10 Biggest Secrets Revealed In Star Trek Novels
7. Uhura's First Name - Star Trek II: Biographies
While her first name wasn't spoken on-screen until J,J, Abrams' Star Trek in 2009, Lt. Uhura actually received the canon name of Nyota all the way back in 1982. William Rotsler wrote Star Trek II: Biographies, a tie-in novel that was released as part of the promotions for The Wrath of Khan. In it, he used Nyota for the first time.
Although there had been several different non-canonical names for Uhura before this, Rotsler actually sought out permission from both Gene Roddenberry and Nichelle Nichols before publishing the work. Nichols particularly enjoyed the fact that Rotsler had truly done his homework before committing to a name. 'Nyota' means Star in Swahili.
Nichols would begin using the name at conventions after this, with another work adapting it for print in 1985. The fan film Of Gods And Men uses Nyota as her first name, with Nichols appearing to reprise her role, in 2008. In Trek 09, her first name is a running mystery and joke until late in the movie, when Spock says it out loud for the first time.