Legion Founder Albin Johnson (TK-210) chose the name in 1997 to represent our fictional unit of Imperial Stormtroopers. Author Timothy Zahn, with the approval of Lucasfilm, honored us by incorporating the name into his
Star Wars novel
Survivor's Quest in 2004. Since then, the 501st name has continued to appear in official
Star Wars material including books, toys and video games. See our official listing in the starwars.com Databank
here. Read more about the origin of the 501st name
here.