Ask John: What is Goku’s First Name?

Question:
What is Goku of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z’s first name?

Answer:
Goku’s full name is Son (or Sohn) Goku. He doesn’t really have a first or last name. He was named by his adopted grandfather, Sohn Gohan. Goku later named his first son after his grandfather. The name comes from Chinese mythology. The Chinese monkey god Son Goku rode on a magic flying cloud and practiced kung-fu with a magic staff that could extend to any length. The mythical Goku also gets re-incarnated in different incarnations in Buichi Terasawa’s Midnight Eye Goku, and in Monkey Magic, to name only a few examples.