#although it was mostly limited to martial arts terminology

[scarlet--wiccan]

Is Kwannon (the name) wrong? Or not the most accurate? I mean, should it be something else? I still waiting for someone to realize that Da Costa should Really be Roberto da Costa.

I'm not Japanese, and I haven't studied the language in many, many years, so take this with a heaping spoonful salt.

My understanding is that "Kwannon" is supposedly named after 観音, who is a bodhisattva associated with mercy and compassion. In modern Japanese, this name is pronounced "Kannon," or, more formally, "Kanzeon." That "Kwan" sound doesn't make sense, phonetically" for Japanese-- it sounds more similar to the Chinese version, "Guanyin."

I don't know if where the X-Men writers came up with the name Kwannon-- it's possible that, several decades ago, this was the most verifiable spelling of the name. As a modern reader, it feels very similar to "Xian Coy Manh."

I've taken to calling her "Kanon," which is an actual given name in Japanese. Like most names, it can have a lot of meaninings, depending on how it's spelled, but I believe there are some versions that are derived from 観音. I may be wrong about that, but, you know, at least it's an actual name.