How old is Baby Yoda on The Mandalorian? And what is his real name?

The Mandalorian
(Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney)

Since The Mandalorian season 1, the internet has been affectionately referring to the unnamed Child as Baby Yoda. Nothing much about the mysterious green creature was revealed in the first instalment, besides the fact that he’s clearly the same species as Yoda, he’s way older than he looks, and he’s very strong in the Force.

The Mandalorian season 2 answers more than a handful of questions about the green creature. Before we go into detail, though, here's your spoiler warning. We're going into detail on Chapter 13 here, so if you have not watched that far, turn back now – or get yourself to Disney Plus immediately. 

How old is Baby Yoda?

Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian

(Image credit: IMDb)

Chapter 1 sent Mando on a quest to find a bounty aged 50 years old, who turned out to be Baby Yoda himself. IG-11 explained that species age differently, so it makes sense that the decades-old Child is still, well, a child. After all, Yoda himself lived to his 900s. But Baby Yoda being 50 is quite significant, as it means the Child was born the same year as Anakin Skywalker himself – so, as we learned in Chapter 13, Baby Yoda would have lived through Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi.

What is Baby Yoda's name?

The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5

(Image credit: Disney)

The Mandalorian season 2 has given us plenty of new information about the Child with the latest episode. It turns out he grew up at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the former capital of the Republic from the prequel trilogy, and was trained by more than one Master. Ahsoka Tano, making her long-rumoured live-action debut, even reveals his real name – Grogu. Ahsoka used her Jedi mind powers to uncover Grogu’s past, as he's still unable to communicate verbally.

She also explains that Baby Yoda survived Order 66 thanks to someone smuggling him away, though he’s been alone for a long time since. That explains why he’s formed such a strong attachment to Mando, which makes Ahsoka resistant to training him. It also explains why Grogu doesn't want to use his powers: no doubt he was told to hide his abilities so the Empire would not come after him.

We’ll have to wait and see if a Jedi eventually takes on the task of training Grogu, which will most likely be difficult – as Mando himself says, the baby is stubborn. For now, check out our The Mandalorian season 2 release schedule so you don’t miss the gunslinger and Grogu’s next adventure in the galaxy far, far away.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

Latest in TV
A group of Men wearing armour during the TV show, Vikings.
Vikings creator is heading back to his Norse roots with this new historical drama on Amazon
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again immediately earns its title with a foundation-shaking opening that sets it apart from its Netflix predecessor
Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg and Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
HBO boss says new Game of Thrones spin-off's battles "match" the mainline series at a "fraction of the price"
Noah Centineo in The Recruit
The Recruit fans are blaming The Night Agent for the show's cancelation: "It's Netflix's fault for releasing at the same time"
Moonrise anime series
Attack on Titan studio's new anime series just got a release date, three years after Netflix unveiled its first teaser
A Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
The Evangelion studio's Gundam anime finally gets a release date and streaming home
Latest in News
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
The Witcher 4 devs explain how Ciri's fighting style will differ from Geralt's: "He's nimble, but he feels like a block...she's liquid"
Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks
From "I stopped working on the project entirely" to "we are so back," Balatro creator says the roguelike's development was always about passion and taking breaks was essential
InZOI screenshot from creation studio demo which depicts a shockingly realistic character model rendered in Unreal Engine 5
The director behind The Sims competitor InZOI spent 20 years making MMOs, but he ditched the massive RPGs after playing life sims with his son
Demon Slayer season 4 episode 2
True to the anime, Stardew Valley's hottest mod adds two romanceable Demon Slayer dudes who are both "rude and standoffish" at first
A group of Men wearing armour during the TV show, Vikings.
Vikings creator is heading back to his Norse roots with this new historical drama on Amazon
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of joker cards
Balatro creator intentionally avoided roguelikes but did eventually play and "steal from" Slay the Spire anyway: "Holy s***. Now that is a game"