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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga A List of SW Names and Their Meanings

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by thejeditraitor, Jul 30, 2014.

  1. thejeditraitor

    thejeditraitor Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    maul- attack, claw, lacerate also a weapon used for ramming or crushing.
    sidious - insidious - causing a harm that is gradual or not fully noticed.
    coruscant- shining, glittering.
    tyranus- tyranny- cruel, unreasonable or arbitrary use of power/control.
    luminara- a glowing votive light.
    geonosis- genesis- origin or formation.
    grievous- very severe, awful.
    mygeeto- megiddo- city identified with armageddon.
    vader- pater- father.
    savage oppress- savage- fierce, untamed. oppress- keep in hardship or subservience.
    moraband- moribund- dying, expiring, terminal.
    antilles- an archipelago of islands in the caribbean.
    greedo- greed- avarice, selfishness.
    durge- a lament for the dead.
    klaatu barada nikto- quote from the film "the day the earth stood still".
    wicket warrick- from warrick davis.
    rancor- bitterness, resentfulness.
    endor- the witch of endor was mentioned in the bible.

    these are just the obvious ones. there are many more. feel free to add some.
     
  2. ATMachine

    ATMachine Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2007
    Darth Vader: originally Dark Water, with additional connotations of death and invader. The later meaning of dark father was an extremely happy accident.

    Anakin: from the Anakim, a race of giants in the Old Testament, but also influenced by the name of director Ken Annakin.

    Luke Skywalker: from Loki Sky-walker, the trickster god of Norse mythology. (It's also "Luke S." -- geddit?) This name was originally applied to the Obi-Wan Kenobi character, a cunning warrior.

    The simultaneous Biblical and pagan symbolism of Luke's name is similar to that of Frank Herbert's Paul Atreides.

    Obi-Wan Kenobi: intended to have the same cadence as Toshiro Mifune.

    Grand Moff Tarkin: originally, as Grande Mouff Tarkin, applied to a minor character who was a high priest. From the title Grand Mufti, the chief priest of the Ottoman Empire.

    Millennium Falcon: partly from The Maltese Falcon, as Lucas intended Han Solo to resemble Humphrey Bogart.

    Alderaan: from Aldebaran, a star in the constellation Taurus.

    Hoth: named after Nazi general Hermann Hoth from World War II.

    Tatooine: from Tataouine, the location of filming in Tunisia on the first movie.

    Utapau: presumably from Utopia. In early script drafts this name was applied to Tatooine.

    Yavin IV: partly from the planet Altair IV in the film Forbidden Planet.

    Corellia: from the planet Korell in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.

    Senator Palpatine: from the wealthy neighborhood of the Palatine Hill in Rome, and the character of Senator Palantine in the film Taxi Driver.

    Padme: from "om mani padme hum," a Buddhist mantra used in meditation.

    Qui-Gon Jinn: jinn are spirits of fire with great magical power in Islamic mythology, said to be the only sentient species besides humans.

    Nute Gunray: from Republican politicians Newt Gingrich and Ronald Reagan.

    Jedi: from jidai-geki, the Japanese term for period-piece films, with additional influence from jeddak, a Martian noble title in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series.

    Sith: from the name of a giant Martian wasp in the Barsoom books.

    Bantha: from banth, a Martian beast of burden in the same source.

    Dune Sea: an homage to Frank Herbert's Dune.
     
  3. thejeditraitor

    thejeditraitor Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    count dooku- based on the Japanese word "doku," meaning poison.

    kanan jarrus- kane starkiller, the land of canaan from the bible.

    hera syndulla- hera queen of the greek gods, cham syndulla from tcw.

    starkiller- kane starkiller.

    mace windu- mace and windy from the early sw drafts.

    shaak ti- possibly derived from the female Hindi deity of strength Shakti.

    Aquilae- which is the Latin plural or genitive of aquila, or "eagle".

    agent kallus- callous- showing or having cruel disregard for others.

    pre-vizla- pre-visualization.

    darth bane- bane- a cause of great stress.

    darth plagueis- plague- cause continual problems or stress- a disease.

    hondo ohnaka- hondo- a 1953 film with john wayne.

    cad bane- cad- a man who acts with deliberate disregard for another's feelings or rights

    asajj ventress- named after the character Asaji from Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood
     
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  4. Cael-Fenton

    Cael-Fenton Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 22, 2006
    Kenobi - 'sword-belt'
    Qui-Gon - from qiqong, the Chinese traditional sort-of equivalent of yoga. In this context, gong means 'practice' or 'art', as in cultivated skill; qi means life energy/force (its basic literal meaning is, roughly, 'breath').

    The Dark Water one is cool, I hadn't caught that.

    And here I was thinking Nute had something to do with ray guns :p
     
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  5. Darth Eddie

    Darth Eddie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 14, 2013
    For some there are multiple influences/precedents:
    Geonosis - Geo/"earth" + gnosis/"Knowledge"
    Endor - one of Tolkien's elvish names for Middle-Earth

    Some others:
    Kamino- camino, spanish for road or street
    Organa- Organism/Organic etc.

    Some sillier ones:
    Jar Jar Binks - something silly Jett Lucas said when he was little
    Ima Gun Di - "I'm gonna die", a name for a 'redshirt' tcw jedi who doesn't survive the episode.

    And my favorite of all: Luke- George Lucas, derp.
     
  6. Seagoat

    Seagoat Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2013
    Actually, I don't know if it was intentional or not, but Luke is a name with Greek origins, best translated as "light giving." Rather fitting, considering his actions
     
  7. Darth Eddie

    Darth Eddie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 14, 2013
    I see your point, but there's no way it wasn't intentional.

    As a writer myself, I know a writer named Lucas wouldn't pull "Luke" out of nowhere.
     
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  8. ATMachine

    ATMachine Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2007
    Endor isn't from Tolkien's Middle-earth (that would be Arda), it's actually from the Witch of Endor mentioned in the Bible.

    Luke is clearly a Biblical name, but when combined with Skywalker it also invokes the pagan symbolism of Loki. Just as Frank Herbert did with the name Paul Atreides (Atreides means "son of Atreus," usually referring to the brother-kings Menelaus and Agamemnon from Homer's Iliad). And yes, the resemblance to Lucas is surely intentional.

    And as long as we're doing name from the early drafts:

    Aquilae is named after the Latin genitive of the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. (Its brightest star, Altair, is also known as Alpha Aquilae.)

    In the 1974 rough draft, Aquilae was the name of the desert planet ruled by Princess Leia. The name begins with the letter A and has three syllables, like Frank Herbert's Arrakis. But it's also meant to recall Aquilonia, the kingdom ruled by Conan the Barbarian in Robert E. Howard's stories.
     
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  9. Cael-Fenton

    Cael-Fenton Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 22, 2006
    Endor is the Quenya name for Middle-earth, as in, the mortal-inhabited lands. Arda is the name of Tolkien's whole physical world (including the Great Sea, the atmosphere and the 'immortal' islands in the West).
     
  10. B3

    B3 Chosen One star 6

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    Jan 21, 2014
    The inflected form Endorenna "into Middle-earth" occurs in the text of ROTK.

    I do, however, suspect GL got the name from the Bible rather than Tolkien.
     
  11. ATMachine

    ATMachine Jedi Master star 4

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    Feb 27, 2007
    Hmm, I guess I was wrong. I bow to your superior Tolkien knowledge. I haven't re-read The Silmarillion in a long time, so I'd forgotten that Endor made it into the finished text.

    Lucas does seem to have read The Silmarillion when it came out back in 1977, so it's quite possible after all that he did get the name from Tolkien.
     
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  12. Cael-Fenton

    Cael-Fenton Jedi Master star 3

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    Jun 22, 2006
    LOL, I didn't mean to sound all "iamverysmart", sorry about that. I do think the name is from the Bible, rather than Tolkien, too.
     
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  13. ATMachine

    ATMachine Jedi Master star 4

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    Feb 27, 2007
    Oh, I wasn't making fun of you by any means. I really was impressed.

    And given the evidence you provided, I actually do think it's quite likely that The Silmarillion was an influence on the planet name in ROTJ. After all, Tolkien's book appears to have been a major influence on the early plot outlines for Willow.
     
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  14. Lt.Cmdr.Thrawn

    Lt.Cmdr.Thrawn Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 23, 1999
    Alderaan is also, I believe, the name of an asterism that is no longer recognized / "official."

    Interesting connection between 'Utapau' and 'utopia.' I never noticed that one.

    And if I recall, Massassi (a tribe name, though not related to Masaai I don't think) appears in a description in The Hero With A Thousand Faces.
     
  15. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    Skywalker: one who walks the sky.

    I'll let myself out, thanks anyway.
     
  16. Cael-Fenton

    Cael-Fenton Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 22, 2006
    Mustafar - from mustapha (Arabic), 'chosen one'. As in divinely chosen: it's an epithet for the Prophet.
     
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  17. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    That's what Wikipedia says, at least:


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alderaan_(astronomy)
     
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  18. Seagoat

    Seagoat Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jan 25, 2013
    If we're going by the original drafts....

    Starkiller: one who kills the star
     
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  19. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

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    Oct 4, 1998
    Whoa... Dude... That's, like, so totally deep, man... The symbolism, like, makes you really think, you hear what I'm saying, right? It's like, I dunno, poetry or something.
     
  20. Imperial Reject

    Imperial Reject Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Dec 6, 2012
    Mortis is Latin for Death. thought that was pretty cool
     
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  21. ATMachine

    ATMachine Jedi Master star 4

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    Feb 27, 2007
    To be precise, it's Latin for "of death," being in the genitive (possessive) case instead of the nominative, or subject case (which would be mors).
     
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  22. ATMachine

    ATMachine Jedi Master star 4

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    Feb 27, 2007
    Let's revive this excellent thread.

    Carlist Rieekan -- "Carlist" is derived from "Charles," and in fact comes from a conservative, monarchist political faction in 19th century Spain (which initially called for a Spanish prince named Charles to become King). "Rieekan" comes from French requin, or "shark."

    The whole name is a pun of sorts, both on King Kala of the Shark Men, an antagonist in Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon comics, as well as on Charles Martel (whose epithet means "the Hammer" in medieval French), a famous warlord in Dark Age France who was the grandfather of Charlemagne.

    Lucas seems to have a decent command of French: one of the minor villains in the 1974 rough draft is a defeatist senator of Aquilae named Count Sandage. This name comes from the French sondage, or "opinion poll," suggesting his characterization as a cravenly populist politician. (For that matter, much of the onscreen text in THX 1138 shows a futuristic English written with French-style spellings.)

    Turning to the original 1973 Journal of the Whills, the first name of Mace Windy clearly references the mace of medieval weaponry. This was probably inspired by Lancelot in Arthurian legends, whose name obviously contains the word "lance." In fact, in TH White's Arthurian novel The Once and Future King, Lance is frequently used as a nickname for Sir Lancelot by his friends.

    Meanwhile, Mace Windy's last name was later conferred on Princess Leia's younger brother in the 1974 rough draft, the five-year-old Windy--whose full name is actually stated to be Windom.

    The Windy/Windom pair suggests the original source of this name: H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel She: A History of Adventure. Haggard's book tells the story of the young man Leo Vincey, who journeys to a lost city in the heart of Africa. The city is ruled by the fabulously beautiful white queen Ayesha, who reveals to Leo that she is immortal, and that he is actually the reincarnation of her long-dead lover, Kallikrates of ancient Greece.

    Before his death, the original Kallikrates fathered a son with another woman. She raised the child with instructions to take vengeance on Ayesha, who stole her lover, and to pass this legacy of revenge on, should he fail to kill Ayesha himself. Over the centuries, the family surname reflected this aspiration, taking first the form of Latin Vindex, which Haggard takes to mean "avenger," before finally mutating to Vincey in English.

    The story of Ayesha is narrated by Leo's older guardian, who raised him from boyhood: Ludwig Horace Holly, a professor at Cambridge. Holly is frequently referred to by his initials in Haggard's narrative, especially in footnotes signed by him ("L.H. Holly" or just "L.H.H."). This is probably the origin of Chuiee Two Thorpe, or C.J. Thorpe for short, as the name of the narrator of the Journal of the Whills fragment.

    As for the Jedi masters of the final films:

    Yoda's name comes from the letter yodh of the Hebrew alphabet. This is the smallest letter in that alphabet, being written with a single stroke. But precisely for that reason, it is assigned supreme power by Kabbalistic mystical tradition--all traits obviously applicable to Yoda himself.

    Yoda's original first name, Minch, likely comes from munchkin. In early story notes for ESB, he was called Bunden Debannen, or Buffy for short. The nickname of "Buffy" probably is meant to suggest his nature as a small water-dwelling creature: bufo is Latin for "toad."

    Ben Kenobi's first name probably derives from Ban Cruach, a legendary warrior and guardian of human settlers against evil Martians in Leigh Brackett's short story Black Amazon of Mars. (Lucas was evidently well aware of Brackett's fiction already.)

    However, the "wan" in Obi-wan likely comes from Don Juan, the central character in Carlos Castaneda's books about New Age shamanism, including the 1974 Tales of Power.
     
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  23. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    I wondered if Sith might have come from Irish mythology - Sidhe - which is sometimes spelled Sith.
     
  24. ATMachine

    ATMachine Jedi Master star 4

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    Feb 27, 2007
    More likely it comes from the use of Sith as the name for a giant venomous wasp in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels. The same books also gave us "banth," as the name for a Martian lion-type creature.

    It's certainly possible that the Irish Sidhe were an influence on the name--and a quite good suggestion--but the particular spelling, at the least, almost certainly comes from Burroughs' fiction.
     
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  25. Seagoat

    Seagoat Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jan 25, 2013
    As far as I'm aware, isn't "Sith" Gaelic for "fairy?"