CT Luke's Last name

Obviously contains spoilers from the classic trilogy, but If you haven't seen that, why are you here?
So here's a question I've always had:
Luke was raised with his father's surname, Skywalker, unlike Leia who was raised Leia Organa. From what I understand about the Star Wars universe, Skywalker isn't a very common name. I was also under the belief that most people in the galaxy knew of Anakin Skywalker, since he was a very notable Jedi and Clone Wars hero, and that he was tempted to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader So Luke Skywalker himself, or any other people that knew him, never drew any kind of strings between Vader, or at least Anakin, to Luke himself since they bare the same name? I know by the time the classic trilogy came about, the Jedi were practically viewed as a myth. But it wasn't that much of a time gap. You're telling me no one was like, "Luke Skywalker? You mean like, Anakin Skywalker?".
Is there something I'm missing?

 

In one interview, Lucas said it was:


http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Skywalker_wine

 

-I'm assuming most people didn't know the connection between Anakin and Vader. Anakin Skywalker probably died with the rest of the Jedi for the galaxy. Darth Vader was a new figure.

-Why are you assuming Luke was raised with his father's surname? For all we know, he wasn't.

 

"I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you." combined with no hints that Ben has revealed to Luke that his old name is false.

 

I was sure people had called to him as Skywalker, before he officially knew he was Vader's son

 

Well, Ben has revealed the true identity of his father. He could've revealed Luke's real last name as well.
The truth is that when we first see Luke, he's just some farmer boy who's called Luke who thinks his father was a pilot.
When he calls himself "Luke Skywalker" to Leia, he is, in a way, assuming his own identity as the son of his lost father he's just discovered.

 

Not before he knew his father was a Jedi Knight (named Anakin Skywalker).

 

I can see how very few may have known Anakin became Vader. I guess that was knowledge only known to those close to Anakin like Yoda and Kenobi

 

Ben never actually says Anakin's name in his conversation with Luke in ANH - only in ROTJ.

 

In the novelization, "Blue Leader" (later renamed Red Leader for the movie) recognises the name.


"Aren't you Luke Skywalker? Have you been checked out on the Incom T-65?"
"Sir," Biggs put in before his friend could reply, "Luke's the best bush pilot in the outer-rim territories."
The older man patted Luke reassuringly on the back as they studied his waiting ship. "Something to be proud of. I've got over a thousand hours in an Incom sky hopper myself." He paused a moment before going on.
"I met your father once when I was just a boy, Luke. He was a great pilot. You'll do all right out there. If you've got half your father's skill, you'll do a damn sight better than all right."
"Thank you, sir. I'll try."
"There's not much difference control-wise between an X-wing T-65," Blue Leader went on, "and a skyhopper." His smile turned ferocious. "Except the payload's of a somewhat different nature."

 

The movie scene (for the Special Edition) is a little shorter.

 

I know he doesn't, but we can assume they do mention his name. Whether or not Luke already knew his father's full name is not known. And to be honest, it's more logical that he didn't.
Again, think in the context of a chronologial presentation of the films: we go from "hidden, safe, the children must be kept" to "Luuuke!!" being a naive boy who was kept in the dark about his father (who indeed, was a famous Jedi named Anakin Skywalker). It can be assumed that he was called "Luke Lars" while he was growing up with his uncle.
In any case, whatever Lucas says about Skywalker being a common name is not supported at all by the films.

 

Luke knows that his father is named Anakin, long before ROTJ. Owen and Beru would mention it. But the reason Luke kept his last name was that Owen Lars chose not to change it to Lars. Anakin was well known, but not many of Luke's friends had heard of him. And he spent most of his time around Anchorhead than he did in Mos Eisley and Mos Espa. Most of Tatooine's residents didn't know or didn't care as to who he was. Leia was given the name Organa by Bail and Breha because they were much closer to Coruscant and would thus have a greater risk of running into Vader and Sidious.

 

On Tattooine, 'Anakin Skywalker' would probably have been recognised as 'that slave boy who raced' and perhaps the Jedi depending on how much the war really affected the planet (probably not much.)

 

I've never been there, but Tatooine seems like a place where not much is happening. In TPM, how well-known were Shmi & Anakin Skywalker? Very little known it seemed, other than to Watto. In ANH, how well-known was Luke as a 'Skywalker'?? Probably not known at all as a Skywalker, b/c he was raised by Owen & Beru Lars ('Lars' not 'Skywalker'). Plus, Uncle Owen seemed to keep a short leash on young Luke.

So, the chances seems very very small that the same person/ creature/ droid being familiar with Anakin & his last name, AND being familiar with Luke & his last name.

 

I always figured Skywalker was as common as Smith or Jones; after all, Shmi Skywalker was just a slave.

Just once, I'd like a new character to introduce himself, "Hi, I'm John Skywalker. No, no relation to that famous guy."

 

I think the answer is very simple. Owen and Beru didn't change Luke's name because they didn't know that they were hiding him.

I bet Obi-Wan didn't tell Owen and Beru any more than he initially told Luke about what had happened to Anakin.
Remember, Owen and Beru barely knew Anakin, and they didn't know Obi-Wan at all. So, if you're Obi-Wan and you're hoping this family will take in this child on the word of some strange Jedi they've just met, which story would you go with?

"Hello, you don't know me, but my name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I was a friend of Anakin Skywalker. Remember Anakin? This is his son. Unfortunately, both of his parents died at the end of the Clone Wars, and you're the only family this boy has left. Will you take him?"

Or ...

"Hello, you don't know me, but my name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I was a friend of Anakin Skywalker. Remember Anakin? This is his son. Unfortunately, Anakin turned to the Dark Side, became Darth Vader, and killed the boy's mother Padme. Remember Padme? I ended up cutting off Anakin's limbs and setting him on fire. It's absolutely imperative that the galactic government never finds out this child exits, because if it does, the family will probably be slaughtered. Will you take him?"

Yeah, I'm thinking the first one is a much easier sell.

If you're trying to figure out how much Owen and Beru knew, there's really only one scene to look at.

BERU: Owen, he can't stay here forever, most of his friends have gone. It means so much to him.
OWEN: I'll make it up to him next year. I promise.
BERU: Luke's just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him.
OWEN: That's what I'm afraid of.

Now, it's easy to see Owen's last line as suggesting he knows the truth, but does he? Here's the thing, they're discussing Luke transmitting an application to the Imperial Academy. If Owen and Beru know the full story, then they know that this is something that must never happen. Yet here it looks like Beru is either trying to convince Owen to reconsider, or at least warning him that he's not going to be able to stall Luke forever. Owen says he'll make it up to Luke next year. If he knew Luke couldn't ever apply for the Academy, what's he talking about? One more thing, if Owen is just stringing Luke along about "next year" while knowing that Luke can't ever transmit that application, he's running the huge risk that Luke will wake up in the middle of the night, say "screw it", and submit that application without telling his aunt and uncle. At this point, continuing to shield Luke from the truth is much more dangerous than just telling him.

Owen isn't afraid of Luke becoming Darth Vader. He's afraid of Luke running off on some damn fool idealistic crusade and getting himself killed, like he thinks Anakin did. That's why he told Luke that Anakin was a navigator on a spice freighter. He thinks he's shielding Luke from the truth that his father was a Jedi, and he has no idea at all that his father is a Sith Lord.

So, since they don't actually realize that there's anything that Luke is hiding from, they call him "Skywalker" for the simple reason that that's his name. Obi-Wan was relying on the remoteness of Tatooine and the "stay at home and mind your own business" attitude of the Lars to keep Luke out of the spotlight during his childhood.

 

Owen and Beru knew that they were hiding Luke. That's why Owen tells Luke that his father was a navigator on a freighter and not a Jedi Knight and doesn't want Luke to hang around Obi-wan. Beru knows that Luke cannot stay hidden forever and that he needs to live his own life, but Owen is too attached to Luke and too afraid to see him be lost. Whether they knew that Anakin was alive as Vader is unknown.

 

I figure Ben Kenobi (and now I have to specify which Ben I'm writing about) told them Ani was dead (true, from a certain point of view) and so was Padme. He gave them Luke because they were family and he knew they'd look after him. He probably also told them, "Keep him safe, don't tell anyone the details, don't ask any more questions." The disagreement, I'd say, was probably over Uncle Owen not wanting to Luke to follow Kenobi and get killed, rather than any concern over the Dark Side or Vader, assuming Uncle Owen even knew Vader existed, beyond some vague news from the Imperial regions.

As for Luke's name, they probably figured it's a good name borne by two good people, why act like Luke isn't entitled to it? Plus, Skywalker may not be as common as Antilles, but it may not be all that rare, either. (Remember, in TESB, the name Skywalker meant nothing to Lando, either in relation to Anakin or Luke, so others might have the same reaction.) So, there may just have been a moment where someone asked Luke, "Are you related to that kid who won the Boonta Eve Race, or one of the Jedi we heard about?", and Luke would just say, "No, I don't think so." Given the size of the galaxy, I'm sure you'd run into more than a few Skywalkers, like Shmi's relatives we still know nothing about.

Now I wonder if, whenever somebody got a bit too innocently inquisitive, Ben would show up and Jedi-neuralize them with, "You don't need to know about Luke's family. He's just a normal farmboy. Move along."

 

What if Luke went by Luke Amidala?

 

I have to question his Aunt and Uncles place of residence. It was a dire place. Jabba the Hut ran a huge crime syndicate and Tuskan people routinely attacked people who left the settlement. To use a modern day comparison like sending Luke to live in Egypt. So nobody back on Yavin 4 would have any idea he was related to the war hero Anakin a long forgotten Jedi Knight who served a long forgotten Jedi Council in a long forgotten Galactic Republic.

 

When Luke joined the Alliance, the members knew who he was. The son of the Hero Without Fear, who fought in the Clone Wars and won many victories and as far as they knew, died when the Jedi Purge took place. By that point, Luke was no longer trying to remain safely anonymous. He had no reason to not identify himself as the son of a great Jedi and pilot.

 

This to me is one of the strangest parts of the movie...if you're trying to hide someone, why allow them to keep their last name and live with relatives of the person you're hiding them from, and on that person's home planet.