Naki
A Japanese unisex name possibly meaning "tear" or "grief".
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Naki. It is a predominantly male name (91.7% of registrations). The average person named Naki today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Naki births was 2007 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Naki. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Naki. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
2007
8 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,722
Tracked since 1974
Census
Naki in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 190 people with the first name Naki, which placed it at #39,614 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
#39,614
National first-name rank
People counted
190
190 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Naki
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naki is Black at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.1%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). 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 Naki 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 Naki at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.6% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.1% · 21
- Two or more races8.4% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 8
- White3.7% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Naki
Naki leans heavily male at 91.7% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Naki as a male name
- Ranked #13,544 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2007 (8 births)
Naki as a female name
- Ranked #9,722 in 1974
- 5 female births in 1974
- Peak: 1974 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Naki on both sides of the split. Of the 198 people counted with this name, 114 were male (57.6%) and 84 were female (42.4%).
Popularity
Naki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Naki from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 36 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Naki 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 Naki 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 Naki
The name Naki has its origins in the Japanese language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Japanese word "naku," which means "to cry" or "to weep." This name was likely given to children born during times of sorrow or hardship, or as a reminder of the fleeting nature of life and the importance of cherishing every moment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Naki can be found in the Kojiki, an ancient Japanese chronicle that dates back to the early 8th century. In this text, Naki is mentioned as the name of a mythological figure who played a role in the creation of the Japanese islands.
Throughout Japanese history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Naki. One such person was Naki no Amatsu, a 10th-century court lady and poet who was known for her contributions to the Kokin Wakashū, one of the earliest imperial anthologies of Japanese poetry.
In the 16th century, Naki no Katsu was a renowned samurai warrior who fought alongside Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Japan's most powerful feudal lords. His bravery and loyalty on the battlefield earned him a place in the historical records of the time.
Moving forward to the Edo period (1603-1868), Naki no Tsubone was a prominent female artist and calligrapher who gained recognition for her intricate and elegant brushwork. Her works were highly sought after by the nobility and aristocracy of the time.
In more recent times, Naki Matsuzaki (1924-2004) was a celebrated Japanese actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedic roles in numerous films and television shows, and his ability to bring laughter to audiences across Japan.
While the name Naki may not be as common today as it once was, its historical significance and cultural connections make it a unique and meaningful name within the Japanese tradition.
People
Naki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Naki as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Naki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Naki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Naki 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Naki a common name?
We classify Naki as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Naki most popular?
The single biggest year for Naki was 2007, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Naki is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Naki in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 190 people with the name Naki, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,614 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 Naki 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 Naki?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Naki on both sides of the split. Of the 198 people counted with this name, 114 were male (57.6%) and 84 were female (42.4%). 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 Naki?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naki is Black at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.1%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). 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 Naki most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Naki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (138 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 Naki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Naki a male name?
Yes, 91.7% of people registered as Naki 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 Naki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Naki 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 Naki 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 people have the name Naki?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Naki, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.