What's in a name?

Yuna (ユウナ) is the only bit of name we are given for our heroine - it's unknown what her last name is. I have, however, seen her referred to here and there as "Yuna Braska," which is a possibility, but we're just going to stick with "Yuna" for now. I'm not sure as to why they use a double vowel - usually in katakana, long vowels are denoted with a line and not the actual character, but who knows?

Yuna gets her name from Lady Yunalesca, the legendary first summoner who defeated Sin a thousand years prior to the start of the game. Of course, it turns out that Lady Yunalesca and company are complete and total shams who only exist to maintain the façade of Yevon ... but Yuna is a lot cooler than Yunalesca anyways.

"Yuna" is also a type of hibiscus flower - Hibiscus tiliaceus, or the sea hibiscus, found in warm areas of coastal Australia, Oceania, and Asia. It can be seen on her FFX outfit's obi. The hibiscus flowers means either to be "consumed by love" or "delicate beauty." I have to say that these meanings apply fairly well, because when Yuna first meets Tidus, she immediately takes a liking to him and wants him to stay nearby. She is consumed by love, but not overwhelmed by it. Similarly, "delicate beauty" applies well - Yuna is quite beautiful, but seems to get in a lot of trouble, what with everyone wanting to kidnap her for some reason or another.

"Yuna" also means "night" or "moon" in Okinawan. Which one it is exactly I cannot be sure because I don't speak Okinawan. At any rate, her name is meant to contrast with "Tidus," which supposedly means "sun." It's like yin and yang. Let's save the moon symbolism analysis for a different page.