A common misbelief is that her name was originally "god" (with a small "g"), and was only later changed to "China". However, Jeff Tamarkin's 2003 book on the history of Jefferson Airplane, "Got a Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane", explains this resulted from a sardonic remark made by her mother to a nurse. In San Francisco County, a birth was registered for January 25, 1971, for a female child with the surname Kantner. The mother's maiden surname was Wing. No given name was registered for the child at that time.