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Human Name Origins

(There is a fan theory that tries to reconcile it by claiming Centaurians were transplanted humans, but that's just overcomplicating things. It's far simpler to take the line the way it was intended -- that Cochrane is "of Alpha Centauri" not as a native, but as one of the founding colonists.)

Hey, Preservers gotta preserve. :lol:
 
Another example of this nick-naming convention is Scott of the Antarctic.

It's not "He was born there," it's more like Moe of the Three Stooges, or "Hansel, of Gretel and fame." It's his story at Alpha Centauri they're referring to.
 
He becomes more famous for his later allegiances/associations than his former.

"Alpha Centauri" may be a metonym for the pioneer expeditions that began with travel to the planet. Like calling a California gold rush participant a 49er even if he arrived in a later year. So saying he's "of Alpha Centauri" is like saying he was a famous pioneer of that era, indeed the one who made it possible.
 
Seems simpler to assume he was called that because he lived on Alpha Centauri after founding the colony. Despite James Cromwell's age, the dates given in "Metamorphosis" and FC require Cochrane to have been in his early 30s when he made the warp breakthrough, and he disappeared at age 87. So depending on when the colony was founded, he could've spent the majority of his life there (although ENT establishing Terra Nova as the first extrasolar colony founded in 2078 complicates that). Even if he didn't, being one of the first settlers on Alpha Centauri would certainly earn him the moniker.
 
Of course it exists, but it's not a canonical source. Lots of tie-ins have erroneous interpretations of screen canon, like the FASA TNG sourcebook that thought Betazoids came from the planet Haven, or the DS9 novel Warchild that assumed DS9's runabouts were Cardassian-built craft that came with the station. And of course, the Spaceflight Chronology's conjectures about Trek history and chronology have been extensively contradicted ever since TNG came along, so I don't know why you'd think it's a binding source.
My whole point was that it was non-canonical sources that presented that. I admit I have a bad habit of leaving out parts, but I'm sick and tired of the "you posted, therefore you are wrong" mentality and response I regularly get, so I don't go on long diatribes. I wouldn't have cited the Spaceflight Chronology if I had meant a line of dialog in an episode.
 
Probably Cochran’s became the subject of a multi-part strangely retro biopic series “Cochran of Alphacentauri!”
 
My whole point was that it was non-canonical sources that presented that.

That is not what you said:
He was originally presented as "Zefram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri", with the intent he be an AC native.

"Originally presented" sounds like you meant to say that was the intent of "Metamorphosis," which is misleading.


I admit I have a bad habit of leaving out parts, but I'm sick and tired of the "you posted, therefore you are wrong" mentality and response I regularly get, so I don't go on long diatribes.

That doesn't matter. This is a public forum read by many people, and it's important that they not be presented with misleading information. If an inaccuracy is corrected, it shouldn't be taken as a criticism directed at the poster, merely as an attempt to ensure accuracy on behalf of the audience.
 
This is what I said:
He was originally presented as "Zefram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri", with the intent he be an AC native. One of the histories even includes that idea, with an Earth crew meeting him and communicating through mathematics at first. They ultimately got tripped up by the surname Cochrane, which is from Earth, and subsequent books, and eventually episodes and films began to include that in their storylines.
This is the only correction I needed, from the very next post:
He's a human from Alpha Centauri. I believe the intent was humans colonized Alpha Centauri before the invention of warp drive.
This is the part you still refuse to address:
I wouldn't have cited the Spaceflight Chronology if I had meant a line of dialog in an episode.
 
Perhaps “Karidian” is an Arcturian name? Kirk comments on the novelty of an “Arcturian Macbeth” Is he referring to the setting, the costuming or Karidian himself?
Yes, I know the the Arcturians are among the many aliens designed for TMP and they have a non-human appearance (melty face). But I do wonder what the author of COTK had in mind.
 
Perhaps “Karidian” is an Arcturian name? Kirk comments on the novelty of an “Arcturian Macbeth” Is he referring to the setting, the costuming or Karidian himself?

James Blish's version of the line, which might be from an early script draft or his own embellishment, is "I've seen Macbeth in everything from bearskins to uniforms, but never before in Arcturian dress. I suppose an actor has to adapt to all kinds of audiences." In Blish's version, the opening scenes took place on a planet in the Arcturian system, rather than "Planet Q" (unless Planet Q orbited Arcturus).

The Star Trek Concordance, which based a lot of its content on scripts and other behind-the-scenes documents, says in its lexicon entry for "Arcturian": "The Karidian Players stage Macbeth in the style of this culture, with angular weapons and armor and Arcturian effects." So both confirm that Kirk was referring to the costuming and designs.
 
My search turns up a character named Karidian in the 1947 film Intrigue (which has Michael Ansara in a small role). It might be a variant of the Greek surname Karajan.

To my surprise, I also found a couple of people surnamed Kodos.
The name could be Armenian. There is a trope that goes back decades, and of which I have personal experience*, that a plurality of Armenians' surnames "rhyme" with 'Armenian', in that they are four syllables and end in -ian.

*Two people I have known had names that followed this system, and yep, both of them were Armenian.
 
The name could be Armenian. There is a trope that goes back decades, and of which I have personal experience*, that a plurality of Armenians' surnames "rhyme" with 'Armenian', in that they are four syllables and end in -ian.

*Two people I have known had names that followed this system, and yep, both of them were Armenian.

The Kardashians are Armenian. But they also have many fine people, I'm sure.
 
As far as I know, Zefrem (<<spelled) IS a Biblical name. Any variant spellings of it are caused by time+translation.

Consonantal shift? It's the one thing I like even more in the morning with coffee. Or when peoplewatching late at night as they go slurring along with the booze...
 
'Zefram' could be as Greek as it could be Biblical, but neither have 1:1s.

Zephyr - Zephyrius - Zefiro - Zefram?

Zephaniah is the biggest biblical one, but there's also Zephon, צְפֹן‎?, north?

I prefer the greek myself, because Zephyr is related to/of the west wind, but in any case the 'Zep/Zef' is most likely grounded in something, the 'ram' is not, other than maybe mid-century futuristic sounding lingo.
 
I prefer the greek myself, because Zephyr is related to/of the west wind, but in any case the 'Zep/Zef' is most likely grounded in something, the 'ram' is not, other than maybe mid-century futuristic sounding lingo.

There are plenty of people named Efram/Efrem/Ephram, like Efrem Zimbalist Sr. and Jr. Nothing "futuristic" about it.
 
The name could be Armenian. There is a trope that goes back decades, and of which I have personal experience*, that a plurality of Armenians' surnames "rhyme" with 'Armenian', in that they are four syllables and end in -ian.

*Two people I have known had names that followed this system, and yep, both of them were Armenian.
Conan O'Brien's assistant Sona Movsesian is of Armenian heritage and her surname follows that pattern.
 
I first heard the trope in the film "Author, Author", with Al Pacino. He tells Dyan Cannon that his name (character-wise) is Armenian, and his next line is to explain the trope.
 
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