Star Trek’s Klingon Homeworld Almost Had A Very Different Name

Star Trek: The Next Generation almost gave the Klingon homeworld a very different name. Although the Klingons had been antagonists for Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) on Star Trek: The Original Series, TNG established that the Federation had achieved a shaky peace with the Klingons. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D, TNG also introduced the first Klingon to serve in Starfleet, Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn).

Although TNG season 1 was somewhat inconsistent in terms of quality, it laid the groundwork for what would come later. As a way to further establish the characters, TNG season 1 included several episodes that focused on a specific character and their backstory. Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, episode 20, “Heart of Glory,” did this for Worf, revealing more information about the Klingon than all of the previous episodes combined. When the Enterprise rescues two Klingons from a freighter, Worf finds his loyalty to the Federation tested against his desire to connect with his own people.

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Star Trek’s Klingon Homeworld Was Almost Called Kling

Near the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “Heart of Glory,” the remaining Klingon, Korris (Vaughn Armstrong), fights his way to Engineering and threatens to fire on the warp core, destroying the Enterprise and everyone on it. As Worf tries to reason with Korris, Korris urges Worf to abandon Starfleet and join him. Korris knows that he cannot take the Enterprise alone, but he proclaims: “I would rather die here, than let the traitors of Kling pick the meat from my bones.” Although it’s not explicitly stated, this implies that the name of the Klingon homeworld is Kling.

Throughout “Heart of Glory,” Korris and his friends show an obvious disdain for the other Klingons of the TNG era, who have agreed to peace with the Federation. Korris views most of his own people as traitors to the Klingon way of life because they have begun to move on from the Klingon-Federation War. According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, Kling was originally meant to be the name of the Klingon homeworld, but the behind-the-scenes team didn’t like the way it sounded. While Kling was never reverenced again, it could still refer to a particular city or area of the Klingon homeworld, or just be an alternate name for the planet.

Star Trek VI Established The Official Name of the Klingon Homeworld

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country not only established peace between the Federation and the Klingons, but also revealed Kronos as the name of the Klingon homeworld. Among various Star Trek writers, several different names for the Klingon homeworld were thrown around before Kronos eventually became the final choice. When Kling didn’t stick as a name, several TNG episodes simply referred to Kronos as “the Homeworld,” but that soon became confusing and somewhat clunky.

Although The Undiscovered Country established the name Kronos, it was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that made the name stick. Even after the name became official, the spelling of Kronos has long been up for debate. Although Star Trek VI only ever referred to the planet as Kronos, later Star Trek projects would establish Qo’noS to be the proper Klingon spelling. Since Qo’noS is more consistent with the Klingon language, Kronos has become accepted as the English version of the name. Star Trek: The Next Generation reinvented the Klingons as a species and introduced many new elements of their culture, but thankfully the Klingon homeworld ended up with a better name than Kling.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+.