Almost all of the Phantom Thieves starting Personas are named after famous real or fictional outlaws or criminals.

• The protagonist's Persona is Arsene, named after the gentleman thief Arsene Lupin created by French author Maurice Leblanc.
• Ryuji's Persona is Captain Kidd, named after the Scottish pirate William Kidd.
• Ann's Persona is Carmen, named after the Gypsy Dancer seductress most notable in Bizet's opera.
• Morgana's Persona is Zorro, named after the famous Californian vigilante.
• Yusuke's Persona is Goemon, named after Goemon Ishikawa who lived during 16th century Japan.
• Makoto's Persona is Johanna, named after Pope Joan who disguised herself as a man to infiltrate the Roman Catholic clergy.
• Haru's Persona is Milady, named after Milady de Winter, the French spy from The Three Musketeers.

Futaba's Persona Necronomicon, however, isn't named after a person, but rather an object called a grimoire. This is a fictional magic textbook found in horror stories written by H.P. Lovecraft.