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Why Burnham is named Michael.

I just thought they were going for an angel theme in the naming of characters :shrug:

Plus, I always prefer Hebrew names.
 
There are simple reasons for her name: 'Michael'.
We do not forget the name.
We have something to talk about.
 
I think the reason is clear. The entire reason she's named Michael is so that at some point Harry Mudd can yell "Michael!!!" as a meta-reference to The Office. Case closed.
And then there's that whole Ensign Kim thing...
 
The same reason "Firefly" got the character of "Jayne", pronounced "Jane"? Or "Jaime Summers", which sounds like "Jamie"? Or anyone named "Chris" or "Pat"?

Or how women in TOS are called "sir", even Captain Janeway - despite the term being Starfleet protocol. Oh, wait...

...A name's a name. At least we don't all use Borg terms to describe each other with. But the Borg never had to deal with identity theft either. :p Dang, they missed out on a great idea with that.

The initial presentation may have been a tad more heavyhanded than Bele and Lokai, but unless the writers of the show are trying to make members of their audience upset over the people that we're supposed to see as allies and feel camaraderie for, I don't see the point.
 
And then there's that whole Ensign Kim thing...

It's not quite the same situation; cultural attributes other than Anglo-Saxon's came up with "Kim" for males. Different cultures have differences, which is why the claim of "Nova" for an automobile not selling in Spanish speaking cultures failed - "no va" = "no go" being the biggie. Anyway, Michael either came from the Anglo-Saxon background or another culture liked the word and applied it. It's not inconceivable nor a big deal, and the show taking place 300 years in the future and how words change or acquire new meaning over time. One way or another, a name is technically no different.

Oh, there are women named "Michaela". Maybe tech will backfire and to save on byte usage people will be limited to first names comprised of 7 characters since their license plates are also limited to 7? :D
 
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