Report: Banjo-Kazooie Was Named After Former Nintendo President's Family kotaku.com

Veteran games writer Andy Robinson, who before resuming a career in journalism spent a few years at Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic, has a very cool story about how Banjo-Kazooie got its name.
While touring Japan recently, Robinson learned that former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who died in 2013, has a son called Katsuhito Yamauchi, whose name is more commonly shortened to just “Katsuhi”.
And he has a grandson called Banjo Yamauchi.
AdvertisementPut them together and Banjo-Katsuhi very quickly becomes Banjo Kazooie.
This has since been partially confirmed by Banjo’s creator Greg Mayles:And Banjo composer Grant Kirkhope:AdvertisementAs VGC note in their story, both Katsuhito and Banjo became two of Nintendo’s biggest shareholders through inheritance after Yamauichi’s death.