Krillin has been one of the central heroes in the Dragon Ball anime from the very start, as a loyal friend who has fought alongside lead character Goku through many adventures. This short fighter provided as much interest and character growth over the years as any of the other main Z-Warriors.
His personal relationships took some peculiar turns when he dated a girlfriend named Maron, and then years later, he had a daughter with another woman, also named Marron.
The coincidence of naming his daughter so similarly to his ex-partner made for an unexpected twist in Krillin’s otherwise straightforward family history.
Krillin has encountered many oddities as a Z-Fighter, but finding himself with two important women in his life boasting such confusingly equivalent names is one of the strangest.
Maron first showed up as Krillin’s new girlfriend, possessing an almost twin-like resemblance to his old friend Bulma, matching her long light blue hair and style. But despite Maron’s professions of love, she eventually lost interest and left Krillin for other pursuers. After that relationship fizzled out, Maron faded from the scene in Krillin’s life.
Krillin’s Unexpected Love Interest Adds a Weird Twist to His Family Life in Dragon Ball
Many years later, following the defeat of Cell and before the 25th World Tournament, Krillin had a daughter with Android 18 named Marron.
This new child in his life bore a similar short height and lack of a nose to her father while inheriting flowing blonde hair like her mother.
The coincidentally high similarity between the names of Krillin’s former girlfriend, Maron, and now his daughter, Marron, makes for a very odd coincidence in his personal relationships.
Odd Naming Quirk
It makes one wonder if Krillin has a peculiar subconscious draw to that name or if it’s just a random quirk of fate. In any case, it became an unexpected wrinkle in an otherwise straightforward family history.
In the original Japanese version of Dragon Ball, Krillin’s name is Kuririn. The “kuri” or “Kurumi” part means “chestnut,” which is a joke by creator Akira Toriyama about Krillin’s lack of hair.
The “rin” stands for “Shaolin,” referring to his martial arts training. As a complement to this naming convention for Krillin, his former girlfriend Maron (spelled with one less “r”) comes from the French word for chestnut.
Later, the name was reused when Krillin had a daughter named Marron, which has that same chestnut translation.
So the fact that Krillin’s brief love interest shared a chestnut-themed name similar to his own, which then inadvertently became the inspiration for what he named his child years later, makes for quite an odd coincidence.
Maron has become something of a forgotten footnote in Krillin’s life now that he has a family with Android 18.
But one wonders if someday he will have an interesting talk with his daughter Marron to explain the peculiar story of where her name originated from – namely, being an unconscious callback to her father’s former fling.
It’s a uniqueness to Krillin’s family history that could lead to awkward revelations down the line.
Chestnut Connections
When you get down to it, the whole origin of why both Maron and Marron have such analogous names stems from a basic pun playing off of Krillin’s name in the Dragon Ball series.
The characters most closely linked to Krillin were given monikers that sounded much like his own as a joke by the creator.
But even so, Krillin ultimately naming his daughter after an ex-girlfriend who was only briefly part of his past comes off as questionable and weird, regardless of the intended humor.
It seems like an unnecessary move bound to cause confusion and awkwardness within his family relations.
Furthermore, the similarity is directly called out in Dragon Ball Super when Android 18 angrily threatens her brother Android 17 for pronouncing daughter Marron’s name too closely to how Krillin’s ex was called. So it’s clearly an issue that continues to stick out in 18’s mind as Krillin’s wife.
The whole scenario may have originated from a simple name pun, but it has injected some ongoing uncomfortable tension into Krillin’s family that probably could have been avoided.
Uncomfortable Tensions
At first glance, Krillin having a fleeting romance with a girlfriend sharing a name translation tied to his own doesn’t seem terribly odd. But then for Krillin to name his eventual daughter so similarly, just with slightly different spelling, pushes things into rather uncomfortable territory.
Especially since his wife, Android 18, is clearly more aware of Krillin’s past relationships than she openly lets on.
The fact that Krillin passed on a name to his child that so closely resembles that of a former love interest he barely knew makes the whole situation much stranger than necessary. It suggests he has an eccentric attachment to that name, which his family must now endure.
Fortunately, it has been decades since his ex-Maron appeared in Dragon Ball lore, and she likely won’t emerge again.
So Krillin’s questionable naming love can be focused solely on the “chestnut” girl he rightfully cares for most – his daughter Marron. Still, one wonders if 18 will confront Krillin about the oddity at some point unless she plans to just let that sleeping canine lie.
DONE
