As thousands of students gear up to return to the Bryce Jordan Center for THON, the organization released the names of the 707 dancers who will take the floor for the 46-hour dance marathon.

The number of dancers reflects pre-pandemic quantities that were seen in 2020 — down to the exact number, actually. The past two years, with modifications to the dance marathon, saw far fewer dancers. However, it appears that things are starting to return to normal.

For the first time since Onward State began reporting the most common dancer names, it’s the first time that a traditionally male name leads the list. With 12 representatives, Michael is definitively the most popular dancer name for THON 2023.

Both Ryan and Julia come in a close second, tied at 11 dancers apiece. With no nicknames listed for either, there’s no tie-breaker here.

We’re sorry to report that the Emily streak has ended after nearly seven victorious THONs. This year, only five dancers are named Emily.

Last year’s other winners, Madison and Abigail, remained in the top 25 names, but definitely fell a bit in frequency. Popular names from last year that failed to make an appearance include Lauren, Sydney, and Amanda.

Neither Michael nor Ryan cracked the top 25 in THON 2022, and Julia wasn’t even in the top 10. So, who knows? We could have a completely new name reigning next year.

This group of dancers had a total of 356 unique names, just shy of last year’s 372.

Good luck to all of the Michaels, Ryans, Julias, and everyone in between who will dance in THON 2023.

We dance in nine!