Nation’s best-loved Star Wars characters revealed
A new study has unveiled the Star Wars characters that UK fans love the most, with the adorable Baby Yoda taking the top spot.
Gaming magazine 1337 Games analysed search data over the last 12 months for more than 130 Star Wars characters across the UK to see which received the highest number of monthly searches and could be called the most loved.
Grogu, AKA Baby Yoda, leads as the UK’s most beloved Star Wars character. This adorable little guy captures hearts nationwide, securing his position with 39,073 monthly Google searches. Baby Yoda’s significant presence in Star Wars media and his upcoming appearances in his first feature-length movie, The Mandalorian (above, right) and Grogu, set to release in 2026, continue to drive fan interest and discussions.
Bolton, Croydon, and Peterborough had some of the highest Google searches for Grogu across the UK per 100,000 people, and the UK searches for him more than twice as much as Yoda.
Anakin Skywalker secures the second spot and remains a pivotal figure with 31,449 monthly searches across the UK. This reflects his critical role in the Star Wars saga and the lasting impact of his story on fans across generations.
Due to Anakin’s character arc, he is listed separately from Darth Vader, and to this day, people still search Google almost 5000 times per month for “Who is Darth Vader?” Anakin Skywalker received the most Google searches from places such as Bath, Bournemouth, and Norwich.
Securing third place is Darth Vader, with 30,438 monthly Google searches. As one of the most iconic villains in cinematic history, his enduring legacy continues to intrigue both new and old fans alike. Darth Vader receives the most searches per capita from Bristol, Stockport, and Edinburgh.
Jabba the Hutt takes the fourth spot, with 28,861 monthly searches, indicating a strong curiosity and fascination with one of the galaxy’s most notorious villains. “Jabba” is most popular in Newcastle, Leeds, and Birmingham, receiving more searches per 100,000 citizens than anywhere else.
Rounding off the top five, we find Obi-Wan Kenobi with 27,694 Google searches. Obi-Wan is one of the first introductions of “the Force” to many fans, especially through his guidance of Luke Skywalker. Obi-Wan receives the most searches per 100,000 of the population in Lincoln, Bath, and Bolton.
Princess Leia secures the sixth spot with 19,864 monthly Google searches, and Yoda ranks seventh with 18,738 Google searches, highlighting the lasting admiration of these key figures in the Star Wars universe.
Padmé Amidala ranks eighth with 17,479 Google searches, and Darth Maul ranks ninth with 15,358 monthly searches. These characters remain popular at opposite ends of the light vs dark spectrum.
Emperor Palpatine completes the top ten with 15,037 monthly searches. Also known as “Darth Sidious” and “The Emperor”, Palpatine embodied evil and the dark side. Although not reaching the top ten, fan favourites Luke Skywalker ranked 12th, Chewbacca ranked 13th, R2-D2 ranked 17th, and Han Solo ranked
19th.