Then, around the Special Editions, people started pushing the “A New Hope” name hard, and also episode numbers.
I thought the use of episode numbers only really started catching on when TPM was released, becoming firmly entrenched once AOTC arrived.
Granted I was six when TPM came out and I couldnt read well yet so when I watched the OT as a young child, I hadnt noticed the episode numbers. So I was the same way, I didnt know of the episode numbers until TPM came out and since then I have taken them into consideration. These days I usually refer to them by their film name and not so much their number although sometimes I may still say ‘Episode (insert number)’. However I usually do say A New Hope so most people know exactly the film I mean.