Leela's Name...

[:]

I have always been very confused over this subject. I was always subject to believing that Leela was the last name  of her parents and herself, and that Turanga was her last name. But the Infosphere says otherwise:

http://theinfosphere.org/Turanga_Munda

http://theinfosphere.org/Turanga_Morris

[#1 :]

Some lineages place surnames before given names. Perhaps mutants do so as well.

[#2 :]

Like on Library IDs and such? And you're saying that perhaps Turanga is her last name right?

[#3 :]

"Leela" is her given name -- in many cultures this does come first. "Turanga" is her surname -- in many cultures this comes last, but not always. A surname is also known as a family name, because it is shared within your family.

[#4 :]

Thank you for the help, this has been bugging me for years.

[#5 :]

Japanese folks have their surname first. And other miscellaneous other cultures as well - Hungary, China, Korea, and various unimportant East Asian countries.

Leela doesn't look Asian (her eye is too round), but the purple hair suggests Hungarian ancestry. Although Turanga isn't a common Hungarian name. It sounds more Scottish. The Scots, of course, don't even have given names - just obscenities.

[#6 :]

Well, things can change over a thousand years, especially in the sewers.

[#7 :]

The letterbox of Leela's parents says "Turanga" as well. And if her last name was "Leela", then her parents wouldn't call her that.

[#8 :]

Yes well, it would be odd if the mother, father, and daughter all had the same given name and different surnames, wouldn't it?

[#9 :]

Exactly.

[#10 :]

Precisely.

[#11 :]

Fry: (Confused) Turanga?
Amy: That's her name, Philip.
Bender: Philip?...

[#12 :]

The Bajorans also use the surnames first

[#13 :]

Oh yeah, them. Heh. Wrinkle-noses [/racism].

[#14 :]

Japanese folks have their surname first. And other miscellaneous other cultures as well - Hungary, China, Korea, and various unimportant East Asian countries.

Leela doesn't look Asian (her eye is too round), but the purple hair suggests Hungarian ancestry. Although Turanga isn't a common Hungarian name. It sounds more Scottish. The Scots, of course, don't even have given names - just obscenities.

Regarding Leela's skin colour (the facial structure does not give away much any more), I settled for "definitely European" (or rather "American of European ancestry", to be nit-pickingly-precise )
My most probable guess was "Hungarian". The name was not much of a criterium for my guess: After all, every nation has citizens with unusual names

[#15 :]

Oh yeah, them. Heh. Wrinkle-noses [/racism].

*GASP* Are you Cardassian?!?!?!?!?!

[#16 :]

Fry: (Confused) Turanga?
Amy: That's her name, Philip.
Bender: Philip?...

That line is the reason I made this thread, it can be very misleading.

[#17 :]

I've always thought she had some indian ancestry for some reason (I know a few Indian girls called Leela, and Turungalila is Sanskrit).  Fry is of Irish descent I think (mainly because of the red hair and green eyes).  

Her mother sounds and acts like a stereotypical Jewish wife/mother sometimes (but very mildly.)

[#18 :]

I used to think of Leela like Fry. She preferres to use her last name

[#19 :]

Being a Jew myself, I believe that is what Groening wanted her to be like when she was developed.

[#20 :]

Its possible that Leela's ancestors included a lot of different people (since a great variety of people were trapped in the sewers and mutated) which resulted in specific habits like the Asian tradition of putting your last name first or stereotypical "naggy Jewish mother" behaviour being passed down.    Munda's voice sounds similar to the accents of the Jewish fembots from Family Craptacular.

[#21 :]

They're not very naggy, but they say words like: "humintoshin', or snoogalu". (Just the grandmas), it sorta sounds like the main character from that show: "The Nanny", which I just happen to watch at my Bubby's house (Grandma).

[#22 :]

*GASP* Are you Cardassian?!?!?!?!?!

...Nooo, I'm a Klingon!
Of course I'm Cardassian!!

Fry: (Confused) Turanga?
Amy: That's her name, Philip.
Bender: Philip?...

That line is the reason I made this thread, it can be very misleading.

Either the writers had yet to decide which name was going to be her surname, or they just decided consciously to be coy about it, or Leela herself didn't know until actually finding her parents.
Remember, her name was written on a tag when she was left at the orphanarium, without explanation. She might have gone through most of her life thinking 'Turanga' was her (rather unattractive) given name, until "Leela's Homeworld", where she finally learns the naming convention of her family.

I've always thought she had some indian ancestry for some reason (I know a few Indian girls called Leela, and Turungalila is Sanskrit).  Fry is of Irish descent I think (mainly because of the red hair and green eyes).   

Her mother sounds and acts like a stereotypical Jewish wife/mother sometimes (but very mildly.)

Indian or Doctor Who-vian.
How do you figure Fry has green eyes?
The slight Jewish tinge seemed very New York. Old New York, that is.

[#23 :]

Don't worry, I meant stereotypically sgb.  A few members of my family married jewish people, and none of the women are anything like the spoilt princesses or self esteem shriveling harridans you see on TV.  Munda just seems like a very mild example of the stereotype because of her accent, coupled with her very occasional tendency for nagging and being overly critical. 

Yeah, Turnip, her voice sounds a bit like a less grating version of Ruth and Esther's voices.

Well I'm pretty sure his eyes being green has been referenced a few times throughout the series (or maybe I just assumed he did, for some reason.  I just always thought of him as Irish so I ended up picturing him as green eyes.)   And then in Reincarnation, his eyes are green (since that's the only segment that shows their iris color.)

[#24 :]

Question if when Leela was admitted to orphanarium if Commissioner Vogel actually knew her name, or if she was a Jane Doe.

Cruel, cruel justice.

[#25 :]

This is just my opinion, but I think he did know her name.

[#26 :]

I guess that answered my question...

Thanks  Xanafor..

I can sleep comforatably tonight...

[#27 :]

Yes, but you see what I mean there. From that name-tag, neither Vogel, nor Leela herself would have had any way of knowing that Turanga was the family-name. Not until after 'Leela's Homeworld'.

[#28 :]

You would also think her parents -wishing the girl to grow up with her real name- would have droped the appropriate hint on that paper, which one is the first name

[#29 :]

Perhaps it's a naming convention known to be associated with mutants, and so they left it ambiguous for the sake of secrecy.
Of course, in that case, it would have been logical to have written "Leela Turanga". Rather than the other way around.
Or perhaps at that point in the series, the writers actually intended for Turanga to be her first name, and decided to pull a switch later on.

[#30 :]

Regardless...

She is a beautiful baby..

[#31 :]

  Paedophile!!

[#32 :]

As a workplace sitcom, Futurama let's the characters interact on a business level.
There are less private ties, and even less family ones.
So it seems quite fitting that two main characters are called by their last name (even if "Leela" has just the position, and not the meaning of a last name).

[#33 :]

The letterbox of Leela's parents says "Turanga" as well. And if her last name was "Leela", then her parents wouldn't call her that.

But then, why do we call Fry 'Fry' and not Philip?

[#34 :]

The letterbox of Leela's parents says "Turanga" as well. And if her last name was "Leela", then her parents wouldn't call her that.

But then, why do we call Fry 'Fry' and not Philip?

We, as well as his coworkers, call him "Fry" because that's how we've always known him.

You'll notice that the members of his family refer to him as "Philip".

[#35 :]

Futurama started as a workplace sitcom, with the characters rather linked via their job than friendship/family ties, etc... .
So, it seems quite fitting in a certain way that the protagonist is called by his last instead of his first name.

[#36 :]

It's not exactly unusual for that to happen. I have plenty of friends that I refer to by their last names. It's usually people with common first names that have adopted their last names as a means of separating themself from the other 5 "James"s or "Chris"s at school, but that's not always the case.

[#37 :]

I think I mentioned this before, there's a guy at my school whos last name is 'Lindley', everyone calls him 'Bin Lid' cause his last name kind of sounds like that.