I was watching a Youtube video with deleted scenes from the Season 2 episode The Child. Chief O’Brien wasn’t able to beam aboard something because it was hazardous. He didn’t have the authority to override the hazard protocols, so Data did it for him. In order to override the protocols, Data gave his authorization, starting by saying “Computer, recognize Lieutenant Commander NFNNMI Data.” (He said the letters, he didn't try to pronounce them as a word). What in the world is NFNNMI?? Is that Data’s first name? Is it the initials of his first name? Lol!! I never heard NFNNMI in any other episodes. P.S. - To see this scene, start watching at 6:07.
Well, its obviously code for something. I would suggest a security code like all the command officers had. "Recognize Picard, Zero Alpha Three". That's my best guess, anyway.
No First Name No Middle Initial Data. (Some of my relatives have only a first and last name, and NMI appears on their official documents)
I wonder why they had to do that. Surely there are so many different naming conventions among Federation species that they wouldn't have to shoehorn them all into "first middle last" names.
Anyway, I'd think that Data would be his first name. If he had a full name, it would presumably be Data Soong, considering that Noonien Soong is regarded as his "father." For that matter, I tend to wonder why Worf isn't called Mr. Rozhenko. I mean, he was legally adopted by the Rozhenkos, so presumably he was legally given their surname. True, people who've been adopted can choose to revert to their birth names, but it's hard to see why Worf would've wanted to. It's not like he was estranged from the Rozhenkos, and until he met Kurn he had no idea he had a birth family to reconnect with. I guess he could've decided to do it to honor his house's name, though, as the last surviving member as far as he knew. Still, it would've been nice if they'd said so. It always seemed inconsistent that someone who'd spent most of his formative years raised by humans would've turned out so stereotypically Klingon.
But, it sounds weird to say a security code between your rank and name. I can't remember hearing anyone saying that in other Trek episodes. Makes sense!! To be honest, I always thought of Data's full name was "Data." Kinda like Cher or Madonna... even though that isn't really their full names, lol.
It was never said on screen but it appeared three times in "The measure of a man". It now is legible (thanks to HD) on Data's Starfleet Academy diploma (only in the extended episode, though), in the schematics Riker views of Data and on his carry case. "The measure of a man" observations at EAS
Over at TrekCore, we've got a full analysis of our video - and we go into this in great detail, along with images of it in use. http://trekcore.com/blog/2013/03/exclusive-extended-workprint-cut-of-tngs-s2-opener-the-child/
No Fucking Nemesis, No Motherfucking Insurrection. Data was just looking out for the fans. If only they'd listened!
Though I wonder, wouldn't Worf and Spock have the same designation on their records as well? Unless Worf's middle name is "son of" and his last name is "Mogh".
I'd assume that his surname would be given as "son of Mogh" (which in Klingon would be Mogh puqloD, as far as I can tell). After all, there are plenty of similar "son of" surnames in human languages, like Jackson, McAndrew, O'Brien, ap Hugh, etc. And Spock does have a family name, according to "This Side of Paradise" and "Journey to Babel," but it's very difficult for humans to pronounce. The novel Ishmael claimed it was S'chn T'gai, while the fan-published U.S.S. Enterprise Officer's Manual claimed it was "Xtmprszntwlfd."