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When a person becomes a Sith, he changes his name. For example:

  • Palpatine took (or was given) the name Sidious
  • Count Dooku took (or was given) the name Tyranus
  • Anakin Skywalker was given the name Darth Vader.

What was Darth Maul's name before he became a Sith?


Note: the idea for this question came from https://www.moviemistakes.com/member542/answers/page49

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6 Answers 6

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As far as we know, Maul is Darth Maul's pre-Sith name. He was born a Nightbrother and has brothers with similarly evil-sounding names: Savage Opress and Feral. Maul's last name may be considered "Opress" since that's the last name of his brother Savage; on the other hand Maul's mother, Talzin, doesn't seem to have a last name.

Not all Sith change their names when they change their title. There is at least one other example (albeit from Legends) of a Sith who used his birth name: Revan / Darth Revan. Most Sith change their names in order to help hide their identity (which was especially important for, say, Palpatine/Sidious). Maul didn't need to change his name because he didn't have a public identity that needed to be kept separate from his Sith identity (and he was conspicuous enough with his tattoos, which he received as a boy).

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  • 35
    If he would've been born in Hawaii, he would've been called Darth Maui
    – iMerchant
    May 13, 2016 at 18:10
  • 5
    Maul himself indicates he had a prior name but no longer recalls it. We have no guarantee this is true, but he does claim it (unless he tells us it was a lie later).
    – jpmc26
    May 14, 2016 at 4:56
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    Seems like they change their names mostly if they don't sound intimidating enough already. Darth Alicia just isn't all that scary.
    – Paul
    Jan 19, 2017 at 14:37
  • Darth (M)Alak approves.
    – user40790
    Jan 19, 2017 at 14:59
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It may very well simply be Maul.

In Star Wars: Rebels, Mauls rejects the Sith and says this:

Formerly Darth, now just Maul.

Since he no longer considers himself a Sith, and dropped the "Darth" title, it doesn't make sense that he'd keep his Sith name if it wasn't also his real name.

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    Formally, or formerly?
    – DJMcMayhem
    May 13, 2016 at 23:12
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    I'm fascinated that you mentioned Rebels but didn't mention that he claimed to have a name he doesn't recall. He could be lying, but worth mentioning. Unless it's made explicit that he lied later in the episode?
    – jpmc26
    May 14, 2016 at 4:53
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We may never know. He mentioned in Rebels that he had a name once, but he has long since forgotten it. I suppose he had to leave it behind when Palpatine made him into Maul

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In the book Darth Plagueis, Maul is taken as an infant by Sidious from his mother. The child was named Maul.

Palpatine, in his urge to know more about the dark side than what Plagueis teaches him, manages to make a visit to the world of Dathomir, where he encounters a Dathomirian woman who gives him a Zabrak infant simply known as Maul. Palpatine later has Maul sent to Mustafar, where he could be nurtured at his young age in the dark side of the Force.

Star Wars fandom page for Darth Plagueis

Later, Maul's existence is made known to Plagueis, who permits (and encourages) Sidious to retain Maul, not as an apprentice, but merely as an assassin (akin to the relationship between Dooku and Ventris during the Clone Wars).

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  • This is correct, but it's worth noting that the novel is Legends now (i.e. not canon).
    – Null
    May 15, 2016 at 1:01
  • As far as degree of Legends go, this is just barely over the line. The author, James Luceno, also wrote Tarkin (which is canon) that references many of the events in Darth Plagueis directly. May 15, 2016 at 6:13
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In the book, 'Darth Maul, Lockdown', in the prison he was known by the name 'Jangannath' this could be his first name.

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The Wookieepedia canon gives information. Here's the exact text:

Their son was born on the planet Iridonia and was given the name Maul—the same Maul who would later be feared and dreaded as Darth Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith as the Sith apprentice to Darth Sidious.

Star Wars fandom page for Maul's father

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  • I'm not sure why you would refer to Wookieepedia as canon.
    – Blackwood
    Jan 19, 2017 at 5:44
  • That article is referring to Legends information. The banner in the upper right shows it (the banner would be black and say "Canon" for a canon article).
    – Null
    Jan 19, 2017 at 15:56
  • The citations on that page make it look like this information is from the Legends novel The Wrath of Darth Maul.
    – DCShannon
    Jan 19, 2017 at 19:32

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