Junpei
A Japanese masculine name composed of "jun" meaning obedient or pure, and "pei" meaning warrior.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Junpei. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Junpei today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Junpei births was 1996 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Junpei. 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 Junpei. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1996
6 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,079
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Junpei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Junpei from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 6 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
Junpei 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 Junpei 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 Junpei
Junpei is a Japanese masculine given name with origins dating back to the Heian period (794-1185 CE). The name is comprised of two kanji characters: "jun" meaning obedient or pure, and "pei" meaning generous or plump. Together, the name can be interpreted as "obedient and generous" or "pure and plentiful."
The earliest recorded usage of the name Junpei can be found in historical records and literature from the late Heian period. One notable example is Junpei no Sadamitsu, a warrior and nobleman who served under the Taira clan during the Genpei War (1180-1185 CE).
Throughout the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE) and the subsequent Muromachi period (1336-1573 CE), the name Junpei continued to be used within the samurai class and among the nobility. Notable individuals from these eras include Junpei Kagemitsu, a skilled archer and retainer of the Hojo clan, and Junpei Yoshimune, a Buddhist monk and poet from the late Muromachi period.
During the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), the name Junpei gained popularity among the merchant class and commoners. One prominent figure from this time was Junpei Toshitsugu, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist who established several schools and hospitals in Edo (present-day Tokyo).
In more recent history, the name Junpei has been associated with several notable individuals, including Junpei Gomikawa (1916-1997), a renowned Japanese architect known for his modernist designs, and Junpei Tsuji (1924-2017), a celebrated chef and author who helped popularize Japanese cuisine globally.
Other notable individuals with the name Junpei include Junpei Morita (1888-1977), a pioneering Japanese industrialist and co-founder of Sony Corporation, Junpei Sakurai (1932-2014), a renowned physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics, and Junpei Yasuda (1910-1986), a successful businessman and philanthropist who established the prestigious Yasuda Prizes.
People
Junpei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Junpei 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
Junpei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Junpei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Junpei 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Junpei a common name?
We classify Junpei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Junpei most popular?
The single biggest year for Junpei was 1996, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Junpei is about 19 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 Junpei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Junpei a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Junpei 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 Junpei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Junpei 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 Junpei 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 Junpei?
Find out how many people have the name Junpei on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.