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Ignoring the obvious out-of-universe reason for fan appeasement, is there an in-universe reason as to why she

took the famous Skywalker name without her actually being one?

She's not related by blood and

I wouldn't call Luke or Leia her adoptive parent since they were only very briefly her Masters.

Also it's pretty insulting to her natural parents who sacrificed their lives in protecting her.

Sure, maybe you don't want to publicly state your family name being that of

the almighty Sith lord

but why not just stick with the first name which she had been doing prior to the ending of the film?

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  • 1
    Isn't the first sentence a bit of a spoiler (and should be marked as such) ?
    – Eike Pierstorff
    Dec 21 '19 at 16:19
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    @EikePierstorff, by the time I read the title of the question, the first spoiler was already given up (given the title of the film).
    – The Photon
    Dec 21 '19 at 17:36
  • well there would be problems if she used her family name
    – Naib
    Dec 21 '19 at 22:15
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I think you're overlooking how much of an impact Luke and especially Leia has had on Rey over the course of the films. Leia was like the mother she never knew, who as far as she is concerned abandoned her on Jakku. She had no parent figures in her life until Luke and Leia came along and they not only took on that role but trained her, gave her purpose. She takes the name because it is the only one that means something to her.

Why not her actual name? Well the Emperor aside, because that's obvious, she didn't know her parents. And I'd argue it would be insulting to her parents for her to take that name. They gave their lives so she wouldn't be one, would kind of ruin the whole point if she used it anyway.

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    Excellent answer as usual, my +1. Besides the sentimental reasons mentioned in the answer, it's worth noting that by using her real family name she'd also be painting a huge target on her back for any disgruntled citizens of the empire that suffered in the previous years... I can't back this on any sources and probably Rey didn't think of that, but it also makes sense.
    – Hans Olo
    Dec 21 '19 at 15:29
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    This answer doesn't seem to respond to the comment "why not just stick with the first name which she had been doing prior to the ending of the film?"
    – O. R. Mapper
    Dec 21 '19 at 21:59
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    @O.R.Mapper To me answering why she chose the last name answers why she dropped just going by Rey.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Dec 21 '19 at 22:14
  • 6
    This is an excellent answer. I would just add one thing. Choosing her last name is the capstone to her arc. She has finely learned and accepted that she is defined by her choices not her heritage. She is choosing a heritage that will help others see who she is.
    – goryh
    Dec 22 '19 at 16:40
  • I would add that Rise of Skywalker is set about a year after the Last Jedi, so Rey has had a lot more time with Leia than we see on screen.
    – BillThePlatypus
    Dec 23 '19 at 22:09
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I think it is because she is a 'force pair' with Ben Skywalker and since Ben in the end apparently transferred his life to Rey her 'soul' merged with the Skywalker line or something.

It is not just in honor of Leia's support, I think she really is a Skywalker now or half-Skywalker.

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    FWIW Ben is Solo, so technically a Skywalker because of Leia he is actually a Solo.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Dec 22 '19 at 18:43
  • 8
    Well, he's an angsty Force user with a red lightsaber, not a roguish smuggler. So whatever his name I think we know which side was dominant.
    – Adamant
    Dec 22 '19 at 19:51
  • 6
    My theory is that Ben made up the name Kylo Ren because he was so tired of everyone calling him Ben Solo-Organa-Skywalker.
    – intrepidhero
    Dec 23 '19 at 18:24

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