Gamera's name comes from the Japanese word kame (カメ), meaning "turtle," and -ra (ラ), a common suffix in kaiju names. The "k-" sound at the beginning of Gamera's name may have been changed to a "g-" sound to avoid making the monster's name sound like the word "camera," which is spelled カメラ in Japanese. In the United States theatrical release of his debut film, Gamera's name was spelled as Gammera, with an additional "m." All subsequent American releases of Gamera's films dropped the second "m."