The Star Wars franchise is a long-running saga with a series of movies, TV shows, and other media that revolve around a variety of characters and events. The origins began with Luke Skywalker being exposed to the ancient ways of the Jedi. From its inception, the Star Wars universe gained a massive following. This led to the making of a total of 11 films, five TV shows, and numerous video games, most of which were canonical until Disney purchased Lucasfilms. While not all Star Wars properties are critically acclaimed, the franchise’s universe has nonetheless enraptured audiences. A big part of the appeal is the technology and the variety of species seen throughout the franchise.

One of the most popular characters from the original series was a small green creature by the name of Yoda. While Yoda was small in stature, he was very powerful with the Force. Yoda may not fight often, but when he does, it is truly a sight to behold — as seen in his fight with Palpetine in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. In the original films, after 900 years of life, Yoda still managed to train an adult Luke to tap into his connection with the Force and become a real Jedi like his father was. This only leads us to want to know more about the green species that seems to have an unusually strong connection with the Force. What’s more, prior to Grogu’s reveal in The Mandalorian —whose character caused a huge Star Wars toy sales spike — Yoda was largely thought to be one of a kind. Now, more than ever, fans and audiences alike are asking: what is Yoda’s species called?

Yoda is Not the Only One of His Kind

     Lucasfilm

Many fans originally thought that Yoda was one of a kind. However, the super fans know of another member of the same species known as Yaddle, a member of the Jedi Council in Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace who is also referenced in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in which Cal refers to his idol who sat on the Jedi council, describing their appearance; and when Cere, a former Jedi helping him on his mission, mentions Yoda, he quickly corrects her and says that he was referring to Master Yaddle.

Another new addition to the species is Grogu AKA “The Child” in The Mandalorian. The same species as Yoda and Yaddle just in baby form at the age of 50 years old, which is what led to his colloquial nickname “Baby Yoda." Thanks to this endearing toddler, a new interest has arisen in their species. From their exceedingly slow aging to their exceptionally strong connection with the Force, more and more questions are being asked.

Force-Sensitive Beings

All biological beings have something called “Midi-chlorians” within them, which allows them to connect with the Force. Exceptional Jedi have a high Midi-chlorian count and in Phantom Menace it’s revealed that a young Anakin Skywalker’s count is off the charts at a count of 20,000 per cell, having a higher count than Yoda —therefore implying that Yoda previously had the highest count ever heard of. It would seem that while Yoda’s species is not abundant, each member we’ve been introduced to was able to use the Force. We can assume that Yoda’s species have a higher Midi-chlorian count than any other being alive. Also, every member of his species thus far has been drawn towards the light with little to no attraction to the Dark Side. This may be a natural attraction of all the species, but with only three members throughout the entire saga, it’s hard to be sure.

The Species is a Well-Kept Secret

So what exactly is their species called? The real answer is that George Lucas has chosen to keep their species a mystery, joking that Yoda is the love-child of Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog in reference to the fact that Yoda is voiced by Frank Oz, who is also the voice actor of both Muppet characters. Lucas remained silent about Yoda’s species from the time of The Return of the Jedi until the appearance of Yaddle in The Phantom Menace. While fans expect the secret to be continually kept, more about the species is sure to be revealed in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett as Grogu makes appearances being trained by Luke.

Fan-Made Name

As much as we can all appreciate the mystery behind the species, it can be quite frustrating. We don’t know what they’re called let alone where they originate from or their history. An interesting result of the missing name for the species is that fans have decided to take matters into their own hands. Fans have come up with a placeholder name for the species, choosing to refer to them as “Tridactyls” based on the number of fingers and toes they have. While this name is based on biological traits seen in the species, perhaps this is not much different from the real name of species. Whether we ever find out the real name of Yoda’s species or not is up in the air and the mystery remains — for now.