List of references to Earth in Star Wars

Despite being explicitly set in a galaxy far, far away, various sources have established what appear to be connections between the Star Wars universe and the real world (i.e. Earth). This page attempts to make a List of references to Earth in Star Wars.

Many of these examples, of course, could be the result of clever, multi-layered, Tolkien-style "translations" from Galactic Basic Standard to English.



Alien Exodus
In the cancelled novel Alien Exodus, Earth is revealed in a flashback story to be the original home of the Human species. A group of refugees and dissidents from Earth commandeer a spacecraft and flee a computer-controlled society (a society which, apparently, will later become the setting of George Lucas's first film, THX 1138). They accidentally travel backwards through time and through intergalactic space to arrive in the Star Wars galaxy.

Christmas In the Stars
Christmas In the Stars, a 1980 record album, has R2-D2, C-3PO, and Chewbacca, among others, singing Christmas songs and celebrating the Earth holiday.

"Into the Great Unknown"
In "Into the Great Unknown", a short comic story in Star Wars Tales 19, Han Solo and Chewbacca are caught in a hyperspace misjump, and are forced to land the damaged Millennium Falcon on a primitive planet. They land in a forest reminiscent of Endor, where Han is killed by the native Human inhabitants. Chewbacca survives to roam the woods.

126 years later, an archeologist and his sidekick investigate rumors of a large beast in the forest, known to the locals as "Sasquatch". When he comes across the Falcon and Han Solo's remains, he finds them eerily familliar. He decides to leave the remains, the spaceship, and the Sasquatch as part of the "great unknown."

Though the planet Earth is not specifically named, the story obviously takes place somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, and the two archaeologists are clearly Indiana Jones and his sidekick Short Round.

In his Star Wars Timeline Gold, Nathan Butler analyzes this non-canonical story and calculates the years that the major events in the Star Wars universe would take place in (based on the story's clues) according to our calendar. His calculations give a date of 1794 for 0 BBY, assuming Indiana Jones's part of the story is set in 1935.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
The film E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, though not released under the Star Wars banner, is the strongest link between Star Wars and Earth. In the film, a small alien (dubbed "E.T.") visits Earth, and is accidentally stranded there during a mission to collect botanical samples from various planets across the galaxies. In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, E.T.'s race is shown occupying one of the senatorial pods during the Senate room scene. The existence of E.T.'s race on both Earth and in Star Wars establishes a strong link between the two locales.

In the novel E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet, a sequel to the E.T. film, it is established that E.T.'s race possesses highly advanced technology, capable of traveling not only between galaxies, but universes as well. It is possible that E.T.'s race fled from the Star Wars universe to escape the rise of the Galactic Empire; in The Book of the Green Planet, E.T. mentions the "Former World" that they left eons ago. Some fans speculate that the Star Wars planet Felucia could be E.T.'s original homeworld from the Star Wars universe; the inhabitants of Felucia, the Gossam, strongly resemble the Parent Elders of E.T.'s race, as described in The Book of the Green Planet.

The only problem with E.T.'s Earth/Star Wars link, is that on the Earth E.T. visits, Star Wars is obviously a fictional universe. In the film, a human boy named Elliot shows E.T. some of his action figures, which he names on screen as Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Greedo, among others. While on Earth, E.T. also reacts to a child in a Yoda costume, exclaiming "Home!! Home!! Home!!" upon seeing the costume. However, the costume's existence along with that of the action figures establishes that on the Earth E.T. visits, Star Wars is known, but as a fictional universe. Since the title Star Wars is never mentioned, however, it can be theorized that perhaps whatever film spawned Elliot's action figures and the "Yoda" costume isn't actually Star Wars, but simply another genre that bears a strong resemblance to the Star Wars universe. Another explaination is that, since E.T.'s race has the technology to travel between universes, perhaps when they fled the Star Wars universe, they travelled to a universe in which Star Wars is a fictional film series.

Appears on their own
These species appear on screen "as themselves", or are mentioned in text without qualifiers (i.e. as "Turtles" rather than "Space Turtles".)
 * Bats
 * Cats
 * Chickens
 * Dinosaurs (of Trammis III)
 * Dogs
 * Ducks
 * Dung beetles
 * Frogs
 * Horses and ponies (not to be confused with bordoks)
 * Humans
 * Jellyfish
 * Manta rays
 * Owls (on the Forest moon of Endor)
 * Portuguese man-o'-war
 * Pterosaurs
 * Rabbits

Has namesakes appear
These animal species have something named after them in the Star Wars galaxy (like a starship, or another animal), but may not exist itself. They may also have been specifically named, but either not depicted
 * Barnacles
 * Bears
 * Beetles
 * Boars
 * Buzzards
 * Catfish
 * Cobras
 * Crows
 * Eels
 * Elephants
 * Falcons
 * Fish
 * Fleas
 * Frogs
 * Geese
 * Hawks
 * Hogs
 * Hound dogs
 * Lizards
 * Mice
 * Moles
 * Moths
 * Panthers
 * Pigs
 * Pigeons
 * Piranha
 * Pythons
 * Rats
 * Ravens
 * Salamanders
 * Seahorses
 * Sharks
 * Shrikes
 * Sloths
 * Slugs
 * Snakes
 * Spiders
 * Squid
 * Tigers
 * Vultures
 * Wasps
 * Whales
 * Wolves
 * Zebras

Mythical creatures
These creatures exist on Earth only in legend, but their names, at least, are reused in the Star Wars galaxy.
 * Basilisks
 * Cerberus
 * Chimaerae
 * Dragons
 * Gorgons
 * Hydrae
 * Jackelopes
 * Manticores
 * Airen Cracken was nicknamed "Kraken" by his Imperial foes,
 * The Alliance Starbird was commonly described as a Phoenix.

Plants

 * Dandelions
 * Most plants seen in Naboo, Tatooine, Kashyyyk, or Forest Moon of Endor location shots are arguably "playing themselves" on screen.

Food and drink

 * Blue milk
 * Hot chocolate also known as "hot milk"
 * "Trix"-brand breakfast cereal is referenced in the description of the constellation known as the Silly Rabbit.  This does not establish its existence, but it  does establish the existence of raspberries, oranges, and lemons.

Names
These characters have first or last names which wouldn't be out of place in an Earth phone book (or in some cases, first and last names.)
 * Ana
 * Armstrong
 * Hermione Bagwa
 * Barney
 * Biff
 * Bobby
 * Burtt
 * Carl
 * Zayne Carrick
 * Cecil
 * Dergar Chester
 * Tsui Choi
 * Brodie Coburn
 * Coby
 * Dana
 * Hanna Ding
 * Nathan Donar III
 * Hanna Doshun
 * Lucien Draay
 * Ivan Dragos
 * Dan Drexel
 * Evan
 * Falcon
 * Jake Farrell
 * Niles Ferrier
 * Adi Gallia
 * Garth
 * Samuel Tomas Gillespie
 * Grant
 * Carole Grawley
 * Katie Grawley
 * Aleson Gray
 * Simon Greyshade
 * Grissom
 * Josef Grunger
 * Bret Hanson
 * Blaine Harris
 * Bob Hudsol
 * Ibtisam
 * Jade
 * Jake
 * Wes Janson
 * Skorg Jameson
 * Jenny
 * Jess
 * Jessica
 * Dexter Jettster
 * Kyle, Patricia and Morgan Katarn
 * Coleman Kcaj
 * Keith
 * Ken
 * "Ben" Kenobi
 * Danielle Kieran
 * Jaden Korr
 * Kozar
 * Alec Lamere
 * Larry the Shriek
 * Beru and Owen Lars
 * Liam
 * Hokkor Long
 * Lou
 * Casandra Mateil
 * Jasper McKnives
 * Pharl McQuarrie
 * Julias Narn
 * Killian Neb
 * Nik
 * Jocasta Nu
 * Alfonso Luiz Obota
 * Beuga Odell
 * Didi Oddo
 * Joey Orsel
 * Otto
 * Nile Owen
 * Brion Peck
 * Perry
 * Lee Phenets
 * Phoebe
 * Cris Pieterson
 * Loreli Ro
 * Nick Rostu
 * Sadie
 * Samuel
 * Philip Santhe
 * Helena Shan
 * Silas
 * Simon
 * Anakin, Luke and Ben Skywalker
 * Jaina Solo
 * Eron Stonefield
 * Tammi
 * Michael Tandre
 * Ganwick Trag
 * Coleman Trebor
 * Gray Tucker
 * Junas Turner
 * Michael Unther
 * Shawn Valdez
 * Kelly Vermillion
 * Elke Vetter
 * Waldo
 * Lt. Watts
 * Wil
 * Lt. Williams
 * Alexandra Winger
 * Xiong Wong
 * Demetrius Zaarin

Places
These planets or other locations have names which bear a close resemblance to places on Earth.
 * Aargau
 * Aboukir
 * Dor
 * Chenini
 * Chiron (mythological reference)
 * Endor
 * England (possibly: more likely a simple production error)
 * Everest (actually a company in-universe with the mountain's name)
 * Giza
 * Halifax (starship)
 * Helena Shan (the name Helena means "woman from Greece")
 * Ibleam
 * Mercury (starship that is both mythological and astronomical reference)
 * Megiddo
 * Mersel Kebir (starship)
 * Salisbury
 * Seoul
 * Tatooine = Tataouine
 * Thule (also a mythological reference)
 * Zug

Real astronomical objects
Despite being real astronomical objects in Earth's neighborhood, these names appear in Star Wars sources.
 * Altair
 * Antares
 * Cetus
 * Cygnus
 * Fornax
 * Oort Cloud
 * Rigel

It should be specifically noted that, contrary to some fanonical ideas, Coruscant cannot be a futuristic Earth. While Earth is far from our galaxy's core, is the third planet from the Sun, and has only one moon, Coruscant is close to the galactic core, is the sixth planet in the Coruscant system, and has multiple moons.

Historical figures
Some real-world historical figures are referenced in the Star Wars galaxy.
 * Galahad - Halagad Ventor
 * Enver Hoxha - Enver Hoxha
 * Sergei Korolev - Korolev
 * Ferdinand Magellan - Magellan
 * Josip Broz Tito - Tito
 * Kirk Watson - Acros-Krik
 * Xerxes I of Persia - Xerxes

Other fiction
The settings of other fiction stories are referenced in Star Wars sources. See also Book of Imperial Shuttle Plans: Cygnus Spaceworks, a non-canonical work sometimes mistaken for canon. This piece of fanart makes extensive references to other science fiction franchises.
 * Barsoom: Barsoom Boulevard
 * Blade Runner: Spinner (Spinner)
 * Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future: the Kon'me were named after "The Mekon"
 * Dune
 * Spice (Melange)
 * Halleck (Gurney Halleck)
 * Blenjeel Sandworm (possibly, Sandworm)
 * Tatooine (and later Blenjeel) was seen by many as inspired by Arrakis
 * As a side-note, Kevin J. Anderson wrote Dune books after he stopped writing Star Wars books
 * E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and the E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet
 * Children of the Green Planet
 * Brodo Asogi
 * Farscape: frell (Farscape terminology)
 * Firefly: Firefly-class transport (Serenity)
 * Isaac Asimov's Foundation series:
 * Corell/Corellia (Korell/Korellian Republic)
 * Encyclopedia Galactica (Encyclopedia Galactica)
 * FarStar
 * Hyperdrive (Hyperdrive)
 * Jhantor and Trantor (Trantor)
 * Hari Seldona (Hari Seldon)
 * Seswenna Sector (and later Seswenna, possibly, Siwenna)
 * Star's End
 * Terminus (Terminus)
 * Camper indirectly (but intentionally from the point of the author) mentions the Three Laws of Robotics in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 5: Commencement, Part 5.
 * ''The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
 * Encyclopedia Galactica (possibly, Encyclopedia Galactica)
 * Old Janx Spirit (Ol' Janx Spirit)
 * Tizowyrm (Babel fish)
 * Homestar Runner: possibly Homestar cantina
 * Lord of the Rings
 * Arda-2 (Arda)
 * Endor, another name for Middle-earth (though also biblical)
 * In Star Wars Republic: The Devaronian Version, in Vilmarh Grahrk's description of the Yinchorri Uprising, Yoda is depicted as a being who walks on four legs, bites people, and cries out, "Tresure...my preciousss...", a clear reference to Gollum
 * The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
 * Beilert Valance (named after Liberty Valance)
 * Shinbone (Liberty Valance's hometown)
 * The Once and Future King: "The Queen of Air and Darkness" is a sabacc card.
 * Solaris: Solanus is very similar to the planet in Solaris, and may originally have been referred to as Solaris.
 * Star Trek: Tholian (Tholian)
 * The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: **Acros-Krik named for Macross
 * Ataria Island (former name of Macross Island in Macross)

Language and culture

 * Finn Darktrin is said to have been named after a part of a fish.
 * Beltane was a Celtic holiday.
 * Night/Knight Hammer, "Momma Momen," and "Eating a Boat" are puns which only work in English.
 * Teräs Käsi is Finnish.
 * Abraxas was a word used in Gnosticism.
 * X-wings, A-wings and Y-wings (and generally all the -wing craft) resemble the Roman letters they are named for, but no Aurebesh letters.
 * Lambda-class shuttles look like the letter Lambda in the Greek alphabet (though other shuttles with Greek letter names don't look like their namesakes).
 * Dexter Jettster, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Ganner Rhysode, and an unnamed trooper from the 501st Legion all say "Damn", HK-47 says "Dammit", and Han Solo refers to "Hell" which is now known as a region of Chaos (Additionally, Corellian legends have nine). Are they referring to a general concept of damnation found in many religions, or a specific religious belief shared with an Earth religion?
 * Han Solo also refers to "Sunday School" in Marvel Star Wars 7: New Planets, New Perils.
 * Corran Horn swirls his lightsaber in an infinity symbol in the Dark Tide Duology.
 * Dagobah is a type of Tibetan pagoda, or temple. The best known is the White Dagobah in Beihai Park in China.

Technology
Certain classes of inventions are likely to be reinvented in a galaxy far, far away. When technology gets overly specific, however, suspension of disbelief is strained.
 * Chopsticks
 * E-mail
 * Lightsaber
 * Katana
 * Scimitar

Units of measurement

 * Many in-universe sources use the metric system. The meter was originally based on the size of the Earth.
 * Parsecs are likewise based on the year and orbital diameter of the Earth, respectively (though in the Star Wars galaxy, the orbit of another planet such as Coruscant is probably used to define these units instead, like in the case of standard days, years etc).
 * Saturday is referred to in the Lando Calrissian Adventures. It could be a 'translation' for Natunda or some other day of the Galactic Week.
 * Likewise, in an early issue of Marvel Star Wars, Han Solo mentions that he didn't go to Sunday School.