Mieko
A feminine Japanese name meaning "beautiful child" or "great blessing".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Mieko. It is a predominantly female name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Mieko today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mieko births was 1924 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mieko. 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
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
1924
14 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,391
Tracked since 1916
Census
Mieko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,140 people with the first name Mieko, which placed it at #11,325 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
#11,325
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,140 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
79.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mieko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mieko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Black (6.0%). 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 Mieko 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 Mieko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander79.6% · 907
- Two or more races9.2% · 105
- Black or African American6.0% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 33
- White2.0% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Mieko
Mieko leans heavily female at 98.4% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mieko as a male name
- Ranked #13,391 in 2015
- 5 male births in 2015
- Peak: 2015 (5 births)
Mieko as a female name
- Ranked #16,926 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1924 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mieko leans strongly female. 1,117 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 23 male bearers (2.0%).
Popularity
Mieko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mieko from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 105 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
Mieko 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 Mieko during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Miekos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mieko
The name Mieko is of Japanese origin and has its roots in the Edo period of Japan, which spanned from the early 17th century to the late 19th century. It is a feminine name composed of two kanji characters, "mi" meaning "beautiful" and "ko" meaning "child" or "fragrance." Consequently, the name Mieko can be interpreted as "beautiful child" or "beautiful fragrance."
While the name's precise origins are uncertain, it is believed to have gained popularity during the Edo period, reflecting the cultural values and aesthetic sensibilities of that era. The Edo period was a time of relative peace and stability in Japan, allowing for the flourishing of arts, literature, and traditional customs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mieko can be traced back to the 18th century, when a prominent samurai family named their daughter Mieko. This historical reference suggests that the name was utilized among the aristocratic and warrior classes during that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mieko. One such figure was Mieko Kamiya (1914-1979), a Japanese actress and singer who gained fame during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. Another famous Mieko was Mieko Hirota (1925-2004), a renowned Japanese writer and translator whose works explored themes of identity, gender, and cultural exchange.
In the realm of sports, Mieko Nishizawa (1926-2022) was a trailblazing Japanese athlete who competed in the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics as a sprinter and hurdler, earning a silver medal in the 80-meter hurdles in 1956.
The name Mieko also holds significance in the world of traditional Japanese arts. Mieko Ando (1924-2016) was a celebrated artist and Living National Treasure of Japan, renowned for her mastery of traditional Japanese textiles and dyeing techniques.
Another notable bearer of the name was Mieko Kamiya (1923-2014), a Japanese Buddhist nun and activist who dedicated her life to promoting peace, human rights, and environmental conservation. She received numerous accolades for her work, including the prestigious Niwano Peace Prize in 2008.
While the name Mieko continues to be used in modern Japan, its historical roots and cultural significance remain deeply ingrained in the Japanese tradition, reflecting the beauty, grace, and resilience associated with this name throughout the centuries.
People
Mieko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mieko 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
Mieko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mieko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mieko 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Mieko a common name?
We classify Mieko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 315 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mieko most popular?
The single biggest year for Mieko was 1924, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mieko is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mieko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,140 people with the name Mieko, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,325 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 Mieko 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 Mieko?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mieko leans strongly female. 1,117 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 23 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Mieko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mieko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Black (6.0%). 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 Mieko most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mieko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (907 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 Mieko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mieko a female name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Mieko 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.
Is Mieko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mieko 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 Mieko 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 Mieko?
See how many people have the name Mieko on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.