Dragon Ball, which was intended as a gag manga (Japanese comic), with adventure elements by Akira Toriyama, was based on the old Chinese fables about the Monkey King.

The story revolved around the search for 7 magical crystal orbs created by an alien race called the Nameks, and a boy named Son Gokou.

The 7 magical balls, when brought together, had the power to summon the Eternal Dragon, Shen Long, granting the person a single wish, thus giving them the name Dragon Balls.

In some old Chinese fables, there lived a Legendary Monkey King named Suen Wukung, who possessed great strength and powers. This character resembles the main character in Dragon Ball named Son Gokuh, who was born of an alien race called the Saiyans. Suen Wukung, translated in Japanese was "Son Gokuh", hence the name for our main character.