Serena
Japanese name: Tsukino ("of the moon") Usagi ("rabbit")[.$B7nLn$&$5$..(J]
Serena's name is a modification of Selene, one of the Greek goddesses of the moon. The "rabbit on the moon" is a common figure of Asian mythology. Being of the Occident, I have no way of verifying this or explaining it. (Sorry 'bout that.) The symbol for the moon, tsuki, appears in the Japanese word getsuyoubi, "monday". Monday is "moon day".
Amy
Japanese name: Mizuno ("of water") Ami [.$B?eLn0!H~.(J]
Despite looking similar, Amy and Ami are not pronounced the same way. An alternative reading for mizu, I>sui, appears in suiyoubi "wednesday". The word wednesday is derived from the Old English Wodnes Daeg, which in turn is a translation of the Latin Mercrii dies, or "day of Mercury'. The planet Mercury is associated with the classic elemental water. Mercury is obviously associated with the element mercury.
Raye
Japanese name: Hino ("of fire") Rei [.$B2PLn%l%$.(J]
The use of the English name Raye for Rei is fairly obvious. DIC also chose to use her last name as Hino in one particular episode. Hi can also be read as ka, as in the Japanese word for Tuesday, kayoubi. Tuesday is derived from Old English tiwesdaeg, day of Tiw, which
in turn is derived from the Latin dies Martis, Mars' Day. Due to its reddish coloring, the planet Mars is associated with the classic element of fire. The symbol of Mars is a stylized shield and sword, which is associated with the element iron.
Lita
Japanese name: Kino ("of wood") Makoto [.$BLZLn$^$3$H.(J]I'm not sure how they came up with "Lita" for "Makoto". My Guess would be that they used "Leta" a name of one of Jupiter's moons and changed it to "Lita". Ki is read as moku in mokuyoubi, Thursday: Old English for "Day of Thor", which is from the Latin dies Jovis, day of Jove (Jove is another name for Jupiter, king of the gods). Ki is the symbol for wood, making mokuyoubi literally "wood day". Wood is associated with strength, which Lita most certainly has. The god Jupiter's trademark of throwing lightning bolts comes across in Sailor Jupiter's attack, and her size certainly reflects the enormous size of the planet Jupiter!
Mina
Japanese name: Aino ("of love") Minako [.$B0&LnH~F`;R.(J]
Mina is the exception to the rule. Her English name is obviously a shortening of the Japanese Minako. Her surname should really be something along the lines of "of gold" or "of metal" to be like the others. Aino Minako was named before the existance of the comic Sailor Moon, where she appeared in Naoko Takeuchi's comic Code Name: Sailor V. Venus is the goddess of love, and the surname Aino certainly makes sense in that context. Sailor Venus' outfit is meant to appear gold, and not orange. The Japanese word for Friday, kinyoubi is literally "gold day". Sailor Venus' "love me chain" is a metal-based attack as implied by her associated day. The "crescent beam" is a leftover from the Sailor V comic. The astrological symbol for Venus is a hand-held mirror and also the ancient symbol for copper. Early mirrors were made from polished copper.
Princess Serena
Japanese name: Princess SerenityGiving the Moon Princess the same name as the main character was a strange decision on the part of DIC. Presumably they did this to avoid the confusion of Princess Serenity, Queen Serenity, and Neo Queen Serenity (the mother of Rini).
Prince Darien
Japanese name: Prince EndymionAgain, naming him Prince Darien took all the mystery out of Endymion's identity. In Greek mythology, Selene was in love with Endymion, and it is after that mythological figure Prince Endymion was named.
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