Makoto
Sincere, honest, and straightforward - a virtuous Japanese name.
Name Census estimates that about 393 living Americans carry the first name Makoto. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Makoto today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makoto births was 1922 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makoto. 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.
People living today
393
~ 1 in 872,148 Americans
Peak year
1922
17 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,511
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Makoto: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makoto from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 107 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Makoto remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Makoto 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 Makoto during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Makotos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Makoto
Makoto is a Japanese given name with its origins dating back to the 8th century CE. The name is derived from the Chinese characters 誠 (makoto), meaning "truth," "sincerity," or "fidelity." It is believed to have been adopted into the Japanese language during the Nara period (710-794 CE), when the country was heavily influenced by Chinese culture.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Makoto can be found in the Kojiki, an ancient chronicle of Japanese mythology and history completed in 712 CE. In this text, Makoto is mentioned as the name of a minor deity.
Throughout Japanese history, the name Makoto has been borne by various notable figures. One of the most famous was Makoto Nakai (1838-1901), a prominent educator and founder of the Tokyo Semmon Gakko, which later became the prestigious Waseda University.
Another well-known individual with the name Makoto was Makoto Noge (1898-1986), a Japanese film director and screenwriter who helped shape the golden age of Japanese cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. His films, such as "The Daughter of the Samurai" (1936) and "The Life of Oharu" (1952), are considered classics of Japanese cinema.
In the realm of literature, Makoto Ōoka (1931-2017) was a celebrated Japanese novelist and essayist. He is best known for his novel "The Musashi Plain" (1967), which explores the complexities of human relationships and the search for meaning in post-war Japan.
The name Makoto has also been associated with influential figures in Japanese politics. Makoto Saito (1858-1936) was a prominent statesman and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister of Japan in the early 20th century.
Another notable figure bearing the name Makoto was Makoto Iokibe (1943-2022), a renowned Japanese historian and expert on Japanese foreign policy and international relations. He served as the president of the National Defense Academy of Japan and was awarded the Order of Culture, one of Japan's highest honors for academic achievement.
While the name Makoto has deep roots in Japanese culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with significant Japanese communities or cultural influences.
People
Makoto + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makoto as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Makoto: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makoto?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 393 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makoto 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 872,148 US residents.
Is Makoto a common name?
We classify Makoto as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 541 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makoto most popular?
The single biggest year for Makoto was 1922, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makoto is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Makoto a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makoto 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.
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.