Cockroaches are awesome! The name[0] is sort of a back-formation from a loan word cucaracha which simply refers to a beetle. But in English it takes on a new meaning because of the word "cock" which gives it a real badass connotation, and these things are indeed badass. Now we also have the shortened word "roach" which is also an awesome word for the language. BTW, in SC2 you will want to look out for 6 or 7 Roaches[1] knocking down the front door of your base[2].

Back to the awesome creation of God[3] commonly known as the cockroach. According to Wikipedia[4], there are some 4600 known species of cockroaches, and only 30 of them are associated with human habitats. The rest of them are basically outdoor roaches, so if you find one in your house they are probably there by accident and trying to find a way out.

In fact, the only species you really need to worry about is the so-called "German" cockroach, which Germans call the Russian roach, and Russians call the Polish roach (and I'm sure the Poles blame the Turks or some such group).

If you see this roach in your house then you are in trouble. They like dirty houses so clean your house. And they have evolved to avoid sweets so you have to buy the correct kind of bait[5]. I like to spin long yarns about my battles against these bugs to anyone who cares to listen. In the end you need to deal with the humans who are too friendly to these roaches. Look for college students who live 3-4 to an apartment and go home for the weekend, people who work long hours and leave bags of half-eaten fast food in their open trash cans, and other unfortunate neighbors. Knock on their door and give them packs of the aforementioned roach bait to leave around their dwellings (this requires some tact). In time you can certainly eliminate them, thanks to modern chemistry. It should cost less than $50 and a few months of vigilance.

Frankly the German roach doesn't really fit the profile of your average cockroach. It's slow and seems to be asking you, almost daring you, to kill it, knowing there are 20 others that will take its place. A standard cockroach is the kind that runs away really fast, and would be just as happy living outdoors. They are far more widespread and just as survivable as the pest species, and lend their name to an awesome database product that will probably outlive discussions about its name.

I for one hope the creators keep the name and use the human revulsion about it as a marketing benefit. No one will forget their encounter with the mighty cockroach, and business people will come to associate it with sustainable competitive advantage which cockroaches have in spades.

[0]: https://www.etymonline.com/word/cockroach

[1]: http://liquipedia.net/starcraft2/Roach_(Legacy_of_the_Void)

[2]: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/11/02/genetic-algorith...

[3]: Genesis 1:24-25

[4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockroach

[5]: https://www.amazon.com/Combat-Month-Roach-Killing-Station/dp...

Competitive advantage to everyone else. Survival of the cockroach-est.