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Origin of name James T Kirk
- Origin of name James T Kirk
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Origin of name James T Kirk
Unregistered > August 24th, 2004, 02:21 PM
Can anyone tell where Roddenberry got the name James T Kirk for his starship captain? -
Origin of name James T Kirk
august > August 24th, 2004, 06:31 PM
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong...but to my knowledge, there's no significance - it's just a name he made up. The original captain's name was to have been Christopher Pike, and both names are simple, common Anglo-Saxon names. Back in the 60's and before, the trend was for simple, easy-to-remember names for heroes: James Bond, Jim Phelps, Matt Dillon, Ben Cartwright, Richard Kimble, Perry Mason, and so forth. In the 70's the trend went in the other direction, and the trend was for unusual, ethnic names: Banacek, Columbo, Petrocelli, Baretta, Toma, Kojak, Kolchack, Bronk, Serpico, etc. -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Boomstick > August 24th, 2004, 08:42 PM
I don't recall ever reading or hearing that there was any significance to the name, either. -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Orange1967 > August 24th, 2004, 10:56 PM
With all the info I have about ST and Roddenbury in my collection, there is nothing stating where he came up with the name James Tiberius(sp) Kirk...
It's just a name, it has no special signifigance to anyone or anything. -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Boomstick > August 24th, 2004, 11:18 PM
I suspected that "Tiberius" was just a futuristic sounding name, so they used that! :bg: -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Unregistered > August 25th, 2004, 12:10 PM
There was a mayor of Elizabeth New Jersey in 1940's.
Did Rodenbery ever had a connection with Elizabeth and thus chose that name?
Neil -
Origin of name James T Kirk
RobRoy > August 25th, 2004, 02:29 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Unregistered
There was a mayor of Elizabeth New Jersey in 1940's.
Did Rodenbery ever had a connection with Elizabeth and thus chose that name?
Neil
Originally, I would have said it was doubtful, because Roddenberry was born in El Paso, Texas and grew up in Los Angeles, CA. He served in the military for most of the 40s.
However, Roddenberry and his first wife Eileen, lived in New Jersey. I don't know how long they were there, possibly no more than a few years in the late 40s, as they moved from New Jersey to Southern California "in the late 40s".
So it's possible that the name stuck in his head. Whether there was a direct conscious use of the name, I couldn't say, and none of the literature I was able to access made any claims to that end either. Likely, it's a combination of his having heard it, and wanting, as stated earlier, a simple "American" anglo name. -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Unregistered > August 25th, 2004, 05:09 PM
Very interesting...
"The building that is now called The James T. Kirk Center, affectionately named after the Elizabeth Mayor James T. Kirk, was once called the ..."
- From: http://hsenj.ndi.net/places.html
And at http://www.lincoln-highway-museum.org/FT...Index.html Jame T. Kirk is listed as Mayor of Elizabeth NJ. -
Origin of name James T Kirk
CAP > August 25th, 2004, 07:55 PM
Boomstick (not exactly futuristic)
Tiberius
The second Roman emperor (A. D. 14-37), b. 16 November, 42 B. C., d. 16 March, A. D. 37. He was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia. By the marriage of his mother with Emperor Augustus he became the latter's stepson, and was adopted by Augustus in A. D. 4. In the year 10 he was appointed coregent with Augustus -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Unregistered > August 25th, 2004, 08:11 PM
To RobRoy - thanks very much.
do you know where he lived when they were in New Jersey?
Neil -
Origin of name James T Kirk
RobRoy > August 25th, 2004, 09:01 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Unregistered
To RobRoy - thanks very much.
do you know where he lived when they were in New Jersey?
Neil
No, I'm afraid I don't. The information I gleaned came from this site which had condensed some 600 pages of the author's book Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography Of Gene Roddenberry by David Alexander. You can, however, buy the book, and there might be more information there. <shrug>
Sorry. -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Boomstick > August 26th, 2004, 01:45 AM
Quote:Originally posted by CAP
Boomstick (not exactly futuristic)
Tiberius
The second Roman emperor (A. D. 14-37), b. 16 November, 42 B. C., d. 16 March, A. D. 37. He was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia. By the marriage of his mother with Emperor Augustus he became the latter's stepson, and was adopted by Augustus in A. D. 4. In the year 10 he was appointed coregent with Augustus
Very informative. Learn something new every day!
I guess "Tiberius" isn't such a futuristic name after all! -
Origin of name James T Kirk
CAP > August 26th, 2004, 02:41 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Boomstick
Very informative. Learn something new every day!
I guess "Tiberius" isn't such a futuristic name after all!
:halo:
-
Origin of name James T Kirk
august > August 27th, 2004, 02:03 AM
Yeah, there are still plenty of Italians named "Tiberio" today. Strangely enough, it just means "of the river Tiber," which runs through the middle of Rome and down to the coast.
Note: that Emperor Tiberius mentioned above is the Caesar to whom Jesus is referring when he says "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's...." -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Boomstick > August 27th, 2004, 03:23 PM
Quote:Originally posted by august
Note: that Emperor Tiberius mentioned above is the Caesar to whom Jesus is referring when he says "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's...."
No wonder Kirk got out of so many bad scrapes: divine endorsement. :bg: -
Origin of name James T Kirk
august > August 27th, 2004, 05:30 PM
Yes...but why does God ....(dramatic pause) .....need a spaceship?
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: -
Origin of name James T Kirk
Boomstick > August 27th, 2004, 06:24 PM
:laugh: Good catch, august!