Spoilers. Spoilers ahead, bros. This latest Game of Thrones theory regarding Jon Snow’s ‘real name’ involves some recent revelations from the latest season and if you’re not caught up you should probably turn away now, because we’ll be talking about everything.
So, for everyone who is still reading we can talk about what Jon Snow’s real name is. This is all based around that now infamous scene where Ned Stark finds his sister Lyanna in the Tower of Joy, dying during child birth. In that scene Ned Stark gets to his sister just in time for her to make him swear to raise Jon Snow and keep Jon’s true identity a secret, because Ned’s best friend Robert Baratheon would surely have killed Jon due to his true lineage as a Targaryen. In that scene we can’t hear what Lyanna Stark is whispering to Ned, we just know what’s happening due to the cinematography and the cut to Jon Snow in the next scene. Enter the lip readers…
Several lip readers have since gone back and watched that scene again, over and over, and this is what they believe Lyanna was whispering to Ned Stark, and this is what they believe Jon Snow’s REAL name is, via Business Insider:
There’s already one popular theory as to what Lyanna Stark said. Redditor sparkledavisjr attempted to read her lips and came to the conclusion that she uttered a three-syllable name that started with a “J.” The most likely candidate, according to this theory? Jaehaerys, after Jon’s great-grandfather Jaehaerys II.
But Redditor rotellam1 has another theory, and if it’s right, Jon’s named after a beloved character that viewers actually got to see on the show. The poster did some lip reading of their own, and found that Lyanna moves her mouth to make an “Ae” sound before closing to say an “M” or “B.” The conclusion?
“His name is Aemon.”
It would certainly be poetic of Jon Snow’s true name was Aemon, as Jon’s first job up at the wall was steward for the Lord Commander but his best friend, Samwell Tarly, was steward for Maester Amont, the only Targaryen Jon’s ever met (one he spent a decent amount of time with). This latest theory on Reddit goes even deeper, and makes all the connections between Jon Snow and Aemon:
I think there’s a strong thematic argument for this also. What irony would it be if the only Targaryen Jon ever knew to this point was his namesake? Furthermore, we know for a fact that Maester Aemon and Rhaegar wrote to each other and had a relationship so it’s a fitting name for Rhaegar’s third son. Aemon is a slightly rare name in the Targaryen family but the two most prominent Aemons (the Dragonknight and the Maester) were impactful characters in their family with respected histories.
Maester Aemon was “named…for a hero who had died too young” so it is fitting that Jon Snow is also a character who “died” too young. Furthermore, Aemon the Dragonknight had some history with the Starks, like Rhaegar, having battled Cregan Stark and praised his combat skills. He also famously joined a celibate order like Jon and despite being a famous Kingsguard, was little-honored for his death as are the Black Brothers.
But besides the lip-reading, circumstantial evidence, and the fact that Rhaegar obviously admired Maester Aemon, there’s two clues in the text that really seal the deal for me. First of all is the painful memory Jon Snow has of sparring with Robb Stark:
“I’m Prince Aemon the Dragonknight,” Jon would call out, and Robb would shout back, “Well, I’m Florian the Fool.” – ASOS, Jon VII
I’m going with Aemon. The name Aemon just fits the plot 10,000 times better than Jaehaerys, and there are many signs suggesting that this could be the name. I guess now the question is whether or not any of this even matters, because it will take a Bran-Aemon/Jon reunion for Jon to be clued in on everything, and at this point that doesn’t seem likely at all with more battles on the horizon for Jon as the newly minted King in the North.
If you haven’t watched this Samuel L. Jackson ‘Beginner’s Guide to Game of Thrones‘ you should REALLY get on that, because Samuel L. was born for this, and it’s one of the best things to hit the Internet in quite some time.
(h/t BusinessInsider via Reddit)