Are any of the names of the Court of Owls victims in Batman #5 significant?

Question

In Batman v2 #5 (March 2012) by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, Batman has been trapped in an elaborate underground labyrinth by the mysterious Court of Owls. While stumbling around, he comes across this list of names.

We can clearly see:

• Gerald
• ...obblepot
• Barnabus
• ...uel Gordon
• William

One is certainly a reference to the Penguin's real name, Oswald Cobblepot. Another is probably a reference to Commissioner Gordon. Does he have an established relative with "uel" in their name? And is there an existing Batman character with the names "Gerald" or "Barnabus"? Or are these just random names?

Answer 1

I poured through a number of Wikis trying to cross reference those names with anything related to Batman or DC Comics in general. I also looked at the writer's credits and personal background to see if I could draw any connections there as well.

After a few hours of research I am of the opinion that all the names are random or unrelated to any present characters that have ever been mentioned in Batman comics.

I believe the only one of significance is Oswald Cobblepot.

Answer 2

Given recent issues in the Batman series, my deduction is that these are all members of the Court of Owls, not victims.

• "William" is probably William Cobb, identified as the Talon trying to kill Batman.
• "Cobblepot" may refer to Theodore Cobblepot, the contemporary of Alan Wayne, rather than the Penguin. Alan Wayne is shown to be a victim of the Court of Owls.

"...uel Gordon" may turn out to be an ancestor of James Gordon, but that is purely supposition.