Guess Number One's name

[Jackson_Roykirk]

That's the after the fact retcon explanation to justify it in universe, but we all know the actual reason.

I know, but it's marginally better than if by sheer coincidence the person current holding the position in the ship's crew that Pike would normally call Number One (because it's the first officer) just happens to be named Una.

You are correct that the "sheer coincidence" part seemed to be involved in the genesis of that name from the novel writers, which is all a bit too much, even for Star Trek standards.

I mean, this isn't Star Wars' fantasy universe with names like spaceboy Luke Skywalker and loner-guy Han Solo -- or fat-guy Jek Porkins (although I still like Star Wars ).

 

[Kor]

"Lieutenant."

Kor

 

[Spot261]

I know, but it's marginally better than if by sheer coincidence the person current holding the position in the ship's crew that Pike would normally call "Number One" (because it's the first officer) just happens to be named "Una".

You are correct that the "sheer coincidence" part seemed to be involved in the genesis of that name from the novel writers, which is "all a bit too much", even for Star Trek standards.

I mean, this isn't Star Wars' fantasy universe with names like spaceboy Luke Skywalker and loner-guy Han Solo -- or fat-guy Jek Porkins (although I still like Star Wars ).

Or a Scottish guy called Mr Scott? How about an ex Borg still using her numerical designation? A doctor known as "the doctor"? An android called "Data"?

Human names in Star Trek by and large reflect the fact that the show is set in the near future of our own world, so they are essentially recognisable and familiar. Move outside that bubble and the names become quite fantastic to our ears.

"Nero" for a mad captain obsessed with vengeance is just one example of outright poetic names which don't even try to make sense in context, with a Romulan name referencing human literature in ways which dovetail with the events of his adult life.

I always took the Skywalker name to be in the vein of "Smith" or "Miller", indicative of the profession of an ancestor. Bear in mind this is a context where a galaxy has been explored and settled millennia previously. It doesn't at all seem unrealistic that words historically used for "pilot", "explorer", "astronaut" - essentially "one who travels through space" might to successive generations start to sound archaic, "one who walks through the stars", "one who walks through the sky", "skywalker".

 

[Hythlodeus]

"Nero" for a mad captain obsessed with vengeance is just one example of outright poetic names which don't even try to make sense in context, with a Romulan name referencing human literature in ways which dovetail with the events of his adult life.

I...uh..wtf?

EDIT: Oooooh, I see. You're confusing Nero with Nemo

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I mean, this isn't Star Wars' fantasy universe with names like spaceboy Luke Skywalker and loner-guy Han Solo -- or fat-guy Jek Porkins (although I still like Star Wars ).

Regarding Han, though, he has that name for a specific reason: The Imperial recruiting officer gave it to him (because Han was alone when he applied). So at least there's an explanation.

Agreed about Porkins, though. What the fresh hell?

 

[RandyS]

Hortense McGonagle.

 

[Spot261]

I...uh..wtf?

EDIT: Oooooh, I see. You're confusing Nero with Nemo

Er, yeah, him

Actually it still works whe you think about how convenient it is for a Romulan to be named after an Emperor in the human tradition his species was based on.

 

[fireproof78]

"Nero" for a mad captain obsessed with vengeance is just one example of outright poetic names which don't even try to make sense in context, with a Romulan name referencing human literature in ways which dovetail with the events of his adult life.

Yeah, that doesn't make sense as Nero never demonstrated a vengeance obsession in history.

In the film, since Nero demonstrated a familiarity with Earth's history (he recognizes Kirk's face) I figured he had taken a new name in mourning.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Er, yeah, him

Actually it still works whe you think about how convenient it is for a Romulan to be named after an Emperor in the human tradition his species was based on.

The first named Romulan in Star Trek (Balance of Terror)was Decius, also the name of a Roman Emperor.

 

[Kor]

Nero should have played a fiddle while everything around him went down in flames. It would have been quite poetic.

Kor

 

[Noname Given]

From Gene Roddenberry's 1964 pitch document for "Star Trek":

"Number One" was to have an air of mystery. Since questions are more interesting than answers, I'd prefer that they don't give her a name.

Man he really wanted to get Majel in the sack back in the day: "A woman who will always look the same between years 20 to 50..."<--- Man that's laying it on thick. (And remember the part was written specifically for her too).

 

[zar]

Or a Scottish guy called Mr Scott? How about an ex Borg still using her numerical designation? A doctor known as "the doctor"? An android called "Data"?

Uhh, no.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_(name)

And how are the other three supposed to be coincidences? Seven was assimilated as a child and identified with that name her whole life. Data and the doctor were created specifically to be what they were, and named as such.

Oh, and Number One's name will be Rainsford.

 

[Greg Cox]

I always took the Skywalker name to be in the vein of "Smith" or "Miller", indicative of the profession of an ancestor. Bear in mind this is a context where a galaxy has been explored and settled millennia previously. It doesn't at all seem unrealistic that words historically used for "pilot", "explorer", "astronaut" - essentially "one who travels through space" might to successive generations start to sound archaic, "one who walks through the stars", "one who walks through the sky", "skywalker".

Ooh. I like that idea. See also "Farmer" or "Cooper" or whatever.

As for STAR TREK, I'm still trying to figure out why Quark is named after a sub-atomic particle.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

As for STAR TREK, I'm still trying to figure out why Quark is named after a sub-atomic particle.

I think it's because Quark is a nebbish of a person who has very little importance in the grand scheme of things. He's a small person, so he's named after a small particle!

I always took the Skywalker name to be in the vein of "Smith" or "Miller", indicative of the profession of an ancestor.

Read the outline for Alien Exodus - a novel which was to have set Earth's place in the SW universe - for an interesting explanation of where the name Skywalker might have come from.

 

[Noname Given]

As for STAR TREK, I'm still trying to figure out why Quark is named after a sub-atomic particle.

He's not. He's named for this TV series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(TV_series)

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^^^
As it was (obviously) the FIRST CONTACT (IE they picked up a broadcast of it) Ferengi had with Humons.

 

[Cyrus]

As for STAR TREK, I'm still trying to figure out why Quark is named after a sub-atomic particle.

His brother was named after an acronym of a memory storage device.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

His brother was named after an acronym of a memory storage device.

One critical to holo-suites, I'd imagine.

And his nephew was named after an alcoholic beverage.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

He's not. He's named for this TV series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(TV_series)

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^^^
As it was (obviously) the FIRST CONTACT (IE they picked up a broadcast of it) Ferengi had with Humons.

Weren’t the doublemint twins mentioned by someone in another thread?

 

[Spot261]

And how are the other three supposed to be coincidences? Seven was assimilated as a child and identified with that name her whole life. Data and the doctor were created specifically to be what they were, and named as such.

Oh, and Number One's name will be Rainsford.

Uh, thank you for completely missing the point

 

[Takeru]

Or a Scottish guy called Mr Scott? How about an ex Borg still using her numerical designation? A doctor known as "the doctor"? An android called "Data"?

Human names in Star Trek by and large reflect the fact that the show is set in the near future of our own world, so they are essentially recognisable and familiar. Move outside that bubble and the names become quite fantastic to our ears.

But we're not moving outside of that bubble with her. She's so far only known as Number One in canon and giving her a name like Una or Primus is a bit too cute for my taste, it's like the writer's winking at me saying "Get it, it means one LOL", yeah, Imget it, that's the problem, it's too on the nose.

The Data and Doctor examples are not really that great even when we move outside of the human bubble, Doctor isn's the doctors name, he lacks a name and was inititially treated as a tool, so calling him that was a deliberate choice by fhe writers as was the name Data, both were created for a specific purpose, they weren't babies who were called Doctor and Data respectively and just happened to grow up to be a doctor and an android.

Basically if we have three artificial lifeforms who are called Medicus, Techie and Prober and they are a doctor, an engineer and a scientist respectively that's ok, if the three are humans who just happen to have those names it would be silly.

I'm aware that in real life people sometimes have names that fit their profession but there's a reason a lawyer named "Jonathan Law" and a firefighter called "McBurney" make people giggle. Unless you're writing a comedy those aren't names you should pick.