Eri
A feminine Japanese name meaning "protector" or "blessed protector".
Name Census estimates that about 841 living Americans carry the first name Eri. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 55.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Eri today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eri births was 2024 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eri. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Eri with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
841
~ 1 in 407,556 Americans
Peak year
2024
55 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,286
Tracked since 1963
Census
Eri in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,036 people with the first name Eri, which placed it at #7,486 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
#7,486
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,036 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
44.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eri
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eri is Asian/Pacific Islander at 44.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.8%) and White (18.9%). 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 Eri 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 Eri at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander44.1% · 898
- Hispanic or Latino26.8% · 545
- White18.9% · 385
- Black or African American6.7% · 137
- Two or more races3.4% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Eri
Eri is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 862 total registrations, 385 (44.7%) were male and 477 (55.3%) were female.
Eri as a male name
- Ranked #10,169 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (19 births)
Eri as a female name
- Ranked #3,286 in 2024
- 48 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (48 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eri on both sides of the split. Of the 2,038 people counted with this name, 875 were male (42.9%) and 1,163 were female (57.1%).
Popularity
Eri: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eri from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 221 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eri 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 Eri during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Eri, while New York, Ohio, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eri
The given name Eri has its origins in the Japanese language. It is a unisex name that has been in use for centuries, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 8th century CE.
The name Eri is derived from the Japanese word "eri," which means "collar" or "lapel." This etymological connection suggests that the name may have been used to describe someone who worked in the textile industry or with clothing.
In ancient Japanese literature, the name Eri appears in several historical texts and records. One notable example is the "Kojiki," a collection of myths and historical accounts from the 8th century CE, which mentions a character named Eri-hime, a princess from the Yamato period.
Throughout Japanese history, several notable individuals have borne the name Eri. These include Eri Musha (1896-1977), a renowned Japanese painter and printmaker, and Eri Yoshida (born 1991), a Japanese professional baseball player who made history as the first woman to play in a professional men's baseball league.
Another notable Eri was Eri Hotta (1941-2023), a Japanese politician and diplomat who served as the Japanese Ambassador to the Netherlands and as a member of the House of Representatives.
In the realm of entertainment, Eri Fukatsu (born 1985) is a Japanese actress and model, while Eri Ishida (born 1980) is a popular Japanese voice actress known for her work in anime and video games.
Eri Ninamiya (born 1992) is a Japanese swimmer who has represented her country in several international competitions, including the Olympic Games.
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have carried the name Eri throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence and significance in Japanese culture.
People
Eri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eri as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 841 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eri 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 407,556 US residents.
Is Eri a common name?
We classify Eri as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 862 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eri most popular?
The single biggest year for Eri was 2024, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eri is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eri in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,036 people with the name Eri, or 0.67 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,486 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 Eri 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 Eri?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eri on both sides of the split. Of the 2,038 people counted with this name, 875 were male (42.9%) and 1,163 were female (57.1%). 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 Eri?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eri is Asian/Pacific Islander at 44.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.8%) and White (18.9%). 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 Eri most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Eri in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.1% (898 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 Eri in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eri a female name?
Yes, 55.3% of people registered as Eri 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.
Is Eri still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eri 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 Eri 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 people have Eri as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.