Asako
A feminine Japanese name meaning "morning child" or "born in the morning light".
Name Census estimates that about 22 living Americans carry the first name Asako. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Asako today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Asako births was 1925 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Asako. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Asako. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
22
~ 1 in 15,579,743 Americans
Peak year
1925
17 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1991 SSA rank
#13,340
Tracked since 1911
Popularity
Asako: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Asako from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 111 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Asako 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 Asako during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Asakos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Asako
The given name Asako is of Japanese origin, derived from the combination of the Japanese words "asa" meaning "morning" and "ko" meaning "child". It is a feminine name that has been in use in Japan for several centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Asako can be found in the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE) of Japanese history. Asako was the name of a Japanese noblewoman and poet who lived during this era.
In the Muromachi period (1336-1573 CE), there is a record of an Asako who was the daughter of a prominent samurai family. Her name was mentioned in a historical text chronicling the exploits of her family.
During the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), Asako Kagawa (1765-1828) was a renowned poet and calligrapher. She was highly regarded for her contributions to the literary and artistic circles of her time.
In the modern era, one of the most famous individuals with the name Asako was Princess Asako Kuninomiya (1909-1995), a member of the Japanese Imperial Family. She was the wife of Prince Yasuhiko Asaka and was known for her philanthropic work.
Another notable figure with the name Asako was Asako Nozawa (1906-1995), a Japanese writer and educator. She was a pioneer in promoting gender equality and women's rights in Japan during the 20th century.
While the name Asako is of Japanese origin, it has gained some popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among individuals with Japanese heritage or those who appreciate the cultural significance of the name.
People
Asako + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Asako 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
Asako: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Asako?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Asako 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 15,579,743 US residents.
Is Asako a common name?
We classify Asako as "Very Rare". It ranks above 41.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 225 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Asako most popular?
The single biggest year for Asako was 1925, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Asako is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Asako a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Asako 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.