Kryptonian Name Generator

Kryptonian names in DC Comics follow one of the most recognizable conventions in superhero fiction. A man's name is a short given name of one syllable (sometimes two) joined by a hyphen to the name of his house: Kal-El, Jor-El, Dru-Zod, Jax-Ur. The house name is passed down the male line, and the most famous of them, El, is the family Superman and Supergirl belong to. Other established houses include Zod, Ul, Em, Ur, Van, Ze, Vex, and Ak.

Women's names work a little differently. Traditionally a Kryptonian woman uses her own given name plus her father's full name, so Kara Zor-El is Kara, daughter of Zor-El, and Lara Lor-Van is Lara of the house of Van through her father Lor-Van. After marriage she may take her husband's name as well, which is why Alura In-Ze is also written Alura Zor-El. Some modern versions, like the Krypton TV series, simplify this to given name plus house name (Lyta-Zod, Nyssa-Vex).

Good Kryptonian names sound clipped and slightly formal, with hard consonants and a lot of K, Z, V, and R. Given names are usually consonant-vowel-consonant (Kal, Jor, Zor, Dev, Van), while house names tend to be short and open (El, Ur, Ka, Zan, Vex). Combine them and you get the crisp, alien-but-familiar cadence that has defined Krypton since 1938.