Honoka
A feminine Japanese name meaning "harmonious music" or "blessed fragrance".
Name Census estimates that about 43 living Americans carry the first name Honoka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Honoka today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Honoka births was 2008 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Honoka. 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 Honoka. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
43
~ 1 in 7,971,031 Americans
Peak year
2008
10 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,148
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Honoka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Honoka from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 21 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Honoka 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 Honoka 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 Honoka
The name Honoka is of Japanese origin and is a relatively modern name that gained popularity in the 20th century. It is derived from the Japanese words "ho" meaning "book" and "ka" meaning "flower" or "blossom." Together, the name can be interpreted to mean "blossoming book" or "book blossom."
While the name itself does not have a particularly long history, it is believed to have been inspired by the concept of knowledge blooming like a flower, representing the idea of intellectual growth and the pursuit of learning. This poetic symbolism likely contributed to its appeal as a name choice for children in Japan during the 20th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Honoka was Honoka Matsumoto, a Japanese singer and actress born in 1988. She rose to fame as a member of the popular Japanese idol group Nogizaka46.
Another notable figure named Honoka was Honoka Yukishiro, a Japanese voice actress born in 1992. She has lent her voice to various anime and video game characters, most notably portraying Honoka Kousaka in the multimedia project Love Live!
In the field of sports, Honoka Naganuma, a Japanese volleyball player born in 1998, has made a name for herself as a member of the Japanese national volleyball team, competing in international tournaments.
Historically, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Honoka was Honoka Hattori, a Japanese poet and calligrapher who lived during the Edo period (1603-1868). She was known for her skilled brushwork and her contributions to the development of traditional Japanese poetry forms.
Finally, Honoka Ishibashi, a Japanese author and scholar born in 1927, made significant contributions to the study of Japanese literature and culture. Her works explored the intersection of traditional Japanese values and modern society, offering insightful commentary on the evolution of Japanese identity.
These individuals, spanning various fields and time periods, exemplify the diverse paths taken by those who bear the name Honoka, each leaving their mark on Japanese culture and society in their own unique way.
People
Honoka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Honoka 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
Honoka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Honoka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 43 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Honoka 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 7,971,031 US residents.
Is Honoka a common name?
We classify Honoka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 43 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Honoka most popular?
The single biggest year for Honoka was 2008, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Honoka is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Honoka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Honoka 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.