Masao
Derived from Japanese roots, meaning "correct, righteous man".
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Masao. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Masao today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Masao births was 1918 (81 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Masao. 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
- • The typical person named Masao is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Masaos were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Masao. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
1918
81 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,420
Tracked since 1907
Census
Masao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 411 people with the first name Masao, which placed it at #23,711 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
#23,711
National first-name rank
People counted
411
411 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
81.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Masao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Masao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.2%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Masao 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 Masao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander81.0% · 333
- Two or more races10.2% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 20
- White1.9% · 8
- Black or African American1.9% · 8
Popularity
Masao: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Masao from the 1900s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 453 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Masao 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 Masao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Masaos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Hawaii, California, Washington recorded the most babies named Masao, while Oregon, Washington, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 219 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Masao
The name Masao originated in Japan and has its roots in the Japanese language. It is a masculine given name that rose to prominence during the Muromachi period, which lasted from the 14th to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Japanese words "masa," meaning elegant or vigorous, and "o," meaning male.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Masao can be found in the Taiheiki, a Japanese historical narrative from the 14th century. The text mentions a samurai warrior named Masao Akamatsu, who fought bravely during the Nanboku-chō Wars between the Northern and Southern Courts.
In the 16th century, the name gained further recognition when Masao Yamada, a renowned Buddhist monk and calligrapher, became widely known for his contributions to the arts. His works were highly esteemed and can still be found in various temples and museums across Japan.
Another notable figure bearing the name Masao was Masao Koga, a celebrated Japanese poet who lived during the Edo period (1603-1868). His poetic works, which often celebrated the beauty of nature and the transient nature of life, continue to be studied and admired by scholars and literature enthusiasts.
During the Meiji era (1868-1912), Masao Nagata, a prominent educator and advocate for women's education, played a significant role in establishing several schools and promoting equal opportunities for girls and women in Japan.
In more recent history, Masao Ohki, a Japanese actor and film director born in 1920, gained international acclaim for his works, including the critically acclaimed movie "Funeral Parade of Roses" (1969), which explored themes of gender identity and societal norms.
Masao Yoshida, born in 1955, was the chief manager of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011. His leadership and bravery in the face of the nuclear crisis earned him widespread recognition and respect both within Japan and globally.
Overall, the name Masao has a rich historical legacy in Japan, with notable individuals bearing the name having made significant contributions to various fields, including warfare, arts, literature, education, film, and even nuclear disaster management.
People
Masao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Masao 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
Masao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Masao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Masao 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 4,760,477 US residents.
Is Masao a common name?
We classify Masao as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,018 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Masao most popular?
The single biggest year for Masao was 1918, when 81 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Masao is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Masao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 411 people with the name Masao, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,711 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 Masao 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 Masao?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Masao appears almost entirely male. Of the 418 people counted with this name, 99.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Masao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Masao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.2%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Masao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Masao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (333 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 Masao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Masao a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Masao 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 Masao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Masao 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 Masao 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 Americans are named Masao?
See how many people have the name Masao on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.