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Multiple realities
(covers information from several alternate timelines)
MA LD delta Warning!
This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Lower Decks, and thus may contain spoilers.
Sylvia Ront

An intertitle displaying Sylvia Ront's name

"A name can have a significant effect upon a person's sense of identity."
– Tuvix, 2372 ("Tuvix")

A name was a word or combination of words that identified a specific person or subject.

Having a name was preferable than being addressed by one's position, according to The Doctor. As of 2372, he had "reviewed historical, literary, and anthropological databases from over five hundred worlds" to no avail. Kes suggested some Ocampa names to him, such as Benaren (her father's name) Elrem (her uncle) and Tarrik (a boy she once knew). (VOY: "Dreadnought") The EMH considered several names of famous medical doctors, such as Pyong Ko, Schweitzer, Jarvik and Pasteur, believing it might encourage the crew of the USS Voyager to treat him with more respect than if they merely referred to him as "Doctor" or "Hey, you". (VOY: "Fury") The latter echoed Leonard McCoy's sentiment over a hundred years prior that referring to the mute woman they encountered as "Gem" was better than "Hey you". (TOS: "The Empath")

Lieutenant Reginald Barclay feared forgetting people's names. (TNG: "Hollow Pursuits")

Among the Founders, using a solid's name rather than title suggested intimacy. (DS9: "Behind the Lines")

Borg that were assimilated into the Borg Collective were generally stripped of any name they may have had previously and instead given a numbered designation, such as Four of Twelve, along with an adjunct designation like Subjunction of Unimatrix 525. (VOY: "Unimatrix Zero") When one such individual, Annika Hansen, was liberated from the Collective, she resisted early attempts to bring out her Humanity, instead asking to continue to be called by her Borg designation, Seven of Nine, as it had been hers for as long as she could remember. Captain Kathryn Janeway found the designation cumbersome, but nevertheless acquiesced with the caveat that it be shortened to simply "Seven," which Seven of Nine found to be "imprecise, but acceptable." (VOY: "Day of Honor") Locutus of Borg, the assimilated form of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, was an exception to the rule of numbered designations, given this name in his role as an intermediary to facilitate the assimilation of the Human race. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II") In reflecting on this, Hugh told Picard that he had learned on the USS Enterprise-D that a new name could the first step to a new identity, referencing the term xB that former Borg had adopted for themselves. (PIC: "The Impossible Box")

Romulans had separate names for use by outsiders and for family, as well as a true name for those they gave their heart to. (PIC: "The Impossible Box")

First name[]

A first name, or given name, was the name that was usually assigned to an individual by one's parents.

The waitress Ruby had had names picked out for her future children since she was 10 years old, and had decided to marry the first man who guessed them correctly. In 2143, Trip Tucker guessed "Cyrus", "Chester", and "Rosalie", but none were on her list. (ENT: "First Flight")

In 2153, several crewmen on Enterprise NX-01 suggested names for the mimetic simbiot later known as Sim, including Steven, Enriquez, and Dennis. Dr. Phlox seemed to care little for the last one. (ENT: "Similitude")

In 2267, James T. Kirk, after initially accepting Zefram Cochrane's introduction to him as merely "Cochrane", asked for his first name. (TOS: "Metamorphosis")

Calling someone by their first name generally indicated a close relationship between the two parties. In 2266, the "evil" half of Kirk asked Janice Rand to call him "Jim", referring to her as "Janice". (TOS: "The Enemy Within") In 2267, when Spock referred to Christine Chapel as "Miss Chapel", she reminded him of her first name. (TOS: "Amok Time") In 2268, the Romulan female squadron commander reminded Spock that she had a first name. When she whispered it to him, he declared it "rare and beautiful." (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident") When William T. Riker was given Q powers in 2364, he began to refer to Jean-Luc Picard as "Jean-Luc", as Q often did. (TNG: "Hide And Q") In 2370, Sam Lavelle was shocked when Ben referred to William T. Riker as "Will." Ben asked why he shouldn't and Lavelle pointed out that Riker was second-in-command of the USS Enterprise-D. Ben, however, replied that he was a civilian and that when Riker was in Ten Forward he wanted to be treated as a civilian. (TNG: "Lower Decks")

Kirk attempted unsuccessfully to learn Nyota Uhura's first name three times:

His eventual knowledge of her first name came secondhand; just prior to Kirk and Spock's transporting over to the supposed cargo bay of the Narada, he overheard Spock call her "Nyota". When Kirk asked Spock if it was her first name, he declined to comment. (Star Trek)

In 2364, Paul Rice's failure to use Riker's first name proved that he was not who he claimed to be (he was actually a hologram). (TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom")

As of 2369, Calvin Hutchinson had not forgiven his parents for naming him "Calvin", which he considered to be a terrible name. (TNG: "Starship Mine")

In 2370, Jason Vigo asked the officer guarding him what her name was. When she replied with "Lieutenant Rhodes", he clarified by saying he meant her first name. She told him it was Sandra. (TNG: "Bloodlines")

In 2376, after regaining their individuality, former Borg drones Icheb and Mezoti recalled their given names. Mezoti thought her name to be pretty. (VOY: "Collective")

Occasionally, inanimate objects were also given names. Julian Bashir recalled once that some American frontiersmen gave their rifles names, prompting Miles O'Brien to quip, "Maybe I'll start calling my tricorder Sally." (DS9: "Field of Fire")

Some first names and their known meanings
Name Language Meaning Citation
Arev Vulcan Desert wind ENT: "The Forge"
Cameron Celtic One whose nose is bent VOY: "Dreadnought"
Esoqq Chalnoth Fighter TNG: "Allegiance"
Frederick Bolian, English Similar to an unknown impolite phrase VOY: "Dreadnought"
Kejal Bajoran Freedom VOY: "Flesh and Blood"
Laas Varalan Changeable DS9: "Chimera"
Lal Hindi Beloved TNG: "The Offspring"
Sean Bajoran, Irish Swamp (Bajoran) DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

Middle name[]

A middle name was a name that could optionally be added in between first and last names. Middle names were often shortened to initials only.

William T. Riker never cared much for his middle name, which was Thomas. In 2369, his transporter double took it as a first name, leading Will to comment on how different they were. (TNG: "Second Chances")

Benjamin Sisko's middle name was Lafayette. (DS9: "Homefront", "Tears of the Prophets", "'Til Death Do Us Part")

Miles O'Brien's middle name was Edward. (TNG: "Family", "Rascals"; DS9: "Hard Time", "To the Death")

Middle names were often given to honor a relative. In 2372, Ensign Samantha Wildman considered giving her unborn baby the middle name "Greskrendtregk" after her Ktarian father. (VOY: "Dreadnought")

Icheb was named after his father's middle ("second") name. (VOY: "Collective")

Surname[]

A surname, family name, or last name was a name added on to the given name of an individual, often to indicate a family or clan relationship.

Vulcan family names were nearly unpronounceable by Humans. (TOS: "Journey to Babel")

The unpronounceable Vulcan name was described as a "first name" in TOS: "This Side of Paradise". No Vulcan family name has been given in canon.

Kzinti surnames were titles added to their names over their careers. (TAS: "The Slaver Weapon")

Some Human women traditionally change their surnames to that of their husband upon marriage, such as Keiko O'Brien did. (TNG: "Data's Day")

Most Klingons were addressed by their given names, and their full names had a patronymical surname, such as "son of Mogh" or "daughter of W'mar". (TNG: "Sins of The Father"; DS9: "Sons and Daughters")

Trill were born with family last names. Once joined, they adopted their symbiont's name as their surname. (TNG: "The Host")

Many Bajorans, who had their family names as first names, "distorted" their names in order to more easily acclimate to Starfleet and Federation norms. (TNG: "Ensign Ro")

In 2369, Data found it odd that Orton's family dropped the prefix "Pel" from their surname, as having such a prefix denoted nobility. He suggested that social change towards a more egalitarian society might be responsible for the alteration. (TNG: "Starship Mine")

Members of Vilix'pran's species werfe addressed by the second part of their name. For example, Vilix'pran was addressed as "Pran." (DS9: "Business as Usual")

The Miradorn, seem to have had a surname as a hyphenated part of their own name. Evidence of this is Ah-Kel and Ro-Kel. (DS9: "Vortex")

Charles Tucker referred to Feezal as "Mrs. Phlox," likely confusing Human custom with Denobulan customs. (ENT: "Stigma")

The Ferengi did not appear to use surnames, although they were occasionally heard to use "son of…" or "daughter of…" in a similar manner to the Klingons. (DS9: "The House of Quark", "Family Business")

Upon first meeting in the alternate reality, James T. Kirk initially mistook Nyota Uhura's last name for her first name, as she gave no other. (Star Trek)

A maiden name was a woman's surname prior to marriage, after which she would often take her spouse's surname. In 2259 of the alternate reality, Carol Marcus used the alias "Carol Wallace", which combined her real first name with her mother's maiden name. (Star Trek Into Darkness)

Stella Mudd's maiden name was Grimes. (DIS: "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad")

Surnames[]

Societies with apparent last name surnames included:

Leonard James Akaar, son of Akaar, may in fact be a special case, as no other Capellans seemed to have surnames.

Societies in which individuals were addressed by their second name included:

These may or may not indicate a family name.

First name surnames[]

Societies with first name surnames included:

True name[]

Romulans had a true name, which was reserved for the ones they gave their hearts to. Narek's true name was Hrai Yan. (PIC: "The Impossible Box")

The Humans living on Alcor IV had a true name, which was given to them by their lovers, and used other names day to day. Craft was one such name used by an individual whose true name was unknown. (ST: "Calypso")

While these Humans lived in the far future, the idea of a true name has a long history in Human culture.

Namesakes[]

Sometimes a person or animal was named after another to honor the former.

Direct namesakes[]

In direct paternal family lines, a name suffix was given following person's name to denote place or position. The suffix "junior" denoted the younger individual, typically the eldest son, while "senior" denoted the elder parent. Roman numerals after a name indicated the order in which individuals with the same name and lineage had been born.

Examples[]

Indirect namesakes[]

MA LD delta Warning!
This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Lower Decks, and thus may contain spoilers.

In the alternate reality, James T. Kirk was named after his maternal grandfather, instead of his paternal grandfather (the latter provided his middle name). (Star Trek)

As a result of Benjamin Finney's close friendship with James Kirk, the former's daughter Jame Finney was named after the captain. (TOS: "Court Martial")

Eleen named her son Leonard James Akaar after McCoy and Kirk, respectively. (TOS: "Friday's Child")

In Barash's holoprogram, Jean-Luc Riker was named after Picard. (TNG: "Future Imperfect")

Eline named her baby Batai after a deceased friend of her husband Kamin. (TNG: "The Inner Light")

Dax, son of Kang was named after Curzon Dax. (DS9: "Blood Oath")

Kirayoshi O'Brien was named after his surrogate mother Kira Nerys. (DS9: "The Begotten")

In an alternate timeline in which the USS Defiant was stranded on Gaia in the 22nd century, Molly and several other Mollys descended from Miles O'Brien and Rita Tannenbaum were named after Molly O'Brien. (DS9: "Children of Time")

Sek named his daughter T'Meni after his grandmother. (VOY: "Hunters")

Reginald Barclay named his cat Neelix after USS Voyager's Talaxian morale officer, a gesture that The Doctor said would make him feel honored. (VOY: "Pathfinder", "Life Line")

Icheb was named after his father's second name, a fact he recalled in 2376 after regaining his individuality. (VOY: "Collective")

Abaddon was named after his father, who in turn was named after his grandfather. (VOY: "Alice")

Miral Paris was named after B'Elanna Torres's mother Miral, something John Torres felt she would have liked. (VOY: "Author, Author")

James'T, Sool'U, Boons, and Huur'A were all Enderprizians named after the 23rd century crewmates of Ensign David Garrovick who served aboard the USS Enterprise: James T. Kirk, Hikaru Sulu, Leonard McCoy (aka "Bones"), and Nyota Uhura. (PRO: "All the World's a Stage")

The character of Samantha Wildman was named after a real little girl who died.
Similarly, Geordi La Forge was named after a fan who died.

Individuals could also have ships and inanimate objects named after them. Among Humans, it was customary to name something of note after its discoverer or initiator.

The 2024 Bell Riots were named for Gabriel Bell, a central figure in the uprising. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I")

In 2153 T'Pol suggested that a nebula discovered by her and Jonathan Archer be named the Robinson Nebula, in honor of A.G. Robinson. (ENT: "First Flight")

Lwaxana Troi once had a star named after her by a astronomer from Rigel IV. (TNG: "Half a Life")

Tom Paris named a ship he purchased Alice, after Alice Battisti. (VOY: "Alice")

Tucker tubes were named after Trip Tucker. (LD: "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee")

The planet Locarno was named after Nick Locarno, who died in the 2381 Genesis Device explosion that created it. (LD: "Old Friends, New Planets")

Appendices[]

See also[]

Background information[]

Several characters and starships in various Star Trek iterations have been named after famous individuals or members of the production team. This is particularly true when okudagrams feature the names of characters only mentioned in writing, such as the Raymond family tree, or names on a dedication plaque.

In an attempt to reconcile two or more alternate names given to characters in Trek literature, later books have often combined the apparently conflicting names to create one complete name, such as in the case of Black. Characters lacking portions of their name in canon have also been named after the actors who played them when they appear in literature, such as Hansen, named "Beggs Hansen" in the TOS novel Best Defense, after Hagan Beggs, the actor who played him in Star Trek: The Original Series.

External links[]

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