Naming a Zenless Zone Zero OC is a different challenge than most HoYoverse games. Where Genshin Impact maps regions to historical cultures and Star Rail sends you across a galaxy, ZZZ plants you in one city — New Eridu — and asks you to make it feel lived-in. The result is a naming system that's more grounded, more modern, and more culturally mixed than anything else in the HoYoverse lineup.
The trick is that ZZZ names sound ordinary until you look closer. Nicole, Ellen, Grace, Billy — these could be people on your block. But each one carries faction coding, species hints, and character personality baked right into the name. Getting that balance right is what separates a name that feels canon from one that feels imported from a different game.
Why ZZZ Names Don't Sound Like Fantasy
New Eridu is a modern metropolis, not a medieval kingdom. Characters ride the subway, work day jobs, and grab takeout between Hollow expeditions. The naming reflects this — you'll find more names that sound like coworkers than quest-givers. HoYoverse made a deliberate choice to ground ZZZ in contemporary naming conventions, and it works because the contrast between normal-sounding people and abnormal circumstances is half the game's charm.
Modern, urban, culturally mixed — could be people in your city
- Nicole Demara
- Grace Howard
- Seth Lowell
- Billy Kid
- Ellen Joe
High fantasy, archaic, setting-agnostic — sounds like a different game
- Aelindra Shadowmere
- Theron Brightforge
- Seraphiel Duskwalker
- Zephyrion Voidbane
- Nyxara Stormweaver
If your ZZZ OC name would fit in an Elder Scrolls character creator, it's probably wrong for New Eridu. The city's naming palette pulls from Chinese, Japanese, English, French, and other real-world traditions — not constructed fantasy languages.
Faction Tells You Everything
Every ZZZ faction has a naming personality. The Cunning Hares are casual and scrappy — Nicole, Billy, Anby sound like friends you'd grab coffee with. Victoria Housekeeping leans Continental European with elegance under the surface — Lycaon, Rina, Corin Wickes. OBOLS Squad runs Japanese-inspired with military precision — Hoshimi Miyabi, Yanagi, Harumasa. Section 6 mixes Chinese and Western names for that government-agency procedural feel — Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Jane Doe.
The pattern isn't strict, though. Sons of Calydon has Lighter, Burnice White, Caesar King, and Lucy — all over the map culturally, united by swagger rather than origin. That's the New Eridu way. Faction identity comes through in vibes and tone, not rigid cultural boxes.
Naming Therians and Constructs
Therians — ZZZ's animal-human hybrids — get some of the game's most interesting names. The key is subtlety. Nekomata references a Japanese cat spirit. Lycaon traces back to a Greek myth about a king transformed into a wolf. Neither name screams "I am an animal person" on first hearing, but both reward anyone who catches the reference.
- Use cultural or mythological animal references (Corvus, Tanuki, Marten)
- Give Therians normal human names with subtle hints
- Let the animal trait show in personality, not the name
- Mix species naming with faction conventions
- Use literal animal compound names (Wolfclaw, Tigerfang)
- Make every Therian name an obvious animal pun
- Ignore the character's faction when naming
- Use high-fantasy creature naming conventions
Constructs and androids open up a different direction entirely. You can go surprisingly human (Ada, Seren) or lean into designation-style naming (Unit-09, Echo-7). The tension between a mechanical being and a human name is a character hook all by itself.
Code Names and the Alias Culture
New Eridu runs on aliases. Jane Doe is literally a placeholder name used as an identity. Billy Kid riffs on the Wild West outlaw. Many agents, especially combat operatives and street-level fixers, operate under handles rather than birth names — and the game treats this as completely normal.
This gives you license to get creative. A single punchy word (Lighter, Razor, Vex) works for combat types. A cultural reference disguised as a name works for more subtle characters. And a perfectly ordinary name used by someone clearly hiding their real identity — that's peak ZZZ energy. The alias doesn't have to be flashy. Sometimes "Jane" is the most suspicious name in the room.
Putting It Together
The best ZZZ names hit three marks at once: they sound like a real person in a real city, they carry faction and role coding that fans will pick up on, and they have just enough style to work on a gacha banner. Start with a real-world name from the cultural pool that fits your character's faction. Layer in species or role hints if they fit naturally. Then ask yourself — would this name look right on a New Eridu ID card? If yes, you're there.
If you're building characters across HoYoverse titles, our Genshin Impact name generator handles the region-based cultural naming for Teyvat, and the Honkai Star Rail name generator covers the galaxy-spanning factions of the Trailblaze. ZZZ's naming is the most grounded of the three — which honestly makes it the hardest to get right.
Common Questions
Should my ZZZ OC name match a specific real-world culture?
It depends on the faction. OBOLS Squad skews Japanese, Section 6 often uses Chinese names, and Victoria Housekeeping leans European. But New Eridu is a melting pot — the Sons of Calydon have Lighter, Burnice, Caesar, and Lucy all in the same group. Match the faction's general vibe rather than locking into one culture.
How do I name a Therian character without being too obvious?
Use cultural or mythological references rather than literal animal words. Nekomata works because it's a real yokai name, not because it has "cat" in it. Look up mythological creatures, Latin animal names, or folklore figures associated with your character's animal type. The reference should reward knowledge, not hit people over the head.
Can I give my ZZZ character a single-word name or code name?
Absolutely — the game does it constantly. Lighter, Nekomata, Yanagi, and Qingyi all go by single names. Combat agents and street operatives especially suit code names and aliases. Just make sure the name has the right weight for the character — a one-word name needs to be distinctive enough to stand alone.
