Short Answer: Adults refer to children with their respective codenames, which are assigned based on their significance and aptitude. Since Zero Two was a special pistil, adults gave her the codename 002. Later, Hiro gave her the name “Zero Two.” which is the English pronunciation of her given codename (002). Although Hiro personally wanted to give her a more cute name, he couldn’t think of another one. On the other hand, Zero Two was quite happy even with this name as she continued to rhyme it with joy.
With that said, let’s explore the whole naming scenario of children and how exactly Zero Two got her name.
Where did their names come from?
Darling in the Franxx features children who have code names instead of normal names as adults deemed code numbers good to address them despite knowing children will have identity problems. Moreover, the codenames are given based on the aptitude and capabilities of the children, like Hiro had codename 016 while Mitsuru had codename 326. Children continue to become more emotionless and docile with time because, without names, they have no identity. Amidst this growing misery, Code 016 came up with the idea to name children with respect to their given codenames, enabling them to develop a sense of identity. Code 016 first named himselfHiro and then gave the name Ichigo to Code 015 as she was crying over being different from others, as shown in episode 3 of Darling in the Franxx.
Eventually, other children began to ask for a name, and Hiro continued to name them according to their given code. Although adults once stopped him from doing so, he didn’t follow the order. It is worth noting that Hiro used the given codename of children and translated it into Japanese to create a name; that’s why children liked the names given by Hiro. Given all of this, It wouldn’t be wrong to say children’s lives drastically changed after acquiring names.
How Zero Two got her name
Zero Two being a Hybrid Human- KlaxoSapien, was subjected to more experiments than normal children, and during one such experiment, Hiro happened to witness the cruel torture of adults on Zero Two. Despite being powerless, he refused to let this tragedy go on and decided to flee the facility along with Zero Two. Upon reaching a safe point, Hiro introduced himself, but since Zero Two didn’t know how to speak, she couldn’t talk properly with him. Hiro saw her unique codename 002 engraved on a shackle fastened around her leg and ended up using it to name her. At first, he thought of Oni as 002 in Japanese means Oni (Demon), but upon considering it might hurt her mentally, he named her Zero Two, which is the English pronunciation of her codename. Surprisingly, She liked it much and even tried to pronounce it, as shown in episode 13 of Darling in the Franxx.
Although Dr. Franxx erased Zero Two and Hiro’s memories, she refused to let go of her name given by her beloved darling. Years later, Zero Two forgot what her darling looked like, but she still introduced herself as Zero Two to Hiro and the other children, as shown in episode 1 of Darling in the Franxx.
What else we know about Zero Two’s identity
Darling in the Franxx doesn’t give away everything about Zero Two in a single episode; instead, they keep on featuring short scenes and events that reveal fragments of Zero Two identity to retain the viewer’s curiosity. Since Zero Two is the main heroine of the series, the creators gave her some unique characteristics to distinguish her identity from other characters, like she easily determined the body temperature of Ikuno just by joining her head with Ikuno’s head, as shown in episode 16 of Darling in the Franxx.
Zero Two is known to have some powers like speed, strength but she also got taste-bud abilities that allow her to determine the personality or secret of a person just by licking them, like the time she licked Ikuno’s neck and found out about her secret of hating men, as shown in episode 8 of Darling in the Franxxx. Moreover, Zero Two loves sweet things as she is always sucking lollipops and even drizzles honey on her meal which is honestly a bit overkill. It is worth noting that Zero Two has more fashion sense compared to other children as she frequently trims her horns to look more beautiful, as shown in episode 17 of Darling in the Franxx.
Does Zero Two have a name?
As I have mentioned before, adults referred to children with codenames, but Hiro came up with the idea to name children based on their code names so they could have a sense of identity. He is the one that gave the name “Zero Two” to the Hybrid Human-KlaxoSapien girl with the codename 002. At first, Hiro thought of the name “Oni,” which means “Demon” in the Japanese Language, but since Zero Two already suffers from being called a monster, He ended up naming her “Zero Two,” which is simply the English pronunciation of her codename. Although the name was simple, Zero Two liked it to the point she began to shout “Eo-To” as she didn’t know how to speak properly.
There are several fan-based theories regarding Zero Two’s real name. One of the most famous theories concludes that Zero Two’s real name is “Honey” because she likes food drenched in honey, and the opening theme features Zero Two licking honey as well. Moreover, She calls Hiro “Darling,” so it would make sense for Hiro to call her “Honey.” However, in the end, it is just another theory as the creators haven’t announced something like this; therefore, Zero Two is the only official name.
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Our Final Thoughts
In the end, names are something that gives identity to a person, and we all admire Hiro for naming children, although it was the responsibility of adults to give them names. Even if Zero Two had another authentic name, I can’t imagine myself calling her out with it cause the name “Zero Two” is close to my heart, and I believe it is the same for every other Darling in the Franxx fan. It is indeed the fact that the name “Zero Two” was just an English Pronunciation of her given code, but Hiro’s sincere sentiments are what give the name its significance; that’s why Zero Two decided to cherish this name for eternity.
Thank you for reading!
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