the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy - Why does Zaphod Beeblebrox call Ford Prefect "Ford" when they meet on the Heart of Gold?

Ford Prefect took that name because he thought it sounded like a normal name on Earth. I couldn't find any mention anywhere that he used this name before his 15-year-long visit to Earth and he didn't have any contact with anyone not from Earth who knew him (specifically not with Zaphod) until he was picked up by the Heart of Gold. Unless I missed something while reading, the name "Ford Prefect" wasn't mentioned until Zaphod addressed Ford directly.

My question is, firstly, how does Zaphod know about the name in the first place and secondly, why does he prefer to use it over whatever name he used before Ford's trip to Earth?

Answer

Douglas Adams actually explained this on page 50 of the book of the radio scripts.

Many people have asked me angrily why it is that Zaphod Beeblebrox instantly greets Ford as Ford when I had earlier stated quite clearly that he had only changed his name to Ford Prefect when he came to Earth.

It was very simple. Just before arriving he registered his new name officially at the Galactic Nomenclaturoid Office, where they had the technology to unpick his old name from the fabric of space/time and thread the new one in its place, so that to all intents and purposes his name always had been and always would be Ford Prefect. I included a footnote explaining this in the first Hitch-Hiker book, but it was cut because it was so dull.

Personally I prefer my own idea, which is that it was just an artifact of the Babel fish translation.

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