How did George Lucas come up with all these strange Star Wars names? Here I've tried to explain them all.
I've searched the Internet and looked in books and this is the result: (some of these explaination might be wrong)
Ackbar = An Arabic title meaning "very great"; Akbar Kahn was the great just ruler Mogul whose Empire spanned all N. India from Kashmir to Behar;
Adi Gallia = gallia is an ancient region of western Europe that included northern Italy, France, Belgium and part of Germany and the Netherlands;
Alderaan = Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover Books 1975 contains "The Noble House of Alderan (possibly Aldaran)". Aldaran rebelled against the other aristocrats and their domain was ravaged by arcane technology;
Amidala = Amydalla means "beauty" in Buddhism; Amidala also means "tonsils" in Portuguese; Amidala - Dalai Lama. Teenagers ruling a nation attacked by outside forces and forced to sign a treaty making the invasion legal; Amitabha is the sanskrit word for "infinite light"; Amida is a god that Buddhists pray to; Amygdala is a part of the brain;
Anakin = ana is an equal quantity - Jedi vs Sith?; ana is mother of the ancient Irish gods; ana is also a collection of anecdotes about a person or place; kin is the sam thing as kind; kin is a primitive Chinese instrument of the cittern kind; kin is a diminutive suffix; kin is relationship or consanguinity or affinity; kin is connection by birth or marriage, realtives; kin is near connection or alliance; The "Anakim" are a race of giants from the Old Testament (Hebrew) "the sons of the gods [who] lay with the daughters of men" [Genesis 6:4]; Anakin means "without relatives"...; anakin comes from late director Ken Anakinn?; ana-kin - Kind/Related to both side of the force?;
Antilles = a group of Islands in the Carribean/West Indies; At the 12th Century, Antilles was a popular name amongst the Norman nobility;
Aurra Sing = Aurra comes from the word "aura" which means "a subtle sensory stimulus or a distinctive atmosphere surrounding a given source."; Sing is pronounced "singe," with a J sound on the end. Singe means "to burn superficially or lightly, to scorch; especially to remove the hair, down, or fuzz from usually by passing rapidly over a flame.";
Aves = Latin: plural of "avis" (=bird); ave is latin for goodbye or hello;
Bail = custody, keeping, to deliver - sounds like our Bail!; deliver something in trust to somebody for a special purpose and for a limited period - Leia!; The person or persons who procure the release of a prisoner from the custody of the officer, or from imprisonment, by becoming surely for his appearance in court; a line of palisades serving as an exterior defense; "Baal" is a Canaanite god in the Old Testament; baal is a Semitic root for "lord" or "master"; two bails are set atop of a cricket wicket. They form a kind of crown;
Bane = Bane means "ruin, death, of the cause of this";
(Ben) Obi-Wan Kenobi = Ben is Hebrew for "Son"; Obi is an African name which means "heart"; obi is the karate or kimono belt; Okwu Nkasi Obi, means words of comfort; Obi means "soul" in Swahili; obi is a religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft; Wan is an Old English word which means "dark." also "unnaturally pale from grief"; Wan means thin (Anglo-Saxon: wan = wane); Japanese: Wan means ten thousand, myriad or a great number or a scorpion; a form of the word win; Ken means knowledge of, to understand, to recognize; Ken is a house which is a resort for thieves; ken is to look around; ken is also a flaming user. This was originated by a software support group because the two greatest flamers in the user community were both named Ken; A theory: Kenobi was a clone line's template, so Obi-Wan derives from "OB-1";
Beru = is an island north of Fiji;
Bib Fortuna = Fors Fortuna was a Roman Goddess whose temple across the Tiber from the city was one of the few that slaves could attend. She represented luck; One meaning of bib is a piece of cloth to protect clothes and catch spilled food while eating;
Biggs Darklighter = Biggs may reflect on "big brother"; Darklighter evokes the quote "better to light a candle than curse the darkness";
Boba = Boba is the spanish word for "stupid"; Polish: Boba means "trapper (usually of marmots)";
Bollux = sounds like the Brittish slang for testicles: "bollocks";
B-wing = blade-wing: with extended foils, the fighter resembles a dagger;
Byss = An abyss is a bottomless chasm; Greek: byssus or byssos is a veil;
Chewbacca = from "chewing tobacco";
Chimaera = Greek: chimaira/chimera means "she-goat"; a mythological creature with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent which was defeated by Bellerophon (watch Mission Impossible II); Biotech: an organism that comes from different spieces or has different genders;
Clegg = large swift fly the female of which sucks blood of various animals - Hugh!;
Cordé = corde is the ablative of the Latin word "cor" (gen:cordis) and "cor" means heart. If you translate the form "corde" to English it would mean something like: from the heart, of the heart, with heart;
Coruscant = glittering in flashes, flashing (comes from Latin: "coruscare");
Dagobah = is a dome-shaped structure built over relics of Buddha;
Darth = Welsh: mist, vapor, fog; may come from DARk lord of the siTH;
Dengar = is actually a play with the word "Danger.";
Dodonna, General = Dodonna is a famous oracle in the village of Dodona in Epiros, and the most ancient of Greece. It was dedicated to Zeus. There's a greek phrase: Kalkos Dodona meaning a babbler;
Dooku = japanese: poison;
Dormé = spanish/french: sleep;
Eirtaé = Eitre is a male dward in Nordic mythology;
Endor = The witch of Endor was consulted by King Saul (1Sam:28:7); Quenya: Endor means Middle-Earth (from Lord Of The Rings, Aragorn's coronation); Endor fountain of Dor; Endor is a place in the territory of Issachar (Josh. 17:11) near the scene of the great victory which was gained by Deborah;
Ephant Mon = "Elephant Man" with a visual similarity;
Executor = Killer; Enforcer;
Fett = German/Swedish: fat, grease; Fett - "fetter," means "to restrict or confine - a chain or bond fastned round the ankle.";
4-LOM = "For Love Of Money";
Gallandro = May come from "gallant" and Greek: "andros" = "man";
Gaeriel Captison = Gabriel is the archangel connected to the virgin birth of Mary; "Ariel" means "lion of God"; Captison may come from "captain's son" or "captive's son";
Garm Bel Iblis = Nordic Mythology: Garm is the big, dangerous watchdog of Hel (Hell); Bel is a Babylonian god (see Bail); Islamic lore: Iblis is the chief jinn - the Devil;
Gungan = George Lucas son came up with this.
Han Solo = Solo means (performing) alone; Han means "he" in Swedish and Danish and more; Han is an archaic English form of "John"; Han Solo is related to the Sacred Hebrew name Yahweh (which is connected with the Ark of The Covenant which was the subject of Raiders of The Lost Ark, one of the first films produced by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, also starring Harrison Ford). Hans is a short form of Johanns (a Germanic name) which comes from the first syllable, "Yah". "Weh" might mean alone;
Hoth = Nordic mythology: a blind god who misled by Loki kills Balder; the name of a German general from world war 2 who was defeated at the eastern front in cold and freezing snow; Hoth is an English word that means "dweller at a heath or wasteland"; Hotham is also the name of an inlet in Alaska;
Imperial Officers = All names have five letters and two alike together: Motti, Tagge, Ozzel, Piett, Veers, Needa, Haako;
Jabba the Hutt = Hutt comes from the name of "Ulrich von Hutten" (1488-1523), a German humanist and soldier whose works show strong opposition to the authority of the pope - opposition to the Empire; Jabba may come from the nonsense poem "The Jabberwocky" in Lewis Carroll’s "Through the Looking Glass"; To Jabber (15th Century imitation) is to speak or say things rapidly without making sense;
Jango = similiar to the word "Jingo," which means "one who supports a belligerent foreign policy, a patriot"; may come from the movie DJANGO (a western about a loner gunslinger);
Jar Jar = a jar is a harsh sound; slight disagreement; A deep, broad-mouthed vessel of earthenware or glass, for holding fruit etc; To cause a short, tremulous motion of: to jar one's faith;
Jedi = Lucas said in an interview that he was inspired by a Jidai Geki (samurai-era soap opera) on TV during a visit to Japan, (jidai means age, time, era, period.); "JO-dai" is the Chinese term for "Jewish" which could lead us to Jedi or Yoda.; jedi is the same as yeti, it’s just a matter of a letter, it’s really the same word. Yeti is the name of Sasquatch (Bigfoot); yedi in turkish means "Seven" (though pronounced as yeh-dee);
Jocasta Nu = nu is the 13th letter of the Greek alphabet; nu sounds like new (and is translated to new from Swedish) and is therefore heavily used for vanity domains;
Joruus C'Baoth Dutch: "Joris" is a form of "George"; "C'Baoth" comes from the Bible phrase "Lord God Sabaoth" which means "Lord God of Hosts" (hosts - army- and parasiteowner);
Katana The longer of the two swords a samurai carried;
Ki-Adi-Mundi = Sumerian: ki is a goddess personifying earth;
Klaatu, Barada, Nikto = (the guards that were going to drop Luke and the others into the Sarlacc pit). The names come from the classic "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1950) where Klaatu tells Helen that if anything happens to him, she should go the spaceship and say: "Klaatu barada nikto" to Gort;
Lama Su = Lama is a Hebrew word meaning why; A monk from Thibet; Swedish: plural of lame; Swedish: llama/alpaca;
Lars = a Nordic name; Rom. Mythology: a deceased ancestor regarded as a protector of the family, household gods;
Leia = Hebrew: Leahis the name of one of the Matriarchs (Rachel's sister and first wife of Jacob); Greek: light or white; Sematic: Leila means "night"; Assyrian: leah menas mistress; Hebrew: "Leah" means "wild cow" or "weary"; "Lea" is the femine form of "Leo" (=lion);
Lianna (pseudonym of Mara Jade; an Imperial Base); Alternate form of "Eliane" from Greek: 'helios' (=sun); The liana is a tropical vine that insinuates thorny tendrils into the trees it climb upon, and eventually strangles them;
Lobot a combination of "lobe" and "robot"; or a form of "lobotomy";
Lott Dod = a combination of Trent Lott (a Senator from Mississippi) and Christopher Dodd (a Senator from Connecticut);
Luke = Greek: leukos - light, white; English: light or white or luminous; moderately warm; Luke means "a descendant of Lucas." and also Luke S. - Lucas; Biblic: Luke the apostle, was a doctor and a Gentile; Luke is smilar to the evil and smart Nordic Mythology God, Loke/Loki/Lopt/Locke (who is the master of changing, disguiseing and transforming) whose name means "to lock", "to catch", "to keep" or "spider" - Se also "Skywalker;
Mace Windu = A mace is a spire, sceptre, heavy club of metal, a spiked club; speaker or some sort of bureaucrat; A money of account in China equal to one tenth of a tae; An officer who carries a mace as an emblem of authority; A rod for playing billiards, having one end suited to resting on the table and pushed with one hand.; a liquid that temporarily disables a person when sprayed in face; Windu means wind?; windows?;
Mandalorian = Sanskrit: "mandala" means circle;
Mara Jade = (created by Timothy Zahn) Hebrew: Mara = bitter; Hindu: Mara means evil, enemy; also dangerous; Kama-Mara is the Buddhist deity of love and death; Jade is a precious green stone; jade means old, worthless or hussy;
Maul = German: muzzle; hurt badly by beating; to handle clumsily; a heavy two handed hammer;
Millennium Falcon (model YT-1300) = MG (Morris Garages), famous for the MGB of the '60s and '70s once made a cat known as the YT tourer which was equiped with a 1300 cc engine;
Mon Calamari = Greek/Italian: calamari means "squids.";
Mon Mothma = French: Mon means my; Moth is short for "mother" and so is ma: Mon Mothma = My mother; Japanese: crest of a noble house; Greek: monos means one, similar: monarch;
Mos Espa = Moses path;
Naboo = Nabu, Babylonian god of nature;
Nute Gunray = Nute comes from former Congressman Newt Gingrich. Gunray comes from former President Ronald Reagan (Reagan - the syllables were switched and the spelling changed). This might be a revenge for Reagan's Defense System which he named "Star Wars", which GL really didn't like!;
Organa = organic, pure; an Old French name meaning "Organ Maker"; Lucas originally spelled the name Ogana;
Owen = Welsh: Owen means Well born; Irish: Owen means young fighter; Japanese: Ouen means help, support; A theory: Owen was a clone line's template, so Owen derives from "OB-1" - se also (Ben) Obi-Wan Kenobi;
Padmé = means "lotus" in Sanskrit. From the sacred mantra of Tibetan Buddhists, "Om Mani Padme Hum" ("Oh jewel in the lotus");
Palpatine = clueless ?; Palpatate means "a violent, uncontrolled spasm."; Palpate means "examining by feeling, with the fingers"; In 17th Century's Austria, there was a man named Palatine (a lowly senator who manipulated his way into power); Latin: palatinus: a feudal lord having sovereign power within his domains or a high officer of an imperial palace; Latin: Palatine, "Mons Palatinus" is the one of Romes seven hills, where the building of the city began. Palatinus now means Imperial and Palatium - Palace;
Panaka = panaca is a royal corporation to which Inca Rulers belonged;
Peregrine = a very large falcon; Peregrine means "foreign or wandering"; "Peregrin" is sometimes given in honor to early saints; Spanish: Pelegrino - pilgrim;
Quadinaros(sp) = four digits or letters;
Qui-Gon Jinn = a form of the word go; Hebrew: Qui means good; Gon is an ancient Muslim term for "wields"; Jinn is middle English for "stick that glows with light but only cauterises"; A "djinn" or a "jinn" is a spirit in Arab mythology supposed to have several forms - Qui-Gon a changeling?; Islamic lore: the chief jinn is the Devil; Chinese beliefs: Qi-Gong translates to "Path of Life";
Rabé = Spanish: wag the tail;
Rancor = implies personal malice of the worst and most enduring nature, and is the strongest word in English to express hostile feelings;
Ree-Yees = comes from "Three Eyes" (which the alien has);
R2-D2 = "Reel 2, Dialogue 2" was used on set during the filming of American Graffiti;
Rukh = is an enormous bird in Arabic legend, might be the Phoenix;
Rune Haako = Haakon is a Norwegian name; Rune is a Nordic name;
Sabé = In the language of the Tewa Indians, kema means "friend" and sabe means "Apache."; spanish: she/he knows; means path, life, road, or culture in ? language;
Saché = german: shop, thing;
Salacious Crumb = Salacious comes from Latin "salac-" which means "to move spasmodically, leap"; Crumb means small piece;
Shmi = also a hebrew name and it means 'My name is...'; comes from the name "Lakshmi" (the Goddess of success, prosperity, peace) which means "sign of fortune". Lakshmi is depicted holding one lotus flower and sitting on another. She is a perfection of Shakti, the Universal Mother;
Sidious = Insidious;
Sith = John Carter of Mars books: The Sith (evil insects); Old English: Since, afterwards; Old English: "time -s"; "Scythians" were the ancient warriors and nomads who lived on the north shores of the Black Sea. Their bodies were full of tattoos; Seth was the Egyptian God of Evil; Sith means "dirt" in some language; Irish: Sidhe (pronounced "she") means Faerie;
Skywalker = from Nordic Mythology: Loki or Loke, the evil God who was going to get his head cut off after losing a bet, stole a pair of shoes that let him travel in the sky. For that he got the name "lopt" which means skywalker. - Se also "Luke"; There's also a possible connection between Loke and Anakin's possible lava pit fall: When Loke had murdered the of-all-living-things loved God, Balder, the Gods imprisioned Loke and had a snape which dropped acid over his body;
Sturm and Drang = German: "storm and stress";
Talon Karrde = A talon is the hooked claw of a bird of prey; Karrde comes from "card";
Tarkin (Grand Moff) = Grand Moff is close to Grand Mogul (Persian origin); Moff is a surname of Teutonic origin, and "a thin silk made in Caucasia"; Tarkin comes from Lucrius Pricius Tarquinius (616 - 579) the 5th of the early kings of Rome whose grandson, Sextus Tarquinus committed the rape of Lucretia, for which the Tarquins were banished from Rome;
Tatooine = comes from where the scenes were shot in Tunisia: "Tatahouine";
TIE Fighter = "twin-ion engine"; Also reference to the craft's "bow-tie" shape;
Thrawn = Scottish: "twisted, unpleasant";
Tydirium: = Greek mythology: Tydeus was the father of Diomedes, a hero of the Trojan War;
Tyranus = tyrant;
Vader = dutch: father; invader;
Valorum = comes from Finis Valorum which is latin for "Final Value";
Watto = There was a French painter named Jean Antoine Watteau (19th Century) who died broke;
Wayland = a legendary evil Nordic smith (or Volund);
Wookiee = comes from the film THX-1138: "It sounds like you ran over a wookiee back there...";
Yané = roofs in japanese;
Yarael Poof = poof is an offensive terms for a homosexual man;
Yoda = Its root word yawdaw appears 111 times in the Old Testament, means "to give thanks or praise, throw down, cast, shoot." The word Yadah meaning "to praise, give thanks" stems from the root word Yawdaw and appears two times in the Old Testament (Daniel 2:23, Daniel 6:10); "JO-dai" is the Chinese term for "Jewish"; Punjabi: "great warrior"; Japanese: Yodan means "conclusion"; Hebrew: "yodeah" means "knows";
Total: 105 names explained
George Lucas has borrowed much from different films and books. These are some of them: Flash Gordon, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Joseph Campbells book "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", Lord Of The Rings, Fritz Lang's "Metropolis", Silent Running, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Far Out Space Nuts, Forbidden Planet, Ben Hur, The Wizard Of Oz, Dune and many more
Thanks to all the websites, books and people that's helped me with this. I'm very grateful! :) Some of these are:
Star Wars.com
TheForce.Net
University of Aldera
Paradox
Jitterbug
About Star Wars: the Ultimate Guide
Tell me if you want me to add a link to your "name-website" here or if you want me to put your name on my "I thank these people" - list for contributing with an explanation.
Discuss the names here: forums.starwars.com
Read more about the Star Wars characters here: The Official Star Wars Databank
Please tell me if you know of some possible explanation or can point out that one of the explanations above are wrong. Or if you want to add a strange star wars word that you know the explanation to or don't know the explanation to.
Do you want something else? Don't hesitate to e-mail me:
~ karlzen
Updated: 19 September 2002. (GMT+1) 09:11.