20 Things You Didn't Know About Inception
3. Others Were Named After Greek Mythology And The Bible
It wasn't just historical figures who inspired the names of our favorite characters. Ariadne got her namesake from Greek mythology, while Yusuf got his from the Bible.
In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete and Queen Pasiphaë. She aided Theseus in escaping the Minotaur's labyrinth with a ball of red fleece, which he used to find his way out.
Admittedly, that doesn't really relate to the movie, but you know what does? The myth of Ariadne was the basis for the opera Ariadne auf Naxos, which is a play-within-a-play. Now it makes sense.
As for Yusuf, his name is the Arabic form of "Joseph", the Biblical figure from Genesis 37-50 who had the gift of interpreting dreams. This is a more direct connection to the movie.