Was it ever explained why Grandpa Son Gohan had a last name?

[Marco Polo]

Videl says it's rare for people to have last names in the Dragon Ball world. But it's not a question of nobility or wealth since Satan, King Furry, etc. don't have last names while Son Gohan, a hermit, has one.

[ekrolo2]

They were probably more common in Gohans younger days and got phased out during his and Gokus life times.

[Deathbringer]

There are a few characters in the Jaco manga that have last names, including Jaco himself but he isn't from Earth so I guess he doesn't count

[Darkprince410]

The way Videl commented about it, it's a regional thing. Some regions seemingly have family names, while other regions just have a given name and that's it.

[ssj4nick]

It's the person who raised the main character from whom he got the name SON-Goku . Self-explanatory. No need to search any deeper .
Dragonball is not science or a really deep series that emphasises on these details, I'm not trying to be offensive but you are just wasting your time by having questions like this . Toriyama probably has never thought of that, so why should we, if the creator doesn't even care ?

[Nejishiki]

Son Gohan, and others who reside in that region, are probably traditional. Where Videl resides, they're likely open-minded about not being confined to surnames. The city is different from the country, as you would normally gather. I think it's similar to how immigrants in our world will change their names to fit into their new hemisphere. When in Rome, do as Romans do, as they say. Chi-Chi, being a traditional housewife, likely insisted to receive Goku's name. A princess would be in tune with that era of thinking, after all. Interestingly, Videl and Pan don't adopt Gohan's name. That's comparable to the rare experience where married individuals either don't change surnames or combine them. The custom is clearly foreign to her, so she may have never considered taking it. Her husband wouldn't pay mind to it in the first place. It's worth noting that the Son surname only survives due to Goku preserving his grandpa's name. He probably saw it fitting to end the line with his final dedication towards him, having his son inherit the name.

[floofychan333]

Maybe Akira Toriyama just hates last names. Since everyone HAS to be named a lame pun I guess he doesn't really care about names in general much at all.

[swimtrunks]

It's the person who raised the main character from whom he got the name SON-Goku . Self-explanatory. No need to search any deeper .
Dragonball is not science or a really deep series that emphasises on these details, I'm not trying to be offensive but you are just wasting your time by having questions like this . Toriyama probably has never thought of that, so why should we, if the creator doesn't even care ?

Toriyama doesn't think or care about anything having to do with Dragon Ball hence all the jokes about his forgetfulness so why does this forum even exist?

Oh yeah! it's a message board where we discuss even the most inane things of Dragon Ball regardless of how non-thread worthy it is.

Not that I think this topic is stupid or non-thread worthy.

As for the op's question, I think he had a last name because of rule of cool.

Son Goku is an awesome name.

[Akyon]

...for some reason I always thought Satan was Mr. Satan's last name. I thought his first name was Mark...where the hell did I get that from?

[DragonBallLove]

Mr. Satan is his stage name. His real name is Mark, and her wife was Miguel/Mikael, named after the archangel (although that's the male form of the name, the female should go like Micaela or something).

[DBZAOTA482]

Son Gohan, and others who reside in that region, are probably traditional. Where Videl resides, they're likely open-minded about not being confined to surnames. The city is different from the country, as you would normally gather. I think it's similar to how immigrants in our world will change their names to fit into their new hemisphere. When in Rome, do as Romans do, as they say. Chi-Chi, being a traditional housewife, likely insisted to receive Goku's name. A princess would be in tune with that era of thinking, after all. Interestingly, Videl and Pan don't adopt Gohan's name. That's comparable to the rare experience where married individuals either don't change surnames or combine them. The custom is clearly foreign to her, so she may have never considered taking it. Her husband wouldn't pay mind to it in the first place. It's worth noting that the Son surname only survives due to Goku preserving his grandpa's name. He probably saw it fitting to end the line with his final dedication towards him, having his son inherit the name.

Chinese women don't change their maiden name.

[Nejishiki]

Well, in-universe, there's no China. I don't think that detracts from the message I portrayed. Similar isn't exact and all of that.

[FoolsGil]

Maybe it's regional, maybe not. I doubt Yamcha has a last name, he lived in a desert near Goku, same region.

My question would be how did the Dragon World evolve to a family name being a rarity.

[tasuxeda]

As Goku told Bulma in the second chapter of Dragon Ball "my Grandpa was one weird guy!".