(This page was adapted from a posting the director made long ago in a discussion group in regards to Vulcan names.)


MALE NAMES

In older times, before the time of Surak, there was no fixed pattern to names for males -- it was mostly according to local/family traditions and language.

After Surak died, those that followed his teachings often adopted names starting with the letter "S" in memory and honor of Surak, based on his name. They, in turn, named their sons in the same manner. That is more or less the official line.

It has long been suggested that only Surak's own descendants and the descendants of his extended family, related clans and closest friends can name their children this way. That theory has some merit but may not be right, since every Vulcan male we came across for about the first 20 years of Star Trek was named that way. But we do not dismiss it completely.

One old theory, which I think is dead, is that Vulcan men, after reaching maturity, take an "S" name once declaring their intent to follow the teachings of Surak. Since we have occasionally heard of Vulcan boys with "S" names, this is makes no sense.

As for Vulcan men with names like Xon, Taurik, Vorik, and Tuvok...

It has been suggested that they come from different ethnic or religious backgrounds on Vulcan. This makes a lot of sense and we believe this is the reason for these names. The theory that these men are not followers of Surak's teachings, thus have no "S" name makes no sense at all, since Vorik and Tuvok seem to follow his teachings. Tuvok has even gone through the Kolinahr ritual to purge emotions. Of course, related to a different ethnic background is the fact that some Vulcans are not pure Vulcan. Some are part Vulcan and part Romulan, for example, and the father's or mother's culture played a part in naming them.


FEMALE NAMES

Nearly every Vulcan female we encountered for many years had a name with the prefix " T' ", like T'Pau, T'Pring, T'Sai and T'Lar. This is a very ancient custom, going back before the time of Surak. We believe it is a remnant of a long-dead Vulcan language and/or culture.

Instead of suffixes, Vulcan languages often have a prefix that modifies a word. We think it most likely that it is a feminizing prefix, like the suffixes "-ette" and "-ina" on Earth.

Others have thought it is a simplified version of what was once a separate word but now has "faded" to just a prefix. They think maybe it was something like "trei" or "teya" or some such that meant something like "lady". So "Trei Lar" or "Teya Lar" in very ancient times meant "Lady Lar" but over millennia became the simplified "T'Lar". We do not buy this theory.

A modified version of this has the " T' " being a simplified version of an old phrase that meant something like "she of the", so "T'Pau" could be named meaning "girl/she of the corona" and "T'Sai" could mean "girl/she of the cloth", etc. This makes some sense, since most names on Earth have a meaning. And since " t' " means "of", this is strengthened by suggesting that it originally was "ko t'Pau" or "ko t'Lar" or some such, with "ko" disappearing eventually and the "t" becoming capitalized and no longer meaning "of". Like we said, this makes some sense.

As for Vulcan women with names like Saavik, Valeris and Sokona....

Saavik and Valeris were apparently half Romulan, according to information given, so that explains their names. Sokona was an outlaw, so perhaps changed her name from the classic form. Of course, women on Vulcan come from varied ethnic and religious backgrounds, so that is likely a factor here.

One more thing we have heard in the literature is that some Vulcan women might have a name without " T' " before they are bonded and they alter their name afterwards. This makes some sense and could possibly be the answer to some of the women's names. Many of the "non-traditionally named" Vulcan women without " T' " are apparently single, so this theory does make some sense.


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