Why did Palpatine pick 'Vader' as a name for Anakin?

Question

When Anakin turned to the Dark Side Darth Sidious obviously saw fit to give him a new name:

PALPATINE: Henceforth you shall be known as Darth...Vader.

ANAKIN: Thank you, my master.

I've seen the question that's already been asked about the out-of-universe reason why George Lucas landed on the name Vader. I'm interested in whether there's an in-universe explanation for why Palpatine decided to call him what he did.

Was it just a random name plucked out of thin air? Did Palpatine pick it because he knew that Padmé was shortly due to give birth? Is there any preexisting connection between the name 'Vader' and the Dark Side of the Force?

Hmm. Sidious = Sneaky. Maul = Aggressive. Tyrannus = Megalomaniacal. Plageius = Medical. Vader = ??? — Valorum, Jan 18 '17 at 16:35
He had to think of a negative word beginning with "in" -- so he could then remove the "in" from it. — , Jan 18 '17 at 16:45
@Valorum - Vader = father. To mock Anakin for being of questionable parentage ("Your father is a midichlorian!") — DVK-on-Ahch-To, Jan 18 '17 at 17:52
@Terriblefan Now I'm imagining if he had named him Darth Credible. — Devsman, Jan 18 '17 at 21:29
Palpatine, who was originally Dutch, had daddy issues. On the other hand, he luvshish fahja und zo er nannte seinen Lehrling... Der Vader. — Omegacron, Jan 18 '17 at 22:53
@Valorum Vader = Traitor. He destroyed the Jedi Order from within. — jpmc26, Jan 18 '17 at 23:02
@NZKshatriya - speak for yourself. I've seen "Tripping the Rift" and that clown terrifies me. — Omegacron, Jan 19 '17 at 14:54
It was probably from a local pop song. "You're so Vader. You probably think this series is about you. You're so Vader..." — Machavity, Jan 19 '17 at 15:41
@Devsman Based on Anakin's personality, probably should have named him Darth Fantile. — TVann, Jan 19 '17 at 16:14
"Darth Icky" means you don't have to question anything about what George Lucas thinks. — Tony Ennis, Jan 19 '17 at 16:25

score 77 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

77

Per the Matthew Stover novelization, the name "Vader" was plucked from the Force itself (emphasis mine):

Darth Sidious laid a pale hand on Anakin's brow. "Then it is done. You are now one with the Order of the Dark Lords of the Sith. From this day forward, the truth of you, my apprentice, now and forevermore, will be Darth ..."

A pause; a questioning in the Force - An answer, dark as the gap between galaxies - He heard Sidious say it: his new name.

Vader.

^{Revenge of the Sith: The Official Novelization Chapter 17: "The Face of the Dark"}

But there's no indication of what it means, or why the Force chose it for him.

edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

Community

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answered Jan 18 '17 at 16:40

Jason Baker

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Darkness, obviously. Darth Darkness. – Mr Lister Jan 18 '17 at 16:43
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Maybe Palpatine saw into the future and knew what the name would be, and so had to give Annakin that name - Bootstrap paradox? – Longshanks Jan 18 '17 at 17:15
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@Alistair86 My working (headcanon) theory is that the Force chose a name meaning "Father", because prophecy – Jason Baker Jan 18 '17 at 17:20
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@JasonBaker vader is the Dutch word for father. – Glorfindel Jan 18 '17 at 18:00
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@Glorfindel https://i.stack.imgur.com/6NNcS.jpg – Jason Baker Jan 18 '17 at 18:05
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Darth Skippy was already taken. – user100464 Jan 18 '17 at 20:08
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@user100464 ...so was Darth Barney. – Criggie Jan 19 '17 at 03:17
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Ah yes, the good ol' Force Come Up With Sith Lord Names power. An often overlooked yet integral part of one's Dark Side training. – Thomas Jacobs Jan 19 '17 at 07:23
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See, this is why you have a Sorting Hat, so you can ask these things – Machavity Jan 19 '17 at 15:39
I expect that your headcanon is also Matthew Stover's; otherwise I'm not sure why he'd have bothered to included this little tidbit about how Palpatine came up with the name. – Kyle Strand Jan 19 '17 at 18:36
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Palpatine tossed his Ouija board after it suggested "Quijibow" 7 times. – Gorchestopher H Jan 19 '17 at 18:58
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@user100464 - Darth Skippy was of course Jar-jar's father. "Jar-jar, mesa your fadder!" – T.E.D. Jan 19 '17 at 22:25
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@GorchestopherH Kwyjibo – Luke Jan 04 '18 at 22:24

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 21 '21 at 17:42

I personally thought Sidious picked the name as a subtle mockery of Anakin. Sidious is the only one who knows that Anakin and Padme were married, so theres a good chance he probably knew she was pregnant too. Plus Palpatine worked along side Padme for years while she was Queen and he was a senator. He probably suspected something at a certain point. According to another comment, the force "revealed" the name to Sidious, and its not like the force isn't all-knowing so the name just naturally fit Anakin's situation. As it was her specific death in childbirth that is the inciting incident to him becoming a sith. So does work out rather well.

Why did Palpatine pick 'Vader' as a name for Anakin?

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