People Keep Naming Their Kids Thanos

By Adam Barnhardt

Believe it or not, but Thanos has blossomed into a popular baby name since the character became a pop culture mainstay in 2018. In a new study published by OrganicBabyFormula.com, Thanos has risen 2,892 spots in the Social Security Administration's Name Popularity Index since Avengers: Infinity War was released four years ago.

Based on the aforementioned study, Thanos is the ninth-most-popular baby name based on Disney-owned characters. Quill, after the Guardians of the Galaxy's Peter Quill/Star-Lord, reigns supreme and is followed by Kristoff, Rey, Aladdin, Merida, Belle, Simba, and Olaf. The full listing can be seen below.

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While most of the names in the study came from popular Star Wars and Disney Animation characters, Wanda, Valkyrie, Sebastian, and Loki also happened to make the list.

When we spoke with Jim Starlin earlier this year, the Marvel Comics icon—and creator of the beloved cosmic character—said the Mad Titan's popularity has taken him by complete surprise.

"I mean, all these strange esoteric characters that they would never touch because back when they started it was strictly Batmans, Spider-Man, you know the heroes," Starlin said. "And the fact that Thanos has gotten as big as he has, quite frankly, surprised the hell out of me because I always thought he was just too weird and esoteric and apparently wrong. That's why I don't make movies."

Thanos was the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first true "Big Bad," and will soon be followed up by Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror.

"It comes down to the cast and with Jonathan Majors, who I think took over the Hall H stage, you know, in the three minutes he was up there," Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige told us. "It's amazing, and I said to him there's nobody's shoulders I'd rather be putting the multiverse saga on than his. It's really impressive what Jonathan Majors is able to do and all the different incarnations, variants, if you will, of Kang that we will see him do. It's really pretty cool."

He added, "What I love is that he's totally different from Thanos. That he is completely different. That it's not just how about there's a bigger purple guy with a helmet? That's not what Kang is. Kang is a very different type of villain and the fact that he is many, many different characters is what's most exciting and most differentiates him."

Thanos can be seen in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, both now streaming on Disney+.

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