The world named Alderaan functioned as the primary seat of power for the New Galactic Empire.
During the scripting phase of A New Hope, specifically within the 1973 treatment and the 1974 rough draft, the name Alderaan was assigned to the capital of the New Galactic Empire. Progressing to the 1975 second draft, Alderaan became the location where Darth Vader imprisoned Deak Starkiller. This concept evolved further in the 1975 third draft, where Alderaan served as the prison for Leia Organa, also held by Vader. The initial treatment described it as an entirely urbanized planet, while subsequent drafts depicted it as a gas giant akin to Bespin, featuring a city reminiscent of Cloud City on its surface.
Before the name Alderaan was finalized in the second draft of A New Hope, the planet was originally referred to as Ogana Major. Other potential names that were considered for worlds that shared characteristics with Alderaan included Aquilae, Utapau and Ophuchi.