Seven Of Nine Originally Had A Human Name On Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager's creative team originally wanted Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) to have a human name. First introduced in the premier episode of Voyager season 4, Seven rapidly rose to become one of the most popular members of Voyager's cast of characters during the show's run. This was partially thanks to Jeri Ryan's stellar portrayal of Seven, and partially thanks to the character's unique backstory as a former Borg drone who was assimilated at such a young age that the Borg were all she remembered.

The Star Trek timeline had explored other drones who had been separated from the Collective before Seven came along, such as Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) or Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco). However, most of these characters were adults when the Borg assimilated them, and their previous memories and personalities reasserted themselves easily once they were rescued from the Borg. Seven was a singular case in that she actually felt more comfortable with the Borg aspects of her life, including her name.

Why Star Trek: Voyager Kept Seven Of Nine’s Borg Designation Instead Of Her Human Name

Seven chose to go by her Borg designation when she had a choice

Although they had planned to give her a permanent human name, Star Trek: Voyager's creative team instead chose to keep Seven's Borg designation. In an interview as part of the DVD extras for Voyager's 4th season, executive producer Brannon Braga detailed how the writers had originally wanted to have Seven start going by her human name immediately, but eventually scrapped that plan in favor of having the character remain Seven of Nine during her introduction. Braga asserted that this was done to set Seven apart, but her Borg designation also makes sense narratively. Read Braga's full quote below:

"We struggled for a long time. Initially, we gave her a Human name. She was gonna be named Pera, or Annika, or something. We wrote the first couple of scripts with a Human name. And it wasn't until a little later that we thought, 'She shouldn't have a Human name. She should be set apart, in some way.'"

While "Seven of Nine" was undoubtedly Seven's true name, Voyager still established that her human name before she was assimilated was Annika Hansen. Doing this allowed Voyager to explore the dichotomy between Seven's old and new lives, and lend credence to the fact that she was no longer the little girl she had been when she became Borg. While Seven having both a human name and Borg designation was needed for continuity, her choosing a third option like Seven instead of either her full human name or full Borg designation beautifully illustrated her character growth throughout Voyager's last four seasons.

Seven’s Borg Vs. Human Names Became Important In Star Trek: Picard Season 3

Picard season 3 reignited the issue of Seven's human name

However, Seven renouncing her human name didn't mean it didn't still come into play in her story. While "Annika Hansen" was only occasionally referred to on Voyager, Seven's human name returned in season 3 of Star Trek: Picard in Seven's initial rivalry with her superior, Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick). For his own reasons, Shaw initially refused to call Seven by her chosen name, instead insisting on calling her "Commander Hansen" even when other crew members used "Seven" out of respect for her choices.

Picard season 3's reminder of Seven's name served to underscore her Borg versus human heritage more strongly and was a great conflict between her and Shaw throughout the season. The issue provided deeper insight into both characters, but also underscored the reasons Seven chose to keep going by her Borg name in the first place, and reaffirmed that keeping that name on Star Trek: Voyager was the right decision. Ultimately, the unique importance of Seven's two names truly did set her apart from other Star Trek characters, just like Voyager's creative team was hoping.