What is the meaning behind the name of each straw hat?

Summary

Oda chose names for the Straw Hat team members for specific reasons, such as Luffy's male name.
The names have hidden meanings and puns, such as Zoro which means “fox” and Sanji which translates to “3 o'clock” for snacks.
The rest of the crew names, like Chopper and Brook, have references to reindeer and Greek mythology.

Although never directly explored in the series One piecenames are an incredibly important aspect of any story. The name, in many ways, must perfectly represent a character, capturing the essence of what they hold and want. At the same time, names can also be funny jokes, puns, something that One piece has many or something that sounds good. Either way, the reason behind a name is usually an interesting look at the creation and development of a character.

As for One piecealthough the names can be a bit bizarre at times, especially for the show's most powerful characters, Oda had a specific reason for choosing each name he did. This is especially true of the Straw Hat Crew, the characters who are arguably the most important in the series. Behind each of the names is a hidden meaning and a reason for choosing it, something that One piece fans would never know just by reading the series.

This article will cover the main names of the characters and will not explore the nicknames the characters have. In addition, this article will explore the meta-narrative reasoning behind the names, and not the story reason.

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Oda named each one-piece straw hat for a specific reason

This is not a story reason for their character names

For the crew of the Straw Hat Pirates, as most long-time fans already know, there is the captain, Luffy, swordsman Zoro, navigator Nami, sniper Usopp, and cool Sanji, who are the original members of the East Blue crew. On of One Piece Grand Line, the crew found Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, and then finally Jinbe, who joined the New World. Although these characters obviously have reasons for their names in the context of the story, such as Usopp being named after his father, Yasopp or Chopper being named by Dr. Hirilurk, this article will deal with the hidden meaning behind each name from the author, Oda.

One day I will have a better ship and crew than yours! – Luffy

The East Blue team has names based on hilarious puns

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One Piece Anime Characters: Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, Nami and Usopp

Luffy's name sounded masculine to Oda
Many straw hats are named after puns

First off, Team Straw Hat's captain, Luffy, has a simple meaning behind his name. During the development of his character, Oda wanted a male name and chose Luffy. He felt this name worked for the character and has stuck with him ever since. However, the proximity of the name “Luffy” to the word “laughter” or the surfing term “luffing” is purely coincidental.

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As for the pirate hunter Zoro, Zoro's name simply means “fox” in Spanish, while his name, Roronora, is a reference to the French pirate, François l'Olonnais. Nami, on the other hand, very suitable for his world One Piece, means “wave”. Usopp, also fitting for his character, is a combination of the Japanese word for lie, Uso, and Aesop, an author who wrote many fables. Finally, for the East Blue Crew, Sanji, oddly enough, translates to “3 O'Clock” in Japanese, an hour that Oda thinks is perfect for snacks.

The rest of the crew have less clear name origins

Some fans have a few theories about the true meaning of their names

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As for the rest of the crew, Tony Tony Chopper is named so because the Japanese word for reindeer, “Tonakai” sounds very similar, while the given name of One piece the doctor, Chopper, refers to his powerful horns. Robin, being one of the easiest answers on the list, is named after the common bird. Franky, on the other hand, is believed by some fans to be a reference to “Frank”-enstein, though this is most likely due to the American-sounding nature of the name.

I set out to become the Pirate King, and if I die trying, then at least I tried. – Luffy

As for the Straw Hat musician Brook, although Oda didn't discuss it, many fans believe that since the name is a type of river, it refers to the River Styx. This ties in perfectly with the Brook and its undead powers, as it is the main river of the underworld in Greek mythology. After all, Jinbe's name simply comes from a Japanese term meaning “whale shark.”

Although some of the meanings behind the names in One piece are more interesting than others, it's still interesting to see what led to each of the character's iconic names. Most of the character names being puns are extremely suitable for a silly story like One piece and perfectly captures the essence of the Straw Hat Crew. Although some of the meanings behind these character names are still just theories, hopefully before the end One pieceOda will directly explain his thought process that led to the creation of the characters and their excellent names.