What does K-2SO stand for?
K-2SO is one of the many highlights of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Other droids from the Star Wars universe have names that have some significance. Is this the case with K-2SO?
What does K-2SO stand for?
Best Answer
In-universe
According to official novelization by Alexander Freed, it was a part of his longer official designation:
Cassian had killed K-2SO (whose true designation was far longer and far grander, rich with meaning and history that described his factory of origin, the date and time of his initialization, and more) and brought him back both smaller and larger than he had been. K-2SO did not mourn for his old self, but there were times he grew wistful over what he had been.
(Chapter 19)
As additional confirmation, this was true of all droids in pre-Disney canon.
Quoting from my own answer on SciFi.SE:
Pablo Hidalgo (Internet Content Provider for starwars.com) answered this conclusively in Q&A in Star Wars Insider #58 (Page 97)
He said that 4-letter robot names are just fragments of long serial numbers. And some droids don't even have a shorter 4-letter name for some, who instead get a real nickname (e.g. Corran Horn's Wistler).
Please note that the canonical status of Star Wars Insider information is questionable in new Disney canon, but Pablo Hidalgo is still pre-eminent canon expert at Lucasfilm Story Group, and as such the fact that a nearly identical fact was included in a canon novel probably means that the overall general rule also remain canonical.
Out of universe
We don't know specific reasons out of universe for the name (even interview with the actor Alan Tudyk offers no clues).
All we know is:
This towering, powerful security droid is described by Edwards as “the antithesis of C-3PO.” (Gareth Edwards to EW)
Pictures about "What does K-2SO stand for?"
How strong is K-2SO?
Droid Strength: As a droid, K-2SO is physically stronger than most other sentient beings. Droid Durability: As a droid, K-2SO can take far more damage than most other sentient beings.What is the droid in rogue one called?
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" star Alan Tudyk plays K-2SO, an Imperial droid who was reprogrammed and finds himself with the rebellion.Why do GONK droids say GONK?
They were most commonly found on under-developed worlds that did not have an expansive power grid, or in mobile military operations. They often made a low honking noise that sounded like the word "gonk," resulting in the nickname gonk droids or simply gonks.K2SO Best scenes: Star Wars Rogue One
More answers regarding what does K-2SO stand for?
Answer 2
After doing some research online, and finding very little. My guess is K-2SO may be a chemistry joke.
K = Potassium
S = Sulphur
O = Oxygen
K2SO3 is Potassium Sulfite, a food preservative.
K-2SO fulfills the role of preserving Cassian and Jyn, saving them from "spoilage"
As Adeptus said, all droids have a 4 character alphanumeric name, shortening K2SO3 to K-2SO.
It gets more interesting:
the people he preserves have food related names:
- Jyn (gin) &
- Cassian (Cassia) - Cassia is a common cinnamon alternative
Answer 3
According to the accepted answer on SFF.SE question: Do all droids have a four alphanumeric character name and does this have any significance?
4-letter robot names are just fragments of long serial numbers.
So, there is no in-universe significance to the name K-2SO, it is just a fragment of his serial number.
(Out-of-universe, there may be some significance, but I suspect the writers just thought it sounded good).
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: RODNAE Productions, Martin Magnemyr, Rodion Kutsaiev, Rodion Kutsaiev