Momo
A unisex name of Japanese origin meaning "peach".
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Momo. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Momo today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Momo births was 2018 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Momo. 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 Momo with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Momo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
2018
10 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,994
Tracked since 2000
Census
Momo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 586 people with the first name Momo, which placed it at #18,401 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
#18,401
National first-name rank
People counted
586
586 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
38.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Momo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Momo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 38.4%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and White (14.3%). 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 Momo 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 Momo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander38.4% · 225
- Black or African American32.1% · 188
- White14.3% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 49
- Two or more races6.7% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Momo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Momo from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 39 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Momo 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 Momo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Momo
The name Momo is believed to have originated from the Japanese language, where it can be written as 桃 or 百百. The kanji 桃 means "peach," while 百百 is a reduplication of the kanji 百, meaning "hundred." In Japanese culture, peaches are often associated with longevity and good fortune, making Momo a popular name choice for girls.
However, the name Momo can also be traced back to Tibetan Buddhism, where it refers to a type of female spiritual figure known as a "momo" or "mamo." In this context, momos are often depicted as wrathful deities or protectors of Buddhism.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Momo can be found in the ancient Chinese text "Shan Hai Jing" (Classic of Mountains and Seas), which dates back to the 4th century BC. In this text, Momo is mentioned as the name of a mythical figure associated with the peach tree.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Momo. One of the earliest was Momo of Miura, a Japanese waka poet who lived during the Nara period (710-794 AD). Another famous Momo was Momo Hanaori, a Japanese courtesan and poet who lived in the late 17th century.
In more recent times, Momo Kapor was a Serbian writer and painter who lived from 1937 to 2010. His works explored themes of existentialism and the human condition.
Another notable Momo was Momo Kodama, a Japanese author and translator who was married to the renowned writer Yukio Mishima. She played a significant role in preserving and promoting her late husband's literary legacy.
Lastly, Momo Hirai is a Japanese actress and model who has appeared in various films and television shows since the early 2000s. She is known for her roles in movies such as "Love Exposure" and "Mirai."
Despite its varied origins and cultural references, the name Momo has remained a popular choice for girls across different regions, particularly in Japan and parts of Asia, where it is often associated with beauty, innocence, and charm.
People
Momo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Momo 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
Momo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Momo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Momo 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 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Momo a common name?
We classify Momo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 82 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Momo most popular?
The single biggest year for Momo was 2018, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Momo is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Momo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 586 people with the name Momo, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,401 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 Momo 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 Momo?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Momo on both sides of the split. Of the 591 people counted with this name, 212 were male (35.9%) and 379 were female (64.1%). 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 Momo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Momo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 38.4%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and White (14.3%). 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 Momo most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Momo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.4% (225 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 Momo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Momo a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Momo 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 Momo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Momo 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 Momo 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 Momo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.