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[Opinions] Re: Leia
Surely Padme is just that - the lotus flower? Lucas probably didn't expect many Buddhists among his viewers!And, I looked up Anakin and was relieved to find this on BtN: Lucas may have based it on the surname of his friend and fellow director Ken Annakin.I'd always suspected that he'd played with the spelling, and therefore the pronunciation, of an over-the-counter aspirin: Anacin in the US, but Anadin where I live.
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He said in an interview that it wasn't based on the surname of his friend. No idea how he came up with it. It's kind of odd to me that no one has ever asked him. Is Padmé also an English term for the lotus flower? English is not my first language. I know that the Indian Padma exists. But it makes sense that he would name her after the lotus flower.
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No, it isn't: but the om mani padme hum mantra is pretty well known world-wide. And anyone wanting a flower name for a daughter might like the idea of 'lotus' but be deterred because it ends in -us rather than -a! I'm not familiar with the character, but if the name fits, then that is surely evidence.Lucas might not have consciously sat down and played with the spelling of his friends' names until he found one he liked; but that doesn't prevent his subconscious mind from coming up with Anakin based on a familiar name. He may well not even realise it had happened.
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