"Princess Zelda (ゼルダ姫 Zeruda-hime) is a fictional character in The Legend of Zelda series of video games. The name has applied to every female member of Hyrule's royal family, which includes several distinct characters in Hyrule legend. Though she is the eponymous character, the player controls the main protagonist, Link. Zelda is usually kidnapped or imprisoned by Ganon, also known as Ganondorf. In some games, she appears as one of the sages. In Ocarina of Time and The Minish Cap, she displays other magical powers, such as energy blasts and force fields. Creator Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that her name was inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ben Reeves of GameInformer explains further that the "name Zelda (alternately Selda or Segula) might not be used much any more, but this old Yiddish name means 'blessed, happy, or lucky.'"

Source: Wikipedia, "Princess_Zelda", available under the CC-BY-SA License.