Native American representation

[Shamrock Holmes]

Khan and Singh are the two most common surnames in South Asia, if I'm not mistaken.

Well, there's the obvious fact that both Khan and Singh can't be his surname in that order.

There have been a couple of different takes on how his name should be "translated":

The assumption back during TNG was that Khan was his "rank" and that his name was Noonien Singh (from which we got Noonien Soong). This has the advantage of being appropriate to at least some Indian cultures, though Singh as the middle name is also common.

SNW appears to suggest that Khan was his given name and his surname is Noonien-Singh which would be very odd, but not impossible if he's "mixed race".

 

[Nerys Myk]

I wonder if the "Star Trek" writers wrote themselves into a corner with the name "Khan Singh." Khan and Singh are the two most common surnames in South Asia, if I'm not mistaken. So now they can't have a character with either of the two most common Indian names without fans expecting a connection to the Khan Singh. (Sounds like a missed opportunity for a gag on "Lower Decks.")

They've had a Singh or two, but not a Khan, IIRC.

Well, there's the obvious fact that both Khan and Singh can't be his surname in that order.

There have been a couple of different takes on how his name should be "translated":

The assumption back during TNG was that Khan was his "rank" and that his name was Noonien Singh (from which we got Noonien Soong). This has the advantage of being appropriate to at least some Indian cultures, though Singh as the middle name is also common.

SNW appears to suggest that Khan was his given name and his surname is Noonien-Singh which would be very odd, but not impossible if he's "mixed race".

Well he does tell everyone to call him "Khan" in Space Seed.

KHAN: Khan is my name.
KIRK: Khan. Nothing else?
KHAN: Khan.

And throughout TWOK he's called "Khan". I assume "Noonien-Singh" would be a dead give away. I went with the idea Khan was title for a while, but SNW has put an end to that. My latest theory is all of Khan's cohort as seen in picture from in SNW and in the flesh in TWOK are Noonien-Singhs because that's were they were created. So we have Kahn Noonien-Singh, Rodriguez Noonien-Singh. Ling Noonien-Sing. McPherson Noonien-Singh, Otto Noonien-Singh, and Joaquin Noonien-Singh.

"Noonien" remains a mystery as the name doesn't seem to exist. It's been suggested as being a faulty recollection of everything from Noonan to Nguyen

 

[WarpTenLizard]

Well, there's the obvious fact that both Khan and Singh can't be his surname in that order.

There have been a couple of different takes on how his name should be "translated":

The assumption back during TNG was that Khan was his "rank" and that his name was Noonien Singh (from which we got Noonien Soong). This has the advantage of being appropriate to at least some Indian cultures, though Singh as the middle name is also common.

SNW appears to suggest that Khan was his given name and his surname is Noonien-Singh which would be very odd, but not impossible if he's "mixed race".

Given that this is all set centuries into the future, mixed heritage shouldn't be uncommon (given advances in travel and globalization). I assume that was the thinking behind Una Chin-Riley's Chinese/Irish surname, for example.

 

[Oddish]

I might have thought of Siddig as a white actor if I'd tuned into DS9 after S4. But since his initial name was Siddig el Fadil, I kind of pegged him for middle Eastern.

 

[fireproof78]

He always struck me as Middle Eastern.

Oded Fehr was a bit easier since I saw him in The Mummy first.

 

[Tiran O'Saurus]

My latest theory is all of Khan's cohort as seen in picture from in SNW and in the flesh in TWOK are Noonien-Singhs because that's were they were created. So we have Kahn Noonien-Singh, Rodriguez Noonien-Singh. Ling Noonien-Sing. McPherson Noonien-Singh, Otto Noonien-Singh, and Joaquin Noonien-Singh.

I'm not sure if the Noonien-Singh Institute For Whatever It Was made every Augment, or just the leaders of the factions that fought each other. The ones with more ordinary names might have been created by Khan's faction. I mean, "McPherson" doesn't really seem like a first name, and I always imagined they were all named after ancient rulers, so there might have been an Attila or Caesar in his cohort rather than a bunch of bland names and Khan.

 

[Kor]

Regarding Khan, within the episode Space Seed itself, Marla McGivers said based on his appearance, "From the northern India area, I'd guess. Probably a Sikh."

This is one of those lines of expository dialog that the 1960s viewing audience was meant to accept at face value and not get hung up on, since McGivers is supposed to be an expert on these things, and her statement wasn't contradicted later.

Though Khan doesn't have certain identifiable traditional accoutrements of Sikhism such as turban, beard, and metal bracelet. So how did she get "probably a Sikh" from looking at him in the sleeping chamber for five seconds and not knowing name yet? Even considering his name once it was revealed, while all male Sikh initiates have the surname Singh, there are also non-Sikhs who have the name.

Of course, it was basically a throwaway line to give the character an "exotic" air for the typical American casual viewing audience of the day, who was not sitting there with a pile of reference materials (or the internet at their fingertips) ready to fact-check and nitpick stuff like this like we are doing nearly sixty years later.

Kor

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'm not sure if the Noonien-Singh Institute For Whatever It Was made every Augment, or just the leaders of the factions that fought each other. The ones with more ordinary names might have been created by Khan's faction. I mean, "McPherson" doesn't really seem like a first name, and I always imagined they were all named after ancient rulers, so there might have been an Attila or Caesar in his cohort rather than a bunch of bland names and Khan.

A lot of surnames get "promoted " to first name status, hardly a deal breaker. Is Khan normally a first name? No, it's usually a surname or a title. it's also pretty common, so "bland" is a matter of perspective.

All the names in my post come from Space Seed.

 

[fireproof78]

This is one of those lines of expository dialog that the 1960s viewing audience was meant to accept at face value and not get hung up on, since McGivers is supposed to be an expert on these things, and her statement wasn't contradicted later.

I love SF Debris reaction to this scene: McGuyvers' takes one look at those Latin features and decides and immediately decides he's from Northern India.