Prince Sidon is one of those rare Zelda characters whose name seems like it could almost be a real one — and that’s because it is. Sidon is the name of a city in the Middle East as well as a figure from the Bible. It is very possible that the city and the man inspired the choice in name for the Zora.
The name as we use it today is actually Greek in origin. The city of Sidon was originally a Phoenician port and is located in what is now Lebanon. It was and still is one of the largest coastal cities in the region, with a long history of reliance on the sea. In fact, the name Sidon actually means “fishery.”
The name’s definition is what initially took me from seeing this as a coincidence. The city of Sidon, having a close connection with water and sea life, connects fairly well with the Zoras and their domain. It’s not enough to convince me completely, but I found more clues that make the theory seem more than plausible.
The next bit of evidence is that in ancient times the city was also a large manufacturer of purple dye. Purple dye was once very difficult to produce. Only the wealthy could afford it, which led to the color being seen as a symbol of royalty and high status. This means Sidon was a prominent city and a source of prosperity for the region, as well as a place with close connections to royalty. That all seems reminiscent to how the Zora’s Domain’s being the source of water for the kingdom, as well as the Zora people’s close ties to the Hylian royal family, make that region vital to Hyrule.
The last connection actually comes first. It is found in the Book of Genesis. In terms of Biblical sources, I couldn’t find anything more “first” than that.
In the Book of Genesis — Genesis 10:15 to be exact — it is mentioned that Canaan’s first-born son was named Sidon. (The city is named after him, by the way.) Canaan was a son of Ham, who was one of Noah’s three sons, making Sidon Noah’s great-grandson.
This is the most interesting connection to me for two reasons. The first is that the Biblical Sidon, being a descendant of Noah, means he comes from an old and significant lineage, just like the Zora prince. The second is that much of their lives were centered around a flood. The ancient Sidon’s would have been part of the rebuilding of society after the flood, and Breath of the Wild Sidon’s mission was to prevent Vah Ruta from creating a massive flood that would threaten Hyrule.
These all might be complete coincidences, but the number of connections that can be made between the real-world origins of the name and the Zora make it hard to believe that the name choice was not at least partly influenced by them. And it’s not like there haven’t been flimsier methods for picking names in Zelda games. As long as a whole new species can be created whenever Nintendo adds a “fos” to the end of a word, I’ll be willing to believe they pick names from absolutely any source.
