Akira
A masculine Japanese name meaning "bright" or "clear".
Name Census estimates that about 8,837 living Americans carry the first name Akira. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Akira today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akira births was 2008 (453 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akira. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Akira started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
8.8K
~ 1 in 38,786 Americans
Peak year
2008
453 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#955
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Akira
Akira is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 9,523 total registrations, 1,968 (20.7%) were male and 7,555 (79.3%) were female.
Akira as a male name
- Ranked #2,499 in 2024
- 54 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1927 (54 births)
Akira as a female name
- Ranked #955 in 2024
- 272 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (424 births)
Popularity
Akira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Akira from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,992 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Akira remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Akira by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Akira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Akiras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Akira, while Oregon, New Mexico, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 177 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Akira
The name Akira is of Japanese origin and has its roots in the early 8th century. It is a unisex name that can be used for both boys and girls. The name is derived from the combination of two Japanese words: "aki" meaning "bright" or "clear," and "ra" meaning "truth" or "value." Together, the name Akira can be interpreted as "bright truth" or "clear value."
The name's earliest recorded use dates back to the Nara period (710-794 AD) in Japan. During this time, the name was primarily given to boys and was associated with nobility and scholars. It was often bestowed upon those who were thought to possess a clear understanding of the world and a pursuit of knowledge.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Akira can be found in the Man'yōshū, a collection of Japanese poetry from the 8th century. The poems within this anthology featured several individuals with the name Akira, indicating its prevalence during that era.
Throughout Japanese history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Akira. One of the most famous was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), the renowned Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter who directed iconic films such as "Rashomon," "Seven Samurai," and "Ran." His contributions to cinema have had a lasting impact on the art form and have inspired countless filmmakers around the world.
Another significant figure with the name Akira was Akira Toriyama (born 1955), the legendary Japanese manga artist and illustrator best known for creating the iconic "Dragon Ball" series. His work has captivated audiences globally and has become a cultural phenomenon.
In the realm of literature, Akira Yoshimura (1927-2006) was a celebrated Japanese novelist and short story writer who explored themes of human endurance and the resilience of the human spirit. His works, such as "Shipwrecks" and "On Parole," have been widely acclaimed and translated into numerous languages.
The name Akira has also been associated with notable figures in science and technology. Akira Endo (1933-2014) was a Japanese biochemist who made groundbreaking contributions to the development of statin drugs, which are widely used to treat high cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular diseases.
Lastly, Akira Suzuki (born 1930) is a Japanese chemist and Nobel Laureate who is renowned for his pioneering work in the field of organic synthesis, particularly the development of the Suzuki reaction, which has had a profound impact on the synthesis of complex organic molecules.
These examples demonstrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Akira, which has been carried by individuals who have made remarkable contributions across various fields throughout the centuries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Akira
People
Akira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akira as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Akira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,837 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akira going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 38,786 US residents.
Is Akira a common name?
We classify Akira as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,523 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akira most popular?
The single biggest year for Akira was 2008, when 453 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akira is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Akira a female name?
Yes, 79.3% of people registered as Akira in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.