So far, the following explanations seem to be generally accepted:
- Traya: betrayal. A reference to her betrayal of everyone, including Jedi, Sith, and finally the Exile.
- Sion: from Latin scion "heir", in this context, the heir of the Sith legacy and his master Traya.
- Nihilus: from Latin nihil "not anything", cf: nihilism. Perhaps a reference to Nihilus being essentially "an empty shell upon nothing".
- Malak: from Latin mala "jawbone". It should be noted that "mal" is also the beginning of Latin-derived words meaning "evil", like "malefactor", "malice". The latter may have some connection to Malachor V, although BioWare probably did not intend the planet to be what Obsidian made it.
- Visas: from Latin visus "sight".
- Mira: according to Wikipedia, means "aim" in Portuguese, Hebrew and Italian, a reference to her bounty hinting.
- Atton: is speculated to be derived from "atonement", but I find it doubtful that this name has any significance, since Atton Rand was originally planned to be the name of Jaden Korr.
- HK-47: from "Hunter Killer" and AK-47, an automatic rifle. Yes, Obsidian kind of screwed the latter...
Here are my thoughts: Revan is derived from "raven", Canderous from "dangerous", and Bastila from "Bastille". Also, Visas' full name ("Visas Marr") can literally mean "sight impaired" (marred). Yes, I know, I'm going to compete with Ric Olie for the title of Captain Obvious. Still, mentioned it to ease further speculation.
(Also, for some reason I thought that Mira may have something to do with mir, Russian for "peace".)
Do you think this is believable? Do you have any other ideas?