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In all of the episodes of Star Trek: Voyager that I've seen, I've never heard anyone call Commander Chakotay by any other name. This includes formal and informal settings. Does he have an official first/last name, or is Chakotay his full name like it is for Data?

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  • I posted this from my phone. Feel free to edit it.
    – Kalamane
    Feb 24, 2012 at 22:29
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    It’s Geoff. Geoff Chakotay.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Jan 21, 2014 at 12:34
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    @PaulD.Waite - See my answer below. Word of God is that it's 'Fred Chakotay'.
    – Valorum
    Nov 8, 2014 at 1:00
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    His friends call him "Cha". Or sometimes Mr. Kotay.
    – Omegacron
    Nov 8, 2014 at 1:06
  • @Richard: Robert Beltran may be your god, sir, but he is not... actually, excellent choice.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Nov 8, 2014 at 8:03

2 Answers 2

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Chakotay is his full name. As I understand it, the Native American tribes never developed the custom of a family name (at least not before being conquered by Europeans). His father was a traditionalist.

Source: FEDERATION BIOGRAPHICAL DATABASE FILE: Chakotay at startrek.com

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  • It's also worth noting that even at Memory Beta, which includes non-canon sources (like novels), he still doesn't more of a name than Chakotay. It's not clear if there is a given name or surname, or just one name.
    – Tango
    Feb 24, 2012 at 22:13
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    @TangoOversway, if there's only one name, then by definition it can't be a surname. :)
    – Martha
    Feb 24, 2012 at 23:02
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    In-universe this is probably correct. Out-of-universe, it is wildly inaccurate to make almost any claims about "Native American tribes" in general. The natives of pre-Columbian America ranged from the Inuit to the Fuegians and had many different naming customs. The Mayans, for example, did use family names as surnames.
    – Mark Beadles
    Feb 25, 2012 at 2:49
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    The gravestone in the alternate timeline of the episode "End Game" (part 1) also has only "Chakotay" written on it.
    – Ray
    May 7, 2014 at 21:12
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    I suppose his full name might be "Chakotay, son of Kolopak", or "Chakotay Kolopakson", just as Worf is referred to as "Worf, son of Mogh".
    – RobertF
    Aug 23, 2014 at 18:34
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Chakotay is a mononym

Robert Beltran (the actor who portrays Chakotay on Star Trek Voyager) was asked this question in a fan interview session. Although his reply seems mischievous, his lack of a genuine response strongly implies that his character only has one name.

Interviewer : What is Chakotay's first name in the Voyager series?

Beltran : Fred.

The idea of him having a singular name is borne out by his gravestone in VOY: Endgame, Part I,

http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200303/voy-271-admiral-janeway-visits/320x240.jpg

his personnel file on the Valjean in VOY: Caretaker

enter image description here

and his entry on the official StarTrek.com website

enter image description here

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    For the record, his alias (Amol Kotay) has a first name. It's Amol.
    – Valorum
    Jun 30, 2014 at 0:16
  • With the placement of the quote from the interview, and the wording of the comment preceding the picture from "Endgame", I actually expected the tombstone to say "Fred Chakotay".
    – RDFozz
    Jul 30, 2018 at 20:25
  • @RDFozz - Better?
    – Valorum
    Jul 30, 2018 at 20:28
  • Actually, yes. Note that I wasn't trying to saying there was necessarily anything wrong with the previous wording; just that, I read it differently than you intended. To be honest, I mentioned it because it amused me. All that said - thanks!
    – RDFozz
    Jul 30, 2018 at 20:32

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