Translations from the Official Twisted Wonderland Fanbook vol.1
Note: the fanbook does not include etymology comments for all characters, only those that are listed below.
Riddle Rosehearts: “Riddle” is English for 謎, while Rosehearts is “rose” + “hearts”. A name reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland.
Ace Trappola: Ace is “1” in card game terms. Trappola is the name of a classic Italian card game, and means “trap”.
Deuce Spade: In English, the “2” in card game terminology is called a “deuce”. Just like his name, the two of spades can be seen on his dorm uniform.
Trey Clover: Trey means “3” in card game terminology. His dorm uniform incorporates the three of clovers. Heartslabyul Dorm has collected students with the names “one” through “four”.
Cater Diamond: In English, this name is usually spelled as “Cate” or “Kate”*, but Cater’s name is different, as it is referring to the number “4” in card game terminology. The four of diamonds is on his dorm uniform.
*Not in book: “Cater” is from the French word “quatre” which, in the 14th to 16th centuries, was sometimes spelled “catre”, which the English then took and changed to “Cater,” giving us the dice/card game term. If you listen to the audio, you’ll notice people refer to Cater as “Keito” (“Cater” would be “Keita”). This is the same way that the name “Cate/Kate” is pronounced in Japanese, because of the limitations of the language. Thanks to various celebrities, people are more familiar with the name “Kate” than we are with the dice/card game term “Cater”, making Cater’s name look like a spelling error from a Japan perspective. That misunderstanding is what this explanation is trying to clear up.
*Not in book: Ace, Deuce and Trey’s names were all lifted directly from Disney’s animated “Alice in Wonderland.” Cater’s name was not. Cater is also the only Heartslabyul character who is not from the Queendom of Roses, which was possibly based on how he is missing from this scene.
Leona Kingscholar: Leona’s name has the word “Leon” in it, which is Spanish for “lion”. In English, “Scholar” means 学者. Perhaps he is intelligent?
Ruggie Bucchi:* “Rug” means rug-mat, but there is also the term “rugged life”, which means once who has had a rough life. Now that you mention it, if you look into how he was raised…
*Not in book: In Japanese, the spotted hyena (or laughing hyena) is called “Buchi Hyena”, the word “hyena” itself being a borrowed term and “buchi” meaning “speckled” or “a mix of colors”.
Jack Howl: “Jack” by itself is a popular name, but―looking at his ears―it’s easy to imagine a “jackal”. Howl means 遠吠え.
Azul Ashengrotto: “Azul” is Spanish for “blue”, while “ashen” means “bluish white”, and a grotto is a 洞窟. All together and it is reminiscent of the ocean.
Jade Leech, Floyd Leech: Leech is English for ヒル. This word also refers to people who prey on others. Jade does mean ヒスイ, but put together with Floyd and their names are reminiscent of Flotsam and Jetsam from the Little Mermaid.
Jamil Viper: In English, a viper is a poisonous snake, and can also refer to someone that you can’t let your guard down around. Jamil is a common Arabic name for men that means “beautiful”.
Vil Schoenheit: In German, Schoenheit (the spelling is a little off) means “beautiful”. “Vil”, in German, means despicable.
*Not in book: It seems that “Vil” is not actually a German-language word. If it is meant to be German, it is possibly derived from the word “viel,” for “a lot of.” Otherwise, “vil” is a French-language word that means “horrible” and a word in both the Portuguese language and the Spanish language which means “mean” or “vile.”
Rook Hunt: In English, “to hunt” means 狩り. Is that a hunter’s hat? Rook means “swindler”. There is also the rook piece in chess, represented by a castle…
Idia Shroud: In English, “to shroud” means “to disguise”, or a とばり. It fits the dark-hearted Idia well.
*Not in book: In katakana, the Englis-language word “idea” is アイディア, but if you literally translate each individual sound from “idea” you get Idia’s name, イデア.
Ortho Shroud: Ortho is Greek for “regular/legitimate”, and in English it means “correct/proper”. Seems like a name with a specific origin.
*Not in book: There was an interesting overlap in Book 6 with Disney’s “Big Hero Six,” where Ida is able to recover Ortho’s memory card, much like the memory card in the movie with “Tadashi Hamada” written on it. Tadashi was the main character’s older brother, but dies at the beginning of the film. Like Ortho, “Tadashi” also means “correct.”
*Not in book: “Ortho” may also be a reference to “Orthrus,” a two-headed dog from Greek Mythology who was killed by Heracles. The three-headed dog, Cerberus, was his brother.
Malleus Draconia: The “draco” in Draconia is Latin for “dragon”. Malleus is latin for “golden hammer”, but when you consider the horns, the name is very reminiscent of Maleficent.
Dire Crowley: His name includes the word “crow”, which is English for カラス. Oh I see, the mask with the beak and the cape like black wings are also like a crow. Dire (pronounced “Dia”*) means 悲惨な、恐ろしい.
*The word “dire” has been retconned so that it is pronounced “Dia” (it is supposed to be pronounced “daiah” in Japanese), which is the same way the word “Dear” is pronounced in Japanese. As a result, the average JP server player often believes that his name is “Dear Crowley.” More here ->
Divus Crewel: In Latin, “divus” means god. In English, Crewel (actual spelling: cruel) means 残酷な, 無慈悲な. Both this and the way he refers to the students as “puppies” is reminiscent of Cruella de Vil.
Heartslabyul Dorm: “Labyul” brings to mind the English word “labyrinth”, which means 迷路. Heart + maze, that’s really suitable for “Alice in Wonderland”.
Savanaclaw Dorm: Savana is for Savannah, and claw means 爪. It’s a name that is reminiscent of the sharp-clawed animals of the savannah. The name overflows with wildness.
Octavinelle Dorm: Octa is English for 8, which is why the eight-legged octopus is called that. “Vinelle” is reminiscent of the English word “snail”, which can also be used to mean “conch”.
Scarabia Dorm: The word “scarab” in Scarabia means 黄金虫. In the movie Aladdin, a scarab leads the way to the cave. Scarab + Arabia = Scarabia.
Pomefiore Dorm: In English, the word “pome” is related to apple-like fruit. “Fiore” is Italian for “flower”. It’s a cute name, but this pome might be a poison apple.
Ignihyde Dorm: “Ignis” is Latin for “flame”. Now that you mention it, doesn’t the word “hyde” sound similar to the character Hades from the movie Hercules, whose hair is made of fire?
Diasomnia Dorm: “Demon” in Spanish is diablo, and in Italian it’s diabolo. “Somnia” is Latin for “dream”.
*Not in book: There is also the classification of sleeping disorders known as Dyssomnias, which involve difficulty in getting to sleep, remaining asleep, or of excessive sleepiness.
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 