20 Mind-Blowing Things You Didn't Know About Grand Theft Auto 3
11. Claude's Name
If you know your GTA, you'll know that GTA 3's protagonist was never actually given a name at all.
It wasn't until Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that our protagonist was actually gifted with his own name: Claude.
The reason behind this actually happening is a bit more interesting than Rockstar just deciding to give him a name. If you look into GTA 3's files, you can find a reference to "DEFNAME = CLAUDE" which implies that not only was his name always meant to be Claude, but it was also at one point planned to allow the player to choose their own character name.
It's never been 100% confirmed either, but many people also believe that Claude is Claude Speed, who is also the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 2.
Sam Houser of Rockstar also said that the decision not to name Claude in-game was done because he was meant to be the player's avatar.