Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-72.10.120.66-20140123155310/@comment-82.12.156.248-20140123170345

Monty already confrimed that the four members of Team RWBY (as well as Adam to al lesser extent) followed a theme of alluding to fairty tale main characters:

Ruby Rose - Little Red Riding Hood as evidenced by the red cloak she almost always wears and her present association with battling beowolves.

Weiss Schnee - Snow White. Mostly her name as well as the fact that she was named in German, the language of origin of Snow White and the fact that she is seen singing about a magic mirror. Also interestingly there are aksi seven other main characters in RWBY who have accepted Weiss, akin to the 7 dwarves. Another interesting tidbit: Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose's conflicting personalities seem to allude to the poem "Snow White and Rose Red".

Blake Belladonna - Several references to Beauty and the Beast starting with "Belle" being a part of her name as well as her association with Adam whom is based off of a bull (which the Beast also seemingly draws minor inspiration from) though this is a loose connection. It's also possible that Blake herself may prove to be the beast incaranated what with her hidden and dark past. Also she has a candlebra.

Yang Xiao Long - A loose allusion to Goldilocks as seen by her long golden hair as well as her association with fighting Ursai and her fight with DJ Deadb3ar.

Also it's been noted that Cinder's slippers are made of glass causing fans to link Cinder to Cinderella with the two sharing a name, choice of footwear and the two's affinity for pyromancy.