User blog comment:Matt-256/Overuse of American names/@comment-1009967-20101030183908/@comment-26654743-20101030185405

Yep, Alona Tal (Catherine-B320 in Halo: Reach) was born in Israel, later immigrating to the United States after her service in the Israeli Defense Force.

Though even today, I try hard not to make a bunch of Joe's, John's, William's, etc. for the UNSC Defense Forces in the Tonyverse, simply by giving them foreign/exotic sounding names. However, with a limited knowledge of foreign cultures, their personality and background is largely influenced by North American and Western European culture.