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.– KalamaneFeb 24, 2012 at 22:29
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7It’s Geoff. Geoff Chakotay.– Paul D. WaiteJan 21, 2014 at 12:34
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1@PaulD.Waite - See my answer below. Word of God is that it's 'Fred Chakotay'.– ValorumNov 8, 2014 at 1:00
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1His friends call him "Cha". Or sometimes Mr. Kotay.– OmegacronNov 8, 2014 at 1:06
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@Richard: Robert Beltran may be your god, sir, but he is not... actually, excellent choice.– Paul D. WaiteNov 8, 2014 at 8:03
2 Answers
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.– TangoFeb 24, 2012 at 22:13
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1@TangoOversway, if there's only one name, then by definition it can't be a surname. :)– MarthaFeb 24, 2012 at 23:02
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19In-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. Feb 25, 2012 at 2:49
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2The gravestone in the alternate timeline of the episode "End Game" (part 1) also has only "Chakotay" written on it.– RayMay 7, 2014 at 21:12
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2I suppose his full name might be "Chakotay, son of Kolopak", or "Chakotay Kolopakson", just as Worf is referred to as "Worf, son of Mogh".– RobertFAug 23, 2014 at 18:34
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,
his personnel file on the Valjean in VOY: Caretaker
and his entry on the official StarTrek.com website
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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".– RDFozzJul 30, 2018 at 20:25
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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!– RDFozzJul 30, 2018 at 20:32