Daisuke
A masculine Japanese name meaning "great helper".
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the first name Daisuke. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Daisuke today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daisuke births was 1992 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daisuke. 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.
People living today
131
~ 1 in 2,616,445 Americans
Peak year
1992
13 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,659
Tracked since 1978
Census
Daisuke in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 679 people with the first name Daisuke, which placed it at #16,555 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,555
National first-name rank
People counted
679
679 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daisuke
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daisuke is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Daisuke described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Daisuke at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander91.5% · 621
- Two or more races2.9% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 19
- White2.5% · 17
- Black or African American0.3% · 2
Popularity
Daisuke: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daisuke from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 64 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daisuke 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 Daisuke during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daisukes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Daisuke
The name Daisuke is a masculine Japanese given name with a long and fascinating history. It originated from two kanji characters: "dai" meaning "great" or "large," and "suke" meaning "assist" or "help." Together, the name conveys the meaning of "a great helper" or "one who provides great assistance."
The earliest known records of the name date back to the Heian period (794-1185 CE) in Japan. During this time, the name was used primarily among the nobility and samurai classes. It was often given to sons who were expected to grow up and become loyal retainers or warriors, assisting their lords in times of need.
In the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE), the name gained further prominence as it was adopted by several notable samurai families. One of the most famous historical figures bearing the name Daisuke was Daisuke Nishi, a 14th-century samurai known for his bravery and loyalty during the Nanboku-chō Wars (1336-1392 CE).
The name's popularity continued through the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), when it became more widely used among the commoner classes as well. During this time, a notable Daisuke was Daisuke Katō (1765-1822), a renowned poet and scholar who contributed significantly to the study of Japanese literature and classical texts.
In the 19th century, Daisuke Nakahara (1835-1926) was a prominent educator and author who played a crucial role in modernizing Japan's education system during the Meiji Restoration.
Another famous Daisuke from more recent history was Daisuke Yamauchi (1924-2013), a successful businessman and the third president of Nintendo, the iconic video game company. Under his leadership, Nintendo achieved global success with iconic franchises like Mario and The Legend of Zelda.
Throughout its long history, the name Daisuke has been associated with qualities such as strength, loyalty, and a willingness to assist others. It has been borne by warriors, scholars, artists, and entrepreneurs, each leaving their mark on Japanese history and culture.
People
Daisuke + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daisuke as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Daisuke: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daisuke?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 131 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daisuke 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 2,616,445 US residents.
Is Daisuke a common name?
We classify Daisuke as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 136 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daisuke most popular?
The single biggest year for Daisuke was 1992, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daisuke is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Daisuke in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 679 people with the name Daisuke, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,555 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Daisuke in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Daisuke?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daisuke appears almost entirely male. Of the 672 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Daisuke?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daisuke is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Daisuke most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Daisuke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (621 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Daisuke in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daisuke a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daisuke in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Daisuke still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daisuke in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Daisuke can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Daisuke?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.