There were many Matoran introduced over the years, most of them in 2003 Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle.
Here I discuss the meaning, origin and inspiration of their names. More will be added later:
Po-Matoran
named after the element itself:
Kivi - stone (Estonian)
Piatra - stone (Romanian)
Kamen - stone (Czech, Slovak, Russian)
Pekka - Finnish name meaning stone
Onewa - dark grey stone - basalt (Maori)
Ahkmou - akmou means edge (Greek)
named after sport related terms:
Podu - 1) likely derived from âpodosâ (Greek) meaning foot; 2) alternatively derived from âpĂ´daâ (Slovak) meaning soil.
Golyo - goal (Uzbek)
Gadjati - to shoot (Serbian)
Ally - possibly ally in the context of teammate (English)
named after architecture:
Hafu - gable (Japanese)
Bour - an old term for a chamber or a cottage (English)
geographical locations/species:
Epena - 1) Epena is a district and a village of northeastern Republic of Congo; 2) epenĂĄ is one of the names for genus Virola of South American rainforest trees. Some species of this genus are used for production of hallucinogenic snuff powders. [Both options are related to warm climates]
Pouks - his original name Puks means bush (Estonian).
other:
Velika - Great (Slovenian) Hmm⌠I see
Kodan - KĹdan a traditional oral Japanese storytelling originating from historical and literary lectures. [perfect name for a Chronicler]
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Onu-Matoran
derived or named after the element itself:
Zemya - earth (Russian)
Azibo - African name meaning earth
Dosne - Celtic name meaning âfrom the sand hillâ
Aiyetoro - African name meaning âpeace on earthâ
Onepu - sand (Maori)
Whenua - land (Maori)
Akamu - Hawaiian name meaning âof the earthâ
Kaj - Danish name meaning earth; other possible meanings include âwarriorâ and âthe keeper of the keysâ [fitting for his occupation: Guard at the gate of Onu-Koro]
Damek - Slavic name meaning âson of the red earthâ
Taipu - sand dune (Maori)
other:
Mam(o)ru - mamoru = to protect, defend (Japanese); mamru = âI mumble.â (Polish)
Nobua - unknown, but his other name Tamariki means children or juvenille (Maori) [quite fitting]
Tehutti - Tehuti is another name for Egyptian diety Thoth, âthe scribe of godsâ connected to wisdom, knowledge and sciences [fitting for an Archivist]
Gar - refers to gar fish, gar means spear in Old English.
Ta-Matoran
derived or named after the element itself:
Agni - Hindu god of fire
Kapura - fire (Maori)
Kalama - torch (Hawaiian)
Keahi - Hawaiian name meaning flames
Aodhan - derived from an old Irish name meaning little fire
Brander - burner (Dutch)
Maglya - boiled (Arabic), bonfire (Hungarian)
Nuhrii - original Nuri means my light (Arabic) or my fire (Aramaic)
Vohon - fire (Ukrainian)
Vakama - to burn (Fijian)
military related:
Aft - a naval term meaning towards the rear of the ship .
Balta - means axe (Hungarian) or white (Lithuanian)
Tiribomba - bomb shots (Italian)
other:
Sarda - a fish genus
Jaller - originaly Jala = bright or special (Persian)
Dume - a wordplay on doom
Vultraz - probably derived from vulture