Grogu, with a misspelled name tag, at a coffeeshop in Boston shortly after the episode aired (Photo: Brandon Simonson, 2020)
At the 2019 Name of the Year competition, held during the 2020 annual meeting of the American Name Society in New Orleans, the name “Baby Yoda” won in the “Artistic and Literary Name” category. In his report of the competition, Cleve Evans writes,
Baby Yoda is the popular designation for a character in the Disney Plus Star Wars series “The Mandalorian.” In the film, this recurring character with saucer eyes and bat-like ears is known simply as The Child. However, viewers and critics quickly dubbed him Baby Yoda. The character is almost always called this alternative name on social media. It’s unusual for the common name of a fictional character that was created by fans to replace the official name originally given by writers or producers.
Season 2 of the popular series, which aired on Disney Plus in the Fall of 2020, has revealed The Child‘s real name: Grogu.
The big reveal follows the introduction of another Star Wars fan favorite, Ahsoka Tano, a former Jedi Padawan well-known from the animated Star Wars series, who reveals The Child‘s name to the titular character and audience alike. While the name Grogu was recognized and duly nominated for the American Name Society’s 2020 Name of the Year in the “Artistic and Literary Name” category, popular Canadian television series Schitt’s Creek won the vote. Read more about Grogu and The Mandalorian in the episode recap from The New York Times, and may the force be with you. Always.