Hisao
A masculine Japanese name meaning "enduring, eternal man".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Hisao. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hisao today is around 104 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hisao births was 1922 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hisao. 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
- • The typical person named Hisao is about 104 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hisaos were born before 1932.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hisao. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1922
17 babies that year
Average age
104
years old
1932 SSA rank
#3,549
Tracked since 1909
Census
Hisao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 111 people with the first name Hisao, which placed it at #51,800 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
#51,800
National first-name rank
People counted
111
111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
91.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hisao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hisao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Hisao 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 Hisao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander91.0% · 101
- Black or African American2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- White1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Popularity
Hisao: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hisao from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 102 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
Hisao 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 Hisao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hisaos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hisao
The name Hisao is derived from Japanese origin, with its roots tracing back to the ancient Heian period in Japan, spanning from 794 to 1185 CE. It is composed of two kanji characters: "hi," meaning "prosperous" or "eternal," and "ao," signifying "blue" or "green." The name can be interpreted as "eternal blue/green" or "eternal prosperity."
In Japanese culture, the name Hisao has been associated with longevity, endurance, and a connection to nature's hues. Historically, it was a popular name choice for boys born into samurai families or those with ties to the aristocracy during the feudal era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hisao can be found in the Heike Monogatari, a medieval Japanese epic that recounts the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans in the late 12th century. The text mentions a warrior named Hisao no Narishige, who fought valiantly for the Taira clan.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Hisao. In the 16th century, Hisao Naito (1546-1620) was a renowned samurai and daimyo (feudal lord) who played a pivotal role in the reunification of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate.
In the realm of literature, Hisao Taki (1875-1957) was a celebrated Japanese poet and novelist known for his works exploring themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
The 20th century saw the rise of Hisao Oguchi (1901-1987), a prominent Japanese economist and scholar who made significant contributions to the field of economic theory and policy.
Another notable figure was Hisao Inagaki (1888-1963), a pioneering Japanese film director and screenwriter who helped shape the early years of Japanese cinema.
More recently, Hisao Nakai (1941-2011) was a renowned Japanese artist and sculptor whose works explored the intersection of traditional Japanese aesthetics and modern abstract forms.
These examples illustrate the enduring presence of the name Hisao throughout Japanese history, spanning various fields and disciplines, and reflecting the cultural significance and versatility of this moniker.
People
Hisao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hisao 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
Hisao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hisao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hisao 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Hisao a common name?
We classify Hisao as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 147 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hisao most popular?
The single biggest year for Hisao was 1922, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hisao is about 104 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hisao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 111 people with the name Hisao, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,800 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 Hisao 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 Hisao?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hisao leans strongly male. 109 people counted with this name were male (96.5%), compared with 4 female bearers (3.5%). 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 Hisao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hisao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Hisao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Hisao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (101 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 Hisao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hisao a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hisao 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 Hisao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hisao 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 Hisao 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 Hisao as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.