interestingly enough, returningAssassin’s Creedcharacter Shaun Hastingspostulates that Haytham was named after Hytham, assuming that Edward knew much about the early British brotherhood. Really, as much as Auditore de Firenze connected Ezio’s Assassin roots to his family, so too does theKenway Saga.
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Assassin’s Creed: From Aveline to Amunet
Aveline de Grandpreis, at least in the formation of her identity, odd compared to the Assassins that come before her. She is thefirst fully-playable female Assassinin the franchise, although of course it was a mistreatment of the character in a non-AAA game. However, those important naming conventions and characters are still there. Aveline is taken from Avila, come from the Latin avid (or “Bird”), meaning that Aveline’s name carries the importance of “little bird.” While it does strange from Eagles slightly, there’s the clear connection.
WithShay Patrick Cormac, it gets a little interesting. In essence, Shay’s first name means Hawk and thus continues the trend of bird imagery in the name. However, Cormac is conjoined—“cor” can be interpreted as “Raven” and mac means “Son of.” For those who played bothAssassin’s Creed RogueandValhalla, this should establish an interesting connection. Shay, Son of Raven, could somehow connect with Eivor of the Raven Clan.
After all, not only does Shay have a bunch of Viking-related lore and more obviously Irish lore that could draw loose connections, Eivor is traveling to Ireland in the upcomingWrath of the Druids DLC. While this itself may be the most interesting, that’s not the only twist. At the same time, Shay could be a French corruption related to being a breaker of promises, or betrayer. Obviously, his name alone details how he will defect from the Brotherhood and become an Assassin defector, really showing how even the simplest of names can have deeply rooted meaning.
Arno Dorianis almost like looking at the past. His name is derived from German and French origins to crudely mean something like “Eagle Power.” He, much like Ezio, Altair, and Haytham, is more connected toAssassin imagerythan most, but it can go deeper than that. Not only does he share a similar imagery to his name as Ezio and Altair, but his personal life is much like Ezio’s and his love life is much like Altair’s. Both Arno and Altair fall in love with a Templar, while Arno and Ezio were both noble, rowdy youth who suffer at the hands of the Templars and grows into a powerful Assassin as a a result.
If perhaps Arno is a little too-on-the-nose,JacobandEvie Fryealmost find themselves as outliers. However, instead of using their names to connect to basic imagery or the overarching theme of family, Jacob and Evie both connect toAssassin’s Creedlore. Evie is derived from Eve, obviously coming from the Biblical Adam and Eve. As many know, Adam and Eve are often considered the first “proto-Assassins,” figures who preceded the Brotherhood but shared similar ideals. They fought to free Humanity from the Isu, with Evie being directly drawn from Eve.
At the same time, Jacob’s name comes from the brother of Esau, with Jacob’s name meaning “he who nips the heel” or “Supplanter.” In this way, Jacob plays off as Evie by supplanting the Templars and keeping the biblical connections alive. Furthermore, he extends it because Jacob is a Patriarch of the Israelites in his story, andJacob’s granddaughter Lydia Fryeimplies that Jacob is treated like a Patriarch of the Brotherhood here.
Notably, as the franchise moves further and further from Altair, the meanings diverge and change, yet all connect to some form of identity, to some theme of the franchise, or even to the Brotherhood itself.Bayek of Siwa, as well as his wifeAya, are the last entries in this trend, resulting in quite a few breaks from here. Bayek’s name is a reference to a Vulture or Falcon, obviously continuing the trend of bird names. However, Bayek also goes by Amun who is the god of Sun and Air. While the Sun is most inconsequential, the identification of air is a reference to a Leap of Faith. Combined with all of that is the fact that, attaching “of Siwa” to his name, in a manner similar to Ezio, shows where he comes from and how his journey ultimately began.
For Aya, it break downs much of the same. Aya can be derived from the hebrew for “to fly swiftly” or “bird,” while her reborn identity asAmunet literally translates to “The Hidden One.“This is a direct connection to the brotherhood, while the “of Alexandria” portion of her name comes from Alexander the Great. Commonly, Alexander and/or Alexandria are inferred to mean “defender of mankind,” so in truth, the entirety of Amunet’s identity is shaped around the proto-Assassins and their goals.
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The First Break: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
The latest two games buck these trends. Throughout the franchise, names are used to draw familiar connections (which is itself a bit obvious), but connect to the grander lore, ideals, or imagery of the brotherhood. Furthermore, even if it’s something as simple as “of Siwa” or “of Alexandria,” a full name is constructed for these characters. This helps establish identity and depth for the character, and are often used to accentuate the character in terms of importance and marketing. Ezio Auditore, Edward Kenway,Arno Dorian, Evie Frye, and every assassinmentioned here tie this all together.
KassandraandAlexiosenter inAssassin’s Creed Odysseyand immediately break this tradition. Etymology-wise, Alexios means “one who defends men” and Kassandra means “shining upon men.” The obvious interpretations here are a light and defend for mankind, which itself is a very weak connection. Alexios and “of Alexandria” have very similar origins, but it works with Aya as his entire identity is shaped around this. “Of Alexandria” is supplementary, not standalone, and ultimately this means that their name has no connection to anything solid related to Assassin imagery. Furthermore, their identities can feel incomplete as neither have last names, so there’s no surname, identifying information, or anything to help flesh out this portion of the character.
Of course, this break in tradition was most likely intentional for a few reasons. Regarding the surname, ancient Greeks typically only had a single name. This was often accentuated by some form of qualifier, like a place of origin, but it wasn’t entirely necessary. From a culture perspective, this makes sense while, at the same time,Assassin’s Creed Odysseyis a heavy RPGversion of the franchise. Including simple, single names like Alexios and Kassandra make a lot of the in-game construction much easier.
As to why the names have no connection to the franchise’s greatest themes, it’s worth highlighting that neither does the game itself. It’s an outlier in that Alexios and Kassandra exist (at least initially) 400 years beforethe Hidden Ones. The secret ending and many of the game’s mechanics complement a lot of this to make it feel like anAssassin’s Creedgame, but it’s non-traditional at the very least. This is likely the easiest explanation, as the franchise has proven that names are important and intentional, and this break in tradition isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
It’s clearly intentional nonetheless, as picking some form of Greek name related to birds, aside from the nickname Eagle Bearer (which is their strongest connection), is likely simple enough from this point. Indeed, the nicknameEagle Bearerreally tries to stretchAssassin’s Creed Odysseycloser to the franchise’s themes.
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The Second Break: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Once again, Eivor is a break in tradition, one similar but contextually different fromAssassin’s Creed Odyssey. “Eivor” can be traced back to Proto-Norse for “Defender,” which is a feminine name etymologically similar to Alexios’s. But unlike Alexios and Kassandra, Eivor is more directly involved with the Hidden Ones; although she doesn’t join them, she has a last impacting on theHidden Ones and the Order of the Ancientsin the franchise. Unlike Alexios and Kassandra’s Greek Origins, Vikings commonly had surnames based on their father. It wasn’t something that happened from time to time; it was culturally important.
In fact, Eivor has one but many players who just watch the marketing and rush the game will never know it. Players can find an in-game document that confirms Eivor’s name isEivor Varinsdottir,but this breaks tradition in a ton of ways. Ezio’s surname, Edward’s surname,Bayek’s place of origins, and more were all important to the character’s identity from the point of reveal; for Eivor, this simply was not the case. Her surname was ignored, and in fact, marketed over.
With the exception ofAlexios and Kassandra, Eivor is the only character in the franchise whose last name actually exists but is intentionally ignored. Sure, it’s not the most connected to the franchise. Much like Eagle Bearer for Alexios/Kassandra, it’s her relation to the clan that mostly connects her to the franchise’s overarching bird theme: Eivor of the Raven Clan. That doesn’t erase the fact that her last name exists. It’s not that it should been simple, like Alexios/Kassandra with Eagle Bearer, as Bayek and Aya both had alternative names and places of origins. It’s not that it can be explained away due to the culture, as with Alexios and Kassandra, but ultimately, it has to be intentional.
Occam’s Razor suggests that the simplest answer is usually the right one, and the simplest solution is that the name took a backseat asmany other woman characters in theAssassin’s Creedfranchise have. When the news broke at Ubisoft over the summer, it became apparent thatAssassin’s Creed Valhallabe inevitably influenced by this mentality too. It was simply too far in development, and with Male Eivor being the focus on the marketing, it feels likely that some wanted to intentionally hide Eivor’s name.
This is somewhat complicated by the fact that Male Eivor’s last name would be Varinsdottir, and it can’t be. It’s a female first name and a last name that indicates being the “daughter of Varin.” As explained, male Eivor and Eivor are both canon because they exist, but both are not Eivor. “Male Eivor” is not Eivor,he is Havi, and he is who most would know as Odin. On the one hand, it makes sense how playing as Odin for a few short chapters isn’t something Ubisoft would just want to give away, and it’s okay to offer a non-canonical choice in playing male Eivor. On the other, how is a alternate identity of a character who literally does not exist as he is demonstrated taking her name and being marketed over the directly canonical Eivor, and why invent a complicated explanation for Odin instead of keeping it an entire surprise?
There’s this potent idea of multiple souls in a single body in theAssassin’s Creedfranchise. Where does Desmond end and Altair and Ezio begin? How does one separate Layla from Bayek/Aya/Alexios or Kassandra, and Eivor? Quite simply, really, as Desmond is Desmond, Altair is Altair, and Ezio is Ezio. It’s more complicated when Layla is seeing through the eyes of Eivor who can see through the eyes of Odin, while Sigurd is also Tyr andBasim is also Loki.
But it’s a bit different with this added context: Layla or Desmond see through the memories of their ancestors, whereas Odin, Tyr, and Loki’s memories are indeed Eivor, Sigurd, and Basim’s memories. In fact, Eivor’s gender is incredibly important because it’s why Basim doesn’t immediately recognize Eivor as Odin because Eivor is female, not male. This means the character doesn’t end when the name changes, but that the characters still exist apart from one another.
Sure, it’s different but, in a complication situation, it’s easy to look back at Occam’s Razor. The simplest solution would be to say thatEivor Varinsdottiris the main character ofAssassin’s Creed Valhalla,that players have the option to play male, and to ignoreHavi/Odinand allow players to find that portion out themselves. Eivor’s name matters, perhaps more than most, but is ignored in the marketing, an act that is undeniably intentional.
Assassin’s Creed Valhallais available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
