Name Puns: Anime Fillers
DB Filler
Red Ribbon Army Saga
Doctor Frappe:
Named for frappe, which in Japanese refers to shaved ice flavored with syrup.
Source Spelling:: フラッペ/furappe
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Dr. Flappe
Pre-22nd TB (King Piccolo Saga) Filler
Kinkaku, Ginkaku
Their names mean “Gold Horn” and “Silver Horn”, and they are named after a pair of demon kings who appear in Journey to the West. The JttW characters had a man-eating gourd just like the DB pair.
Hyouga Tenron
豹牙/Hyouga means “leopard-fang”, and 天龍/Tenron means “heavenly dragon”.
Chin Taiken and Chin Shouken
大 拳/Taiken means “big fist” while 小拳/Shouken means “little fist”.
Shura
His name probably comes from “asura”, Hindu demons written as 阿修羅/ashura in Japanese.
Source Spelling:: 阿修羅/ashura
Name Spelling: シュラ/Shura
Mera, Gora
Their names are probably a play on Ox-Head (牛頭/Gozu) and Horse-Face (馬頭/Mezu), demons who guard Hell in Buddhist folklore. The “zu” in Gozu and Mezu has simply been replaced with “ra”, probably to match Shura’s name.
Inoshikachou
A combination of 猪/inoshishi (boar), 鹿/shika (deer), and 蝶/chou (butterfly), the three animals which make up this chimera. Why would anyone think of sticking these 3 animals together? Well, in the Japanese card game Koi-Koi, inoshikachou/Boar-Deer-Butterfly is one of the yaku, the special card combinations one tries to form in the game to score points. Koi-Koi is played on hanafuda cards, which depict animals, among other patterns. So to get an inoshikachou yaku, one simply combines the boar, deer, and butterfly cards. Apparently this scores 5 points.
Source Spelling:: 猪鹿蝶/Inoshikachou
Name Spelling: イノシカチョウ/Inoshikachou
Tanmen
“Tanmen” is also the name of a salty ramen topped with sautéed vegetables.
Source Spelling:: タンメン/Tanmen
Name Spelling: same
Pinfu and Metanki Village
Both taken from Mahjong terms; Pinfu is named directly from one, while Metanki Village comes from mentanpin.
Source Spelling:: メンタンピン/mentanpin
Name Spelling: メンタンキ/mentanki
Pre-23rd TB (Piccolo Jr. Saga) Filler
Goro-Goro Mountains
Goro-goro is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound of thunder.
Mint
From…mint.
The Mousse Family
A huge family Goku meets in the anime while training for the 23rd TB. Just to be incredibly lazy, here’s Hujio’s explanations of these guy’s names.
Mousse (ムース; Muusu)
The father of the family, he is named after mousse, a light and creamy dessert typically made from egg and cream. In Japanese, mousse is simply written as ムース, exactly the same as the character is named.
Écla (エクレ; Ekure)
The mother of the family is named after a french pastry, known as the éclair, a long thin pastry filled with a cream and topped with icing. Interestingly, and I assume this is a completely unrelated coincidence, éclair is French for "lightning". And as you may recall, in this series of specific filler episodes, Goku is trying to learn how to become faster than lightning. Anyway, in Japanese éclair is written as エクレア (ekurea), making it pretty easy to pick up the character's name pun.
Puri (プーリ; puuri)
The youngest child of the family, she is named after pudding, specifically for custard pudding . In FUNimation's English dub she's renamed "Cupcake", for some unknown reason. In Japanese, pudding is written as プリン (purin), which is quite similar to the character's name.
Crepe (クレプ; kurepu)
The second youngest child of the family, she is named after crêpe, a type of very thin pancake popular in France, and now internationally. In FUNimation's English dub she's renamed "Pudding", but I assume most American's know what a crêpe is these days, right? Her name is only missing the vowel elongation, as crêpe is written as クレープ (kureepu) in Japanese.
Donuts (ドナッツ; donattsu)
He is the third youngest child of the family, and is obviously named after the worldwide famous deep-fat-fried pastry known as the donut, or doughnut. The spelling of his name does differ slightly from the proper Japanese writing of donuts (ドーナツ; doonatsu), with the emphasis being placed on the last consonant.
Jelly (ゼリ; zeri)
The fourth youngest child of the family, she is named after what most countries would call fruit preserves, but is simply called "jelly" in North America. Jelly is written as ゼリー (zerii) in Japanese, elongating the last vowel.
Bisce (ビスケ; bisuke)
Bisce appears to be a twin with Jelly as they look almost identical and wear the same type of clothes, but while it is strongly hinted at, it is never actually confirmed. His name most likely comes from what most Americans call a biscuit, rather than the English biscuit, which is a small, sweetened, and flour based product, very similar to what Americans would consider a cookie. I say this because most Americans put jelly on the biscuits, further enforcing the notion that the two characters are twins. However, in the FUNimation English dub, he is renamed "Jam", most likely to even further connect him with his "twin" sister Jelly. While I'm not so sure it was really warranted to dumb it down that much, it does still retain their connection. So I guess I can't complain too much, right? Anyway, biscuit is written as ビスケット (bisuketto) in Japanese. I will note that oddly enough, the name Bisuke, written in katakana, is actually a common Japanese female name.
Bavaro (ババロ; babaro)
The fourth oldest child of the family, he is name after bavarois, or Bavarian cream, which is a classic Swiss dessert. The dessert is a gelatin-thickened cream pastry flavored with liqueur. Bavarois is written as ババロア (babaroa) in Japanese. FUNimation chose to rename the character "Cream Puff", which fits the character well and gets the name pun across.
Choco (チョコ; choko)
The third oldest child of the family, he is named after chocolate. His name isn't actually a shortening of the word, as in Japanese "chocolate" is simply written as チョコ (choko), just as the characters name is written. In the FUNiamtion English dub, the character is simply called "Cocoa", which again, makes much more sense to most Americans.
Cooky (クッキー; kukkii)
She is the second oldest child of the family and is named after the cookie. In Japanese, cookie is simply written as クッキー, exactly the same as the character is named. However, the word クッキー can also be translated as biscuit, depending on the context and origin of the word, which I discussed earlier in regards to the character Bisce.
Chouc (シューク; shuuku)
The oldest child of the family, he is named after the French pastry chou à la crème, a sphere of light airy pastry split and sandwiched with a thick layer of whipped cream. The phrase is written in Japanese as シュー・クリーム (shuu kuriimu). As you can see, the last part of the phrase was left out of his name. Now, I'm guessing that FUNimation got the characters all sorts of confused, because they renamed this character "Crepe", even though they had already renamed the original "Crepe" to "Pudding", and renamed "Pudding" to "Cupcake".
Mt. Frypan (Post-Piccolo Jr. Saga) Filler
Jasmine
Named for Jasmine Tea. Since he’s a pig man from Oolong’s hometown, he’s likewise named after a tea.
Source Spelling:: ジャスミン茶/Jasumin-cha
Name Spelling: ジャスミン/Jasumin
Unnan
Named for Yunnan tea, the general name for the tea from China’s Yunnan province. Puar’s namesake Pu-erh tea comes from Yunnan.
Source Spelling:: 雲南茶/Unnan-cha
Name Spelling: ウンナン/Unnan
Grandma Hakkake
A play on both 八角形/hakkaku-kei, “octagon”, and歯が欠ける( /ha ga kakeru, to have teeth broken or missing. The joke is that Goku and Chi Chi seek her out expecting her name to mean the former, but find out it means the later.
Annin
Named after 杏仁豆腐/annin-doufu, almond jelly, a Chinese desert. Her godly title, Taijouroukun (太上老君), is taken straight from one of the names of Laozi, the founder of Taoism (specifically, it's the name of the deified Laozi). Laozi, as Taijouroukun, appears in Journey to the West, where he tries to destroy the monkey king by placing him inside his mystical furnace. Goku's encounter with Annin seems to be loosely based on this episode.
Source Spelling:: 杏仁豆腐/annin-doufu
Name Spelling: アンニン/Annin
DBZ Filler
Saiyan Arc (Vegeta Saga) Filler
Nemuria Ruins
Almost certainly a reference to the fabled lost continent of Lemuria. It’s possibly also a pun on nemuri, “sleep”, in keeping with how the excavation robot slumbered here.
Source Spelling: レムリア/Remuria and 眠り/nemuri
Name Spelling: ネムリア/Nemuria
Phantom Saiyans
Though they’re given no specific names in the actual series or any guidebooks, in the Famicom game “DBZ: Kyoushuu! Saiya-jin”, they are named “Broco” (ブロッコ/Burokko) and “Onion” (オニオン/Onion), puns on broccoli and, well, onions.
FUNimation Name: Illusion Saiyans
Planet Arlia
As it happens, this planet’s name matches the Japanese spelling for “Aryan”: Planet Arlia is アーリア星/Aaria-sei, while the Aryan race is アーリア人/Aaria-jin. The names for the planet’s inhabitants seem to have an “ancient/fabled civilization” theme, so could the Aryan race be what they were thinking of? Alternatively, or perhaps additionally, it could be a play on ari, Japanese for ant. This sort of matches the planet’s insectoid race, though they look more like grasshoppers than ants.
Lemuria
Her name exactly matches that of the fabled lost continent of Lemuria, originally proposed to explain how lemurs were distributed throughout the world, but later adopted by all sorts of occult/theosophist sorts as the supposed home of all sorts of ancient super-races.
Source Spelling: レムリア大陸/Remuria-tairiku
Name Spelling: レムリア/Remuria
Atla
His name probably comes from the lost continent of Atlantis.
Source Spelling: アトランティス/Atorantisu
Name Spelling: アトラ/Atora
King Moai
“Moai” is the name for the Easter Island statues.
Source Spelling: モアイ/Moai
Name Spelling: same
Yedi
His (its?) name is extremely close to how “yeti” is spelled in Japanese, so I’m guessing it’s a play on that. This doesn’t really fit with the “ancient/fabled civilization” theme of the other Arlians, though they all fit into a general “mysteries of the world” theme, and both the yeti and the fabled city of Shangri-la are usually placed in the Himalayas.
Source Spelling:: イエティ/ Ieti
Name Spelling: イエディ/Iedi
Gozu, Mezu
Named for Ox-Head (Gozu) and Horse-Face (Mezu), the guardians of Hell in Chinese mythology.
Source Spelling:: 牛頭馬頭/Gozu-Mezu
Name Spelling: ゴズ, メズ/Gozu, Mezu
FUNimation Name: Goz and Mez
Fake Namek and Real Namek
Raichi
Named for lychee, a subtropical fruit tree.
Source Spelling:: ライチ/raichi
Name Spelling: Same
Zarkuro
Derived from the Japanese name for pomegranate.
Source Spelling:: ザクロ/zakuro
Name Spelling: ザークロ/Zaakuro
Oren
Taken from “orange”. One should never compare him to Appule.
Source Spelling:: オレンジ/orenji
Name Spelling: オーレン/Ooren
FUNimation Name: Orlen (FUNi-Ocean dub)
Blueberry
Named for, well, blueberries. Actually his name is spelled differently than the word blueberry itself is in Japanese, but I can’t think of a way to convey that which doesn’t look really stupid. Buluberi? Well, whatever.
Source Spelling:: ブルーベリー/buruuberii
Name Spelling: ブールベリ/buuruberi
FUNimation Name: Blueberry
Raspberry
Named for raspberries. Again, his name isn’t spelled quite the same as the actual word raspberry in Japanese, but frankly I don’t care enough about him or his partner to work out spellings to appropriately convey this.
Source Spelling:: ラズベリー/razuberii
Name Spelling: ラーズベリ/Raazuberi
FUNimation Name: Raspberry
Garlic Jr. Saga
The Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Realm
The title for Garlic Jr.’s four henchmen from his filler arc. The term “Four Heavenly Kings” (四天王/shiten-nou in Japanese) originally referred to four Buddhist gods who guarded over the cardinal directions, similar to the Kaios in DB. The term has come to be commonly used for any group of 4 people famous in a particular field (Hironobu Kageyama, for instance, is sometimes counted as one of the shiten-nou of anime songs). It’s also often used for groups of 4 boss characters in manga, anime, or video games. The term pops up in Pokemon (as the Japanese name for the Elite 4), Sailor Moon (as generals of the Dark Kingdom), Kinnikuman (for Kinnikuman Zebra’s team), Toriko (used for the top 4 gourmets), and lots more. So these guys are like that, only for Garlic Jr.’s Demon Clan.
Vinegar
Named directly after vinegar.
Source Spelling:: ビネガー/binegaa
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Vingear
Gashew
Named for sugar.
Source Spelling:: シュガー/shugaa
Name Spelling: ガッシュ/Gasshu
FUNimation Name: Spice
Zard
Named for salt.
Source Spelling:: ソルト/soruto
Name Spelling: ゾルド/Zorudo
FUNimation Name: Salt
Tard
Named for mustard.
Source Spelling:: マスタード/masutaado
Name Spelling: タード/Taado
FUNimation Name: Tard
Maron
In keeping with Kuririn’s chestnut theme, she’s named for “marron”, French for a particular kind of chestnut. Unlike Kuririn’s daughter, her name is spelled exactly like the katakana spelling for “marron”, although the alphabet spelling of Kuririn’s daughter’s name matches the actual French spelling of “marron”.
Source Spelling: マロン/maron
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Maron
Trunks Saga Filler
Shuu Sai-aku
Sai is written with the kanji for “disaster”, and aku with the kanji for “evil”. Also, together sai-aku is a homonym for 最悪, “the worst”. So in other words, it’s an evil name for an evil tutor. 周/Shuu (Zhou in Chinese) is an actual Chinese family name.
Source Spelling: 最悪/sai-aku
Name Spelling: 周災悪/Shuu Sai-aku
Yuzukar
Probably comes from “used car”, in keeping with him being old.
Cynthia
Her name is spelled exactly like the name “Cynthia” is in Japanese, but it’s probably also a pun on shinsha, “new car”, the opposite of her partner’s name.
Source Spelling:: 新車/shinsha
Name Spelling: シンシア/Shinshia
Pre-Cell Games Saga Filler
Bourbon
From bourbon whisky.
Source Spelling: バーボン/Baabon
Name Spelling: same
Lime
From “lime”.
Source Spelling: ライム/raimu
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Lime
Rao Chuu
This is the name of Lime’s grandfather, which is apparently only revealed in the credits. It derives from raochuu (laojiu in Chinese), Chinese fermented alcohol, in particular Shaoxing wine. The kanji itself mean “old alcohol
Source Spelling:: 老酒/, ろうしゅ/roushu, ラオチュー/raochuu, ラオチュウ/raochuu
Name Spelling:[/u] ラオ・チュウ/Rao Chuu
Vodka
Named directly after vodka, Russian distilled liquor. There seems to be something of an alcohol theme running through the filler characters from the 9 days leading up to the Cell Games.
Anoyo-Ichi Budoukai (Great Saiyaman Saga - 1st half)
Paikuhan
Named after 排骨/paikuu, “pork ribs”, and 飯/han, “rice”; in other words, pork ribs with a side of rice.
Source Spelling:: 排骨飯/paikuu-han
Name Spelling: パイクーハン/Paikuuhan
FUNimation Name: Pikkon
Migoren
Named after Mee goreng, a common Indonesian fried egg noodles dish.
Source Spelling:: ミーゴレン/miigoren
Name Spelling: ミゴレン/Migoren
Sarte
A play on Satay.
Source Spelling:: サテ/sate
Name Spelling: サーテ/Saate
Olibue
Named after the olive.
Source Spelling: オリーブ/oriibu
Name Spelling: オリブー/Oribuu
Chapu-Chai
Named straight from chapuchai, which is apparently some variant of Chop suey. In Japanese, Chop suey itself is チャプスイ/chapusui, so you can see the connection
Source Spelling: チャプチャイ/chapuchai
Name Spelling: same
Catapi
Named after the humble caterpillar.
Source Spelling: キャタピラ/kyatapira
Name Spelling: キャタピー/kyatapii
FUNimation Name: Caterpi
Jinkyo
Named after kyoujin, “giant”.
Source Spelling: 巨人/kyoujin
Name Spelling: ジンキョウ/Jinkyou
Tolbie
Named for the beetle, which he resembles.
Source Spelling: ビートル/biitoru
Name Spelling: トルビー/Torubii
FUNimation Name: Torbie
Tapikar
His name probably comes from tapioca, meaning he’s kinda infringing on Tapion’s turf.
Source Spelling: タピオカ/tapioka
Name Spelling: タピカー/Tapikaa
Frog
I think it’s more than obvious where this froggy-looking fighter’s name comes from. This is actually another instance of the name not being spelled exactly like the source, but it being kinda hard to really convey that with an alphabet spelling without looking like you’re just being obtuse (Fulog?). Incidentally, the Chrono Trigger character’s name is originally “Kaeru”, Japanese for frog, so these two characters’ names aren’t very similar in Japanese.
Source Spelling: フロッグ/furoggu
Name Spelling: フーログ/Fuurogu
Maraiko
Named directly after a type of Chinese castella sponge cake.
Source Spelling: マーライコー/maaraikoo
Name Spelling: same
Aqua
Derived from “aqua”, since he’s a fish guy and all.
Source Spelling: アクア/akua
Name Spelling: アークア/Aakua
FUNimation Name: Arqua
Great Saiyaman Saga - 2nd half
Angela
This is an actual name, derived from “angel”. This contrasts nicely with Videl’s devil-derived name.
FUNimation Name: Angela
TV Special 1: Bardock - The Father of Goku
Toma
Derived from “tomato”. I wonder if they named him after a red vegetable because he ends up providing Bardock’s blood-stained bandanna?
Source Spelling:: トマト/tomato
Name Spelling: トーマ/Tooma
FUNimation Name: Tora
Seripa
An anagram of “parsley”
Source Spelling:: パセリ/paseri
Name Spelling: セリパ/Seripa
FUNimation Name: Fasha
Totepo
Taken from “potato”
Source Spelling:: ポテト/poteto
Name Spelling: トテッポ/Toteppo
FUNimation Name: Borgos
Panpukin
From “pumpkin”.
Source Spelling:: パンプキン/panpukin
Name Spelling: パンブーキン/Panbuukin
FUNimation Name: Shugesh
Tooro
The last surviving Kanassian, only named in the credits. Since Planet Kanassa itself is named for fish, he also has a fish-derived name: it’s taken from toro, fatty tuna used in sushi. Scientists have shown that toro is the most delicious thing in the history of ever, tied with peanut butter M&Ms.
Source Spelling:: トロ/toro
Name Spelling: トオロ/Tooro
FUNimation Name: Toolo
Dragon Ball GT
Giru
Apparently he’s simply named for the fact that he constantly makes “giru-giru” noises.
FUNimation Name: Giru
Don Kia [GTPF]
In keeping with Planet Imegga’s money theme, he’s named after akindo, merchant.
Source Spelling:: 商人/akindo
Name Spelling: ドン・キアー/Don Kiaa
FUNimation Name: Don Kee
Redict [GTPF]
Don Kia’s bodyguard. Continuing the money theme, his name comes from “credit”.
Source Spelling:: クレジット/kurejitto
Name Spelling: レジック/Rejikku
FUNimation Name: Ledgic
Futopa
An inhabitant of Imegga who I’m pretty sure is only named in the credits. His name comes from futoppara, “generous”.
Source Spelling:: 太っ腹/futoppara
Name Spelling: フトパ/Futopa
Riruka
Comes from kariru, “to borrow”.
Source Spelling: 借りる/kariru
Name Spelling: リルカ/Riruka
Esuka
Comes from kaesu, “to return/pay back”.
Source Spelling:: 返す/kaesu
Name Spelling: エスカ/Esuka
Gel
Going by Imegga’s money theme, my guess is he’s named for “Geld”, German for money. Their respective katakana spellings are very similar.
Source Spelling:: ゲル/geru
Name Spelling: ゲール/Geeru
Shila
In keeping with the money theme, I’m guessing this comes from “schilling”, but I’m really not sure. Since her partner is (probably) named for German money, it’d make sense for her to be named after Austrian currency.
FUNimation Name: Sheila
Zunama [GTPF]
A pun on namazu, “catfish”. Catfish are also said to be able to predict earthquakes.
Source Spelling:: ナマズ/namazu
Name Spelling: ズーナマ/Zuunama
Para Para Brothers
Named after Para-Para, a Japanese synchronized dance.
Mucchi Mocchi
He’s named for the fact that he carries around a whip. Muchi=whip and mochi=carry. God GT had some lame name puns.
FUNimation Name: Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy
Leon
Who’s this guy? Well, he’s a lion who showed up on Planet Lood. Leon=lion. Did I mention how GT has some lame name puns?
Lood [GTPF]
This is essentially “doll” written backwards.
Source Spelling:: ドール/dooru
Name Spelling: ルード/Ruudo
FUNimation Name: Luud
Doltakki [GTPF] otaku
He’s a doll otaku, and so his name is a combination of “doll” and “otakki”, another term for “otaku”.
Source Spelling:: ドール/dooru + オタッキー/otakkii
Name Spelling: ドルタッキー/Dorutakkii
Doctor Mu [GTPF]
He creates machine mutants, so his name is simply “mutant” minus the “tant”.
Source Spelling:: ミュータント/myuutanto
Name Spelling: ミュー/Myuu
FUNimation Name: Dr. Myuu
General Rild [GTPF]
An anagram for “drill”.
Source Spelling:: ドリル/doriru
Name Spelling: リルド/Rirudo
FUNimation Name: General Rilldo
Nehji
Derived from neji, Japanese for “screw”. The entire Sigma Squad seems to have a fastener tool theme.
Source Spelling:: ネジ /neji
Name Spelling: ネージ/Neeji
Nut
Taken directly from “nut”. The hardware hastener that it, not the food.
Source Spelling:: ナット/natto
Name Spelling: Same
Vis
Taken from “vis”, the French word for “screw”.
Source Spelling:: /
Name Spelling: /
Rivet
Taken from “rivet”.
Source Spelling:: リベト/ribeto
Name Spelling: リベット/Ribetto
Bebi [GTPF]
Taken straight from the English word baby, since when he first appears he has a baby-like form.
Source Spelling:: ベビー/Bebii (there are also a couple different ways of writing the English word “baby” in katakana)
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Baby
Su Gorou and Su Kogorou
This comes from sugoroku, a Japanese dice game. 五郎/Gorou is an actual Japanese given name. Su Gorou’s son’s name, 小五郎/Kogorou, is another actual given name, and is simply the kanji for “little” added on to “Gorou”, making it an appropriate name for the little space tanuki.
Source Spelling:: 双六/ sugoroku
Name Spelling: スー五郎/Suugorou
Valese
Goten’s girlfriend. Her name comes from, well, palace. Why? For one she’s a sheltered rich girl, so I guess a swanky word like “palace” fits her. But more importantly, one of the Japanese words for palace is…goten (御殿), a homonym for her boyfriend’s name. This is easily the most subtle and clever name pun in GT, not that this says a whole hell of a lot.
FUNimation Name: Valese
Longe, Hammer, and Axe
The names of the 3 Baby-infected guys who fight Goten, who are named in the credits. Longe comes from ロン毛/ronge, “long hair”, Hammer comes straight from hammer, and Axe from axe.
Bish
He lives in a fishing town, and so is named after “fish”. His pet seagull “Gull” has an equally brilliant name pun. OK, OK, English-based name puns like these aren’t as obvious to a Japanese audience, but still, “Bish”?
Source Spelling:: フィッシュ/fisshu
Name Spelling: ビッシュ/Bisshu
DB Movie 1: Curse of the Blood Rubies
Gurumes: [D6]
Daizenshuu Explanation: “The name of Movie 1’s enemy, King Gurumes, is a pun on the word gourmet, meaning fine dining or a connoisseur of good food. At the time, there was a gourmet boom, with numerous collections of TV shows and magazines. King Gurumes was a character who adopted and embraced that trend.”
Source Spelling:: グルメ/gurume
Name Spelling: グルメス/Gurumesu
Bongo: [D10]
From vongole, as in spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with clam sauce.
Source Spelling:: ボンゴレ/bongore
Name Spelling: ボンゴ/Bongo
Pasta [D10]
Taken directly from “pasta”.
Source Spelling:: パスタ/ pasuta
Name Spelling: same
DB Movie 2: Sleeping Princess in the Devil's Castle
Lucifer [D6]
The short version is that this is simply the name of the devil, which is all the movie makers had on their mind (see below). The long versions is that “Lucifer” means “light-bearer” in Latin and originally simply referred to the morning star. It was used in Latin translations of the book of Isaiah to translate the Hebrew helel, “shining one”, which is used to mockingly describe the Babylonian king during a passage predicting said king’s fall from power. The passage describing the Babylonian king’s fall was later interpreted as describing the fall of Satan from heaven, and so “Lucifer” came to be treated as Satan’s original angelic name, back before his fall. Anyway, it’s kinda funny that the movie staff chose a name meaning “light-bearer” for a character who tries to blow up the sun.
Daizenshuu Explanation: “Lucifer in Movie 2 was a character modeled after a demon from the Bible.” [D6]
Source Spelling: ルシフェル/Rushiferu, but other spellings like ルシファー/Rushifaa are also used
Name Spelling: ルシフェル/Rushiferu
Ghaster: [D10]
As Daizenshuu 10 says, this comes from “gas table”, essentially a stove.
Source Spelling:: ガステーブル/gasuteeburu + el
Name Spelling: ガステル/Gasuteru
DBZ Movie 1: Dead Zone
Garlic and Garlic Jr.: [D10]
All the bad guys in this movie are named for spices, and so this father-son duo are named directly after garlic.
Source Spelling:: ガーリック/gaarikku
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Garlic and Garlic Jr.
Ginger: [D10]
Named directly after “ginger”.
Source Spelling:: ジンジャー/jinjaa
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Ginger
Nikki: [D10]
“Nikki” is Japanese for “cinnamon”.
Source Spelling:: ニッキ (肉桂)/nikki
Name Spelling: ニッキー/Nikkii
FUNimation Name: Nicky
Sansho: [D10]
From sanshou, Sichuan pepper.
Source Spelling:: サンショウ (山椒)/sanshou
Name Spelling: サンショ/Sansho
FUNimation Name: Sansho
DBZ Movie 2: The World's Strongest
Dr. Uiro [D6]
From uirou , a steamed rice cake that is one of the regional foods of Nagoya. His name is also spelled exactly like the name “Willow” is in katakana.
Daizenshuu Explanation: “Moving on, the names of the enemies who appeared in “The Strongest Guy in the World” all got their names from Nagoya specialties, such as uirou, Nagoya kochin, kishimen, ebi-fry, and misokatsu. These name puns were thought of by scenario writer Takao Koyama.”
Source Spelling:: ういろう（外郎）/uirou
Name Spelling: ウィロー/Uirou
FUNimation Name: Dr. Wheelo
Dr. Kochin: [D6]
His name comes from Nagoya Kochin, a special breed of free-range chicken raised in Nagoya.
Source Spelling:: 名古屋コーチン/Nagoya koochin
Name Spelling: コーチン/Koochin
FUNimation Name: Dr. Kochin
Kishime: [D6]
From kishimen, a noodle made of flat strips; it’s another Nagoya regional specialty.
Source Spelling:: きしめん（棊子麺）/kishimen
Name Spelling: キシーメ/Kishiime
Ebifurya: [D6]
From ebi fry, that is, fried prawn.
Source Spelling:: エビフライ（海老フライ）/ebi-furai
Name Spelling: エビフリャー/Ebifuryaa
Misokattsun: [D6]
From misokkasa, miso lees.
Source Spelling:: 味噌カツ/
Name Spelling: ミソカッツン/Misokattsun
Bio-Men: [D10]
So named because they were created through bio-engineering. You probably already knew that, but Daizenshuu 10 bothers to point it out, so I figured I might as well include it.
DBZ Movie 3: The Tree of Might
Tullece: [D10]
In keeping with the Saiyan vegetable theme, he’s named for lettuce.
Source Spelling:: レタス/retasu
Name Spelling: ターレス/Taaresu
FUNimation Name: Turles
Amond: [D10]
From almond.
Source Spelling:: アーモンド/aamondo
Name Spelling: アモンド/Amondo
Daizu: [D10]
From daizu, “soybean”.
Source Spelling:: 大豆/daizu
Name Spelling: ダイーズ/Daiizu
Kakao: [D10]
From cacao.
Source Spelling:: カカオ/kakao
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Cacao
Rezun: [D10]
From raisin.
Source Spelling:: レーズン/reezun
Name Spelling: レズン/Rezun
Rakasei: [D10]
From rakkasei, “peanut”.
Source Spelling:: 落花生/rakkasei
Name Spelling: ラカセイ/Rakasei
DBZ Movie 4: Lord Slug
Slug: [D10]
Since Namekians are named for slugs and snails and such, he’s named straight from the English word slug.
Source Spelling:: スラッグ/suraggu
Name Spelling: same
FUNimation Name: Lord Slug
Angira: [D10]
Slug’s main henchmen are named after アンドロメダ星雲/Andoromeda-seiun, the Andromeda Galaxy: Angiras+Dorodabo+Medamatcha+Zeiun. Daizenshuu 10 says this naming scheme was chosen because they come from space. In addition to this official meaning, it’s possible that Angira’s name was also influenced in part by Anguirus (アンギラス/Angirasu), a monster from the Godzilla series.
Source Spelling:: アンドロメダ星雲/Andoromeda-Seiun
Name Spelling: アンギラ/Angira
FUNimation Name: Angila
Dorodabo: [D10]
Like the others, his name officially comes from “Andromeda Galaxy”. His name may also be influenced by the legend of Dorotabo, a ghostly, mud-covered torso that sticks out from the ground and wails on moonlit nights.
Source Spelling:: アンドロメダ星雲/Andoromeda-Seiun
Name Spelling: ドロダボ /Dorodabo
FUNimation Name: Wings
Medamatcha: [D10]
Again, his name officially comes from “Andromeda Galaxy”. In addition, his name may be partially derived from medama, “eyes”, since he has particularly big ones.
Source Spelling:: アンドロメダ星雲/Andoromeda-Seiun
Name Spelling: メダマッチャ /Medamaccha
Zeiun: [D10]
Derived from seiun, the “galaxy” in “Andromeda Galaxy”. Actually, nowadays seiun technically means “nebula” and not “galaxy”, but it was previously used for both. These days in Japanese the Andromeda Galaxy is called Andoromeda-ginga, rather than seiun.
Source Spelling:: アンドロメダ星雲/Andoromeda-Seiun
Name Spelling: ゼエウン /Zeeun
FUNimation Name: Commander Zeeun
Kakuja: [D10]
From kagakusha, “scientist”.
Source Spelling:: 化学者/kagakusha
Name Spelling: カクージャ/Kakuuja
Gyushu
The other of Slug’s loser scientists. Possibly named for shugyou, “the pursuit of knowledge”.
DBZ Movie 5: Cooler's Revenge
Coola
Since his younger brother is named after the freezer, it’s fitting that he be named after a cooler. There’s a little bit more to it than that though…
Daizenshuu Explanation: “You’d normally think that since his younger brother is Freeza (Freeza=freezer) that his name would be Coola (cooler), but it’s not that simple. The truth is that it involves the Shizuoka dialect. The producer Mr. Morishita, who is from Shizuoka, was worried that ‘Cooler’ would be too direct, and remembered that in the dialect of his hometown one said ‘meshi demo kuura’ [sort of equivalent to ‘Let’s chow down’] when eating. Because of this, they used the Shizuoka dialect…and so they decided on the name Coola!! To think that it was so complicated a process…” [D6]
Source Spelling:: クーラー/kuuraa and メシでも食うら/meshi demo kuura
Name Spelling: クウラ/Kuura
FUNimation Name: Cooler
Sauzer: [D10]
From “Thousand Island Dressing”. In many cases, his name is a reference to the Spanish word for sauce, salsa.
Source Spelling:: サウザンアイランド・ドレッシング/Sauzan-Airando Doresshingu
Name Spelling: サウザー/Sauzaa
FUNimation Name: Salza
Dore: [D10]
From “dressing”
Source Spelling:: ドレッシング/doresshingu
Name Spelling: ドーレ/Doore
FUNimation Name: Doore
Naizu: [D10]
From “mayonnaise”
Source Spelling:: マヨネーズ/mayoneezu
Name Spelling: ネイズ/Neizu
FUNimation Name: Neiz
DBZ Movie 6: The Return of Cooler
Metal Coola [D10]
Because he’s Coola, only made of metal you see. And no, he’s not “meta” in any way.
FUNimation Name: Meta-Cooler
Big Gete Star
From getemono, meaning something that is a combination of different things or simply low quality; sort of similar to saying that something is ‘thrown together’. And of course it’s big, and, well, not actually a star, but a heavenly body of some sort.
Daizenshuu Explanation: “[…] there are also amazingly direct names like the Big Gete Star, called that because it was a huge thrown-together [getemono] planet.” [D6]
Source Spelling:: 下手物/getemono
Name Spelling: ビッグゲテスター/Biggu Gete Sutaa
DBZ Movie 7: Super Android 13!
Jinzoningen #13 [D10]
Besides following the main naming scheme for Gero’s androids, “13” was chosen because of its status as an unlucky number, and because it hadn’t been used for an android in the main story. 14 and 15 were then just filled in from there.
FUNimation Name: Android 13
DBZ Movie 8: Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan
Broli: [D10]
Another Saiyan, another vegetable. This one’s from “broccoli”, a legendary vegetable said to delight in destruction and slaughter. The United Nations estimates that trillions of people die every day from broccoli-related accidents.
Source Spelling:: ブロッコリー/burokkorii
Name Spelling: ブロリー/Burorii
FUNimation Name: Broly
Paragus: [D10]
From “asparagus”
Source Spelling:: アスパラガス/Asuparagasu
Name Spelling: パラガス/Paragasu
FUNimation Name: Paragus
Shamo:
Possibly derived from 軍鶏/shamo, a gamecock, specifically a Japanese breed of chicken used for cockfighting. Or maybe it just comes from inverting mosha-mosha, “shaggy” or “bushy”, which kind of describes this race’s hair.
Moa
Search me. Who is Moa, anyway?
DBZ Movie 9: Bojack Unbound
Bojack: [D6]
From the adjective boujakubujin, meaning “arrogant” or “audacious”.
Daizenshuu Explanation: “In The Galaxy at the Brink!!~, Gohan was in the leading role as the one who protects Earth. The name of Bojack, who fought with Gohan, is a pun on the word boujakubujin, which means egotistical. Incidentally, the second half, bujin, was used for his underling Bujin.”
Source Spelling:: 傍若無人/boujakubujin
Name Spelling: ボージャック/Boojakku
FUNimation Name: Bojack
Gokua: [D10]
From goku-aku, meaning heinous or otherwise extremely evil. Side note, an anagram for Goku.
Source Spelling:: 極悪/goku-aku
Name Spelling: ゴクア/Gokua
FUNimation Name: Kogu
Bido: [D10]
From hidou, meaning “unjust” or “inhumane”
Source Spelling::非道/hidou
Name Spelling: ビドー /Bidoo
FUNimation Name: Bido
Zangya: [D10]
From zangyaku, meaning “cruel”.
Source Spelling:: 残虐/zangyaku
Name Spelling: ザンギャ/Zangya
FUNimation Name: Zangya
Bujin [D10]
From the second half of boujakubujin, meaning “pretty much like Donald Trump”.
Source Spelling:: 傍若無人/boujakubujin
Name Spelling: ブージン/Buujin
Gyousan Money, Okkane Money, and Doll Money
The family name “Money” comes from, well, “money”. Gyousan means “a lot”, while “Okkane” comes from okane, Japanese for “money”, and Doll comes straight from doru, the Japanese word for “dollar”.
FUNimation Name: X.S. Cash (logically)
Udo
A contestant Gohan beats easily. Probably named for the Udo plant, and in particular the phrase udo no taiboku, meaning a good-for-nothing (since the Udo plant isn’t very sturdy).
Dosukoi
A sumo wrestler. Accordingly, “Dosukoi” is a chant sumo wrestlers say.
Kung-Fun
A kung-fu fighter. You get 3 guesses as to where his name comes from, but the first 2 don’t count, and neither does the last one.
DBZ Movie 10: Broly: Second Coming
Koko:
Her and Natade Village itself are named for nata de coco, coconut milk.
Daizenshuu Explanation: “However, let’s change the subject to Koko, the girl from Natade Village, who appears in A Dangerous Pair!!~. As many people know, her name comes from the highly fashionable desert, nata de coco [coconut milk].” [D6]
Source Spelling:: ナタ・デ・ココ/Nata De Koko
Name Spelling: ココ/Koko
Natade Village
See above.
DBZ Movie 11: Bio-Broly
Baron Jager Batta
Named for jaga bataa, buttered potato, as well as danshaku-imo, Irish cobbler potato. The joke is that danshaku is Japanese for “baron”, and so this guy is an actual baron. His hideout, Castle May Queen, is named directly after the May Queen potato.
Source Spelling:: じゃがバター/jaga bataa+ 男爵芋/danshaku-imo
Name Spelling: ジャガー・バッタ男爵/Jagaa Batta Danshoku
Doctor Kori, Nain, and Men-Men
Kori and Nain are possibly named for 懲りない/korinai, meaning “obstinate” and generally not learning one’s lesson. Men-men could be from 面々, which can mean people, and so together the 3 would form korinai men-men, “people who never learn”. This seems like an apt description for anyone stupid enough to bring Broli back to life. Furthermore, Baron Batta has a Bubastis-like genetically modified pet named Hei, and so Japanese Wikipedia says that Hei, Kori, Nain, and Men-Men are together specifically a reference to Hei no Naka no Korinai Men-Men, “Stubborn People Inside the Walls”, a novel by Jouji Abe. It seems to fit, but it’s a pretty odd reference for DB.
DBZ Movie 12: Fusion Reborn
Janenba:
Ja means “evil”, nen means “thought”, and ba means “wave”, so together the name means a wave of evil thoughts, like what came out of the Spirits Laundering Machine to form Janenba.
Daizenshuu Explanation:“This is a contraction of ja-aku na nenba [evil thought waves]. You could call this an appropriate name for a hell beast.” [D10]
Source Spelling:: 邪念な念波/ja-aku na nenba
Name Spelling: ジャネンバ/Janenba
FUNimation Name: Janemba
Psyche Oni [D7]
As his Daizenshuu 7 bio explains, he’s an oni who happens to be a fan of “psychedelic rock”, so his name is a contraction of that.
Source Spelling:: サイケデリックロック/saikederikku rokku
Name Spelling: サイケ鬼/Saike-oni
FUNimation Name: Saike
DBZ Movie 13: Wrath of the Dragon
Tapion:
A pun on tapioca. In Daizenshuu 6’s character design section, it’s revealed that he was originally going to be flat-out named “Tapioca”, but Toriyama advised them to change the name to something less direct.
Source Spelling:: タピオカ/tapioka
Name Spelling: タピオン/Tapion
Minoshia:
Most likely this is a slightly modified reversal of ヤシの実/yashi no mi, “coconut”, especially since his home planet itself is named “Konats”, an obvious play on coconut. Though in katakana his name ends in an “a” and not a “ya”, interestingly the Jump Anime Collection volume for DBZ movie 13 and other Japanese dodads actually spell his name in alphabet as “Minoshiya”, so it does seem yashi no mi is what they had on their mind. Additionally, “Minoshia” works as a reversal of足のみ/ashi-nomi, “only the legs”, and well as 足の身/ashi-no-mi, “leg section”, both of which suit him.
Source Spelling:: ヤシの実/yashi no mi
Name Spelling: ミノシア/Minoshia
Planet Konats:
From “coconuts”
Source Spelling:: ココナッツ/kokonattsu
Name Spelling: コナッツ星/Konattsu-sei
Hoi:
Not sure on this one. “Hoi” is a phrase that seems to crop up a lot in magic chants, like Uranai Baba’s divination chant or the chant to summon the ghostly fire Hoi-Hoi-Bi. Alternatively, it could come from回鍋肉 (ホイコーロー)/hoikooroo (“hui guo rou” in Chinese), “twice-cooked pork”.
Source (?) Spelling:: 回鍋肉 (ホイコーロー)/hoikooroo
Name Spelling: ホイ/Hoi
Hildegarn
Daizenshuu Explanation: “Then there’s the unusual unique naming, this time for Hildegarn from Dragon Fist Explosion!!~. The entire staff puzzled over what to name this enemy, who gave assistant producer Mr. Sei-ichi Hiruta a shock [the Japanese sound effect for shock is “ga~n”]. That being the case, they used Mr. Hiruta’s name: Mr. Hiruta went “ga~n”, Hiruta-garn, and so Hildegarn…This sounds like a lie, but it’s the truth.” [D6]
Source Spelling:: 蛭田/Hiruta + ガーン/gaan
Name Spelling: ヒルデガーン/Hirudegaan
FUNimation Name: Hirudegarn
Plan To Exterminate the Saiyans - OVA
Doctor Raichi
From lychee, a subtropical fruit tree. This is the exact same thing the fake Namekian Raichi is named after, though the two characters’ names are spelling slightly differently in Japanese, with the fake Namekian having an extended “i” sound on the end of his name (ライチー/Raichii), which the doctor lacks (ライチ[/i]Raichi[/i]). This makes the doctor’s name be exactly the same as its namesake, while the fake Namekian’s is just slightly different.
Source Spelling:: ライチ/Raichi
Name Spelling: same
Hatchi-Hyack
This probably comes from 八百屋/yaoya, “greengrocer”, a store that specializes in fruits and vegetables. See, the 八百/yao part means “eight hundred”; normally 800 is read as happyaku, but this an alternative reading. 800 in Japanese is shorthand for “a whole lot” (similar to how the number 40 is used throughout the Bible), and ya means “shop”, so in theory a yaoya would be a shop that sells all kinds of stuff, though in practice they focus on fruits and vegetables. Anyway, though together八百 reads as yao or happyaku, apart八 (8) is read as hachi (among other things) while 百 (100) is read as hyaku. You can then see how hachi and hyaku could be altered into “Hatchi-Hyack”, and a greengrocer fits in with the Tsufuru fruit theme very well. Alternatively (or additionally), switch it around and “Hatchi-Hyack” could be a play not on 800 but on 108 (百八/hyaku-hachi), which in Buddhism is the number of worldly thoughts and passions, and pops up a lot in manga and anime as a mystical number.
Source Spelling:: 八百屋/yaoya or百八/hyaku-hachi
Name Spelling: ハッチヒャック/Hacchi-Hyakku
Super Jump Anime Tour Special - Yo! Son Goku and Friends Return!!
Tarble:
Just like his older brother, his name comes from “vegetable”.
Source Spelling:: ベジタブル/bejitaburu
Name Spelling: ターブル/Taaburu
Gure:
Possibly a pun on “grape”, or perhaps also the alien Greys, which she somewhat resembles?
Source Spelling:: グレープ/gureepu or グレー/guree
Name Spelling: グレ/Gure
Abo and Kado:
Taken directly from “avocado”.
Source Spelling:: アボカド/abokado
Name Spelling: アボ/Abo、 カド/Kado