Darth

In the fictional Star Wars universe, Darth is the traditional title of a Sith Lord, the first part of the new name they take on. It was once believed to be a condensed version of 'Dark Lord of the Sith', and thus the reason for the title.

The term first appeared in the original script for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which bore little resemblance to the final release of the film. In it, a "Darth Vader" appeared as an Imperial official who would be renamed Grand Moff Tarkin in the final film, with Darth Vader becoming the name of the menacing black-armored villain.

Film history

Prior to the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999, the only known Sith Lord who carried the name "Darth" was Darth Vader. When Darth Sidious and Darth Maul were revealed in The Phantom Menace, the name took on its distinct association with the Sith, and has since appeared throughout all eras of Star Wars fiction.

Cultural impact

Columnist Maureen Dowd has used the nickname "Darth Cheney", amongst others, to refer to the Vice President. Most references, however, are still associated with the Star Wars universe. "Darth" is often used before one's name to indicate meanness or evilness, often for humor.

Darth in other countries

In some cases, the word Darth was changed for a variety of reasons. In Italy, for instance, Darth Vader's name was changed to Dart Fener, probably for dubbing reasons. This is the only case where the word "Darth" loses its 'h'; other Sith Lords retain the Darth adjective and do not have the altered name (e.g Darth Sidious, Darth Traya, Darth Revan, Darth Malak, Darth Bandon). Claudio Sorrentino proposed an online poll to decide whether to keep the name Dart Fener during the production of the new trilogy; 55.6 % of the voters chose "yes". In France, the word "Darth" has changed to Dark, and this applies to all the Sith Lords (Darth Maul is known as Dark Maul and so on). In every other country, the word "Darth" remains unchanged, or appropriately transliterated as in the case of Chinese or Japanese.