Hershel Layton


 * "Professor Layton" redirects here. For the game series see Professor Layton (series).

Professor Hershel Layton is a famous archaeology professor with a fascination with puzzles. His love of puzzles has solved numerous mysteries and put his name in the papers many times. He travels with his apprentice Luke Triton.

He is the main protagonist of the Professor Layton series and both he and Triton appear in the Layton-kyōju VS Gyakuten Saiban alongside Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey.

Personality
Layton is a calm, logical and intelligent man with a love of puzzles and tea (his favorite brew is Belle Classic), although he has been known to also drink red wine. He is able to fence and to play the piano at a high skill level and appears to have past experience riding a horse. Although he is known for his distinctive top hat, he had an afro in high school.

Name

 * "Hershel" may come from the German surname "Herschel", which in turn possibly comes from "hirsch", meaning deer. It was normally given to hunters or those "nimble like a deer", perhaps referencing Layton's hunt for puzzles or his nimble mind. It may have been chosen in reference to John Herschel, an English astronomer who wrote to William Lassell after Neptune's discovery to suggest that he search for possible moons. Lassell did so and discovered Triton. If so, this would link his name with that of his assistant Luke Triton.


 * Layton is a surname derived from various place names in England, possibly coming from "settlement by the watercourse", from Old English "lād" ("watercourse") + "tūn" ("enclosure"). Presumably it was chosen for its "English-ness". It could also possibly be a play on "Latin", as a reference to his intellectualism.


 * Hershel Layton and Luke Triton's surnames could be plays on "lay it on" and "try it on".

Development
After the announcement of Layton-kyōju VS Gyakuten Saiban, Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino stated that Layton was partly based on Phoenix Wright. He explained that he had researched the good and bad aspects of the Phoenix Wright character and applied the good aspects to Layton.