What meaning does the nickname "Kyon" has?

Question

In the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, the main character's nickname is "Kyon" (キョン). From the novel, the origin of the name is explained:

By the way, Kyon would be me. My aunt was the one who first called me that. A few years ago, my long-time-no-see aunt suddenly said to me "My goodness, Kyon has grown so big!" My sister thought it was funny and also started to call me Kyon. After that the rest is history— my friends, upon hearing my sister calling me Kyon, decided to follow her lead. From that day on, my nickname became Kyon. Damn it, my sister used to call me "Onii-chan"!

Kyon does not seem to like the name very much. Also, his sister "thought it was funny". This makes me wonder what "Kyon" actually means. It it has no meaning at all, why would Kyon's sister find it funny?

Does "Kyon" mean anything?

Answer 1

According to RomajiDesu, it's a species of barking deer. It's humorous because the "n" on the end makes it sound feminine. Onii-chan is a token of respectful affection, in contrast.

It's the contrast from being called (in all sincerity) "dearest big brother" and "Bambi"

Answer 2

"Kyon" doesn't actually have an independent meaning in Japanese (unless it's a rather obscure sound effect); it's just a silly nickname he got saddled with by his aunt and little sister, and although Kyon consistently says that he hates it, his real name is never revealed in the books. (I've read all of them, and was actively looking for information related to his actual name.) I always assumed that it was a device to give readers an idea of what sort of character Kyon is, or at least what kind of life he has: He doesn't like his nickname, didn't choose it, and yet it's all he ever gets. ^_^b

Answer 3

What does "Kyon" mean: Young warrior

Origin: Irish

Reference: https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-kyon-512965.htm

Kyon's nickname was given to him by his younger sister. But if we accord it to Baby Center, the #1 pregnancy and parenting digital destination whom reaches more than 45 million parents a month in every corner of the globe, Kyon means Young Warrior. It doesn't appear that much but if we look it closely, Kyon really appears like a young warrior.

Kyon face life in a cynical manner, in an adult manner, like that of a young warrior yet has a soft and good nature. To start though, Kyon never believes in supernatural. A quote from the transcript of Episode 1, "But aliens, time traveler, ghosts, monsters, espers, and anime, manga, live-action heroes that fight them, it wasn't till later in my life that I realized they all don't exist." It is not like he don't believe in them, in fact he even mentioned that it would be nice that they could exist. But that just how the normal life goes.

Kyon had a fateful, extreme encounter with the supernatural yet he faced it like a man. He had Yuki Nagato, a bibliophile humanoid interface; Mikuru Asahina, a time traveler; and Itsuki Koizumi, an esper in the same club room yet they continued their days as a student like normal.

Kyon, thanks to Haruhi's sudden decisions, was also brought to many critical encounters yet he surpassed all of it like a man. He is even the one who make awesome decisions to save the day.

Kyon also saved the world as he and Haruhi Suzumiya were trapped in a parallel world. The creatures created by the powers of Haruhi Suzumiya has started destroying the world to create it anew. And the strength of Kyon's and Haruhi's buddies is not enough to intervene. Only Kyon can make a change to save the world.

And finally, Kyon was also trapped in a time paradox as conveyed in their movie, Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. There's more tell to this. But I want you to see it for yourself. Watch the move and have some fun. Enjoy~

Trivia: A man somewhere in the world was hit by a car and was put to coma. After years of coma and recuperation in the hospital, he recovered his consciousness. The first thing he asked is, "How's the new episode of Suzumi Haruhi no Yuutsu?"