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We all missed the hidden meaning in the name Ned Stark gave Jon Snow.

The parentage of Game of Thrones’ standout Jon Snow has been the subject of speculation for many seasons.

Long before season seven’s finale confirmed once and for all the King of The North was born within wedlock to Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, fans theorised Jon wasn’t the bastard son of Ned Stark.

Of course, by the end of season six we knew for a fact this was true, but Eddard himself gave everyone in Westeros – and viewers at home – a hint that Jon wasn’t his son long before that. And that hint was his name.

Listen: Laura and Lize discuss the season finale of Game Of Thrones. (Post continues after audio.)

Redditor Duh Metrios made the realisation and shared it with his fellow GoT fans after watching the final episode last week, on a thread specifically for fan chat.

They point out that George R. R. Martin – the author of the books on which the HBO series is based – cleverly included the detail that Eddard Stark named his sons after men that were important to him.

“Robb is named after Robert Baratheon, Bran is named after Ned’s brother Brandon, and Rickon is named after Ned’s father,” they explain.

So who was Jon named after? Why Jon Arryn, the man who, if you cast your mind back to episode one of season one, was acting as Hand to the King before he was mysteriously killed (by Cersei and Jamie for almost discovering their incest secret). Ned Stark is deeply saddened to hear this news because he thought of Jon as a second father to him.

You might remember Jon from his funeral. (Image via HBO.)

And that's the reason why this detail is so important. As Duh_Metrios puts it, "Jon is named after Jon Arryn, the man who wasn't Ned's father, but raised him like a son."

It's a sweet way of paying tribute to a close family friend, but also a way someone who is not Jon Snow's father but will treat him like one, can send a sneaky message which is also just subtle enough so as to not risk exposing Jon's true heritage.

On a scale of "nope" to "proved beyond reasonable doubt" - we're giving this fan theory a solid 10.

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