Kohei
A masculine Japanese name meaning "radiant one" or "luminous child".
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the first name Kohei. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kohei today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kohei births was 1993 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kohei. 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 Kohei with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
144
~ 1 in 2,380,238 Americans
Peak year
1993
12 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2017 SSA rank
#11,556
Tracked since 1989
Census
Kohei in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 375 people with the first name Kohei, which placed it at #25,327 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
#25,327
National first-name rank
People counted
375
375 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kohei
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kohei is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and White (2.9%). 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 Kohei 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 Kohei at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.6% · 336
- Two or more races6.1% · 23
- White2.9% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 4
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
Popularity
Kohei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kohei from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 70 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kohei 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 Kohei during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Koheis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kohei
The given name Kohei has its origins in Japanese culture and language. It is a masculine name that emerged during the Edo period in Japan, which spanned from the early 17th century to the late 19th century. The name Kohei is derived from the Japanese words "ko," meaning "light" or "radiance," and "hei," meaning "calm" or "peaceful."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kohei can be found in historical texts from the late 17th century, where it was used to refer to a prominent samurai warrior who was known for his bravery and composure in battle. This samurai, whose name was Kohei Fukushima, lived from 1637 to 1711 and served under the Tokugawa shogunate.
In the 18th century, the name Kohei gained popularity among the aristocratic classes and was often given to sons of noble families. One notable figure from this time period was Kohei Yoshida, a renowned artist and calligrapher who lived from 1768 to 1837. His intricate brushwork and mastery of traditional Japanese art forms earned him widespread acclaim.
As Japan entered the Meiji era in the late 19th century, the name Kohei continued to be used, though it became more common among the general population. One prominent individual with this name was Kohei Miyata, a pioneering educator who lived from 1858 to 1933. He played a significant role in establishing modern educational systems in Japan and advocating for the importance of universal education.
In the 20th century, several notable figures bore the name Kohei. Among them was Kohei Uchiyamada, a celebrated sumo wrestler who competed from the 1940s to the 1960s. He achieved the highest rank of yokozuna and is remembered for his exceptional skill and dedication to the sport.
Another prominent figure was Kohei Inada, a politician and diplomat who lived from 1925 to 2009. He served as Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and played a crucial role in strengthening international relations and promoting peace during his tenure.
While the name Kohei has its roots in Japanese culture, it has also been adopted in other parts of the world, particularly among individuals with Japanese ancestry or those who appreciate the meaning and significance of the name. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its connection to concepts of light, peace, and tranquility, which resonate across cultures and generations.
People
Kohei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kohei as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kohei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kohei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 144 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kohei 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 2,380,238 US residents.
Is Kohei a common name?
We classify Kohei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.7% 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 Kohei most popular?
The single biggest year for Kohei was 1993, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kohei is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kohei in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 375 people with the name Kohei, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,327 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 Kohei 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 Kohei?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kohei leans strongly male. 374 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 4 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Kohei?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kohei is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and White (2.9%). 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 Kohei most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kohei in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (336 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 Kohei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kohei a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kohei 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 Kohei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kohei 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 Kohei 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 common is the name Kohei?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.