What Star Trek: Voyager could have been named

Star Trek: Voyager has become one of the most popular Star Trek series, especially since it was the first in the franchise to have a female captain.

One can’t even imagine Voyager being called something different. The series was all about the ship and the crew’s voyages as they tried to make their way home. But with Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway, Voyager was about much more than a stranded crew and a captain trying to hold everything together.

Voyager covered meaningful topics during its seven-year run, and it wasn’t just about the travels through space. The journeys were certainly a large part of the series, but so were the lessons taught in the episodes, and looking back now, the name of the series became an important reminder that these characters weren’t just on their way home, they were traveling through unknown territories, meeting new alien species, and fighting for their right to survive in a quadrant of the galaxy where they weren’t welcome. So Voyager’s name, to most of us Star Trek fans, became synoymous with determination and teamwork, learning and adjusting, acceptance and growth, and fitting in and standing out. So, no, we can’t imagine the series having a different name, but it almost did.

Star Trek: Voyager wasn’t the first choice for the title of the series, possibly not even the fifth choice as there were a lot of other options.

Trekdocs [via Heroes and Icons] shared a list of names that were in the running for Voyager. And Paramount Television president John S. Pike chose two as his favorites: Voyage of the Intrepid and The Gamma Quadrant.

Take a look at the other suggested names that were included in a July 28, 1993 memo and just imagine Voyager being named something different.

Do you think any of these other titles would have worked? How important do you think the title of a Star Trek series is?