There's some other elements too.

The Sophons are one letter away from being Sophonts, a noun used to refer to any sentient and intelligent species, as opposed to the more anthrocentric humanoid which typically implies a certain cultural core and a very particular limb arrangement.

Unfallen (though this would be better if they were the Unfelled) are trees, hence their name refers to the act of "felling a tree;" since they are Unfallen, even as soldiers or ships, this implies that they are unbeaten, unexploited, and generally both free and unharmed, implying strength and a cultural core of voluntary behavior. This makes the name more poetic if you're from the woods like I am, since it raises lots of imagery of the Unfallen defying loggers and lumberjacks, making them much more Ent-like.

Vodyani has the letter V for Vampire (flimsy but it's there), and also it uses the same ending as Romani, who as an ethnic group are A. traditionally nomadic much like the Vodyani, and B. typically connected to various horror stories due to age old reputations based on accusations of paganism and witchcraft, including, yes, showing up in various vampire stories, including various versions of Dracula and Dracula related spinoff material, such as the Dungeons and Dragons module Ravenloft. This is especially notable as the Romani have typically historically been accused of strange religious rituals, kidnapping, and theft, as well as being known for stylish and extravagant decoration of their vardo's and clothing, which fits into the distinct (and somewhat gold) aesthetic of Vodyani ships and the focus on their advanced and aesthetically pleasing Cloth.

Lumeris are a bit tougher, but it's worth noting that their name includes both a prefix implying "luminous," and an ending which sounds traditionally Italian due to the i, which is a typical ending for various Italian surnames, with the s providing a slight variation that's still recognizable depending on your pronunciation. Meanwhile, luminous is an especially apt word, as it is an adjective which refers to something which is "full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark." This is notable in their art style, which combines bright lights and glitzy decoration with otherwise dark surroundings, from Arden and Jenestra clinking glasses in a darkened room, to Arden firing a pistol with a bright flash in an otherwise dark room (with the background activity itself being very bright and similarly colored), to (to a much lesser extent unfortunately) the bursts of green marking the elements of the conspiracy in the otherwise monochrome Lumeris comic. Essentially, their name brings to mind chiaroscuro or even tenebrism, the artistic element of the interplay of light and darkness being the first, and the latter being an artistic style based on a heavily exaggerated and dominating use of chiaroscuro, both of which are well represented in Lumeris illustrations.

Granted I'm not sure all of this was intended, but you know how it is with artistic and literary critique. Once it's out there it's free for us to play with the meanings.

This might be a stretch, but I suspect "Horatio" might be named for Horatio Alger.  Essentially, Horatio Alger was a popular writer from the 19th century who popularized the concept of "rags to riches" as a story concept. He's a very contentious figure because social mobility is a very good thing to emphasize as a desirable thing for a society to have, but it can be misused to blame those whose poverty is borne of bad fortune and lack of opportunities. 

In any case, it'd be a very fitting name for a trillionaire who has the notion that everyone can be just like him.

MidnightTea wrote:

This might be a stretch, but I suspect "Horatio" might be named for Horatio Alger.  ...it'd be a very fitting name for a trillionaire who has the notion that everyone can be just like him.

I would totally be willing to sign on with that theory! It'd make a lot of sense. For that matter it'd be a whole other faction entirely if he was named for Horatio Hornblower instead; at that point we'd be getting Morgawr in space, or at least a weird relative of the UE.

Let's also not forget that, according to his intro and the short narrated window we get at the beginning, Horatio considers himself a Rags to Riches story, rejected by everyone but ultimately was the victor.