Robert Schnakenberg - Sci-Fi Baby Names: 500 Out-of-This-World Baby Names from Anakin to Zardoz

Copyright 2007 by Robert Schnakenberg

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Number: 2007922636

eBook ISBN: 978-1-59474-852-3
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-59474-161-6

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Congratulations! If youre reading this, youre probably expecting a baby. Now what are you going to call the little bundle of joy? There are a couple of places to turn.

One is a book filled with amazing, inspiring stories about men and women with remarkable powers and heroic attributes who performed unbelievable feats that changed the fate of the universe. Its called the Bible. Its where youll find Michael, Samantha, David, Rebecca, and countless other fine choices. In fact, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration, of the top ten most popular baby names, seven are derived from ancient Hebrew names found in the Bible. Two of the others come from Latin, a language nobody speaks anymore.

Your other source is this book, which is also filled with wondrous name choices that all parentswhether theyre sci-fi fans or notcan safely turn to for inspiration. Michael, Samantha, David, and Rebecca live here as well, along with Jor-El, Jabba, Barbarella, Tron, and plenty of other, less conventional options. Because when you get right down to it, is naming your child after a character from Zardoz really any weirder than naming it after some goatherd who made a cameo appearance in the book of Leviticus two thousand years ago? (Which, incidentally, is where my own first name, Robert, comes from.)

So set your phasers to stun and boldly go where no expectant parent has gone before. In a future age, when Jar-Jar is as common a name as Jacob is today, your genetic heirs will thank you.

Sci-fi baby names dont have to sound alien, exotic, or bizarre. Many of the most popular boys and girls names have rich histories on other planets, as part of alternate realities, and in time streams yet to come. Try one of these classic baby names if youd like to impart some sci-fi flavor to your offspring but arent ready to make the quantum leap to .

ORIGIN: 20th-century Earth

SOURCE: Dr. Who (BBC TV series, 1963present)

This venerable boys name, often chosen to honor the first person named in the Bible (Hebrew for son of the red earth), also recognizes the second companion to join the Doctor on his travels through time and space during his ninth regeneration. Adam Mitchell is a researcher whose time aboard the TARDIS is cut short when he betrays the Doctors trust and attempts to procure futuristic technology for his own personal advantage.

TRIVIA: Adam Mitchell is the only known companion to be kicked off the TARDIS for bad behavior .

ORIGIN: 20th-century Earth

SOURCE: Space: 1999 (TV series, 19751977)

Aussie Alan Carter is the chief pilot of Moonbase Alpha on Space: 1999 . A former beach bum whose athletic pursuits include surfing, badminton, and rugby, the handsome, rugged astronaut often takes on the Moonbases more physically demanding tasks with macho lan.

QUOTE: When the ships sinking, the rats are the first to leave .

OTHER NOTABLE SCI-FI ALANS: Alan Scott (Golden Age Green Lantern)

ORIGIN: 21st-century Earth

SOURCE: Robocop (1987)

In Detroits dystopian near future, police officer Alex J. Murphy is shot and killed in the line of duty but reborn in cyborg form to continue fighting crime as Robocop. Initially a cold, affectless killing machine, Robocop gradually becomes more and more human as elements of the dead lawmans personality begin to reassert themselves.

QUOTE: Dead or alive, youre coming with me.

OTHER NOTABLE SCI-FI ALEXES: Alex Summers ( X-Man Havok ), Alex de Large (Clockwork Orange protagonist), Alex Rogan ( The Last Starfighter whiz kid pilot)

VARIANTS: Alexander

ORIGIN: 23rd-century Earth

SOURCE: Babylon 5 (TV series, 19941998)

Alfred Bester is a high-ranking Psi Cop with shadowy links to the sinister alien race known as the Shadows on TVs Babylon 5 . The character is named after science-fiction author Alfred Bester, whose important works include The Demolished Man .

QUOTE: The future belongs to telepaths.

ORIGIN: 23rd-century Earth

SOURCE: Star Trek (TV series, 19661969)

Consistently ranked among the top five girls names since the early 1980s, this Latin name meaning much-loved also honors the human mother of Mr. Spock. A caring, compassionate schoolteacher with a rich emotional life, Amanda Grayson weds the coolly logical Vulcan diplomat Sarek and settles with him on Vulcan.

QUOTE: Vulcans believe peace should not depend on force.

ORIGIN: 20th-century Earth

SOURCE: Bicentennial Man (1999)

Kindly robot butler who goes on search for a soul mate in the treacly 1999 feature Bicentennial Man . Good-hearted but literal-minded, Andrew initially attributes his emotional longings to a mechanical malfunction but later learns to cherish them as signs of his emerging humanity.

QUOTE: I try to make sense of things, which is why, I guess, I believe in destiny. There must be a reason that I am as I am.

ORIGIN: 20th-century Earth

SOURCE: Dr. Who (BBC TV series, 1963present)

Greek for foreign, this once widely chosen girls name pays homage to Barbara Wright, a London schoolteacher who reluctantly joins the Doctor on his travels through time and space during his first incarnation. Strong-willed, principled, and idealistic, Barbara possesses a wide-ranging knowledge of history that comes in handy on the TARDIS crews adventures in other time periods.

QUOTE: Im an unwilling adventurer.

ORIGIN: 20th-century Earth

SOURCE: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Short form of the once-common girls name Rebecca (Hebrew for joined). One of the quintessential 1950s small-town names and the first name of Invasion of the Body Snatchers protagonist Dr. Miles Bennells girlfriend, Becky Driscoll. A vivacious, skirt-wearing, bring-home-to-mother type, Becky is unfortunately ticketed for absorption and replacement by alien invaders.

QUOTE: Theyre like giant seed pods!

VARIANTS: Rebecca

ORIGIN: 20th-century Earth

SOURCE: Captain Britain Weekly #1 (Marvel Comics, 1976)

Anglophile parents-to-be may want to consider this ancient Gaelic name still popular in the British Isles. As an added bonus, its the real name of Captain Britain, Brian Braddock, a transatlantic amalgamation of Captain America and Superman.

TRIVIA: Brian Braddock is the twin brother of X-Men team member Elisabeth Braddock, a.k.a. Psylocke .