13

How the name 'James T. Kirk' originate. I heard it might have come from the fact that Gene Roddenberry once lived in NJ and the name of a mayor from Elizabeth, NJ was James T. Kirk.

fez
  • 17,200
  • 8
  • 84
  • 99
Mattes
  • 131
  • 3
  • 2
    His name was, according to Wikipedia, based on James Cook, the explorer. I've found it surprisingly hard to track down a source for that assertion – Valorum Mar 26 '20 at 23:42
  • 1
    The T was likely recycled from an earlier character of Roddenberry's (https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/139981/why-was-the-character-of-captain-kirk-given-the-middle-name-tiberius) – Valorum Mar 26 '20 at 23:47
  • 1
    I always liked the origin story behind Khan Noonien Singh. –  Mar 26 '20 at 23:51
  • 1
    One of the memos they sent internally (with multiple name choices) is pictured in Inside Star Trek: The Real Story. No reason is given for why they ended up making that choice – Valorum Apr 02 '20 at 20:10
  • 1
    The list also appears in Making Star Trek, again with no confirmation of why they chose the name. – Valorum Apr 02 '20 at 20:12
  • 2
    Mark Clark's Star Trek FAQ makes bold claims "...the list, reprinted in Herb Solow and Robert Justman’s Inside Star Trek, the ship might have been led by any of the following captains: January, Flagg, Drake, Christopher, Thorpe, Richard, Patrick, Raintree, Boone, Hudson, Timber, Hamilton, Hannibal, Neville, or (last on the list) Kirk. As an afterthought, Roddenberry scrawled a sixteenth name, “North,” at the bottom of the list in all-capital letters. Roddenberry finally chose “Kirk” simply because he liked the sound of the name.** – Valorum Apr 02 '20 at 20:17
  • 1
    FWIW, Capt James Cook was commanding the Endeavour when he visited New Zealand and discovered the east coast of Australia (after observing a transit of Venus in Tahiti). "Endeavour" and "Enterprise" are rather similar in meaning, as well as both starting with "E". – PM 2Ring Apr 02 '20 at 21:03
  • 1
    @PM2Ring - I've seen multiple sites make the claim that his name was chosen in honour of James Cook. None of them seem to offer any confirmation where they've sourced the claim from – Valorum Apr 02 '20 at 21:49
  • 1
    @Valorum Neither have I, which is why I posted a "FWIW" comment, and not an actual answer. But as an Australian who watched ST:TOS back in the 1960s, the James Cook theory has a certain appeal. ;) – PM 2Ring Apr 02 '20 at 21:57
  • 1
    @Valorum - It makes me shudder seeing "Kirk" at the bottom of that list. Without it we wouldn't've had the terse phrase Kirk t'Enterprise https://blogs-images.forbes.com/janetstemwedel/files/2015/08/communicator2-1940x1661.jpg – chasly - supports Monica Jul 31 '20 at 09:56
  • 1
    @Valorum: Who is this Kellum DeForest on the memo and were they the inspiration for the name of the actor who played McCoy? (/s on the second part) – ThePopMachine Mar 24 '23 at 17:54
  • 1
    https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Kellam_de_Forest – Valorum Mar 24 '23 at 20:58

1 Answers1

1

Actually, Memory Alpha has a good entry on this:

The name for Kirk wasn't decided until 1965. In a memo written by Gene Roddenberry to researcher Kellam de Forest on 18 May 1965, sixteen names were under consideration...

(list of 16 names omited, Kirk was #15)

"James Tiberius Kirk" was the final choice of name chosen to adorn the new TV show's hero. "James", derived from the Hebrew name Jacob, means "grasps the heel" or "grasps the bottom"; a colloquial equivalent would be "he gets it" or even "he groks". "Kirk" is the Lowland Scots word for "Church". "Tiberius" was first identified in TAS: "Bem", and mentioned again in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Tiberius Caesar Augustus was the second Roman Emperor, known for his darkness and corruption, from the death of Augustus in 14 AD until his death in 37 AD. "Tiber" was the Latin name for the river that ran through the city of Rome. The name might also possibly have been influenced by the maverick Roman politician Tiberius Gracchus. (See also: Apocrypha) (citation needed • edit)

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/James_T._Kirk

Kasey Chang
  • 528
  • 2
  • 8
  • 1
    I've downvoted. Although this answer explains some of the possible meanings of the name, it doesn't explain its origin or how it was chosen by the production team – Valorum May 31 '20 at 06:24