It's not uncommon for anime characters to have very strange naming conventions. One Piece is no exception. From Roronoa Zoro to Donquixote Doflamingo, some of the names Eiichiro Oda has chosen for his characters can be difficult to pronounce. Or, rather, they have a way of rolling off a fan's tongue. Why is that exactly?
In the case of Zoro's name, it's a matter of translation. Zoro's surname "Roronoa" is actually a localization of "l'Olonnais," which is the name of real-life French pirate François l'Olonnais. l'Olonnais -- originaly called Jean-David Nau -- was active in the Caribbean during the 1660s after working as an indentured servant, targeting mostly Spanish-owned ships. He was also known as Lolona and Lolonois. Oda took inspiration from him in creating the family name Roronoa. Similarly, Zoro's first name is a homage to the legendary swordsman of the same name, who would fight against corrupt officials and other wrong-doers in a series of stories spanning from 1919 to 1959.
Donquixote Doflamingo takes his name from another Spanish story: El Ingenioso Hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, or The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha. In the story, Don Alonso Quijano was a Spanish noble who read so many books on chivalry that he decided to become a knight-errant. In the 17th-century story, he goes on several misadventures, the most notable of which is mistaking a windmill for a giant and attacking it. Fans who grew up in the 90s may remember a cartoon based on this story called The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda. Donquixote of One Piece embodies what is known as "Quijotism," which is the pursuit of ideals despite the impracticality or obvious failure. His first name, Doflamingo, comes from the pink feathers he wears, resembling the feathers of a flamingo.
While the allusions and historical inspirations behind these characters would be interesting to dissect, the question remains: Why does Oda give some of his characters names that flow like tongue-twisters? One reason could be because he likes alliteration. This is when a sound or letter is repeated at the beginning of words placed very near each other. For example, in the classic tongue-twister, "She sells sea shells." Donquixote Doflamingo would be a perfect example of this with the alliteration using the syllable "do." Roronoa Zoro retains a similar syllabic rhythm with "ro." However, what about names like Trafalgar D. Water Law?
There are numerous Spanish-inspired names in One Piece. Donquixote, Zoro, and even Trafalgar are all related to that country in some form. Trafalgar is the name of a cape in Spain. While the name itself is Arabic, it was also the place of an important battle during the Napoleonic Wars. Water Law could also be an homage to this as it sounds similar to "Waterloo" in Japanese with only a one-syllable difference. Waterloo was the location of the final battle of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, tying back to the importance of the name Trafalgar.
In this case, it most likely has to do with wanting to pay homage to a real-world counterpart while also making sure the name is unique. This trend is also apparent in both Zoro and Doflamingo's names with the literary references and a real pirate in Zoro's case. Both characters take on aspects of the people they are inspired by, and because they are both major players in the overall story, it's important to remember their names. If all the characters were similarly named, it would be hard to keep them straight. By creating these foreign-inspired names with unique and flowing rhythm, Oda ensures fans can't forget them.