Star Wars: What Each Sith Lord’s Name Means

In the Star Wars universe, Sith Lords have a tradition of adopting intimidating titles, but what do each of their names truly mean? Names can reveal a lot, and many creators are careful when deciding on what to call their characters, sometimes picking words with important meanings behind them – and that’s very much the case with the Sith. The Sith were an ancient religious order of Force-wielders who worshipped and used the dark side of the Force, formed by those who abandoned the Jedi Order.

The word Sith was first used in the 1976 novelization of A New Hope but wasn’t used in the movies until Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The word itself has no relevant meaning behind it – it’s the archaic form of ‘since.’ However, while creating Star Wars, George Lucas was inspired by pulp sci-fi novels, possibly including Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series. In Burroughs’ books, there is a race of insects called Sith; which could’ve inspired Lucas. Another aspect to consider is the psychological symbolism of certain sounds. When we pronounce ‘Sith,’ it comes off as a hiss, and we subconsciously associate that noise with snakes and serpents, animals that are seen as duplicitous, poisonous creatures – an apt description to an evil order.

Meanwhile, Darth is a bit easier to understand. Lucas himself said Darth is a variation of the word ‘dark.’ What is interesting about the term is how it is used as an honorific for Sith warriors. Inspired by Arthurian legends, Lucas added Darth to function as the title Sir. This hinted at Vader’s backstory as a knight of an ancient order, and it’s one of those details that show how the original trilogy had incredible world-building. Since then, Darth has been placed before the names of all major Sith Lords when they take new identities and re-define themselves as servants of the dark side. The names that come after the Darth title, however, are a different matter.

Darth Bane

Darth Bane was an ancient Sith Lord who lived a thousand years before the events of the movies. Since the Sith Lords of his time were wiped out by the Jedi, Bane enacted the Rule of Two. To prevent their extinction, he decided there would be only two Sith at a time: a master and an apprentice; however, this was later retconned to mean there’s always two Lords of the Sith and the rest of the dark side users are merely beneath them. This allowed the Sith to stay in the shadows and build their strength using deception while avoiding direct conflict with the Jedi Order. Their goal was to gather enough power to completely dominate the galaxy.

The word bane means “a cause of great distress” and “death and destruction.” It can also mean poison, curse, and woe. So it’s hardly a mystery how this particular Sith Lord got his name. In many ways, he’s the bane of the Jedi. Thanks to his efforts, the Sith were able to remain mostly undetected and prepare their ultimate victory unchallenged. It’s because of Darth Bane that, thousands of years later, Sheev Palpatine was able to destroy the Republic from the inside and become Emperor of the Galactic Empire.

Darth Revan

Darth Revan was originally introduced in BioWare’s game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. A powerful Jedi who served in the Mandalorian Wars, Revan eventually fell to the dark side and turned against the Jedi. After Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, it’s unclear if this version of Revan’s original backstory is part of the Disney new canon or if it has been delegated to the Legends universe. What is certain is that Darth Revan is now confirmed to be part of Star Wars canon thanks to the official The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary.

The origin of the name Revan is unclear, but it might be a variation of the French word “revanche,” which means “revenge” or “retaliation.” Going by the character’s first appearance, this fits with Revan’s aggressive tactics to conquer and retaliate against the Mandalorians for stealing territories of the Old Republic. Also, BioWare’s game allowed players to follow the dark side, and if they did, Revan would follow a path of vengeance against the Jedi, who had tried to mind wipe the player and control them.

Darth Plagueis

Darth Plagueis was Emperor Palpatine’s master and a Sith Lord powerful enough to create life and prevent death. After he chose Sheev Palpatine as his apprentice, the two Sith worked together to achieve immortality, but the more power he acquired, the more fearful he became of losing it. Perhaps this fear combined the obsession with living forever made him blind to his apprentice’s true intentions. When Palpatine learned everything he wanted from Plagueis, he murdered his master while he slept. Plagueis was created by George Lucas when he wrote the prequel movies. Although there has been speculation that Palpatine never existed and was always Darth Plagueis, this theory was debunked by The Rise of Skywalker.

At first glance, Plagueis seems to be a derivative of the word ‘plague.’ Plagues spread disease and death worldwide, so it makes for a perfect name for a Dark Lord. After all, he was the one who unleashed the plague that was his apprentice into the world. But the name might’ve other influences as well; one of them could’ve been the ancient theologian Pelagius, a heretic who was condemned for his beliefs by the Roman Catholic Church in the fifth century. As Palpatine insinuates to Anakin, Plagueis’ attempts to stop death were considered heretic by the Jedi Council, who believed returning to the Force was a natural part of life.

Darth Sidious & Emperor Palpatine

Darth Sidious is the Sith Lord name for Sheev Palpatine, the man behind the Clone Wars and the end of the Galactic Republic. While his first appearance was in The Empire Strikes Back, Palpatine had been casting a shadow long before Luke Skywalker was born. He is the infamous architect of Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side and the destruction of the Jedi. But before he became the Emperor, he was Darth Sidious, a mysterious figure pulling the right strings so his public persona could rise in power.

One of the inspirations for the character of Emperor Palpatine was the Roman Emperor Augustus. Like Palpatine, Augustus grabbed power by denouncing the corruption in the senate and pressuring the democratic institutions to give him total authority to deal with a crisis. In keeping with the Roman connection, Augustus built his imperial palaces on the Palentine Hill in Rome. Although not exact matches, it’s possible this Latin word for palace led to the Emperor’s name. This fits with Sheev Palpatine’s regal backstory and political tactics.

As for Darth Sidious, his name is a play on ‘insidious,’ which means seductive, treacherous, and “having a gradual and cumulative effect.” Although the name Palpatine was used in the 1976 novelization of A New Hope, the Emperor’s Sith moniker would only be created in 1999. So it’s likely that Sidious was selected to reflect his shadowy role in the prequel trilogy and his manipulative influence over Anakin. The choice isn’t exactly subtle, but it does the job of conveying precisely who Palpatine is while embodying his Sith alter ego perfectly.

Darth Maul

Before Emperor Palpatine selected Anakin as his apprentice, he taught Darth Maul. A talented and powerful Force user, the Sith Lord fought Obi-Wan Kenobi and killed his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, in The Phantom Menace. Although his movie appearances have been short and he might not be as powerful as Darth Vader, Darth Maul nevertheless left his mark as another iconic villain of the Star Wars saga. It helps that Maul continued to show in other Star Wars media, such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.

As for his name, it comes from the verb ‘maul,’ which means to mangle and bruise. Darth Maul was certainly capable of mauling his enemies, but he’s also kind of mauled by Obi-Wan Kenobi, when the young Jedi used his lightsaber to cut the Sith Lord in half. The name is also similar to the French and Latin word ‘mal,’ which means evil and bad. Maul can also be a reference to a heavy hammer, indicating Maul’s role as a fighter and enforcer compared to Sidious’ scheming ways.

Darth Tyrannus

Darth Tyrannus was originally the Jedi Master Dooku. After leaving the Jedi Order, he overthrew his brother for the control of the entire planet of Serenno, taking the title of count. At some point, disillusioned with the Order and the Galactic Republic, Dooku became Darth Sidious’ second apprentice and was given the name Darth Tyrannus. Following Sidious’ plan to destabilize the Republic, Tyrannus led the Separatist movement that would eventually start the Clone Wars. In the end, he was betrayed by Sidious and decapitated by Anakin Skywalker, who would become Palpatine’s third apprentice. It’s possible Dooku didn’t even know Sidious’ true identity. But even if he did, the betrayal took him by surprise.

Dooku’s Sith name is inspired by the word tyrant. From the Latin word ‘tyrannia’ or ‘tyrannos,’ a tyrant is someone who holds absolute power and acts with cruelty and disregard for their subjects. This choice of name could be either a reference to how he saw the Republic as oppressive and unjust, or a reference to his cruel and sadistic leadership of the Separatist movement. As a count, he also held absolute power over his planet, where he likely ruled with an iron fist. Overall, it seems his name was meant to suggest he wasn’t only a weapon, like Maul, but someone capable of leading a political movement against the Republic and the Jedi Order.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader requires no introduction; the original big bad of the Star Wars trilogy, he’s probably one of the most famous villains of all time. His iconic design, perfectly cast voice, and ominous presence still impresses audiences even today, with his ending scene in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story being a recent example. With an entire trilogy dedicated to his past, Vader remains the central figure of the Star Wars saga. It’s widely known that his costume was inspired by the Japanese Samurai, and that his mechanical breathing combined with James Earl Jones’ deep voice makes for a perfect combination. But where did his name come from?

Although George Lucas claimed in 2005 that Vader was a Dutch variation of ‘father,’ it’s also known that he didn’t initially plan for Vader to be Luke’s father until The Empire Strikes Back. So what happened? Likely, Vader was either a reference to the word ‘invader’ or inspired by a schoolmate. In The Secret History of Star Wars, author Michael Kaminski claims the Sith Lord’s name was actually chosen because it was the last name of a bully at Lucas’ school. No matter its origins, Vader certainly sounds imposing, and it’s hard to imagine calling the Dark Lord of the Sith by any other name.

About The Author