Megumi
A feminine Japanese name meaning "blessing" or "favor".
Name Census estimates that about 561 living Americans carry the first name Megumi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Megumi today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Megumi births was 1991 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Megumi. 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
561
~ 1 in 610,970 Americans
Peak year
1991
25 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,616
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Megumi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Megumi from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 197 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
Megumi 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 Megumi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Megumis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Megumi
The name Megumi is of Japanese origin, derived from the words "me" meaning blessing or favor, and "gumi" meaning beautiful. It is a feminine name that has been in use since ancient times in Japan.
In the Kojiki, one of the oldest extant chronicles in Japanese history dating back to the early 8th century, there is a reference to a woman named Megumi no Kishi, which means "Blessed Lady." This suggests that the name Megumi has been in use for over a millennium.
The earliest recorded example of the name Megumi can be found in the Nihon Shoki, another ancient Japanese chronicle from the 8th century, which mentions a woman named Megumi no Miyatsuko, meaning "Blessed Lady of the Court."
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Megumi was Megumi Andō (1899-1975), a Japanese actress and singer who was a prominent figure in the early days of Japanese cinema. She appeared in over 250 films and was widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her time.
Another notable Megumi was Megumi Tachimori (1888-1937), a Japanese feminist and activist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in Japan. She was a founding member of the New Women's Association and worked tirelessly to promote gender equality and women's rights.
In the realm of literature, Megumi Sawaki (1901-1965) was a renowned Japanese novelist and poet. She was a recipient of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for her novel "Hana no Akari" (Light of Flowers) in 1936.
Megumi Kato (1984-present) is a contemporary Japanese writer and illustrator known for her manga series "Hana ni Arashi" (Storm in the Flowers), which explores themes of love, friendship, and self-discovery.
Lastly, Megumi Yokota (1964-1977) was a Japanese national who was abducted by North Korean agents in 1977 at the age of 13, becoming a tragic symbol of the ongoing issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea. Her case has been a source of ongoing diplomatic tensions between Japan and North Korea.
People
Megumi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Megumi 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
Megumi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Megumi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 561 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Megumi 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 610,970 US residents.
Is Megumi a common name?
We classify Megumi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 580 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Megumi most popular?
The single biggest year for Megumi was 1991, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Megumi is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Megumi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Megumi in the SSA data are female. 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.