Momoko
A feminine Japanese name meaning "peach child" or "peach blossom".
Name Census estimates that about 146 living Americans carry the first name Momoko. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Momoko today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Momoko births was 2001 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Momoko. 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 Momoko with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
146
~ 1 in 2,347,632 Americans
Peak year
2001
13 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2018 SSA rank
#15,076
Tracked since 1985
Census
Momoko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 368 people with the first name Momoko, which placed it at #25,680 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
#25,680
National first-name rank
People counted
368
368 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
81.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Momoko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Momoko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.9%) and White (3.0%). 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 Momoko 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 Momoko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander81.3% · 299
- Two or more races13.9% · 51
- White3.0% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
Popularity
Momoko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Momoko from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 65 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Momoko remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Momoko 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 Momoko 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 Momoko
The name Momoko is of Japanese origin, derived from the words "momo" meaning peach and "ko" meaning child. It gained popularity in Japan during the Heian period (794-1185 AD) when peach blossoms were highly revered symbols of beauty and feminine grace.
One of the earliest known references to the name Momoko can be found in the classical Japanese literary work "The Tale of Genji" written by Murasaki Shikibu around the year 1010 AD. In this epic tale, Momoko is the name given to a minor character, a lady-in-waiting.
Records show that in the 12th century, a famous Shinto priestess named Momoko Tachibana (1155-1233) served at the Grand Shrine of Ise, one of the most sacred sites in Japan. Her devotion and spiritual guidance earned her widespread respect during her lifetime.
In the 16th century, a renowned Japanese poet named Momoko Kurohashi (1528-1600) gained recognition for her beautiful waka poetry, which often celebrated the transient beauty of nature and the fleeting moments of life.
During the Edo period (1603-1868), Momoko Sumiyoshi (1675-1757) was a celebrated artist known for her exquisite silk paintings depicting traditional Japanese scenes and landscapes.
The name Momoko also appears in the historical records of samurai families, with Momoko Takeda (1567-1637) being a notable figure. She was the wife of the famous warlord Katsuyori Takeda and played a crucial role in supporting her husband's military campaigns.
Throughout the centuries, the name Momoko has continued to hold significance in Japanese culture, symbolizing grace, beauty, and a connection to the natural world. While the name's popularity has ebbed and flowed over time, it remains a cherished part of Japan's rich cultural heritage.
People
Momoko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Momoko 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
Momoko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Momoko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 146 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Momoko 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 2,347,632 US residents.
Is Momoko a common name?
We classify Momoko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 150 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Momoko most popular?
The single biggest year for Momoko was 2001, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Momoko is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Momoko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 368 people with the name Momoko, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,680 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 Momoko 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 Momoko?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Momoko appears almost entirely female. Of the 364 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Momoko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Momoko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.9%) and White (3.0%). 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 Momoko most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Momoko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (299 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 Momoko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Momoko a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Momoko 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 Momoko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Momoko 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 Momoko 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 Momoko?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.