A Klingon by any other name...

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by sbk1234, Jan 19, 2008.

  1. sbk1234

    sbk1234 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2006
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    :klingon: :klingon: :klingon: :klingon: :klingon: :klingon:
    This has probably been discussed ad infinitum, but here goes...
    Back in TOS, there were only a handful of Klingons whose names were said canonically: Koloth, Kor, Kang (I might have missed one or two.) Other than a female Klingon, Mara, they all had names that began with K. This continued with TSFS, with Kruge. Of course, this also started a bit of a change, in that his two officers had names that started with other letters, Maltz and Torg. Yes, TFF had Klingons Koord and Klaa.
    Female Klingons, now, seemed to follow the convention of names starting with V (i.e. Valkris, Vixis).
    Things got a little more gummed up when TNG premiered with the Klingon Worf. After him, Klingon names started being spelled with lots of letters, (Duras, Toral, etc.)

    Is there supposed to be some pattern with the Klingon names? If not, is there an explaination from canon or non-canon sources as to why the pattern of K names had changed, or did it exist in the first place?
    Just wondering. :klingon: :klingon: :klingon: :klingon: :klingon:
     
  2. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 10, 2005
    Location:
    Confederation of Earth
    No, Klingon names have no pattern.
     
  3. Michael

    Michael Good Bad Influence Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2007
    Location:
    Aloha Quadrant
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    The only pattern seems to be that for the male names they (the writers) try to come up with a rather harsh sounding name that is in most cases instantly recognizable as a male name. Mara or Lursa sound much softer whereas the -a ending implies (just like in the western culture) the name of a female.

    I really can't see another pattern. It seems that at least in TOS they tried to esablish a recognizable K-pattern.

    Kras, Kahless and Korax seem to be the TOS names you left out ...
     
  4. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2002
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Yes, they did. Same with Vulcan names.
     
  5. Michael

    Michael Good Bad Influence Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2007
    Location:
    Aloha Quadrant
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Kpock? K'Pau? Karek? :p
     
  6. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2001
    Location:
    AI Generated Madness
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Made sense from a story standpoint since you could tell who was a Vulcan or Klingon by their names. From a more realistic perpective not so much.

    Didn't the novelization of TUC come up with Valeris having a Klingon name for some reason, because it didn't follow the Vulcan naming pattern?
     
  7. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2002
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    I think those were Batman sound effects.
     
  8. Kegek

    Kegek Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2007
    Location:
    Somewhere You're Not
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    I'd like to air my pet theory, that the name Kahless was some kind of in-joke. At the time of TOS, you couldn't name a Klingon K-less, after all...
     
  9. Michael

    Michael Good Bad Influence Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2007
    Location:
    Aloha Quadrant
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    ^ LOL! :lol: I never thought about that. Would be a nice touch ...
     
  10. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    The Great Wide Somewhere
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Naming trends come in and out of fashion. Look at the top male names in the US currently. Jayden, Aiden, Hayden, etc.
     
  11. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2004
    Location:
    New Therin Park, Andor (via Australia)
    In the late John M Ford's novel "The Final Reflection", the first great Klingon ST novel, the central Klingon character starts out as Vrenn. During the story arc, he achieves true warrior status and takes on the name Krenn.
     
  12. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2001
    Location:
    Ferguson, Missouri, USA
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    That's how I look at it. Names beginning with "K" may have varying degrees of popularity within the Empire.

    Then again, we are talking about Klingons from Qo'noS by the time of TNG...
     
  13. M'Sharak

    M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2002
    Location:
    Terra Inlandia
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Still, it's not unreasonable to suppose that more Klingon names do begin with a 'K' sound than with other sounds. Hawaiian, for example, is much the same in that regard; if you look at this list, it's easy to see that there are so many 'K' names, compared to those starting with other sounds, that K has been further divided into Ka, Ke, Ki, Ko and Ku. Other languages here on Earth exhibit similar predominant initial sounds.
     
  14. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2005
    Location:
    everywhere
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    pity that B'etor and K'eyler(sp) completely fark the soft feminine names theory...
     
  15. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2001
    Location:
    Ferguson, Missouri, USA
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    And that may indeed be the case within the Empire that names beginning with "K" are more common in some regions than in others.

    It could be argued that "K" may have been popular among Klingons because of Kahless, and a similar idea might have played out on Vulcan--"S" may have been popular among Vulcans because of Surak...
     
  16. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2004
    Location:
    New Therin Park, Andor (via Australia)
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Parents often select a strong name for a child, hoping it will give them a boost in life. Klingon parents expecting the arrival of a son might bequeath that name to a daughter instead.
     
  17. The Laughing Vulcan

    The Laughing Vulcan Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2004
    Location:
    At The Laughing Vulcan's party...
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Human Starship Captains should always have a J or a K in their names. Both if possible.
     
  18. M'Sharak

    M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2002
    Location:
    Terra Inlandia
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    We had a theory?

    As best I can recall, one person made a general observation about a pattern of name choice by the writers, but no more than that.
     
  19. Cranston

    Cranston Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2005
    Location:
    Right here. But where are you?
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Or at least a middle initial "T." That "T" goes a long way.
     
  20. The Laughing Vulcan

    The Laughing Vulcan Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2004
    Location:
    At The Laughing Vulcan's party...
    Re: A Klingon by any other name ...

    Captain Kermit T Frog