Trill naming conventions through marriage and Joining

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by TheCegorach, Aug 10, 2014.

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  1. TheCegorach

    TheCegorach Ensign Newbie

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    I've only read a couple of the DS9 novels. Do any of the other works reveal how Trills manage names through marriage and joining?

    For example, if (say) Bob Anor is joined to the Glyn symbiont, he becomes known as Bob Glyn. If he marries Suzy Toll, an unjoined Trill, does she become Suzy Anor, presumably (from the example of Ezri Tigan's unjoined family having 'normal' surnames)?

    What if she later becomes joined to the Brant symbiote? She'll go by Suzy Brant, but will her full legal name by Suzy Anor Brant?

    What if Suzy was already joined when she marries Bob? What last name do their children get?


    If there's no official word, what would you speculate happens? It seems to me it'd be quite difficult to keep track of Trill family records, even realizing that only ~300 Trill are joined annually, if the official method is to take the symbiont's name as the surname and completely forget the previous surname.
     
  2. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    People changing their names upon marriage is a human convention, there's nothing to say that Trills do anything similar.

    From what we've seen the only time their names change is if they are Joined, with the Symbiont taking preference over the Host.

    From what we glimpse from "Rejoined", Tobias Dax and Nilani Kahn were both referred to as such despite being married and both being Joined.

    As for children, they would take a parents last name before they were Joined, seeing as how the Symbiont isn't involved in the mating, conception or birthing process, the offspring is the continuation of the Host's family. Exactly which name though is never stated, for all we know they could take the mother's last name, or possibly the last name of their gender parent (boys take their father's and girls take their mother's).

    It's an interesting thing to ponder.
     
  3. TheCegorach

    TheCegorach Ensign Newbie

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    We do know at least that Ezri's two brothers also had the surname Tigan, like their mother, which implies Terran-like surname usage, and since the vast majority of Trills aren't Joined, that would make sense for them.
     
  4. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    But was Tigan the children's father's family name, or their mother's?

    The male and female children did have the same family name.

    I would assume that somewhere in Jadzia Dax legal identification there is a notation of her former name prior to her joining. In America when you change your name (which I've done) this is AKA (also known as).



    :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2014
  5. LtCmdr_Michaels

    LtCmdr_Michaels Ensign Newbie

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    Ok....let's try this question on for size. If a human female marries a male joined Trill does she take on the name of the host or the symbiont? (Ex: Mary Doe marries Romon Zac, a joined Trill. Does she become Mary Romon or Mary Zac?)
     
  6. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Well, Bajorans change their family names upon marriage (Kira Taban and Kira Meru), as do Betazoids (Ian Troi and Lwaxana Troi) so I see no reason to rule out other races like Trills doing the same thing.

    I always assumed it was their mother's name. We have no idea what actually happened to Ezri's father (he wasn't in the episode and was never mentioned - we don't even know his name), but it's implied that he's been out of the picture for some time. So Yanas probably raised all the kids by herself and gave them her last name.

    @LtCmdr_Michaels: If unjoined Trills don't take the symbiont's name when they marry a joined one, then those of other races probably won't do it either. So a human who marries a joined Trill would probably keep their original name. They probably wouldn't take the Trill's actual family name - if the Trill doesn't use that name anymore, why should their spouse?
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2016
  7. LtCmdr_Michaels

    LtCmdr_Michaels Ensign Newbie

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    Thank you, Mr. Laser Beam.
     
  8. Tracy Trek

    Tracy Trek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Was it ever stated in any episode what Jadzia's surname was before joining?
     
  9. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Not in an episode, but in the Litverse if I'm not mistaken.

    Idaris
     
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  10. 1001001

    1001001 Serial Canon Violator Moderator

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    Welcome to the board.

    Please don't bump threads that have been dead for two years. Feel free to start a new one.

    Thanks, and Happy Posting.
     
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