I was chatting with someone and the topic of Chief Anderson's first name came up. It was wryly suggested that perhaps his parents had had a premonition and named him 'Chief'.... but of course there are much more interesting ideas than that. Why do we never learn the Chief's first name? Maybe it's something totally unsuited to his position, like 'Bubba', or perhaps it's something totally unpronounceable... Or maybe his first name is 'Zark'! After all, they had to name the robots after someone... Any other thoughts?

Have you noticed in BotP that "authority" figures never do get given first names? Chief Anderson Colonel Cronus President Kane And many others who appear only once! As for his name - love Bubba!! It sort of ties in with the other discussion thread about Anderson's background too. Perhaps it's something totally embarrasing like Cyril or Algernon...

Gaylord....

Andrew

Originally posted by meridianday Gaylord....

That's good...

I've seen "David" crop up several times...it seems to fit...

Ain't his name is Kozaburo Nambu?

Originally posted by Ladygalactor777 Ain't his name is Kozaburo Nambu?

My mistake on Spanish version they named Dr. Nambu chief Anderson

LG, Chief Anderson is also what Nambu's character was renamed in BoTP. Anderson then became Kane.

I think I have noticed John crop up as well, although maybe not as often as David.

Originally posted by amethyst LG, Chief Anderson is also what Nambu's character was renamed in BoTP. Anderson then became Kane.

Originally posted by amethyst Andrew

It actually took me a secon to get this... good one!

Originally posted by Transmute Jun

Originally posted by amethyst Andrew

It actually took me a secon to get this... good one!

It could explain why his first name is never used.

Okay, I bite? Am I the only one here who feels I am missing out on something? Or am I the only one who is not getting the "joke"? Maybe it is a "Canadian" thing.

I'm not Canadian. Born and raised Californian. But could you imagine having to go through school as Andy Anderson?

There's a trend towards naming children with the diminutives of proper names. So far, in Georgia, this seems to be prevalent among African-Americans, so there are grown men whose names are Willy and Tommy. (My sample is small, admittedly, but it's there.) In 1978, it was still possible to hear adults refer to each other by Title + Surname. For BotP, the scriptwriters might not have considered it necessary to give the 'adult' characters first names. Unlike the live-action shows kids watched, there are no personal moments to hang first names on. So far, in the fics, nobody's saddled Anderson with a really embarrassing first name. I went with 'Peter' in mine because I hadn't seen it used. For the IF, when nobody could remember if they'd given him a first name, I thought of 'Matthew' (which then made a perfectly good middle name when someone found 'John'). BTW, his accent is all wrong for 'Bubba.' Trust me. Springie can confirm: you know you're in the South when campaign posters not only use the name 'Bubba', it's not always in quotation marks. In New England and parts of the South, a child might be given the mother's maiden name as a given name. (I think, in the South, that's more an upper-class custom. However, since I am not native, I will not swear to it.) This can work very well, or produce oddities. Some names are perfectly good, but have gotten 'nerd' or 'sissy' connotations over time. Percival was a knight of the Round Table, and in some stories, the one who found the Grail. Roger is derived from Hrothgar. Edgar, Edward, and Edwin are all Anglo-Saxon names with warrior origins. I'm pretty sure that 'Gaylord' is not as sissy in origin as it sounds.

Originally posted by amethyst I'm not Canadian. Born and raised Californian. But could you imagine having to go through school as Andy Anderson?

Ahhh, now I get it. Thank you (Since I do not shorten names, I have always hated it in my own name, I never think of these things.)

UW, that practice of diminutives has been around for awhile in my opinion. I had an aunt who refused to name her children with long winded names that would only be used in formality or when in trouble. Instead of Kimberly, the girl was Kim (though she was often called Kimmy), and instead of Kathleen or Kathrine, the younger girl was Kathy. Some cultures aren't bothered by the e sound at the end of names, Hispanic is one I know of for certain. I think African-American is similar, but my experience with that ethnic group is limited.

And yet I would have said my friend from Mexico said that women tend to have names that end with a vowel where as men have names that end in a consonant. Maybe I misunderstood though, because I believe she said her father was Armando, ending with a /o/, and she was named after him Armandina. Maybe the /a/ /i/ sound is considered feminine and the /o/ /u/ sound is masculine. *shrug*

[i]a child might be given the mother's maiden name as a given name.

I really like the idea of last names as first names. I once knew a guy named "Mason." Pretty cool name. Not sure if it was his mother's maiden name, but he told me it had been a last name that was in the family. Plus, I kinda have a crush on Anderson Cooper.

Originally posted by clouddancer And yet I would have said my friend from Mexico said that women tend to have names that end with a vowel where as men have names that end in a consonant. Maybe I misunderstood though, because I believe she said her father was Armando, ending with a /o/, and she was named after him Armandina. Maybe the /a/ /i/ sound is considered feminine and the /o/ /u/ sound is masculine. *shrug*

Candi can correct me (I hope), but in Spanish, many female names end in 'a', while the male form ends in 'o'. A few female names end in 'ita'. These tend to be the ones derived from Latin. 'Maria' and 'Mario', 'Juan' and 'Juanita' (or 'Juana').

Originally posted by clouddancer And yet I would have said my friend from Mexico said that women tend to have names that end with a vowel where as men have names that end in a consonant. Maybe I misunderstood though, because I believe she said her father was Armando, ending with a /o/, and she was named after him Armandina. Maybe the /a/ /i/ sound is considered feminine and the /o/ /u/ sound is masculine. *shrug*

Hispanics give very long formal names, but use the diminuitives, so maybe I misspoke when I agreed with UW. I was thinking of names like Javi or Willie or the ever present ito added on to many names.

I like that name... Armando... Armando Anderson... that could work!

Only I don't see Anderson as having any Mexican origins. Not that we know what origins he does have so who is to say it is NOT Hispanic.

Armando is also Italian. (Actor Guy Williams had the nifty birth name of Armando Catolano.) There's nothing to say that Mom Anderson isn't Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian (or from Mexico, or from Central or South America), or of such a family that immigrated to the US.

Who says he has to be from the US? We're talking about Chief of Intergalactic Security. He could be from anywhere on Earth or off. Just because he speaks with a plain American tongue (forgive, I know there is a proper term for it similar to RP in Britain, but it escapes me at the moment), doesn't mean that he is where he is from.

In fact I was born in Britain, raised in Canada and have been told many times I have a North Eastern US accent - Maine, Vermont, New Jersey. So you are correct Amethyst he could come from any location and pick up the accent. An adult with a good ear could easily pick up and speak fluently any accent they wanted.

*snicker* That's true, Amethyst. He could be any nationality, or a mix of several. Just please, please tell me his name isn't Hans Christian...

RI And I thought my brother had the monopoly on Little Mermaid Jokes. CD, I've only been to Texas a handful of times, and never any deeper, but if I hear a southern accent I'm talking in that accent. I can pick up most any, if I work on it. British is a little hard, but when I talked with SJ a few weeks ago, I had to really force myself to keep from answering her back with an Australian accent after awhile. So I know just what you're talking about.

Oh, RI.... that's perfect!!!!! I guess, going along in that vein, his name could be Neo... As long as it's not 'Pamela'!

I'm chuckling reading through this thread! We too have the trend of abbreviating names, here, although I'm one, together with my DH, who emphasises on the fact that names must be pronounced in full! Our main problem, in naming kids, is that we have to be careful what name we choose ... apart from our local, traditional ones (most of them related to saints), there's a trend of choosing foreign names, which, when abbreviated, they could be heard as offensive terms in our own language! I won't even start to list such names, as there are many! And, poor he, or she, who have been named so as they're always targeted for bullying! A silly choice of mine ... maybe, Kozo ... Kozo Anderson! (At first, I just threw out the name as one related to Kozaburo, but then, out of curiousity, I've made a search and found out that there's also a hippo character named Kozo!!)

Originally posted by UnpublishedWriter

Originally posted by clouddancer And yet I would have said my friend from Mexico said that women tend to have names that end with a vowel where as men have names that end in a consonant. Maybe I misunderstood though, because I believe she said her father was Armando, ending with a /o/, and she was named after him Armandina. Maybe the /a/ /i/ sound is considered feminine and the /o/ /u/ sound is masculine. *shrug*

Candi can correct me (I hope), but in Spanish, many female names end in 'a', while the male form ends in 'o'. A few female names end in 'ita'. These tend to be the ones derived from Latin. 'Maria' and 'Mario', 'Juan' and 'Juanita' (or 'Juana').

Not necessary...some spanish names ends on R or E. like Jorge on the males & females because Carmen is a female name & it doesn't end with A, That is a form of stereotyping.

I did not stereotype. I'm aware of female names such as 'Concepcion' and 'Pilar'. The ones ending in 'a' and 'o' tend to be derived from Latin names. Other names come from words and terms (just as in other languages). Now, depending on how far in the future one sets a fic, Anderson could be multi-ethnic in ancestry. 'Armando Anderson' might have an Italian or Spanish ancestor, or 'Armando' might have joined the name pool as a result of Italians and Spaniards being among the ancestors of the people on his world. Of course, he could have a 'nerdy' or 'sissy' name and be able to kick butt. "That's MISTER Gaylord Anderson, jackass." Uttered while demonstrating how the human arm does NOT bend.

Actually, it was a generalization, as was my statement. We were discussing patterns we've seen. There are subtle connotative differences between generalization and stereotype. Castillian Spanish for the most part has to primary sources: Latin and Arabic; however, almost all European languages share common roots from before Latin. Regardless of when Canon is set, there is no reason why Anderson cannot be mulit-ethnic. My sister-in-law is Irish, Mexican, and Arabic. There are many multi-ethnic people among us, particularly in the US, Canada, and parts of the UK. Some advertise it more than others.

The person who brought up his subject with me to begin with came up with another one. What if his parents were hippies, and named him 'Security' ? Then he would be Security Anderson... or Chief (of) Security Anderson...

Originally posted by Transmute Jun The person who brought up his subject with me to begin with came up with another one. What if his parents were hippies, and named him 'Security' ? Then he would be Security Anderson... or Chief (of) Security Anderson...

Among the names I have encountered in life: Ivory Hunter (male) Sterling Justice Major Coates Hampton Kicklighter Honestly, some parents should be smacked before they're allowed to name their children.

I was reading an article online a few weeks ago, there are some names banned in some countries, and in a few parents have to petition to use names that have not been put on the "Pre-Approved" list. While I do feel sorry for the kids whose parents are just idiots, I'd rather live in a country where those idiots are allowed to be idiots, then a country that limits what people can be named.

Well, some idiot in this country gave his son the name 'Adolf Hitler', and his daughter's middle name is 'Aryan Nations.' But he's not a racist (he says). Crap like that is one reason for the laws. And they're probably concerned about cultural heritage. As if a few people naming their kids after characters on imported TV shows is a sign of disaster.

I read about that, too, and agree that he is an idiot and a liar. I feel very sorry for the children. However, I'd still fight against any laws in the US to restrict naming. Now, parent classes depending upon how the law is written that could cover naming, but still not restrict it, would be something to consider.

Also remember that people can have their names legally changed. This can be both good and bad. For example, take the artist formerly known as Prince.

I work in the health field and we see lots of children everyday. We've encountered some very "unique" names through the years. Some of my favorites: Starquashia Ya Highness (and his sister Yo Majesty) Kasidia (pronounced quesadilla) Keyonte (pronounced Chianti) It's really hard not to chuckle sometimes.