Star Wars fans went wild when The Child was revealed to be named Grogu, but perhaps The Mandalorian character's moniker doesn't matter much after all. In season 2 of the Disney+ show, Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano formed a connection with The Child, eventually revealing the character's true name. The internet had a wide variety of reactions to the name. Some loved it. Some shrugged. And some just obsessed over what it could mean.
The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau knew The Child's real name early on, claiming he had written it in scripts from the very beginning. Still, this didn't stop the name given by fans, "Baby Yoda," from catching on with the cast and crew. In the various interviews, Favreau himself admits to calling Grogu by Baby Yoda instead. However, he does say that Grogu perks up in the show when called by his real name.
So what's in a name? In the Star Wars universe, not much. While it's fun to speculate over the secret meaning of "Grogu," the odds are that it doesn't mean a lot. When Star Wars names indicate something, subtlety is out the pressurized space window. A droopy-looking character playing music in Return of the Jedi was named Droopy McCool. A sleazy character in Attack Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is called Elan Sleazebaggano. Han Solo received his name based on the fact he was alone and known for being "solo." If anything, name creators prioritize wit and cleverness over significance.
Even when it seems like Star Wars names give clues about a deeper meaning, they usually don't. Ahead of Rey's lineage reveal in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, fans had all kinds of speculation about her name. For instance, "rey" means king in Spanish, which led to theories that she was related to Emperor Palpatine. There were also reaches attempting to connect Rey as being a Kenobi or the daughter of Han Solo. In the end, Rey was revealed to be a Palpatine, but it was for different reasons. According to actor Daisy Ridley (via Jimmy Kimmel Live) Rey's parentage repeatedly changed during production, proving the actual name didn't have anything to do with her origins.
Then there's Darth Vader, the most famous "secret meaning in a name" in Star Wars. The stories go that creator George Lucas had planned for Vader to be Luke Skywalker's father all along. According to the rumor, "Darth Vader" means "Dark Father" in German or Dutch, but those rumors aren't actually true. The translations wouldn't work unless the character's name was "Dunkel Vater" in German or "Donker Vader" in Dutch. Still, over and over again, the rumor needs to be debunked. So does the name Grogu have some secret meaning in The Mandalorian? It's possible. But with even Favreau calling the character Baby Yoda, how meaningful is it anyway?
