AI name order and chronology

Ensuring that subsequent androids adhere to an alphabetical naming convention is as lame as naming the film after the ship.

...No wait, that's exactly what they did. Twice. I guess there'll be a ship called Awakening in the next one.

Back to point, I'm glad they are breaking the alphabetical nonsense. I want the screenwriters to spend zero time thinking about unimportant gimmicks and more time on delivering compelling storyline.

I absolutely agree Stan. However, what I am trying to discern is wether or not the breaking of the alphabetical naming theme in Covenant is deliberate (as a plot device) or unintentional. Also, do you think Awakening is going to be a film or the title of the upcoming novel? 

I can't imagine Prometheus was robbed of some deeper insight into the human condition because Spaihts spent a minute or two thinking up a name starting with 'D'.

Double post

Sorry S.M for the double post. I'm super new to this and would never intentionally forum spam. Should I just delete the thread? 

Nah, not you. :)  I accidentally double posted.  You can't delete posts so I changed the second one so I wasn't repeating myself.

Thank you for clarifying! Please disregard my n00b status lol. 

No worries.

Hmm...  has it ever been officially established that the naming order was planned?  It would seem a bit much of a coincidence, though, if it means we might see another 20-odd Alien movies while they fill in the rest of the alphabet, I’m in!

In the meantime, I did some name research and came up with some interesting stuff, especially for Walter.  I’m sure none of this was seriously considered when choosing the character names, but I thought it was interesting after-the-fact:

ASH:  Short form of ASHLEY (from an English surname originally derived from place names meaning "ash tree clearing"). It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.  Not much here, except maybe in “residue of fire”.  ;)

BISHOP:  Either from the English occupational surname, or else directly from the English word. It is ultimately derived from Greek for "overseer".  He had no real authority as an overseer, but he seemed at time an ethical center for the plot (“harm or allow to be harmed...”) and was the go-to guy for some needs. Of course, he did some pretty intense “overseeing” of that facehugger carcass.

CALL:  Irish; reduced form of McCall. English; from Middle English calle ‘close-fitting cap for women’ (from Old French cale), probably applied as a metonymic occupational name.  Not much here, except for “close-fitting” which sort of describes her personality.

DAVID:  From the Hebrew name meaning "beloved".  David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC.  Weyland prized him above others, but not sure it was love.

WALTER:  From a Germanic name meaning "ruler of the army".  Could this foreshadow something he does with the knowledge he ‘steals’ from the Engineers?

At any rate, a fun little riff on your question.  Here's hoping we'll have more to ponder with the release of the film and book?

Welcome Brittis404.

"could Awakening be the prequel novel"

Absolutely. Alan Dean Foster is releasing the sequel novel to Alien: Covenant in September 2017 without a formal title (sequel novel) released as of yet. This release in September 2017 from Foster could very well be the prequel Awakening that Ridley Scott alluded to.

"Hmm...  has it ever been officially established that the naming order was planned? "

I think I read that Spaihts deliberately followed the pattern. Not sure about the others.

This was all I could dig up:

The people working on the franchise recently, at least, are aware of (and actively adhering to) this trend. From an interview with Kelly Sue DeConnick, who wrote an official comic miniseries that follows Prometheus "Fire and Stone"

Comics Alliance: Is there an android whose name starts with the letter E?

KSD: There is!

CA: Good. I’m so pleased. Because we have to have the alphabetical-order androids.

KSD: We have solved that problem for you. Scratched that itch.

Indeed, the android was named Elden.

As for David's name being an anachronism as well as Walter, why should it be? The androids appear to be named in release order of the films, not in-universe chronological order. 

I'm going to say it's more coincidence/trend than canon material or plot device.