Haku
A unisex Japanese name meaning "white" or "lucky."
Name Census estimates that about 50 living Americans carry the first name Haku. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Haku today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haku births was 2024 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haku. 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 Haku. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
50
~ 1 in 6,855,087 Americans
Peak year
2024
11 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,387
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Haku: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haku from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 32 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
Haku 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 Haku during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Haku
The name Haku has its origins in the Japanese language. It is a gender-neutral name that has been in use for centuries. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 8th century CE.
Haku is derived from the Japanese word "haku," which means "white" or "bright." In Japanese culture, the color white symbolizes purity, innocence, and clarity. The name Haku may have been given to children as a wish for them to live a life of purity and clarity.
The name Haku has been mentioned in various Japanese literary works and historical records throughout the centuries. One notable mention is in the Tale of Genji, a classic work of Japanese literature written in the early 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu. In this work, a character named Haku no Kimi, meaning "Lady Haku," plays a significant role.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Haku was Haku Kyoi (718-782 CE), a renowned Japanese Buddhist monk who played a crucial role in the development of Japanese Buddhism during the Nara period.
Another notable figure was Haku Rakuten (1292-1351 CE), a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and poet who was famous for his teachings and literary works. His poems and writings have been influential in Japanese literature and Zen Buddhism.
In the 16th century, Haku Amenomori (1507-1562 CE) was a prominent Japanese samurai and military strategist who served under the powerful Tokugawa clan. He played a significant role in the unification of Japan during the Sengoku period.
In the realm of Japanese art, Haku Keisai (1818-1890 CE) was a renowned ukiyo-e artist and painter who was known for his woodblock prints and depictions of Japanese life and culture.
Haku Untei (1610-1693 CE) was a Japanese tea master and calligrapher who made significant contributions to the development of the Japanese tea ceremony and calligraphic arts during the Edo period.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Haku. The name has a rich cultural heritage and has been associated with various fields, including religion, literature, warfare, and the arts.
People
Haku + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haku as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Haku: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haku?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haku 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 6,855,087 US residents.
Is Haku a common name?
We classify Haku as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 50 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haku most popular?
The single biggest year for Haku was 2024, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haku is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Haku in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haku a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Haku 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 Haku still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haku 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 Haku 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Haku?
Want to know how many people share the name Haku? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.