PlayStation Blogcast 101: The Next Generation

Sid’s Dragon Ball knowledge is right.

(from the DB Wiki)

Saiyan (Saiya-jin) – In Japanese, saiya is formed by rearranging the syllables of the Japanese word yasai which means “vegetable”.

Vegeta (Bejīta) – The first six letters of “vegetable”.

Tarble (Tāburu) – Believed to be taken in English as ‘Table’, making this name another a pun on “vegetable”, particularly its last five letters. Curiously, this would mean both Tarble and his brother Vegeta’s names pun “vegetable”.

Bardock (Bādakku) – A pun on a Japanese root vegetable, a “Burdock”.

Kakarot (Kakarotto) – Goku’s birth name, an interesting mutation of “carrot”.

Goku (Gokū) – Kakarot’s new name, given by Grandpa Gohan. It is a translation of the Chinese name Sun Wukong, the protagonist of Journey to the West. Kū is also Japanese for “sky”.

Nappa – A Japanese term for greens in general, especially grape leaves.[1] Also a form of cabbage, keeping with other Saiyans using English words as the source of their names.

Raditz (Radditsu) – Derives from “radish”.

Broly (Burorī) – A pun on “broccoli”.