William of Baskerville
The protagonist of this book is Brother William from England, a Franciscan, a former church judge, and good at logical reasoning. "Sherlock Holmes" in the book.
Adso of Melek
One of the protagonists of this book and the narrator of the story. Adso is a German, a Benedictine novice, a follower of Brother William, and plays the role of "Doctor Watson" in this book.
Origin of the name
Eco originally planned to name the book "Adso of Melek" after the protagonist, but later named it "The Name of the Rose". This name comes from the ancient Latin proverb "In the past, roses were fragrant for their celebrities, but now people only bear the name of roses." It is in line with "semiotics and metaphor", a major theme of Eco's research in this book and throughout his life.