The US Space Force didn’t get off to the best start. “Adversaries and um, whether we get along with them or not, they’re up in space and they’re doing it and we’re doing it,” president Donald Trump said when announcing the agency two years ago. “And that’s going to be a very big part of where the defense of our nation. You could say offense but let’s just be nice about it and let’s say the defense, of our nation is going to be.”
Trump eventually got back on script, stating clearly that his administration “recognized space as a warfighting domain and made the creation of the Space Force a national security priority.” But the new name for what used to be the Air Force Space Command has long invited mockery for sounding just a little too Hollywood.
Those critiques re-emerged in December, when it was finally announced that Space Force personnel would be called guardians. Cue infinite Guardians of the Galaxy jokes.
As it turns out, things could have been worse—or at least a lot funnier—for the Space Force guardians, judging by the 400 alternative names submitted by troops and released by the Air Force last week.
The list, first published by Politico, veers into the super silly, with suggestions that include Space Cadets and Homo Spacians. Some entries show reverence (Knights, Deltas), but many are cheeky (“Nothing because you wouldn’t hear it in Space anyway”) or inspired by campy space TV shows (Trekkies, The Final Frontiersman). At least one person wanted former vice president Mike Pence to introduce the Space Force ranks thusly: “Henceforth the men and women of the US Space Force will be known as floatybois. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and floatybois.”
Below, we picked the best-worst 100 suggestions. Head to Politico for the complete list.