Some of the Strangers have names that mean other things that could be indicative of what the do/sell:

ORIGINAL POST:

Basil: An herb originally from India. Possible relation to his practice of wandering trade craft.
Boost: A boost converter is a type of power supply....
Greave (armor merchant): A greave is a piece of armor that protects the leg.
Quillion (blade merchant): A type of guard on a blade
Ricasso (Gun/Bomb merchant): A ricasso is an unsharpened part of a blade (more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricasso)
Vatel (Recipe and General Goods merchant): Francois Vatel (1631-1671) is generally credited with the invention of Chantilly cream. While catering a banquet for the king of France, he committed suicide when he learned that the seafood that was to be served was late in its delivery. His body was found when someone came to tell him that it had arrived. I think this is either a coincidence or some history buff at OOO playing a joke, because Vatel is the recipe vendor.

NEW NAMES:
Hailoh (greets knights as they enter Haven): Hail Oh is a name of a soldier's song about the life of a soldier. He also HAILS the knights, the new ones say OH!
Bootshuze: Boots and shoes (DUH), may be indicative of Gremlin info he gives because of the tribal society in which the Gremlins live.
Kragen: "Cragen: Usually refers to as a person who thinks that he is good at getting girls, although in reality he is not." -UrbanDictionary
Plinkop: There is an iPhone app called PlinkoP, don't know much about it.
Quince: Another plant from Asia. Probably relation to his practice of wandering trade craft (LIKE BASIL LOL). This looks like a clear trend in names of wandering merchants.
Rudkin: I had a friend whose name is Ritchie Rudkin. He once introduced himself to some girls as "Big Dick Rudkin" but didn't realize the double meaning. I haven't seen him in forever though. Sort of like Rudkin..... (That's all I got on this one)
Warnel: There is Warnell School of Forestry and Nature. Warnel talks about Snipes, so maybe he's an ornithologist of Cradle?

Post if you can find more fun Stranger names <-> real life things.

WERE THESE INTENTIONAL, NICK?