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In the fourth episode of Star Wars, "A New Hope", Obi-Wan tells Luke that he hasn't used "Obi-Wan" since a long time before Luke was born.

But in the third movie, "Revenge of the Sith", Obi-Wan uses his name through the whole movie. Is this an error in the third movie, or can we just assume that Obi-Wan has a bad memory?

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What do you mean by "fourth"? – bitmask Mar 14 at 20:05

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As you could see here, the Ben alias is a way for Obi-Wan to stay incognito on Tatooine. He moved there after the events of Revenge of the Sith which are 19 years before A New Hope. We could safely assume that Obi-Wan took the false identity of Ben as soon as he moved, so 19 years could count as "a long time".

Obi-Wan didnt tell Luke he "hasn't used "Obi-Wan" since a long time before Luke was born." here a quote from the Script of A New Hope

BEN: Obi-Wan Kenobi...Obi-Wan? Now thats a name I haven't heard in a long time...a long time.

LUKE: I think my uncle knew him. He said he was dead.

BEN: Oh, he's not dead, not...not yet.

LUKE: You know him!

BEN: Well of course, of course I know him. He's me! I haven't gone by the name Obi-Wan since oh, before you were born.

So he said he wasn't called Obi-Wan for a long time, and this time was before he was born. In fact, I checked the Revenge of the Sith script and he had been called Obi-Wan by Padme just after, but Yoda also called him "Master Kenobi". Anyway, "before you were born", that is a descent approximation for events that occurred 19 years ago.

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yes but Obi-Wan says that he used it "a long time before luke was born" but he moved on Tatooine after Luke's birth – XGouchet Jun 7 '12 at 11:52
@XGouchet Updated. – DavRob60 Jun 7 '12 at 12:02
Not to nitpick, but Luke was 17 or 18 in ANH, not 19. – Jeff Jan 10 at 19:48
@Jeff Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is said to occurs in 19 BBY. (Before the Battle of Yavin). That were I took the number. – DavRob60 Jan 10 at 20:06
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Could it be possible that he doesn't "have" a name at all in those wilderness years of hermitting? He wanders in and out of town only rarely, and doesn't introduce himself to anyone. "Old Ben" is just a chinese whispers of "Obi Wan"- reflecting Owen's lack of understanding of what the real score is perhaps. He's not gone by the name of Obi wan, but he hasn't been telling everyone his name is Ben either. When Luke sees him, and refers to him as Ben, Obi Wan just smiles, he doesn't say "yes, it's me- Ben" or any such nonsense.

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