While Dragon Ball catalog, it seems as though everyone has been getting his name wrong this whole time–at least, since he officially became a hero.
Piccolo was introduced as King Piccolo in Dragon Ball chapter 135 by Akira Toriyama. Originally, King Piccolo was a centuries-old being who was the manifestation of the pure evil that was expelled from the body of Earth’s God, Kami. In a sense, King Piccolo was the devil while Kami was God. While King Piccolo proved to be a powerful and terrifying foe, Goku was successful in killing him, though not before King Piccolo ensured that he would live on in another form. Before dying, King Piccolo produced an egg that contained the body of his reincarnated form, a baby version of himself who would grow up to become the Piccolo fans know and love today–at least, a version of Piccolo fans thought they knew.
In Dragon Ball chapter 362 by Akira Toriyama, Piccolo had just reed Kami for the first time since they were split upon Kami’s ascension to divinity free of the evil in his soul. When Cell sees him, he mistakes him for King Piccolo, the previously villainous version of the Z Fighter standing before him. When Piccolo tells Cell he has mistaken him for someone else, the villain thinks little of his apparent confusion and launches an attack against the enemy that was challenging him. However, the reality behind this exchange is bigger than Cell cared to investigate further.
What is Piccolo's REAL Name in Dragon Ball?
Not only is Cell wrong about Piccolo’s identity because he is the reincarnated form of King Piccolo with a wildly different personality and motivations, but his name is technically no longer Piccolo at all. Originally, Kami and Piccolo were one Namekian before they split into two entities, so when they permanently reed (which marked Piccolo’s full transition from villain to hero), they reverted to their original form with their original name: The Nameless Namekian.
Piccolo is Really The Nameless Namekian
While a name like The Nameless Namekian seems underwhelming to the point of being a near mislead, it actually speaks volumes to the extent of the Namekian's established lore within Dragon Ball. The Nameless Namekian is so old, and Piccolo and Kami had been split up for so long, that they no longer have any conscious memory of their original life. For this reason, the newly reformed Nameless Namekian decides to continue on as Piccolo since Piccolo’s personality is the one that is most apparent while Kami’s contribution to the fusion was just in the form of life-giving energy and power. However, while Dragon Ball's amalgamation of Kami and Piccolo decided to walk through life as Piccolo, that isn’t technically their real name.
