Not so long ago, I read on EW.com that Nic Cage named his son Kal-El not, as was widely reported in 2005, because Kal-El is Superman's native Kryptonian name but because "It's actually a Hebrew name, it means 'Voice of God'." Does it?

This sounds like one of those cultural myths, like how Eskimos supposedly have hundreds of words for snow. (They don't.) Since I don't speak Hebrew, I consulted the expert, by which I mean Google. At the prompt "hebrew translation kal-el," Google AI points me to a Jewish website aish.com article ("Superman & The Jews") which draws parallels between Superman and Moses, reporting:

Superman's original name is Kal-El – bearing the Hebrew name of God, El, and perhaps even invoking God's voice since the Hebrew word for voice is Kol. Hence Kal-El means God's voice–which is indeed what Moshe became as God’s prophet, lawgiver and voice of truth justice and goodness.

"Perhaps even evoking"? That sounds like wishful thinking. But being wishful doesn't inherently mean it's wrong.

According to the authoritative SupermanHomepage.com, Superman was first called by his Kryptonian name in a newspaper strip that ran January 17, 1939. In that strip, likely by the character's Jewish creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the name was spelled "Kal-L." (Novelist George Lowther changed the spelling to "Kal-el" in 1942, and the name first appears as "Kal-El" in Superman #113 in 1957.)

Even if Siegel and Shuster were making an effort to disguise the Hebrew origins of a hidden name (although none of Siegel's writings or interviews ever gave any hint they intended that), Google Translate and other sources indicate that the phonetic equivalent of Kal / Qal in Hebrew translates to an adjective roughly meaning easy, light, simple, facile, cushy, or swift. So a more literal translation of Kal-L, whether intentional or accidental, might be "Simple God," which, given that Superman is not actually a Biblical prophet but a comic book character with powers far beyond those of mortal men, seems pretty on point.

It's not a bad name for a kid, either.

(For what it's worth, in the fictional DC Universe, Kal is Kryptonian for "child" and -El means "of the Star." So Kal-El literally translates to "Star Child." Which is also a good name for a kid, so long as you're a KISS fan.)

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Earlier this week, Pope Benedict XVI reminded the faithful that parents should give their children good, Christian names. Apparently, the Pope thinks that Nicholas Cage's son, Kal-El, has a very inappropriate name. No doubt he's opposed to names that needlessly single out individuals, which you should probably expect from a man who has "XVI" in his name. I say that's one man's opinion, even if that one man does happen to be the voice of God.

Of course I'm safe from the Pope's wrath. My first name is an English variant of the Hebrew "Jacob," meaning "one who supplants." My middle name is a Germanic word meaning something akin to "strong fighter" or "commander." My last name -- per family lore an Ellis Island imposition -- is derived from "Stephanos," Greek for "garland." English, German, and Greek! Oh, my.

Had my parents named me "Usurp Leader Crown," the Pope would have been very upset indeed. "Kal-El" is a better name. But as it is, I have one of the most common names in America. "Walter" and "Stephens" are among the top 200 most common first and last names, respectively, in the country. And no first name is given to boys more often than "James." It's even the name of 6 U.S. Presidents. That's 5 more than have been named "Barack," a name that probably galls the Pope no end.

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