‘Star Wars’: Why isn’t Kylo Ren a Darth?

The Star Wars franchise is full of detailed lore, covering everything from galaxy-spanning wars to small creatures and planets. However, as with any franchise with deep and long-running lore, fans are left with big questions. And the Star Wars sequel trilogy left fans with one big question, why is Kylo Ren’s name Kylo Ren and not Darth Kylo, like so many of the Star Wars villains before him? 

What does Darth Mean?

Darth is a popular title within the Star Wars universe. Mainly because it was the title used by the utterly iconic Darth Vader during the original trilogy. However, the Darth title has a fascinating history in the Star Wars universe.

In the Star Wars universe, Darth is the title that proceeded the also common Sith Lord title. It was given to those who gave themself over to the Dark Side of the force and followed the teachings and rules of the Sith. In Star Wars Made Easy, it is explained that Darth roughly translates to “Dark Lord”.

Though it should be noted that, behind the scenes, the name Darth Vader was chosen because it sounded very similar to “Dark Father”.

Why is Kylo Ren not a Darth? 

So, why is Kylo Ren not a Darth? Well, the answer is actually pretty simple. Kylo Ren isn’t a Sith Lord and doesn’t follow the teachings of the Sith, despite trying to emulate his hero Darth Vader. In fact, this is confirmed by Kylo’s Star Wars databank entry which describes him as: “A dark side warrior with a mysterious past, Kylo Ren was neither Jedi nor Sith, but a product of both sides’ teachings.”

So, where does Kylo Ren’s name come from? The Kylo part comes from a name Ben Solo coined for himself when he was a child. He took the name full-time after he stopped being Luke Skywalker’s apprentice and started to follow the guidance of Snoke, an event seen in the second issue of The Rise of Kylo Ren comic book. 

Kylo then heads to learn from the Knights Of Ren, a group of Dark Side warriors who followed The Ren, a pseudo-religious philosophy that focused on combat. It should be noted, that despite being technically Force-sensitive, the Knights Of Ren follow the teachings of neither the Jedi nor Sith, instead following a path that is totally their own, something confirmed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary. 

After traveling and learning from the Knights Of Ren, Kylo killed Ren, the Knights Of Ren’s leader, and took over as their commander. When doing this, he took the second name of Ren, reflecting his status as the new leader of this band of warriors, cementing the title he would become known by. Meaning that Kylo Ren’s name reflects his fall to the Dark Side. Rather than being mentored in a traditional Sith Master/Student relationship, he grew his connection to the Dark Side via personal mentorship from Snoke (who himself is not a Sith Lord) and by working with the Knights Of Ren.