<P> Jon is introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones as the illegitimate son of Ned Stark, the honorable lord of Winterfell, an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional continent of Westeros . Knowing his prospects are limited by his status, Jon joins the Night's Watch, who guard the far northern borders from the wildlings who live beyond The Wall . As the rest of the Starks face grave adversity, Jon finds himself honor bound to remain with the Watch . In A Clash of Kings (1998), he joins a scouting party investigating the growing threat from the otherworldly "Others" beyond the Wall, and manages to infiltrate the wildlings . Jon learns of their plans to invade Westeros in A Storm of Swords (2000), and begins to fall in love with the fierce wildling woman Ygritte . He betrays them--and Ygritte--before they can attack, but the Night Watch's victory comes at a heavy price for Jon . Now the Lord Commander of the Watch, he appears briefly in 2005's A Feast for Crows . Jon returns as a prominent character in a A Dance with Dragons (2011), working to negotiate an alliance between the Night's Watch and the wildlings . The growing animosity he has attracted from among the Watch finally catches up with him, and he is forced to face the dire consequences . </P> <P> Jon is portrayed by Kit Harington on the HBO series Game of Thrones . His storyline follows the character's plot arc from the novel series, though season 6 and season 7 of the TV adaptation continue on from the events of Martin's latest published installment . Harington was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role in 2016 . He was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television in 2012, 2016 and 2017 . </P> <P> In A Game of Thrones, Jon Snow is introduced as the 14 - year - old bastard son of Eddard "Ned" Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and half - brother to Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon . Jon is described as having strong Stark features with a lean build, long face, dark brown hair and grey eyes . Jon has the surname "Snow" (customarily used for illegitimate children in the North) and is resented by Ned's wife Catelyn, who views him as a constant reminder of Ned's infidelity . Jon is the same age as Robb and enjoys a warm relationship with his siblings, particularly the tomboy Arya (who resembles Jon and like him does not feel like she fits in). Ned treats Jon as much like his other children as propriety and his honor will allow . Still, as somewhat of an outsider, Jon has learned to be independent and to fend for himself when necessary . Jon idolizes his father, but is wounded by Ned's refusal to tell him about his mother . At the beginning of the story, Jon adopts the albino direwolf that he names Ghost . He later finds that at times he can "inhabit" the wolf and share its experiences . </P> <P> David Orr of The New York Times describes Jon as "a complex, thoughtful and basically good character". David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators and executive producers of the television adaptation of the series, explain that Jon is one of several characters in the series who must "face hard truths about the world they live in, and adapt themselves to those truths" because "The struggle many of them face is how to do that without losing their grip on who they are ." Ned Stark teaches all his children about leadership, selflessness, duty and honor . Following his father's example becomes more difficult as Jon faces challenges to his identity as a man, a Stark, and a brother of the Night's Watch . Benioff and Weiss note that "Jon Snow tries to live with honor, while knowing that honor often gets his family members murdered ." Writing for Variety about the season 6 episode "Battle of the Bastards", Laura Prudom suggests that Jon "has the same shortcomings" as his father: "he fights with honor against opponents who are all too willing to use that predictable morality against him". </P>

Where did the name jon snow come from
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