The ever-expanding universe ofStar Trekhad drawn inspiration from a plethora of sources. The iconicUSS Enterprise deriving its name from a US Military vessel, and theoverall design of starshipsare based heavily on then-current aeronautical science. Of course, these aren’t the only aspects of the show that draw inspiration from elsewhere.
Character names across the franchise pull from different sources, as writers sought to make them feel distinct and give them the sense that they fit into the world ofStar Trek. Here are some of the most interesting origin stories behind the names of the show’s most famous characters.
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Data
Thisandroid character has, over the years,become the creamy green face ofThe Next Generation,capturing the hearts of many fans old and new. The name, however, pronounced Day-tah, upon closer inspection, was an odd choice. This isn’t because of its meaning (which, in the context of android life is somewhat on the nose but still perfect) but because of its pronunciation.The Next Generation,alongside all ofStar Trek,has always been American, so the name was always intended to be spoken in the American way: Daa-tah. This was how the writers and Roddenberry envisioned it, and how the majority of people on set were geared up to say it.
Brent Spiner, the actor behind the makeup, later told fans the reason the English pronunciation was chosen. It all comes down to the one and only Patrick Stewart, who, on the first proper cast script reading, pronounced it like any well-spoken English gentleman would: Day-tuh. Apparently nobody corrected him, even Roddenberry, and the pronunciation stuck. Now, the idea of the American version seems out of place and wrong. It is even briefly mentioned in season 2, where Dr. Pulaski,Beverly Crusher’s one season replacement, calls him ‘daa-ta,’ rather harshly and unapologetically, resulting in a fantastic exchange:
Pulaski: ‘Daa-ta, Day-ta, what’s the difference?’Data: ‘One is my name. The other is not.’
Geordi La Forge
The origin of thisdisability pioneering icon’s name came from a fan, George La Forge. George was an avid fan of theOriginal Series, and like the Geordi of the show faced barriers due to a disability, he himself being a quadriplegic. He sadly died in 1975, but his dedication and love for the show lived on, inspiring Roddenberry to focus on more disabled characters. He wanted to show how these disabling factors, which hundreds upon thousands of people face every day, could be seen as a positive.
Geordi became prime example, as his disability actually made him a better engineer. Screenwriter David Gerrold suggested naming the character after George. Both he and Roddenberry agreed that it would be a fitting, everlasting tribute to the late fan, who was a shining example of perseverance and boldness in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Q
Going from one character named after a fan to another,the near-omnipotent Q of the Q continuum’s name came from a long time fan and president of the United Klingon Trek fan club, Janet Quarton. She was also the president of STAG (Star Trek Action Group) between 1973 and 1981, and ran a number of conventions dedicated toStar Trek.
Her devotion and love for theOriginal Seriesand all things Trek was noticed by Roddenberry and his team of writers. It was revealed in the 4th edition ofStar Trek Encyclopediathat Roddenberry subtly took the Q of Quarton and named his nefarious anti-hero after her, the two being close friends. This may seem slightly underhanded, naming a villain after a supposed friend. However, it was received well, and consideringhow loved Q has become over the years with fans, the decision was a good one.
Odo
During his time onDeep Space 9,the\is shape-shifting security officer left a great impression on fans.Despite his rather complicated past working alongside the oppressive Cardassians, he was always an honorable figure of justice, harsh to those who break the rules, but fair in his judgment.
The name was created deliberately to be a palindrome (a word that can be read forward or backward), made to perfectly mirror the character’s inscrutable personality, perfectly balanced and uniform. This was later retconned however, with the Cardassian language origin of his name being ‘Odo’ital’ which translates as ‘nothing’ or ‘unknown sample.’
Jonathan Archer
While most of these names have deeper meanings or emotional links to fans, there is one name that was changed for a rather hilarious legal reason. Jonathan Archer, Captain from theEnterpriseseries was originally supposed to be called Jackson Archer, but was changed after a public records search relieved that there was a real person at the time with the same name.
While this does not seem like an issue at first, there was in fact literally only one person in America with that name. To avoid any legal accusations that the character was named after the real Jackson Archer, the name was changed.
Honorable mentions
Scotty, enigmatic engineer for Kirk duringThe Original Series,was played by actor James Doohan. The name for his character was based on Doohan’s actual grandfather Mr. Montgomery Scott.Morn, the fan favorite regular at Quark’s bar inDeep Space 9, got his name from the character Norm, another bar regular from the TV show Cheers. Paul Stamets, who created the ship’s unique spore drive inDiscovery, is named after a real-life mycologist, as the character is a researcher of alien fungi.
Lastly, Christine Chapel, a character fromThe Original Serieswho makes an appearance as a younger version inStrange New Worlds,got her name from Roddenberry himself. For some in-joke reason (potentially relating to the romance between himself and the character’s actress, Majel Barrett), made it a pun on the Sistine Chapel.
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