While Krillin may not have the best track record for fighting in the Dragon Ball franchise, he managed to find successful romance and a healthy family life that eluded several of his Z Fighter comrades, with Yamcha and Tien still flying solo going into Dragon Ball Z. One of the more head-scratching elements of Krillin’s family life in DBZ, however, is his apparently naming his daughter after an ex from earlier in the series. However, while this questionable choice may raise eyebrows among English-speaking audiences, the original Japanese suggests Krillin didn’t name his daughter after his ex after all.
Shortly after Frieza’s first defeat, the Z Fighters enjoyed a period of peace as they waited several months for Goku to return to Earth. During this time, Krillin struck up a romance with a woman named Maron, who appeared to be a bit clueless about the world around her and not entirely devoted to Krillin, going as far as to flirt with Yamcha. After defeating an escaped Garlic, Jr. and thwarting his plans to control Earth’s populace via the Black Water Mist, Krillin decided to break up with Maron, feeling she was too good for him, only to be heartbroken when she quickly moved on with another man.
After marrying Android 18 following the Cell Games, Krillin and his wife had a daughter and named her Marron. The important distinction between the names of Krillin’s daughter “Marron” and his ex-girlfriend “Maron” are their spellings. While pronounced relatively the same in English, there is a marked difference between the two names’ pronunciation in Japanese. The follow-up anime series Dragon Ball Super even winks at this naming confusion, with Android 17 mispronouncing Marron’s name to Android 18’s visible annoyance at the mention of her husband’s ex.
Rather than being named after Krillin’s ex-girlfriend, Marron is another example of franchise creator Akira Toriyama’s noted penchant for using food-based puns in naming his characters. The Japanese pronunciation of Krillin’s name, “Kuririn,” contains the Japanese word for chestnut, in a comedic nod to Krillin’s bald head resembling one. Similarly, Marron’s name comes from the French word for chestnut to keep with that naming tradition, just as Trunks and his family are named after different undergarments while Saiyans are named after various types of vegetables.
Krillin and his family are quietly one of the most heartwarming aspects of the Z Fighters’ private lives, with both Android 18 and Krillin going through enormous lengths to take care of their daughter. While Krillin certainly hasn’t forgotten about his ex-girlfriend Maron, seen thinking about her in an interlude during the Z Fighters’ battle against the Androids, he has found love again with Android 18 and has helped create a loving family in a way he likely couldn’t have with Maron. And while his daughter’s name initially appears to suggest Krillin hasn’t moved on from Marron, nothing could be further from the truth.
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