Kakarot holding his namesake.note
Dragon Ball is quite possibly the king of Edible Theme Naming, as Akira Toriyama (and those who wrote official stories in his universe) would use this to easily come up with sets of character names.- The Son family note are all named after rice and staple foods:
- Introduced in the first series, Goku is perhaps the most prominent example (combined with Punny Name) — while he's named and modeled after Son Gokū from Journey to the West, the name is phonetically very close to koku, the old Japanese term for the volume of rice needed to feed one person for a year (and thus the standard for measuring crop production for centuries). An appropriate choice for a Big Eater!
- Gohan straight-up is the word for rice, and thus has the most direct link to his father's name.
- Pan means (in many languages besides Japanese) "bread", both of which are carbohydrates and staple foods. Pan also refers to the satyr, dovetailing with her mother Videl and her grandfather Mr. Satan.
- Chi-Chi's name meanwhile means milk, or "breasts" (think of the word "chi" being repeated twice). Her father is Gyu Mao/Ox King, as her side of the family has a cattle theme.
- Goku and Grandpa Gohan's home is Mount Paozu, named after Chinese steamed buns. Interestingly, the old lady who gives Goku and Bulma the Six Star Ball for ridding the town of Oolong is called Grandma Paozu in the original Japanese manga.
- Goku's early friends are almost entirely food puns:
- Yamcha is named for Yum Cha, a form of Chinese dining consisting of drinking tea with dim sum.
- Oolong and Puar are named for Oolong and Pu-erh teas.
- Krillin (or Kuririn in the original Japanese) is a portmanteau of chestnuts (kuri) and Shaolin (Shourin in Japanese), after the fighting monks of Shaolin Monastery. Krillin's girlfriend during the Garlic Jr. arc, Maron, and later his daughter Marron who may be named for her, are named after the French word for chestnut.
- Lunch is Lunch.
- The Pilaf gang are also food-related:
- Pilaf himself is named after a Middle-Eastern rice dish.
- Shu and Mai are named after shumai, a Chinese dumpling. Ironically this wasn't originally the case; Toriyama had initially named Shu "Soba" (for Japanese buckwheat noodles), but when the anime staff asked for a name for the character, he forgot he had already named him and went for the combined pun with Mai.
- In Dragon Ball Online, Pilaf's descendant is called Paella, a Spanish fried rice dish.
- The Crane Hermit's students Tenshinhan and Chaozu are named after a quasi-Chinese dish invented in Japan (a kind of crab omelette served over rice) and Chinese dumplings, respectively. Apparently their favourite meals are what the other is named after!
- Goku's two-time Tournament opponent, King Chappa, is named after the Indian flatbread chapatti (whilst also having a martial-arts-sounding name).
- Korin is named after karinto, a deep-fried dough cake.
- Dragon Ball filler character food names:
- Dr. Frappe (Flappe in the dub) from the Muscle Tower filler is named after the French frappé dessert.
- Tanmen from the Inoshikacho filler is named after a ramen dish.
- Mint is, well, Mint.
- In the filler episodes of the Piccolo Jr. Saga, Mr. Popo sent Goku to a forest and met an entire family named after desserts and sweets, which expands because the Funimation dub changed some of their names but still kept the theme! Husband Mousse and wife Eclair raise Crepe (dub: Chouc, as in the French pastry chou à la crème), Cookie, Cocoa, Creampuff (dub: Bavaro, as in Bavarian Cream), Jam (dub: Bisce, as in biscuit), Jelly, Donuts, Pudding (dub: Crepe, like crepé), and Cupcake.
- Lastly, Mousse's father is named Korinto, with the same pun origin as Korin. Korin is named Karin in Japan, so Korinto's name makes the pun in a different way.
- From the Wedding Dress filler we have Jasmine, after the tea, and Annin after almond jelly. Unnan is for where Pu-erh tea comes from.
- Dragon Ball Z introduces the alien warrior race called the Saiya-jins (or Saiyans outside of Japan). This name alone is a "kanji flip" of the Japanese word for vegetable: "yasai". Since "jin" means "person", the name of the race can be read as "vegetable people"!note Full-blooded Saiyans are all named after these foods:
- Goku's original Saiyan name is Kakarot, for carrot, and provides the page image.
- Raditz is radish, while Nappa is named after Napa cabbage.
- The two phantom Saiyans in a filler episode are Onion and Broco(li).
- Vegeta, and by proxy his late father, is named after the word vegetable itself. His later-introduced brother is named Tarble, thus their names complete the full word!
- In The Tree of Might, Tullece / Turles is a pun on lettuce.
- From Bardock – The Father of Goku, Bardock himself is named after greater burdock, a root vegetable. His elite force include Tohma/Tora (tomato), Selipa/Fasha (anagram of parsley), Toteppo/Borgos (potato) and Panpukin/Shugesh (pumpkin). The last surviving Kanassian is named Tooro, named after the fatty tuna used in sushi, toro. They conquer the more obviously-named Planet Meat. And while part of a different telling of Bardock's story, Gine, his loved one, is an anagram of "negi", meaning spring onion.
- In the original Broly movie, Broly is named after broccoli while Paragus is named after Asparagus.
- Dragon Ball Super introduces an Alternate Universe with its own set of Saiyans, specifically Cabba(ge), Caulifla (cauliflower), and Kale. It also reveals that the Saiyan homeworld was originally called Sadala, after salads. A very appropriate name since salads of course are a dish involving a great many vegetables.
- The ancient enemy of the Saiyans is the Tuffles, or "Tsufuru(jin)" in Japanese, which is an anagram for "furutsu", or "fruit". Tuffle can also be a play on truffle, the fruting body of an underground fungus.
- Filler content on Namek gives us Napple (pineapple), Banan(a) and Sūi (from suika, for watermelon).
- The other henchmen of Freeza, the Saiyans' former boss, are also named after perishable foods:
- The most common are fruit puns, including Cui (kiwi), Dodoria (durian, which is spiky like his head), and Zarbon (the Japanese name for the pomelo). Minor henchmen include Oren/Oran(ge), Blueberry, Rasperry and the big one himself, Appule (Apple). Episode of Bardock gives us Ipana (pineapple), Berry (er, berry) and Kavira (caviar, which isn't a fruit).
- The sentai parody team the Ginyu Special Corps has members named after dairy products: Ginyu (cow's milk), Burter/Butta (butter), Guldo/Gurd (yogurt), Jheese (cheese), Recoome/Reacoom ("Rikumu" is an anagram for "kurimu", or "cream"). Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot adds in Bonyu (mother's milk), a female former member.
- Later additions to Freeza's empire include Sorbet (a type of ice-cream) Tagoma (anagram of tamago, the Japanese word for egg), Shisami (from the sliced meat sashimi), Cheelai (anagram for lychee, but can also mean chilli), Lemo (lemon), Kikono (anargram of the Japanese word for mushroom), Berryblu and Cranberry (more berries).
- So why are they named after perishable foods? While not an explicit food pun, Toriyama gave Frieza (Freeza) his name on the basis that you put vegetables (Saiyans), fruit (his henchmen) and dairy products (the Ginyu Force) in the freezer (though he later admitted naming him after a refrigerator would have made more sense). His brother, Cooler, is also named after something you store food in, and fits in with their father King Cold.
- Every Namekian besides Piccolo and Kami is named for a slug, snail or a dish which uses those as the main ingredients:
- Planet Namek itself is a pun on "namekuji", the Japanese word for slug.
- Muuri is a word for snail, Katattsu is another word for snail, Dende is another word for snail, Cargo is escargot, Cuz renamed Tsuuno to Caracol (Spanish for, you guessed it, snail), and Nail is named for the English word for snail. Then from video games, we have Maima and Tsumuri, which also mean snail. Lord Slug is self-explainatory, while Dragon Ball Heroes gives us Tsumuri (snail again) and Kagyu (could you guess it also means snail?).
- The odd ones out are Piccolo Daimao and his henchmen (Tambourine, Piano and Drum) who are named after musical instruments, and Kami, who is named after the Japanese word for a God and is why he's often referred to with that title. There's also the Fake Namekians: Raichi is after a subtropical fruit tree and Zarkuro (Zaacro in the dub) is the Japanese word for pomegranate.
- Garlic Jr.'s pun is obvious, but his henchmen are also named after spices. Gashew is named for Sugar (named Spice in the dub), Zard is named after salt, Tard is the latter half of Mustard, and Vinegar is Vinegar.
- While in the Japanese version they're called the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Clan, Funimation took it one step further with a late 90s pop reference and called the team The Spice Boys.
- Dragon Ball Z filler food puns:
- In the pre-Cell Games filler you have Mr. Bourbon, Lime, her grandfather Rao Chuu (Chinese fermented alcohol) and Vodka, all associated with alcohol.
- Then you have Mr. Satan's posse, Piza (pizza), Karoni (macaroni) and Piroshiki (Russian fried buns stuffed with things such as meat or rice).
- For the Other World Torunament there's Paikuhan/Pikkon (a portmanteau of pork ribs and rice), Migoren (Indonesian fried egg noodles dish), Sarte (satay), Olibue (olive), Chapu-Chai (a variant of chop-suey) and Maraiko (a Chinese castella sponge cake).
- Averted with the GT character Nut, who is named not after the food (or the male organ), but rather after the hardware fastener.
- Captain Chicken from End of Z meanwhile is possibly the most on-the-nose example on this list, considering he wears a chicken outfit.
- And then we get to the Movies!
- Curse of the Blood Rubies has Gurumes (gourmet), Bongo (as in spaghetti alle vongole, not the drum) and Pasta.
- The first DBZ movie is where Garlic Jr. originates, and his posse in that film are Ginger, Nikki (Japanese for Cinnamon) and Sansho (from sanshou, Sichuan pepper).
- The second DBZ movie has characters named after foods made in the Nagoya region of Japan: Dr. Uiro (steamed rice cake), Dr. Kochin (a breed of free-range chicken), Kishime (from kishimen, a noodle made of flat strips) and Misokattsun (a miso lee, a condiment).
- The third film, The Tree of Might, has Amond (almond), Daizu (soybean), Kakao (cacao), Rezun (Raisun) and Rakasei (peanut).
- Cooler's Revenge features Sauser (after Thousand Island Dressing), Dore (from dressing) and Neiz (mayonnaise).
- Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans features Doctor Raichi, after the lychee fruit tree, Arbee (an anagram of the word for loquat), Gure (grape), Ponkarn (ponkan), Rozack (from zakuro, for pomegranate), Skud (from muscat), Bontarn (from bontan, Japanese for pomelo), Buhdo (grape again) and Hatchiyack, a possible reference to greengrocer (yaoya in Japanese).
- Broly - Second Coming has Koko from the village Natade (after nata de coco, coconut milk), and Bio-Broly has "Baron Jager Batta" (known in the dub as Lord Jaguar) for buttered potato, and Baron is from the name for Irish cobbler potato. He lives in Castle May Queen, another breed of potato.
- From Wrath of the Dragon, Tapion is named after the dessert tapioca, while Minoshia is a modified reversal of the Japanese word for coconut, and they both hail from Planet Konats, also after coconuts (keeping with the tropical theme).
- The 2008 Jump Special has Abo and Kado, who fuse into... Aka. But Gotenks still calls him Avocado.
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse has the true Big Bad Demigra, whose name is derived from demi-glace, a type of sauce. He even extends the theme to his moves: Baked Sphere, Bloody Sauce, Darkness Mixer...
- Dragon Ball Heroes extends the sauce/soup theme to most of the Demon Realm residents, including Demigra's old allies Putine and Gravy, Demon God Salsa, the Demon Realm's Grim Reaper Shroom, and the playable character Chamel (named for béchamel sauce)
- The Gods of Destruction and their Angels, as seen in Dragon Ball Super, are named after alcoholic drinks: Whis (whiskey), Champa (champagne), Vados (calvado), Iwne (wine), Awamo (awamori), Jerez/Heles (sherry), Sour (a drink mixer), Mosco and Mule (Moscow Mule, a cocktail of vodka and ginger beer), Quitela (tequila), Cognic (cognac), Arak (a middle eastern alcoholic beverage flavored with anise), Cucatail (cocktail), Liqueer (liquor), Korn (a German liquor), Sidra (Cider), Mojito (a rum cocktail), Rumush (rum), Kusu/Cus (Kuusuu, which is aged awamori), Belmod/Vermoud (vermouth, a type of fortified wine), Macarita (margarita), Giin/Geene (gin), and Martinu (Martini).
- Beerus himself fits in retroactively — he was originally given his name after the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "virus", since he was originally a definitely villainous entity and the force that turned the Saiyans evil. But when Akira Toriyama got involved and took the character in a very different direction, he mistook the name for a play on the word "beer", and thus used an alcohol theme for the other Gods of Destruction. Given the gods and their angels are shown to be hedonistic, naming them after booze suits them.
- The alcohol theming is also subtly invoked by Arc Villain Goku Black, who decides to name his Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan form Rosé, as an answer to the names chosen by the protagonists of Super Saiyan Blue. It suits the pink hair he gains when he transforms, but it's also a type of wine. This fits his Knight Templar attitude, as he believes that he's pretty much doing what the Gods of Destruction should be in killing all mortals.
- The warriors of Universes 9, 4, 3, 2, and 11 are all named after a certain theme of foods:
- Both Universe 9 and 4's warriors are named after herbs and plants used in cooking. However, U9's warriors' names give no alterations to their origin (with the exceptions of Bergamo and Chappil), while U4 has anagrams of plants instead.
- Universe 3 has names based off of Italian dishes.
- Universe 2's naming theme is types of meat.
- Universe 11 doesn't have theme naming after food per se, but naming after things you’d find in a kitchen.
- Even the spin-off manga Toriyama wrote has these:
- Neko Majin Z gives us Onio (onion), while Jaco the Galactic Patrolman introduces Jaco (for chirimen jako, dried fish sprinkled over rice), Ōmori Tokunoshin (from tokumori, an extra-large serving of rice), Katayude Tamagorō (hard-boiled egg) and Azuki An (a type of bean and the paste made from it). Dragon Ball Heroes also gives us Mirego, from Mi Goreng, fried noodles from Indonesia.
- Oh, you thought it stopped at the character names? It extends to locations too: every village or town is named after foods, with herbs being a common theme. There's Papaya Island, Ginger Town, Basil Town, Parsley Town, Pepper Town, Dorian Airport (after the durian fruit), Mount Kiwi, Mount Frypan (Fire Mountain in the dub), Mount Frappe (like Dr. Frappe), Urameshiya (a portmanteau on the Japanese words for "wail of the ghosts" and "eating house"; it's a restaurant for supernatural beings) and Konpei Tower (after konpeitou, a sugar candy).
