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In the episode "The Way to Eden" when he is greeted by his ex-girlfriend Irina Galliun, Ensign Pavel Andreivich Chekov became the first of the Star Trek: TOS regular characters whose full name we knew. It was not until Star Trek: The Motion Picture that fans learned that the "T" in James T. Kirk stood quite unexpectedly for "Tiberius." Spock had the opportunity to reveal his full name in "This Side of Paradise," but demurred, protesting that it was too difficult for the human tongue to master. Dr. Leonard McCoy, Montgomery Scott, Janice Rand and Christine Chapel don't seem to have middle names. After years of fannish speculation, Sulu's first name was revealed to be Hikaru, and despite the fact she has always outranked Chekov, poor Uhura has never been given anything other than a mere surname.
So what does unexpected windfall of biographical detail --this name -- tell us about Ensign Chekov? Let us look at each part of his name in detail.
Pavel
The English equivalent of the name "Pavel" is "Paul". As in English, there is no short form of this (as for instance " Jim" is the short form of the name "James"). This does not mean however that there are no nicknames for "Pavel" -- Far from it! The Russian language has a variety of name forms that change according to status, formality, and attitude so that one can be insulting, respectful, or endearing merely in the choice of name form. Russian allows for a multitude of emotional colorings on one's given name. The suffix a speaker adds to a name can indicate any of the following attitudes toward the person being addressed: caressing, paternal, familiar, vulgar, teasing, scornful, pejorative, or contemptuous. The following are some forms of the name "Pavel":
Generally speaking, diminutive forms are used with members of one's family or good friends. Strangers should not use the diminutive form when speaking to a Russian unless told to do otherwise, or when obvious circumstances require them such as when addressing a child, for instance.
Before the Russian Revolution it was the custom to choose the name of one of the saints whose festival fell on the eighth day after the birth or on one of the first eight days of the child' s life. If his parents adhered to this Russian Orthodox tradition, Pavel Chekov might have been born near the day of a festival devoted to St. Paul. Russians often celebrate their birth on their "name day" rather than on their birthday.
Andreivich
Chekov's second name, "Andreivich," is what is called a patronymic. Russian tradition dictates that if the parents are married then the child's patronymic must be taken from the father's first name. An unmarried mother may choose an appropriate patronymic. Assuming Chekov's parents were married at the time of his birth, we know from his patronymic that his father's name was Andrei. If Chekov were to have children, a male child would have the middle name "Pavlovich" and a female child would have "Pavlovna".
The patronymic is constantly used in spoken Russian. It is always polite to call someone by his or her first and middle names. A stranger should use this combination of address unless specifically told to use the more familiar form. The patronymic is usually not included in one' s signature.
Chekov
Like the prefix "Mc" in Scottish or "O'" in Irish, the suffix "ov" in Russian means "son of." "Chekov" literally means "son of the Czech." Perhaps this indicates that the hyper-nationalistic ensign's distant ancestors were Czechoslovakian rather than Russian.
A character biography I read once (but can no longer locate) said that "Chekov" is a very common Russian surname -- as common as "Smith" is in English. In actuality, the name is not quite that common, but it is a name familiar to most actors. Anton Chekhov was the author of such theatre classics as "Uncle Vanya," "The Three Sisters," and "The Seagull." I have always wondered if it were mere coincidence that the playwright's name was Anton Pavlovich and the ensign's was Pavel Andreivich. But then again, I'm just the wondering type...
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Copyright © 1997 Teegar Taylor.
Last Updated August 10, 1997
