Jiro
Of Japanese origin meaning "second son".
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the first name Jiro. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jiro today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jiro births was 1918 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jiro. 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 Jiro with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
218
~ 1 in 1,572,268 Americans
Peak year
1918
22 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,289
Tracked since 1913
Census
Jiro in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 479 people with the first name Jiro, which placed it at #21,270 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
#21,270
National first-name rank
People counted
479
479 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
51.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jiro
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jiro is Asian/Pacific Islander at 51.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.3%) and Two or More Races (12.7%). 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 Jiro 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 Jiro at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander51.4% · 246
- Hispanic or Latino27.3% · 131
- Two or more races12.7% · 61
- Black or African American4.4% · 21
- White4.0% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Jiro: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jiro from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 116 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Jiro remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jiro 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 Jiro during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jiros live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jiro
The name Jiro has its roots in Japanese culture, originating from the combination of the words "ji" meaning "second" and "ro" meaning "son." This suggests that the name was initially given to second-born sons. Its earliest known usage dates back to the Heian period in Japan, spanning from 794 to 1185 AD.
In Japanese folklore and literature, Jiro has made several appearances. One notable example is the Kamakura-period tale of "The Tale of the Heike," where a character named Jiro Kokushi is mentioned. This work, written in the early 13th century, provides insight into the use of the name during that era.
The first recorded instance of a famous individual bearing the name Jiro was Jiro Tsunayoshi, a Japanese calligrapher who lived from 1558 to 1627. He was renowned for his mastery of the art form and his influential works.
Another prominent figure was Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese aeronautical engineer born in 1903 and best known for designing the iconic Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft used during World War II. His contributions to aviation design were significant, and he is widely regarded as one of Japan's most accomplished engineers.
In the realm of cinema, Jiro Horikoshi's life and work were the subject of the acclaimed 2013 animated film "The Wind Rises," directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. This film brought renewed attention to the name and its historical significance.
Moving to the modern era, Jiro Ono, born in 1925, is a celebrated sushi chef and owner of the renowned Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant in Tokyo. His dedication to perfecting the art of sushi has earned him global recognition, including being featured in the documentary film "Jiro Dreams of Sushi."
Another noteworthy individual is Jiro Kawakita, a Japanese engineer and inventor born in 1942. He is best known for developing the Kawakita Jiro method, a structured approach to problem-solving and idea generation widely used in various industries.
These examples showcase the enduring presence of the name Jiro throughout Japanese history, spanning various fields and eras. While its origins can be traced back to the Heian period, the name continues to carry cultural significance and has been borne by influential figures across different disciplines.
People
Jiro + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jiro as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jiro: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jiro?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jiro 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 1,572,268 US residents.
Is Jiro a common name?
We classify Jiro as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 409 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jiro most popular?
The single biggest year for Jiro was 1918, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jiro is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jiro in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 479 people with the name Jiro, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,270 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 Jiro 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 Jiro?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jiro leans strongly male. 468 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 7 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Jiro?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jiro is Asian/Pacific Islander at 51.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.3%) and Two or More Races (12.7%). 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 Jiro most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Jiro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.4% (246 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 Jiro in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jiro a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jiro 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 Jiro still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jiro 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 Jiro 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 the name Jiro?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.