h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

His name isn't Hans Solo, it's Han Solo. No S at the end of his first name. It may sound as if there's an S there, but there isn't.
Just thought I'd mention it.

Is it?

Odd. I could've sworn it was Hans...

*shrug*

26199

You may have mixed it up with the first line of a german folksong about a boy called "Hans", who goes out into the world to find his fate. The first two lines go as follows:

"Hanschen klein, ging allein,
in die weite Welt hinein..."

Now, let´s see: "Hans-chen klein" is a cute form of "little Hans", who, as we learn from the second part of the first line, goes out alone. This might easily lead to the wrong naming of "Hans" Solo, since "solo" is a synonym for alone. What do we learn from this? Movie-makers do have great imagination in stories, effects and characters, but when it comes to naming their heroes, they look down to their feet in shame, see their dog wagging his tail and shout "Indiana...Indiana Jones!"

In America, the word "solo" can also be a reference to someone with a rebellious personality. An example of this usage is the phrase "flying solo," which can refer to exuberance in doing anything your own way.

This would seem to fit Han's personality, as he insists on retrofitting the Millenium Falcon to make it fly faster. His roguish personality, alliance with the rebel forces, and his refusal to cowtow to Leia's sense of propriety also fit this model. So even though Han was never a loner, Solo is still a pretty good last name for him.

Very true. He is a bit of a rogue, isn't he? Pity that they haven't got that much info about Han at the http://www.starwars.com site.
They've got more info about Chewie than they have about Han. Theey've even got more info about the Emperor's Personal Guards, than they have about Han. Bad call, according to me.