I really don’t know. But I will say one thing: all these decades later, I would prefer the name “Gates McFadden“ to “Cheryl McFadden“, but that’s really a matter of personal preference, and certainly not in any sort of objective creative judgment, or critique.

The name “Gates“ certainly aged better than the name “Cheryl“, at least in my opinion. She very likely came to this decision in the late 70s or early 80s. The choices certainly reflect the era.