Skip to main content

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?


I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")?




Answer



In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says:



Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about?



"Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed.


Ever since then, there have been a series of "Doctor who?" (as in, "what is his name?") questions by various companions and people that he meets. This is sometimes a serious question, and sometimes a joke, often one made by the Doctor himself. However, he never actually goes by the name "Doctor Who" - it's the title of the series, not the character.


Except that, for the 1st through 4th Doctors, the title credits used the name "Doctor Who" or "Dr Who", even though he was not called this on screen. From the 5th through 8th Doctors, the credit was "The Doctor", then for the 9th Doctor it went back to "Doctor Who". With the 10th and 11th, the credit has gone back to "The Doctor" again.


With the 10th and 11th Doctors, hints have been made about the significance of the Doctor's name:




  • Madame de Pompadour says "Doctor who? It's more than just a secret, isn't it?"

  • The Carrionite Lilith says "Why would a man hide his title in such despair?"

  • Much significance is made of River Song knowing the Doctor's name, with the suggestion that this is part of marriage / a wedding.


It's likely that more will be revealed about this, although it seems unlikely that his name will actually be revealed.


The Doctor has never revealed the origin of the alias "The Doctor", although it's implied that this is a reference to the doctorate ("PhD") type of doctor rather than a medical doctor (i.e. he is a scientist). Explanations as to whether or not he studied to gain this title, and what he studied, and with whom, are varied and inconsistent throughout the history of the show.


The Doctor often uses the name "John Smith" (or even "Doctor John Smith") - this was first used by the 2nd Doctor's companion Jamie McCrimmon, but has been used regularly since then. At the Academy on Gallifrey, he apparently went by "Thete" or "Theta Sigma" (originally revealed in The Armageddon Factor, and confirmed as a nickname in The Happiness Patrol).


Other Time Lords have mocked him for using the title "Doctor". When talking to the Master at the end of The Sound of Drums (a 10th Doctor episode), it is revealed that the Doctor and Master both chose their names: the Master describe's the Doctor's choice:



The man who makes people better. How sanctimonious is that?




However, in The Lodger, the 11th Doctor says:



I'm the Doctor. Well, they call me 'the Doctor', I don't know why; I call me 'the Doctor' too, still don't know why.



Adapted from Wikipedia as well as memory and other sources. The TARDIS Index File has a good summary of the Doctor's aliases.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...