The main antagonist in The Force Awakens is called Kylo Ren, but that's not his real name. The "Ren" part is a title, from the Knights of Ren, but we also learn that his birth name was
Ben Solo. Switch "Kylo" and "Ren" around: Ren Kylo. "Ren" sounds like a lot like "Ben" and "Kylo" sounds like "Solo". The names are also the same number of characters.
Am I being a conspiracy theorist here?
When he turned to the Dark Side he forsook his birth name and took the name Kylo Ren. "Ren" is similar to "Darth" in that it is sort of a title signifying Kylo's membership in the "Knights of Ren", a group of other Dark Side followers.
- source
We learned in an interview with Abrams in Entertainment Weekly, "Ren" is the title, which refers to a mysterious organization called The Knights of Ren. "Kylo" is the unique signifier, a name Kylo Ren chose for himself for some equally mysterious reason.
- cinema blend
It seems the meaning behind "Kylo" might be intentionally kept a mystery.
Is appears to be purely coincidental that his birth name and Ren are so similar as we have no further info on the subject of how the name "Kylo" was chosen.
Even more interesting, though also likely coincidental:
Ky + Lo = "Kylo", who is the son of a Skywalker and a Solo. The "ky" comes from Skywalker, and the "lo" comes from Solo.
It's just a possible out-of-universe connection, as in maybe the filmmakers came up with Kylo's name that way.
(thanks @Himarm)
"Caelo" (classically pronounced "kylo") has two meanings in Latin.
As a verb, "to cut or hew," as one might do with a lightsaber.
"Sky," as mentioned here before.
"Ren" (Mandarin pronunciation "run") does have a Confucian meaning, but I'm interested in the written symbol for the word: a man walking.
"Sky" + "walker," perhaps? It's a stretch, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Try the latin word caelo (pronounced the same way as Kylo). It means sky, a possible reference to his Skywalker heritage that he idolizes. Ren in welsh supposedly means ruler and Ren from the Latin renascere (I think that is the correct spelling) means rebirth/birth. This could symbolize how they are reborn by forsaking the light and everything they had in there old life (and by doing this and joining the dark side, they are reborn).
Kylo means sky, this references to his grandfathers last name Skywalker.
Ren means ruler. Although there is a group of people that are on the dark side, knights of Ren.
So this brings his masked name to be Sky-Ruler or Sky-King, or even to Galaxy-King. You can also connect this to Rey's name meaning king.
Rey and Ren sound alike to English speakers and king and ruler are very similar.
This is explained by the Rise of Kylo Ren comic.
After Ben Solo destroys Luke's Jedi temple, he goes to Snoke, who tells him to take a new name so that he can join the Knights of Ren:
Snoke: What is the truth, my friend? What is your true name? The Knights will want you to take it if they let you join them. It is the way of the Dark Side. When we embrace it fully, we become our truest selves.
Ben says that the name that he chooses, Kylo, is something he came up with as a child:
Snoke: Oh yes. I see it in your mind. That is good. Very good.
Ben: No. It's stupid. It's something I thought of when I was a child.
Snoke: That is why it is correct.
"Ren" is revealed to be the name customarily taken by the leader of the Knights of Ren—their leader before Kylo was known only as "Ren".
I have no idea what Kylo might mean, but I have an idea for why part of his name is Ren. Ren in Confucianism means benevolence and kindness. Perhaps this has some implication as to his inner nature. Just as Darth Vader had some good left in him, so too may Kylo Re.
Kylo Ren and Rey balance each other on opposite ends of the force. The name Rey is like a “ray” of light, and the name Ren spelled backwards is “ner” which means “candle” or “light” in hebrew.
The name Kyloe/Kylo has existed for centuries but that may just be a coincidence. It means either cow pasture or scottish highland cattle. It has been on my top two baby names for years long before Star Wars had the character.
the star wars droids cartoon the bad guy is called (not sure how the spelling is) kybo ren now id say that could be a nod to the cartoon star wars just like all the other films relate and so call "nod" to eachother lol
"Ren" because he is a part of the Knights of Ren. I have a theory of where the name "Kylo" comes from. Maybe it is a combination of his parents names. If you take "Ky" from S"ky"walker, and "lo" from So"lo", and merge them, you get "Kylo". My theory is most likely wrong, but it's a thought.
Most likely resembles his Skywalker legacy. Kylo comes from a latin word meaning sky and Ren from a word meaning ruler. Sky Ruler, perhaps making him a very powerful Skywalker. Or it may mean that he knows about the true history of the Skywalkers predating Anakin. Anakin may have had an ancient history to his mothers heritage.
