Stella = Codename for FFXIV 1.0 component (memory layout)
Rapture = Codename for FFXIV 1.0 project as a whole

During 1.0 alpha, I was at a loss, since I've always been horrible with naming characters. The requirement of picking both a first and last name just made it worse. At the time, I was already aware that Rapture was the codename for FFXIV, but I was hesitant to use it without a fitting first name.

Any of you programmers out there are likely aware of how directory locations of your source code often gets embedded within your compiled files. Out of boredom, I decided to take a look is any interesting strings were visible. I quickly came across Rapture multiple times as expected, but on closer examination I also found Stella.

Stella was a nice female name, and with those two being the only codenames within any of the FFXIV files, I thought "Why not?", and went with Stella Rapture for 1.0 alpha. It was intended to be a nod to the devs about the hidden meaning of Stella, if they every came across my character in-game. After 1.0 alpha/beta had concluded, the name Stella had really grown on me, so I stuck with it into 1.0 Release, and I'll also likely continue to use it into ARR as well.