Where Did Super Mario’s “Bowser” Get His Name From?
And is he a dragon … or a turtle?
In honor of the Super Mario Bros. movie that’s out this week, I’m exploring the surprisingly complicated history of Bowser’s name.
If you grew up alongside Bowser — possibly the world’s most lovable serial kidnapper — you may well remember a murky, early time in his history when he was more familiarly known as “King Koopa,” or, as his first appearance in the instruction booklet for Nintendo Super Mario Bros (1985) has it, “the great Koopa turtle king.”
We do get a “Bowser, King of the Koopa” later in that same booklet, which leans pretty heavily into his “sorcerer king” credentials, but the “Bowser” moniker was a new addition for an English-speaking audience only.
In Japan, Bowser was known as “Kuppa.” The same panel in the Japanese version of the instruction manual translates as:
Kuppa, the Demon King
He’s holding the princess hostage in…
