Klingon Names

[SoplaHtaHwI']

I suspect it depends on whether your family traces its lines through the maternal or paternal side, and maybe depending on who your parents actually are, if one of your parents is well known etc you may wish to claim them.  for example,  it would be understandable for Azetbur to call herself "daughter of Gorkon".  (I am only speculating of course)  It could also be a regional thing.

I don't know if there are any definite hard and fast rules though.

Kehlan

Again this comes down to what canon is available, what we think about canon to begin with and what we are willing to do with the topic... Isn't (sci)fiction a wonderful hobby?

[Abbot Nej vIt]

Jumping in a little late after not posting to this thread for a while...<Grin>...

I do not see a problem with the theory that there would be more than One Klingon with the same name, in fact we have a Canon precedent in ENT, (Which I am only now finally getting to watch for the First time in its entirety), with the use of the name Durass... Used by all appearances as a First name, both in TNG as well as ENT...

As to Gender specific naming conventions, I would hazard that Khelan's posit that this could be One of those *Regionalized* sorts of conventions, is a good One. And further, that "Family" names might be even more likely to cross apparent gender barriers, especially where the Family name refers to a historically significant figure (Within that Family)...

When it comes to the question of rather the use of titles such as Daughter of {Father}, or Son of {Mother} are legit, I would argue that they are. And it may be as personal a preference, as which Parent the Klingon identifies with most, or wished to be identified with... Within Role-play at the very least, I often refer to my own Daughter as Nej vIt puqbe' (Daughter of Nej vIt)... Though it might be argued that this is (Linguistically different, as in this case I am describing the nature of my relationship with my child, as opposed to her necessarily using it as a Title)...

The most common (Within Klin-dom) use of such titles, has tended to be Males Connecting themselves to their Fathers, and Females likewise connecting themselves with their Mothers... But I really see this as preference as much as anything...

[K'Voth]

Finding my name was a real struggle and to be honest i have no idea where it came from, although i do remember sitting for a long time with a word document with all my thoughts on the matter on it and deleting the ones i thought sounded to much like something else, or those I didn't like the sound of. I have one charachter in a story whoes name i quite like (And I am not sure is anywhere else but i havnt come across it) is Mk'taran.

Any way as an aside my own human name translates into english as "Dark River".


P.s. Sorry that this post adds on after a long time of this thread being dormant, also for some reason my computer keeps missing out second and third pages of threads.

[Kesvirit]

Don’t apologize for resurrecting an old thread. We encourage it! It gives us more materiel for use in the arena of thought warfare. Some topics sit idle and lonely for years on the ends of back pages before being given new life by curious and adventurous newcomers.

Any way as an aside my own human name translates into english as "Dark River".

I like that! So much that I dug up what I believe to be the original. Your secret is safe with me. (Or is it? }}: P)

quoth Abbot Nej vIt:  When it comes to the question of rather the use of titles such as Daughter of {Father},  or Son of {Mother} are legit, I would argue that they are. And it may be as personal a preference, as which Parent the Klingon identifies with most, or wished to be identified with...

Agreed. I would also argue that one’s choice of name would be heavily influenced by which parent’s family has greater wealth, name recognition, and other aspects that translate into power. There have been times when I have gone beyond RP to use whichever parent’s name or line was more useful in a difficult situation. And sometimes that is my mother’s, as her family is larger and holds more influence than my father’s. (There have also been occasions when I didn’t correct people who assumed that I was the daughter of my now-deceased uncle because it was too d@mn complicated to get into and I sure as h3ll wasn’t about to explain my byzantine family vine to some stranger whose GD business it wasn’t anyway. *grump* )

[K'Voth]

Thinking of that using power as a judgement, i am not sure whether or not to use son of or not. My own heritage would be through the mothers line so that would be the more important allegiance,  however my dad's mother's clan historically is more powerful i think.

[KAllen]

My son is going to have an easy time finding his Klingon name...we named him...

Kahless

[Magh' Peh]

hi,

first time here , but is a read along i see that allot of people use difficult ways to find a name. 
i just took the first three letters of my last name and the first two of my first name and put an h behind it, the result it sounds very Klingon 
just create a name that is to your like i would say.


and kahless as a name for your son 


Qapla


Magh' Peh

[El Payaso Malo]

I noticed that when Okrand has to put a name that the Star Trek writers came up with into Klingon, he seemed to try to make most of the names three to six letters long (qeng, wo'rIv). He didn't do this everytime (DuraS, qI'empeq), but that was the pattern that I noticed. Some have meaning (matlh, mogh) and some don't (Qugh, martaq). I follow this in my Klingon related stories, so I get names that have three to six letters and have meaning (molta', muS) and names that mean nothing (ngIH, raq). Sometimes, I don't follow this convention (vIlayQan). It allows for a noticeable pattern, without being too predictable. I'm not sure if that is what Okrand had in mind or if he was just doing things randomly, but it works for me. I do, however, wish that a way to mark a proper noun had been devised in the Klingon language. As it sits, you have to hope that context does its job. I either use an unused combination of syllables to make gibberish or use a verb that has no noun usage to make it unambiguous. Other times, I slap two words together that flow well, but make an awkward compound noun and have to be broken apart and interpreted to find meaning. Any curious person reading my stories might become an amateur etymologist.

[SoplaHtaHwI']

Names, to be at least in looks adhering to tlhIngan Hol would need to be either cvccvc (martaq, wo'rIv, ghawran), cvcvc (DuraS) or cvc (mogh, Qugh). It's not too hard either 8-)

[El Payaso Malo]

Names, to be at least in looks adhering to tlhIngan Hol would need to be either cvccvc (martaq, wo'rIv, ghawran), cvcvc (DuraS) or cvc (mogh, Qugh). It's not too hard either 8-)

Then how do you explain be'etor, ghIrIlqa', ruq'e'vet, tlha'a, (KGT); mara, torgh (TKD); mellota' (TKW) or qI'empeq (HQ)?

I do not see a problem with the theory that there would be more than One Klingon with the same name, in fact we have a Canon precedent in ENT, (Which I am only now finally getting to watch for the First time in its entirety), with the use of the name Durass... Used by all appearances as a First name, both in TNG as well as ENT...

Ah, but Duras was named for his ancestor Duras, and Duras' son Toral was named for their ancestor Toral. Also, Worf was named after his grandfather Colonel Worf. Then you have Emperor Reclaw and his family, who were assassinated and then replaced by different Klingons that were given the same names to make it appear that the royal line had not been broken. Then there is Emperor Kahless, who is a clone of the original Emperor Kahless. I can't think of a canon example of two or more Klingons with the same name living at the same time, and those that do share the same name descended from each other or replaced others.

[SoplaHtaHwI']

Names, to be at least in looks adhering to tlhIngan Hol would need to be either cvccvc (martaq, wo'rIv, ghawran), cvcvc (DuraS) or cvc (mogh, Qugh). It's not too hard either 8-)

Then how do you explain be'etor, ghIrIlqa', ruq'e'vet, tlha'a, (KGT); mara, torgh (TKD); mellota' (TKW) or qI'empeq (HQ)?

I do not have to explain anything really... My general explanation of "names" is "it is a name. Names do not generally adhere to rules.
names like K'mpeq have little or nothing in common with Worf or, indeed mara.
I always tell people your name does not have to be tlhIngan Hol (even though I changed my name to make it more Hol...
If you prefer kesvirit, that sounds sufficiently Klingon... ;-)
Even "Anboq" would be fine for me...

 

I do not see a problem with the theory that there would be more than One Klingon with the same name, in fact we have a Canon precedent in ENT, (Which I am only now finally getting to watch for the First time in its entirety), with the use of the name Durass... Used by all appearances as a First name, both in TNG as well as ENT...

Ah, but Duras was named for his ancestor Duras, and Duras' son Toral was named for their ancestor Toral. Also, Worf was named after his grandfather Colonel Worf. Then you have Emperor Reclaw and his family, who were assassinated and then replaced by different Klingons that were given the same names to make it appear that the royal line had not been broken. Then there is Emperor Kahless, who is a clone of the original Emperor Kahless. I can't think of a canon example of two or more Klingons with the same name living at the same time, and those that do share the same name descended from each other or replaced others.
[/quote]
<vulcan mode> Logic clearly dictates that, similar to multiple habitable planets are bound to exist, individuals with the same name will exist. Why else would you have a construct such as <name>, son of <father> of the House <house>?</vulcan mode>
Although, I used to be known in my home town (probably still am) as <name> son of <father> of <grandfather> <nickname/profession>... And there wasn't anyone in that town with a name remotely like mine... I even feel pretty unique now...

Names are a different animal...

[El Payaso Malo]

I was speaking strictly canon-wise. Personal nomenclature is exactly that: personal. Call yourself what you wish. From an in-universe perspective was my take.

I wasn't saying that there wasn't fifty Kronos inhabitants named Maltz (there most likely is more than that) because only so many unique names can exist in an innerstellar empire. I was just saying that there was no canon example of it. For example, while a Klingon named Duras is mentioned, the only other Klingon named Duras that appeared or was referenced was mentioned at having lived in another era. That doesn't mean that a different Duras didn't live at the same time in the Kling District. It simply wasn't brought up. 

[QoghtlhIH'u']

The glottal stop ' should precede or follow a, e, I, o, u or w

Magh' Peh is not proper tlhIngan Hol
magh peH would be better
But then again, you might be a Klingon from a planet in the Empire with its own dialect or language, so in fact, any Klingon could have any name, even Smith or Jones

[El Payaso Malo]

Sure, but if a Klingon named Williams is encountered and has no human ancestry, I will be very skeptical...

[QoghtlhIH'u']

Sure, but if a Klingon named Williams is encountered and has no human ancestry, I will be very skeptical...

Well, Terrans could adopt a cute little baby Klingon? 

[El Payaso Malo]

True, it has been done (*cough* wo'rIv *cough*), but I haven't seen any take human names unless they had human ancestry (Rozhenko, Torres). But not every hybrid shirks a Klingon name (K'Ehleyr). While it certainly wouldn't be impossible to find a full-blooded Klingon named Jim Swanson, I would think it unlikely (but not impossible) for this individual to pursue the Way of the Warrior.

[Klythe]

   You are assuming that a person has only one name.  Is Arne Darvin a Klingon name, okay phoentically, it could be, but how about Barry Waddle?  No, those are human names a full blooded Klingon took as name and identity.  He might not have been the best spy the universe has known, but can you say he could not be following the Way of the Warrior, when he served the duty that was given to him to perform.

   And so what of the many other Klingons who do not use a batletlh to fight.  Ambassadors, rulers, leaders and Diplomats such as Chancellor Gorkon and his daughter Azetbur, who to my knowledge, neither was shown wielding weapons in canon, other than a stout unwieldy ornamental staff...  Are they not Klingon?  What of the Klingon lawyers and judges we have seen?  Are they less Klingon because they are not 'warriors'?  What of Kahlest the nursemaid, and the teachers and mothers who raise Klingons?  What of the scientists, engineers and craftsmen who study, design and build the tools, weapons and ships of the Empire?  If the Klingon Empire starves and dies because the only tool a Klingon worthy to be called a Klingon may use is a blade, isn't that a weakness, that the brave must fight against in a way that is effective?   Why are you trying to restrain this topic to what ultimately must be a minority of Klingons, and likely a small minority, given how much support a warrior needs to fight well.   Why are you discounting them as irrelevant to the current topic?

    Surely there are one or two humans that have fought with honor, that a Klingon Warrior might have formed a bond with over the several decades of the alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire?  Smith or Jones, could be the name of any Klingon, warrior or not.  But we shouldn't lose sight of the original topic, which is Klingons with Klingon names not Klingons with Terran names.

[El Payaso Malo]

I'm not assuming, I'm taking things at face value. Hasn't that been a paradox explored in canon? The ability for an entire race to perform well if the entire society consists warriors? Of course, that is an impossibility. Other sections of society are just as important, though not as promoted. Klingon religion requires one to die in honorable combat to be honored in the afterlife, a possibility only a warrior is likely to have. The average teacher or advocate will not have that opportunity, and most Klingons (it seems) look down on them because of this, despite the warrior race's continued existence thanks to their efforts. Are they less Klingon? No. Klingons tend to prefer things their way: Klingon food, Klingon comfort, Klingon weapons; they (generally) aren't displayed as very open-minded. A Klingon without a Klingon name isn't less Klingon, but I wouldn't assume them to take Klingon attitudes either. I never much cared for Arne Darvin. A Klingon who kills without showing his face has no honor.

It is off topic and I apologize.

[Kragtowl]

Back in 1984, I was heavy into role-playing games and FASA's Star Trek roleplaying game had been out for about a year when they introduced FASA's Klingon Role-playing system.  One of the game masters I use to run with decided to run this game and before he would let us create characters, we had to read John M. Ford's book, "The Final Reflection" so we understood the Klingon culture background.  Well we created our characters and I came up with the klingon name of "Kragtowl" and my line name was taken from the movie "Heavy Metal" from the warrior race known as "Trakkens" but to change it around, I switched the contents and made it "Trekkan".  So this is where the persona of Kragtowl Trekkan came from. LOL!

[xaf]

hi,

I was wondering how klingon names work.
Is there a list of common names to which they add a family name, or does every klingon have a unique name?
Do they follow the structure "son of ... " (or even "daughter of ..." like in Iceland) ?
Are names related to places or professions?
Are klingons named at birth or do they earn their names in battle?
Or do they get their names in some transitional ritual?

How did you get your klingon name?

I'm was just curious what would come out of klingonifying my terran name.
my first name is Xavier which already sounds pretty alien, in any case all my life i've heard people breaking their tongues on it and pronouncing it in the strangest ways, so I usually just shorten it to xaf. I suppose it would be a matter of just spelling that in a klingon way. I'll spare you my middle names (or do klingons have those too?) and skip right to the family name. My last name is "van Wersch". Wersch is varation of Weerst, a village in a mixed french/flemish/rheinlandisch speaking part of what is now Belgium. "van" means "from" or "of" as you might have guessed. So my ancesters were knights from the village of Weerst, which is usually refered to as Warsage (apparently the french won the battle of the languages over there). Now Warsage should obviously be split into War and sage (french for wise). That would then again recombine into something like warwise, wise of war, wise by war... It's a bit farfetched but I can't help having a bit of a hyperactive brain sometimes and it definately seems to me like something a klingon could be called. Question is, what would it be in klingon?

xaf

[El Payaso Malo]

I was wondering how klingon names work.
Is there a list of common names to which they add a family name, or does every klingon have a unique name?
Do they follow the structure "son of ... " (or even "daughter of ..." like in Iceland) ?
Are klingons named at birth or do they earn their names in battle?

They don't all have unique names. That would be a very difficult accomplishment, indeed. Klingons are named at birth by their parents. Yes, their naming system is nearly identical to that of Iceland. As far as I can tell, Klingons don't seem to earn names in battle, unless you want to count how Kahless became "Kahless the Unforgettable," or increase in rank (as in from commander to captain). Klingon names consist of a given name, such as wo'rIv (Worf), a patronym, such as mogh puqloD (son of Mogh) or qImlaq puqbe' (daughter of K'Mlaq) and a house name, such as martaq tuq (House of Martok). In most cases, a Klingon would be called simply by the given name (or rank, if applicable; such as la' Commander or joH lord). In more formal occasions, the patronym is also used, and in the most formal occasions, the house name as well: Worf, son of Mogh of the House of Martok. However, sometimes a Klingon is referred to by patronym only, so you may just be called Qugh puqloD (son of Kruge).

Xavier... Question is, what would it be in klingon?

Going by how I've always pronounced that name, I'd render it as 'IqSevyer. Some may use tlhey'Ivyer. If you were from a Spanish speaking nation, then I would render it as Habyer... there are many different ways to render it depending on what your native language or nation of origin happen to be. Alternatively, you could translate the meaning of the name: pov (be splendid), wov (be bright), qachchu' (new house). Remember: ch, tlh and ' are each one letter.
Keep in mind that I have based this on the Klingon language as devised by Marc Okrand and from my vast viewing experience of Star Trek shows and films. Others may want to use older information and methods that are not armed with canon (ha! a pun!), such as John Ford novels, FASA and other things, and they are perfectly free to do so; but I, personally, wouldn't. It comes down to preference. I hope I have been helpful.

                                                                                                                                                                                              jaSwa' totlh