Obi-Wan Kenobi's Home Planet Was Named After Jon Stewart Because Of A George Lucas Joke
George Lucas has a vivid imagination — except when it comes to names. It takes unique mind to name the villain of your movie "Darth Vader" or bestow the lovable rogue with the surname "Solo." The prequels were no different, introducing names like Darth Sidious (because Palpatine is insidiously destroying the Republic), Darth Maul (since he's a blunt instrument of Sidious' will), and General Grievous (he sure is a grievous villain, after all).
There's a charm to these silly names and they even fit the fairy-tale mood of "Star Wars." At the same time, things can go too far. When developing the video game "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed," Lucas threw out these suggestions for the lead character's name: Darth Insanius and Darth Icky.
Lucas has never been above poking fun at himself. One of these jokes, which lampooned his not-so-great naming abilities, wormed its way into "Star Wars" lore.
Stewjon
At Star Wars Celebration V in 2010, Lucas was interviewed by Jon Stewart. Lucas shed some light on his process for coming up with names, explaining that most of them are revised versions of things, people, or places he encounters in his life. Dexter Jettster, for instance, was named after his son Jett.
Stewart also asked the question that had been on the mind of at least one "Star Wars" fan: what is Obi-Wan Kenobi's homeworld? Here's what Lucas had to say: "This is one of the first things I wrote in the very first script. He comes from the planet Stewjon."
This play on Stewart's name is obviously a joke. I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas made it up on the fly. It does reflect a truth about Obi-Wan's character, though; his pre-Jedi life isn't important because he doesn't really have one. Like the rest of the Order, he was initiated as a child and so doesn't remember anything before the Jedi.
Still, with no information about Obi-Wan's birthplace, "Stewjon" was accepted into the "Star Wars" canon. It hasn't quite made its way into fiction, yet. The planet's name never been said in any of the films, TV, or books, not even ones focused on Obi-Wan like his eponymous mini-series or Claudia Gray's novel "Master and Apprentice." In the comic "Age of Republic – Obi-Wan Kenobi," the Jedi simply says "[his] homeworld" when talking about his past. However, Stewjon has been used in promotional materials and is listed on Wookieepedia.
Considering Lucas' self-depreciation, and that he once crafted a whole character from a simple typo, I bet that he'd be amused by the embrace of Stewjon.