The Kryptonian family name of Superman, meaning "star". Like many human cultures, the family name is handed down through the male side of the family. The first and last names of male children are hyphenated, whereas the female children have two separate names, a first name followed by the full name of their father, which is replaced by the full name of her husband upon marriage.

Superman's full name is Kal-El ("star child"), son of Jor-El and Lara Jor-El (nee Lara Lor-Van). Superman's father, his grandfather Jor-El, and his great-grandfather Var-El were all scientists, like many of their ancestors. The House of El was a distinguished one, featuring many key figures in Kryptonian history: Val-El, a great explorer who invented the compass; Sul-El, a great astronomer who invented the telescope and first spotted Earth's sun; Tala-El, a great lawyer and author of Krypton's constitution; and Hatu-El, discoverer of electricity.

Superman's uncles, brothers of Jor-El, were Zor-El of Argo City, father of Supergirl, and Nim-El of Kandor, father of Don-El.

Mon-El was actually a Daxamite who, under the influence of amnesia and a misunderstanding, believed he was Superman's brother for a time.

All this information is pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Memory jogging provided by http://www.fortress.am/Krypton/glossary.html.