So, I recently came upon a description of some countryside that used the word 'thrawn'. I was interested that it was an actual word (I had thought Timothy Zahn made it up) and looked up its definition. Apparently, 'thrawn' can mean:

1. twisted; crooked
2. perverse; ill-tempered
3. lacking in pleasing or attractive qualities
4. stubborn

I am not entirely sure of the validity of the definitions, but some came from the Merriam-Webster and some from the OED's online presences, so I think they are at least somewhat trustworthy. As such, I was wondering what you guys thought of the applicability of the name's meaning to the character? Or do you think it was a coincidence?

I would say Thrawn most certainly isn't twisted or 'lacking in pleasing qualities' physically (he isn't ugly, after all), so I would assume that the interpretations would have to apply to his character. Based on what I have read I do think he is stubborn, but of the sort that comes from sticking to what you know must be done/is the best course of action, not the sort that comes from pride. He seems to be relatively mild-mannered, so not particularly ill-tempered, nor does he seem perverse (indeed, the first 3 definitions would more properly be ascribed to the Emperor). I would say he is twisted and crooked, but then again so are most Imperials. At the very least he doesn't relish it.

Anyways, it was just a thing of mild interest that I thought I might throw out there (most likely this thread shall sink quickly to the bottom of the stack and not bother you again), on the off chance that you might find it interesting too.

On second thought (which came to me just after I hit post ) I should have put this in the off-topic forum. . . oh well.

TphwoooaaaaarN

Naming strategy of Star Wars big bad guys: use words that mean bad things. Doesn't need to be a connection to the meaning.

Darth Vader means Dark Father. Notable Darths: Bane, Sidious, Guile, Plagueis, Maul, Tyranus. Don't forget that Maul's brother was Savage Opress. General Grevious.

Thrawn's name doesn't fit his personality, but it fits the naming structure of Star Wars villians.

8 minutes ago, kmanweiss said:

Naming strategy of Star Wars big bad guys: use words that mean bad things. Doesn't need to be a connection to the meaning.

Darth Vader means Dark Father. Notable Darths: Bane, Sidious, Guile, Plagueis, Maul, Tyranus. Don't forget that Maul's brother was Savage Opress. General Grevious.

Thrawn's name doesn't fit his personality, but it fits the naming structure of Star Wars villians.

Those are Sith or near it though. I don't think it counts. By that logic, 'Jango Fett', 'Piett' 'Needa', 'Tarkin' etc would also have to mean similarly sinister things.

Most of the Imperial officers seem to have made-up names. Granted, Thrawn isn't his proper name, but it is what Mr. Zahn chose to use as a common name, and I was wondering, given the definition of the word, if people thought it was

1. coincidence
2. intended
3. applicable if intended
4. applicable if not intended
5. interesting

20 minutes ago, Ginkapo said:

TphwoooaaaaarN

Huh?

Side note - his full name is Mitth'raw'nuruodo

so, Thrawn could have been chosen because it matches a basic, (English) word.

Your question is overlooking about 4 syllabels:

Mitth’raw’nuruodo

Thrawn’s full name. I think that pokes a few holes in your theory.

Timothy Zahn modifies existing human languages to come up with alien ones. It’s a common practice among authors that fall somewhere between Tolkein and Lucas on naming conventions. In a recent interview Zahn admitted Sy Bisti is derived from Zulu.

http://www.starwars.com/news/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn-novel-interview

Interesting, the OED definition of ginkapo...

ginkapo (adj.)

1. Intentionally cryptic, especially in the realm of humor.

2. British.

(orig. Latin verb ginkapare which means "to tweak another's nose".)

34 minutes ago, Ginkapo said:

TphwoooaaaaarN

Am I right ladies. Yeah. tPHWOOAAAARRn

1 minute ago, Ginkapo said:

Am I right ladies. Yeah. tPHWOOAAAARRn

I rest my case.

8 minutes ago, GrandAdmiralCrunch said:

Side note - his full name is Mitth'raw'nuruodo

so, Thrawn could have been chosen because it matches a basic, (English) word.

6 minutes ago, jmswood said:

Your question is overlooking about 4 syllabels:

Mitth’raw’nuruodo

Thrawn’s full name. I think that pokes a few holes in your theory.

Timothy Zahn modifies existing human languages to come up with alien ones. It’s a common practice among authors that fall somewhere between Tolkein and Lucas on naming conventions. In a recent interview Zahn admitted Sy Bisti is derived from Zulu.

http://www.starwars.com/news/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn-novel-interview

I am aware of his full name. Still, names do have meaning, and names are chosen for their actual meaning just as often as not. So basically, what I meant was 'I know he abbreviated the name, but why to Thrawn - was there something specific about that word?'.

And, even if Zahn himself saw no connections, do you?

Zahn probably had a meaning in mind, but there is no point in speculating without knowing which he picked first: the long or short version.

38 minutes ago, GhostofNobodyInParticular said:

Those are Sith or near it though. I don't think it counts. By that logic, 'Jango Fett', 'Piett' 'Needa', 'Tarkin' etc would also have to mean similarly sinister things.

Most of the Imperial officers seem to have made-up names. Granted, Thrawn isn't his proper name, but it is what Mr. Zahn chose to use as a common name, and I was wondering, given the definition of the word, if people thought it was

1. coincidence
2. intended
3. applicable if intended
4. applicable if not intended
5. interesting

Huh?

I'd gamble that most of the names in Star Wars are based on something. Lucas was not an overly creative guy. Most of them have been tracked down to some word in another language, or having a similar sound to certain words in certain languages. They also used just bits of words, endings or beginnings of words that sounded important. We're lucky there isn't a commander Ing. Fette means fetch for instance. Not a bad name for a bounty hunter eh. Piet is a talkative person that chatters a lot.

They didn't just do it with bad guys either. Ackbar for instance.

I'd bet that Thrawn was picked because it sounds cool. Tim (or whoever picked it) likely heard it used just prior to the characters creation...or he was Admiral Steve Johnson and someone's word of the day calendar came up Thrawn. The creator of the name likely knew that the jig was up on naming people after plagues and such, so he then hid Thrawn in Mit th’raw’n uruodo by grabbing a handful of scrabble tiles. Heck, pulling Thrawn out of that as a nickname doesn't even make sense.

I totally believe Thrawn was intentionally picked as a real word that sounded cool. I do not believe that Zahn intended the character to be the definition of the word. I do not believe Thrawn embodies the definition of his name. It is interesting however.

I definitely thought this thread was going to be about GNIPs naming his child "Thrawn."

I 100% back the argument that Thrawn's name is deliberately consistent with Star Wars villains being named after "evil" words. Name was picked to sound cool, first and foremost, and later got dressed up to seem more sci fi.

1) But not all Star Wars villains do the pun thing!

Near enough. It's not just a Sith thing. Greedo. Screed. Grievous. (Cad) Bane. Kallus. Trench. Salacious (Crumb). These are all apparently these beings' given names, so it clearly exceeds some goofy Sith nickname tradition. Something in the Star Wars universe miraculously pairs up bad guys with bad guy names.

2. But Thrawn's not his full Chiss name!

Just part of a lengthy tradition across media of giving someone a too-on-the-nose name, and then barely hiding it with a "real name" that got chosen second. Diablo is "really" Al'Diabalos. The 2015 Fantastic Four movie was all set to make Doctor Doom's "real" name be Victor Domashev. And probably most embarrassing of all, Elan Sleazebaggano is "really" Elan Sel'Sabagno.