The unaired pilot of Avatar: The Last Airbender revealed that Katara’s original name was Kya: why was it changed and reused in Legend of Korra?
The unaired pilot episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender revealed that Katara's original name was Kya — and the book Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Art of the Animated Series explained that Nickelodeon's legal department was responsible for the name change. Nickelodeon's beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender originally aired from 2005-2008, and the recently released unaired pilot shows the changes that creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko made before the series aired.
A major reveal from the unaired Avatar pilot is that Katara was originally named Kya. Although the name was later reused for Katara's mother, and her daughter in The Legend of Korra, DiMartino and Konietzko have never provided a concrete explanation for the change. However, in their book The Art of the Animated Series, the creators finally explained that pressure from Nickelodeon's legal team forced the producers to change the name — because Kya was already being used elsewhere in a video game.
In 2003, two years before Avatar: The Last Airbender premiered but after the unaired pilot was developed, the video game Kya: Dark Lineage was released. Due to the fact that the protagonist in the game was also named Kya, Nickelodeon's legal team forced the show's producers to pick something else. The Art of the Animated Series reveals that one of the other options for Kya's new name was Kanna, which was later used as the name of Katara's grandmother.
Although Katara's name had to change, DiMartino and Konietzko reused Kya for Katara's mother, and again in Legend of Korra as the name of Katara and Aang's daughter. Luckily, Katara was chosen — and it's the perfect name for the character. Katara is also the Japanese word for "wanting hope" and the Arabic word for "water droplet"; when Katara is written out in season 2, episode 15 "The Tales From Ba Sing Se," the last character in her name (Lā) means "to pull," which is a major part of waterbending. While DiMartino and Konietzko were likely initially disappointed about not being able to use Kya, Katara is ultimately a better fit for the character.
Ironically, Avatar: The Last Airbender has ended up having a much larger cultural footprint than Kya: Dark Lineage. The original, unaired pilot went through significant changes before Avatar: The Last Airbender premiered in 2005, and changing Katara's name is just one of them. Regardless of Kya: Dark Lineage, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko were able to reuse Kya in Legend of Korra, and Katara's name ended up being a major part of one of Avatar: The Last Airbender's best characters.
The pilot of Avatar: The Last Airbender can be watched here, and the recently released second printing of Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Art of the Animated Series is now available from Dark Horse. The follow up, The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series-Book One: Air, will receive a second reprint in February 2021, also from Dark Horse.
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