'Karate Kid' Villain Goes From Jerk to Popular Baby Name Thanks to 'Cobra Kai'

A 'Karate Kid' series OG was shocked to learn his character's name has skyrocketed in popularity for babies ... and he hopes that means no more random insults from fans on the street.

Here's the deal ... the Social Security Administration just released the most popular baby names for 2023 ... and highlighted that the second fastest-rising boy name was "Chozen."

For the "wax-on, wax-off" uninitiated, that was the bad dude in "The Karate Kid: Part II" who tried to kill Daniel, AKA Ralph Macchio ... only to become a fan-favorite hero thanks to his return in Netflix's wildly popular "Cobra Kai."

Yuji Okumoto tells TMZ he always thought the name was cool, but since Chozen was such a d-bag in the 1986 film, he never imagined parents would want to name their kid after him!

But now that Chozen is kicking butt with the heroes for the sixth and final season of 'CK,' it's all good.

Yuji tells TMZ it was getting old hearing "asshole," among other unpleasant comments from random fans, so the character's return has been awesome for several reasons.

The first of three parts making up the final season of "Cobra Kai" premieres July 18.