As we’ve previously discussed in this column, Star Trek is meant to be a celebration of humanity and our history. To this end, many fictional Star Trek characters have nonfictional namesakes.
For this week’s Trek Tuesday, we’re counting down 10 more Star Trek names with real-life inspirations from Star Trek: The Original Series through Star Trek: Discovery. Did we include your favorite character named after someone (or something) that really exists? Be sure to let us know in the comment section.
Guinan
Everyone knows Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), the bartender at the USS Enterprise-D‘s Ten Forward on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The character was first introduced in TNG season 2’s “The Child.” Guinan appeared in about 30 episodes of TNG, then reprised the role for Star Trek: Generations and several episodes of Star Trek: Picard season 2. In other episodes of Picard season 2, the 2024 version of the character was portrayed by Ito Aghayere.
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But what you might not realize is that Guinan is named for a real-life historical figure, Mary Louise Cecilia “Texas” Guinan. While she was a silent film and vaudeville star, Guinan was best known for owning several speakeasy clubs during prohibition.
USS Mitchell
Actor Kenneth Mitchell was a multiple-series Star Trek actor, appearing in both Discovery and an episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Mitchell was known for playing multiple Klingons on Discovery, appearing in the roles of Kol, Kol’Sha and Tenavik. In Discovery season 3, he played the human character, Aurellio.
Mitchell died in February 2024 after revealing his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis in 2020. However, Discovery had previously honored the actor in season 4, when the USS Mitchell appeared in the episodes “Rubicon” and “Coming Home.”
Rayna Kapec
In the TOS season 3 episode “Requiem for Methuselah,” James T. Kirk (William Shatner) meets Rayna Kapec (Louise Sorel). Unsurprisingly, he quickly finds himself attracted to the seemingly human woman. However, it is soon revealed that Kapec is actually an android created by a semi-immortal human named Flint (James Daly). Unfortunately, Kapec also had feelings for Kirk, which caused her to overload and cease functioning.
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In a hint towards her true nature, Kapec’s name pays homage to the author who coined the term “robot.” Karel Čapek coined the term in his 1920 play, R.U.R.
Geordi La Forge
Another incredibly famous Star Trek character with a real-life namesake is TNG‘s Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton). Blind from birth, La Forge uses a VISOR and later ocular implants to see.
But what you might not realize is that La Forge has a real-life namesake. As suggested by writer David Gerrold, La Forge was named for real-life Star Trek fan George La Forge. George was a paraplegic Trekkie who died in 1975. Franchise creator Gene Roddenberry embraced the idea, and thus Geordi was named.
Nausicaans
The formidable alien species, the Nausicaans, first appeared in TNG season 6’s “Tapestry.” Tall and burly, the Nausicaans are known for building, labeling and abandoning time portals and urging humans to play against them in dom-jot.
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The Nausicaans are named for both the Greek princess of the wind and the 1984 animated fantasy film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. In a curious coincidence, Patrick Stewart went on to appear in Studio Ghibli’s English-language dub of Nausicaä when it was released in 2005.
USS Enterprise
Everyone knows that it’s thanks to Trekkies that the first space shuttle built by NASA was renamed “Enterprise.” But which Enterprise inspired the name of the ship on TOS to begin with?
It is true that previous real-life incarnations of the Enterprise have appeared on Star Trek. This includes the Enterprise (CVN-65) in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and the HMS Enterprise in Generations. Plus, the NX-01 Enterprise — the first starship to bear the name — was introduced by Star Trek: Enterprise. However, according to an interview with Roddenberry, the Enterprise on TOS was specifically named after the Enterprise (CV-6), the WWII aircraft carrier.
Nilsson
After the death of Airiam (Sara Mitich; Hannah Cheesman), Nilsson (Cheesman) takes her place on the Discovery bridge as the ship’s spore drive ops officer. A human who attended Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, Nilsson is a competent officer. In fact, she even receives direct condemnation from Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) in part one of the Discovery season 2 finale.
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According to Discovery writer Ted Sullivan, Nilsson has a very specific namesake. She is named after Harry Nilsson, Sullivan’s favorite musician. The musician Nilsson may be best known for the song “Everybody’s Talkin’,” which was featured in the 1968 movie Midnight Cowboy.
Klingons
Along with the Vulcans, perhaps the most famous alien species in Star Trek is the Klingons. This violent but honorable species has played many allegorical roles for Star Trek since they were first introduced in TOS season 1’s “Errand of Mercy.”
As time passed, the Klingons became famous for having an entire working language created for them. However, you might not realize that the formidable alien species take their name from a very human inspiration. Roddenberry named the species after his friend Wilbur Lee Clingan, a Los Angeles Police Department officer. Clingan, who also served as a police consultant on Dragnet, worked with the Star Trek creator when Roddenberry was on the force.
Ensign Kearns
In the Lower Decks season 3 episode “Mining the Mind’s Mines,” the USS Cerritos is assigned to Jengus IV, where they must work alongside the crew of another California class ship, the USS Carlsbad. During this away mission, Beta Shift meets several Carlsbad crew members, including Ensign Kearns (Kari Wahlgren).
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Kearns is named after Trekkie Audrey Kearns, the wife of episode writer Brian D. Bradley. As you may already realize, the real-life Kearns is also the Editor-in-Chief of this website. So, come on, everybody, join in—LOWER DECKS! LOWER DECKS! LOWER DECKS!
Wesley Crusher
On the Enterprise-D, Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) starts out as a child being introduced to the world of Starfleet. However, over the course of TNG‘s seven seasons, Crusher enrolls in Starfleet Academy and becomes an officer. But by the end of the series, Crusher has left Starfleet after being recruited to a higher level of existence by an extra-dimensional entity named “The Traveler” (Eric Menyuk).
While most everyone knows Wesley, what you might not realize is that the character has a very specific namesake. His first name is taken from the middle name of the Great Bird of the Galaxy himself, Eugene Wesley Roddenberry. But given this revelation, maybe it’s no surprise that Crusher ends up with the ability to alter the very fabric of the Star Trek universe, as confirmed by Picard season 2’s “Farewell.”
All of the Star Trek episodes and shows discussed above are currently available for streaming on Paramount+.
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