Did you know that almost all of the characters in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have Japanese names related to flora? This is an extension of the common pattern of naming the Professor after a tree. Read on to find out all of the characters' name origins and meanings, and be sure to read to the end to see the one exception.
Gym Leader Name Origins
The Names of Popular Pokemon SV Characters are Based on Flora!
| Pokemon SV Gym Leader Name Origins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Japanese Name | Floral Meaning |
 Katy |
カエデ (Kaede) | Maple (a type of tree) |
 Brassius |
コルサ (Korusa) | Rapeseed (the scientific name of the flora is Brassica napus subsp. napus) |
 Iono |
ナンジャモ (Nanjamo) | A shortening of an expression equivalent to 'what do we have here?!' In this context used for a large out of place tree. |
 Kofu |
ハイダイ (Haidai) | Kelp (Konbu, a type of seaweed) |
 Larry |
アオキ (Aoki) | Japanese Laurel (a type of tree) |
 Ryme |
ライム (Raimu) | A pun, as the pronunciation for Lime (the fruit) and Rhyme are the same in Japanese |
 Grusha |
グルーシャ (Grusha) | Pear (Russian word for the pear fruit) |
 Tulip |
リップ (Rippu) | A shortening of the English Tulip (a type of flower), but also means lipstick in Japanese |
Although some of the Gym Leaders names fail to carry over their Floral origin in English, in their original Japanese, each of the Gym Leaders' names are based off a Flora Genus or Species! They also have a lot of puns mixed in with them such as I dunno for Iono, Lipstick for Tulip and Rhyme/Lime in the Japanese version for Ryme.
Elite Four Name Origins
The Elite Four's Names are also Based on Fruit!
| Pokemon SV Elite 4 Name Origins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Japanese Name | Floral Meaning |
 Rika
|
チリ (Chiri) | Chilli Pepper (a type of vegetable) |
 Poppy |
ポピー (Popii) | Poppy (a type of flower) |
 Larry |
アオキ (Aoki) | Japanese Laurel (a type of tree) |
Hassel |
ハッサク (Hassaku) | Hassaku (Japanese fusion Grapefruit-Orange) |
The Elite Four also appear to have some puns intended, at least on the Japanese Side. Chilli (Rika) could say something to her fiery personality, as well as the Chi in Chiri potentially being a pun on the 地 kanji which is associated with earth or ground (fitting for a Ground Type Specialist).
Teacher Name Origins
The Teachers Names also have a Floral Connection!
| Pokemon SV Teachers Name Origins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Japanese Name | Floral Meaning |
 Mr. Jacq |
ジニア (Jinia) | Zinnia (a genus of plants) |
 Nurse Miriam |
ミモザ (Mimoza) | Mimosa (a type of flower) |
 Ms. Tyme |
タイム (Taimu) | Thyme (a herb) |
 Ms. Raifort |
レホール (Rehooru) | Horseradish (the French way to say the name of the root vegetable) |
 Mr. Salvatore |
セイジ (Seiji) | Sage (a herb) |
 Ms. Dendra |
キハダ (Kihada) | Amur Cork Tree (Phellodendron amurense is the scientific name for the tree) |
 Mr. Hassel |
ハッサク (Hassaku) | Hassaku (Japanese fusion Grapefruit-Orange) |
 Mr. Saguaro |
サワロ (Sawaro) | Saguaro (a cactus species) |
Many of the Teachers names are more obvious for speakers of romance languages, as they are mostly deriven from French and Spanish!
Team Star Name Origins
Team Star? More Like Team Flora!
| Pokemon SV Team Star Name Origins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Japanese Name | Floral Meaning |
 Giacomo |
ピーニャ (Piinya) | Pineapple (Spanish word for the fruit) |
 Mela |
メロコ (Meroko) | Peach (shortened from the spanish word for the fruit, Melocoton) |
 Atticus |
シュウメイ (Shuumei) | Japanese anemones (a type of flower) |
 Ortega |
オルティガ (Orutiga) | Nettle (the Spanish word for the plant is Ortiga) |
 Eri |
ビワ (Biwa) | Loquat (a fruit-bearing plant) |
Team Star are very specifically fruits and flowers!
Rivals, Friends and Champions' Name Origins
Even your Rivals' and Friends' Names are Plant Based!
| Pokemon SV Champion, Rival and Friends Name Origins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Japanese Name | Floral Meaning |
 Champion Geeta |
オモダカ (Omodaka) | Chinese Arrowhead |
 Director Clavell |
ネルケ (Neruke) | Carnation (the German word for the flower species) |
 Champion Nemona |
ネモ (Nemo) | Nemophila (a flower genus) |
 Arven |
ペパー (Pepaa) | Pepper (a plant) |
 Penny |
ボタン (Botan) | Paeonia × suffruticosa (a group of tree peonies) |
While all of the characters names are associated with flora in Japanese, some of these have failed to carry across to English here, with Geeta and Arven being quite the stretch for their plants' scientific names.
DLC Rival Name Origins
Even the Upcoming DLC Rival Characters Derive their Names from Plants!
| DLC Character Name Origins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Japanese Name | Origin |
 Kieran |
スグリ (Suguri) | Gooseberry (a genus of plant) |
 Carmine |
ゼイユ (Zeiyu) | Redcurrant (from the French groseille), Carmine (a red-colored pigment) |
Nice to see that the plant name trend has carried through to the DLC!
Professor Name Origins
The One Exception: The First Time that the Professors are Not Named After Trees!
| Pokemon SV Professor Name Origins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Japanese Name | Origin |
 Professor Sada |
オーリム (Oorimu) | Past (Sada, Spanish), Once upon a time (Oorimu, Latin) |
 Professor Turo |
フトゥー (Futuu) | Future (Futuu/Latin, Futuro/Spanish) |
With a shock twist at the end, the Professors are not named after trees for the first time in the Pokemon Franchises' history! I guess they felt so bad about naming them after past and future (fitting for the theme of the story) that they just decided to go ahead and name every single other character after one!
