Did the Borg originally have another name (and if so, what was it)?

Question

According to information found, among other places, in this question, the name Borg is an abbreviated version of Cyborg, referring to the nature of the Borg.

As can also be found in various sources, for instance cited by Memory Alpha, the Borg were originally intended to be an insectoid species. This is in line with the parasite bugs from TNG: Conspiracy having been planned as the first Borg invasion wave (although this latter claim is not necessarily trustworthy).

In any case, while I have read about the Borg being originally planned as an insectoid species, they seem to be invariably referred to as Borg. Based on the aforementioned ethymology of that name, however, it is unlikely the originally planned insectoid species would have been called Borg, as well.

Did the Borg have another name then used by the production team and if so, what was it?

Answer 1

Not as far as I can tell.

The various references to Hurley's original idea of an insectoid species seem to come from two main sources; the Captains' Logs book and the TNG Companion, that both refer to this as having been a concept that was abandoned at an early stage:

Although the Borg began as a race of insects, a concept dropped for budget reasons, their relentless mentality survived. - _{^{TNG Companion}}

and

Maurice Hurley offers, “A good one. It was an attempt to create some new jeopardy, a new villain. You have to have an adversary that’s worthy, so you made it impossible to defeat them. What we really wanted to do, but couldn't because of money, was insects. Insect mentality is great, because it is relentless. The Borg are a variation of an insect mentality. They don't care. They have no mercy, no feelings towards you. They have their own agenda and that's it. If all of them die getting there, they don't care. If you want some bad asses, there you go!” - _{^{Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages}}

Although it's impossible to prove a negative, the total absence of any concept art, finer discussion of the insect race's characteristics or any input from other members of the production team would tend to suggest that this was an idea that they kicked around verbally before discarding in favour of the more budget-friendly Borg.