The Walking Dead Creator Explains How He Came Up With Negan’s Name

When your villain has a name like “Negan,” there’s one thing everyone wants to know:

Who the hell is called “Negan?”

Is it a real name? Is it made up? These are (half-serious) questions that The Walking Dead fans have been asking since the character first appeared in the comics years ago, and as you can imagine, any joke or comment that a couple of hundred thousand comic book fans have come up with, has been repeated or improved upon since 10 million TV viewers started coming into regular contact with the character.

The answer, though? Well, series creator Robert Kirkman had that for them on Talking Dead.

In the video embedded above, Kirkman said that one of the things he likes to do is to make up names that “aren’t really names” and then Google them to see whether there is actually a person called that somewhere in the world.

“I just wanted the name to sound negative in some way, so I was calling him ‘Nagus’ for a long time, which is just a word I thought I pulled from thin air,” Kirkman explained. “But apparently that’s the Ferengi leader in Star Trek: Deep Space 9, so I was like, ‘Well I can’t call him Nagus.’ So then I was like, ‘Okay, Negan, that sounds fine.’”

MORE WALKING DEAD: Who Is Creeping On ASZ? / Did The Whisperers Arrive? / Midseason Finale Recap / Internet Reacts To Midseason Finale / Gallery Of Negan’s Kills

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, The Walking Dead reigns as television’s most watched drama for adults 18-49 and tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse, and follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home.

The series stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Chandler Riggs as Carl, Lauren Cohan as Maggie, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Melissa McBride as Carol, Sonequa-Martin Green as Sasha, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan.

The Walking Dead is executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero and Tom Luse.

The Walking Dead will return Sunday, February 12.