Gender Masculine Usage Popular Culture Scripts ゴジラ(Japanese Katakana) Pronounced Pron. /ɡɑd.ˈzɪl.ə/(American English) /ɡɒd.ˈzɪl.ə/(British English) Meaning & History From Japanese ゴジラ (Gojira), a blend of ゴリラ (gorira) meaning "gorilla" and 鯨 (kujira) meaning "whale". This is the name of a massive reptilian monster from a series of Japanese movies, starting 1954.