Credit: Marvel StudiosYes, in the year 2022, Mad Titan Thanos may be dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but his name is living on through the names of people’s kids.
The Social Security Administration’s Name Popularity Index has listed the name Thanos in the top 10 Disney-inspired baby names this year, increasing by thousands since Avengers: Infinity War (2018) four years ago.
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Thanos has appeared in The Avengers (2012), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), but his primary role would come in the two-part climax to the Infinity Saga — Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Josh Brolin has portrayed the Mad Titan since 2014 and his performance via motion capture has been lauded as one of the best Villain performances in the comic book genre history.
But, despite his popularity as a fictional character, let’s not forget that the purple giant eradicated 50% of the universe’s population in order to bring balance to the cosmos. A plot that ultimately led to his death at the hands of the Avengers and a five-year-long battle to bring their fallen comrades back. Time travel, Infinity Stones, the Infinity Gauntlet, Natasha’s sacrifice, and an “on your left” later, Thanos would be defeated in the epic war at the Avengers Compound.
And it seems that the character left such a lasting impression on people that they decided to name their kids after him. No, not those that bested him like Thor (Chris Hemsworth) or Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), but the purple giant himself.
Per the Social Security Administration’s Name Popularity Index (via ComicBook) it can be seen that Thanos has climbed by 2,982, bringing the name into the Top 10. Called the Influence Of Disney Characters On Baby Names, the ten most popular names are Quill, Kristoff, Rey, Aladdin, Merida, Belle, Simba, Olaf, Thanos, and Timon.
Related: Marvel’s Kang the Conqueror to Blame for No ‘X-Men’ or ‘Fantastic Four’
Quill, named after Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord from James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, retains the top spot, but Thanos is always surprising to find in lists like these, especially in the top 10. It will be interesting to see if, as the MCU moves forward to Phases Five and Six, the new big bad — Kang the Conqueror — will arrive in a future baby name list. Surely, if there are a number of Thanos out there, then there will likely be a flurry of Kangs coming in a few years.
Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, first appeared in Michael Waldron’s Loki as a Variant of himself, He Who Remains. The villain will next appear in a headlining role in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania alongside Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne/Wasp, respectively.
The popularity of names like Thanos proves the enduring power of The Walt Disney Company and its many owned brands have a major foothold in the influencer arena. It will be interesting to see if Eros — Thanos’s brother and played by the popular Harry Styles — will grow in popularity following his debut in last year’s Eternals (2021)
Would you name your child Thanos? Let us know in the comments down below!