Alternative explainations for all Kerbals sharing the "Kerman" surname

[sumghai]

Canonically, all the Kerbals we've seen in-game so far share the same surname of "Kerman". While the most common fan reasoning is that all Kerbals are either clones or members of a very large extended family, I'd like to offer the following alternative explanations, if only for giggles:

1) "Kerman" is not actually a surname, but an honorific / means of address

Much like how western societies use Mr./Mrs./Miss./Ms. and the Japanese use -san/-kun, it is possible that we humans are actually misinterpreting the suffix Kerman as a surname, when in fact the word could easily simply denote that a Kerbal is referring to another Kerbal, rather than a named animal/inanimate object.

In other words, "Jebediah Kerman" refers to the badass Kerbalnaut, but "Jebediah" on its own might refer to some random Kerbal's pet Kerdog or another random Kerbal's speedboat.

2) All Kerbal surnames are spelt as "Kerman", but differ in pronunciation

Taking a page from Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, perhaps Kerman is indeed still a surname shared by all Kerbals, but each Kerbal family uses pronounces their surname slightly differently from their neighbours - emphasis placed on different letters, different inflections, precisely-placed clicks between letters/syllables/vowels etc. Again, our human perception may prevent us from actually noticing these finer nuances.

In other words, Jeb's surname might be pronounced simply "Ker-man", while Bob's might be pronounced "Kay-R-Man", Bill's "Keer-man" and Val's "K-click-er-ma-un".

[Fendleton]

Personally I'd go for 'Kerman' being the honorific/title for the job. It's like in the military or whatever....rather than Major Bob or whatever, it's at the end of the name, and denotes that the person is in the space program.

[Foxster]

I kinda like to think that it is an identifier in a multi-intelligence universe the Kerbals live in.

Like we are Earthmen, they are the the men from Kerbin: Kermen.

So, in a wider universe, I might be called Richard Earthman and, likewise, Jebediah would be Jebediah Kerman.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Foxster

[Captain Vlad]

I kinda like to think that it is an identifier in a multi-intelligence universe the Kerbals live in.

Like we are Earthmen, they are the the men from Kerbin: Kermen.

So, in a wider universe, I might be called Richard Earthman and, likewise, Jebediah would be Jebediah Kerman.

I really like this.

[mikegarrison]

Personally I'd go for 'Kerman' being the honorific/title for the job. It's like in the military or whatever....rather than Major Bob or whatever, it's at the end of the name, and denotes that the person is in the space program.

Tourists are also Kerman.

[Wjolcz]

I kinda like to think that it is an identifier in a multi-intelligence universe the Kerbals live in.

Like we are Earthmen, they are the the men from Kerbin: Kermen.

So, in a wider universe, I might be called Richard Earthman and, likewise, Jebediah would be Jebediah Kerman.

I like the way you think a lot.

[Gerandar]

There all clones, or inbred take your pick. judging by the way they act i'm gonna go with inbred.

[theJesuit]

I have an alternate which I think suits the game just a bit more sweetly.

Kerbalkind actually place their given names second, which would sort of fit with the Spanish phrases in reverse being the kerbal language. What this would mean is that we actually identify them by their surname which traditionally was a thing in English speaking schools and the military (not sure about Spanish schools!). This reverse ordering of surname at the front is also done in other earth languages too.

As for why every kerbal is given the name Kerman, who knows? In one of my years at school in a class of thirty I had six James and seven Andrews in my class of thirty! So I think it may work.

Like we are Earthmen, they are the the men from Kerbin: Kermen.

So, in a wider universe, I might be called Richard Earthman and, likewise, Jebediah would be Jebediah Kerman.

I too like this also however. Probably a little more obvious once it is pointed out!

[Plume & Akakak]

I'd go for : it's childlike fun.

All good ? : D

[regex]

I wrote a mod to give them pseudo-Russian names because the default generator is silly and the whole "Kerman" thing is boring after two years. Also makes things better when using RO/RSS.

[Zild]

I kinda like to think that it is an identifier in a multi-intelligence universe the Kerbals live in.

Like we are Earthmen, they are the the men from Kerbin: Kermen.

So, in a wider universe, I might be called Richard Earthman and, likewise, Jebediah would be Jebediah Kerman.

+1.

What might be nice in the future is to have second names corresponding to function, for example assuming "Kerman" comes from a contraction of "Kerbal" and "Space-man" (which I am going to take to mean pilot, as what crazy fool would send up a scientist before a pilot?!), you could have:

• Pilot: Kerman (Kerbal-spaceman)
  
• Engineer: Kerneer (Kerbal-engineer)
  
• Scientist: Kertist (Kerbal-scientist)
  
• Tourist: Kerler (Kerbal-traveller, as "ist" is already in use; also hints at parabolic flight as it sounds like "curler"...)
  

I only really want this because at the moment I keep getting Bill and Bob confused and trying to restore my science modules with my engineer - if there is an easy way to see a Kerbal's function without returning to the space centre, please let me know!

[Vanamonde]

Not to ruin the fun, but the reason that's part of all their names is that it's the (proper) name for their race. They are "Kermans" rather than the common but erroneous "Kerbals." Yeah, I know, it's like saying "Bob Human," but that's the reason for it.

[cybersol]

Am I the only one who originally though of the Smurfs (the cartoon)? Especially when all the Kerbals were male the Kerman naming seemed very parallel to the way the Smurfs were named.

[Sharpy]

My personal explanation: Nepotism.

The KSC is a part of “Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Spaceship Parts Co.†It's a very successful enterprise, but Jeb only hires family. Strangers need not apply. And the Kerman family is huge.

Consider the text on Mk3 Cargo Bay CRG-100.

Originally we threw away the container the Rockomax Jumbo-64 tank came in, then one day a bright and upcoming engineer suggested we reuse them. He was promptly reallocated to another department and his boss came up with the brilliant idea of reusing these containers as cargo bays!

Such snippets are quite common in KSP, and considering the ideas like "Kerbal Scientific Method" that explanation seems plausible.

Edited June 9, 2015 by Sharpy

[MarvinKitFox]

So all inhabitants of Kerbin share the same last name "Kerman"

That's no stranger than Humans!

Did you know that almost 53% of all humans have the same first name, "Mr." ?

Surely this show that they are deeply inbred and degenerate!

.

.

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Moral of the story: There is a reason the word "assume" starts with those three letters.

[Brainlord Mesomorph]

Everyone named Kerman always reminded me of this Southpark bit:

Cartman: Isn't the name of your planet already Marklar?

Chief-Marklar: We on Marklar call all things, people and places Marklar.

Kyle: Isn't that totally confusing?

Chief-Marklar: No, not at all. Hey! Marklar!

A Marklar in the crowd: Yes?

Chief-Marklar: See!

[Hotaru]

I kinda like to think that it is an identifier in a multi-intelligence universe the Kerbals live in.

Like we are Earthmen, they are the the men from Kerbin: Kermen.

So, in a wider universe, I might be called Richard Earthman and, likewise, Jebediah would be Jebediah Kerman.

I wish I'd thought of this. Although I also kind of like the idea that it's the equivalent of "Jebediah-san." I can't decide!

I wrote a mod to give them pseudo-Russian names because the default generator is silly and the whole "Kerman" thing is boring after two years. Also makes things better when using RO/RSS.

I really like this idea and will definitely be using that mod on a future save game. Especially if I ever go for RSS.

A possible middle ground for a Russian-style save would be to have all the names derived from "Kerman," so you'd have cosmonauts (I refuse to spell it with a "K") called Kermov, Kermanov, Kermanin, Kermansky, Kermanova, etc. I think I even used "Kermanova" as the last name of a cosmonaut in a loosely KSP-inspired story I wrote for English class last semester.

Not to ruin the fun, but the reason that's part of all their names is that it's the (proper) name for their race. They are "Kermans" rather than the common but erroneous "Kerbals." Yeah, I know, it's like saying "Bob Human," but that's the reason for it.

Until it actually says that in-game somewhere, it's just somebody's opinion (even if that somebody is Harvester) and no more correct than any other interpretation. As a sci-fi fan, I really don't like the notion of "whatever the creator says is gospel truth, anything else is blasphemy." When I write stuff myself, I love seeing other people come up with alternate explanations I hadn't thought of.

[Ferdoni]

Hmmm maybe the Kerman race is a equivalent of the 'Duck' race...

[Plume & Akakak]

Hmmm maybe the Kerman race is a equivalent of the 'Duck' race...

Exactly : )

Am I the only one who originally though of the Smurfs (the cartoon)? Especially when all the Kerbals were male the Kerman naming seemed very parallel to the way the Smurfs were named.

And exactly : )

Childlike fun. Isn't it plainly enough ?

Until it actually says that in-game somewhere, it's just somebody's opinion (even if that somebody is Harvester) and no more correct than any other interpretation. As a sci-fi fan, I really don't like the notion of "whatever the creator says is gospel truth, anything else is blasphemy." When I write stuff myself, I love seeing other people come up with alternate explanations I hadn't thought of.

What hell it would be for an author to leave an explanation for every part and detail of what he creates...

As far as Kerbal Space Program is concerned, the story of a child who used to attach little tin foil men to his fireworks / imaginary rockets gives us the tone.

Ellipses are marks of a healthy story. Lightness and vagueness are valid as well. Fan-fiction, with its urge to fill every gap of an existing story, every silence between two words, is vain. It is overloading and makes the air unbreathable.

Edited June 9, 2015 by Plume & Akakak

[Holyvision]

Ever been to planet Marklar? Makes sense to me.

[Foxster]

Ever been to planet Marklar? Makes sense to me.

We had a week there in April. Meh.

[yorshee]

I kinda like to think that it is an identifier in a multi-intelligence universe the Kerbals live in.

Like we are Earthmen, they are the the men from Kerbin: Kermen.

So, in a wider universe, I might be called Richard Earthman and, likewise, Jebediah would be Jebediah Kerman.

This is how I see it too!

[KSK]

Fan-fiction, with its urge to fill every gap of an existing story, every silence between two words, is vain. It is overloading and makes the air unbreathable.

Uh - what existing story? KSP is almost entirely gap. From a story writing perspective it's almost ideal; a handful of familiar names you can refer to and that's about it. Which leaves plenty of room to play in.