Naoki
A masculine Japanese name meaning "straight and tree" or "honest tree".
Name Census estimates that about 331 living Americans carry the first name Naoki. It is a predominantly male name (95.5% of registrations). The average person named Naoki today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Naoki births was 2011 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Naoki. 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 Naoki with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
331
~ 1 in 1,035,512 Americans
Peak year
2011
19 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,570
Tracked since 1980
Census
Naoki in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 706 people with the first name Naoki, which placed it at #16,084 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
#16,084
National first-name rank
People counted
706
706 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
81.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Naoki
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naoki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Naoki 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 Naoki at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander81.2% · 573
- Two or more races9.6% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 38
- White2.3% · 16
- Black or African American1.6% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Naoki
Naoki leans heavily male at 95.5% of total registrations, but 15 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Naoki as a male name
- Ranked #9,570 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (16 births)
Naoki as a female name
- Ranked #16,900 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Naoki leans strongly male. 679 people counted with this name were male (95.1%), compared with 35 female bearers (4.9%).
Popularity
Naoki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Naoki from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 106 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Naoki remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Naoki 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 Naoki during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Naokis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Naoki
The name Naoki has its origins in Japanese culture and language. It is a masculine given name composed of the Japanese elements "nao" meaning "straight" or "honest," and "ki" meaning "tree" or "woody plant."
In Japanese tradition, the name Naoki was often bestowed upon boys with the hope that they would grow up to be upright, honest individuals with strong moral character, like the sturdy and straight-growing trees. The name's roots can be traced back to ancient times, with records of its use dating back to at least the 8th century AD.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Naoki was Naoki no Sukune, a prominent court noble and scholar who lived during the Heian period (794-1185 AD). He was renowned for his expertise in classical Japanese literature and his contributions to the development of the Japanese writing system.
Another notable individual with the name Naoki was Naoki Hoshino (1835-1917), a influential educator and reformer who played a significant role in modernizing Japan's education system during the Meiji era (1868-1912). He was instrumental in establishing several prestigious schools and advocating for the adoption of Western-style education methods.
In the 20th century, Naoki Sano (1923-2008) was a celebrated Japanese writer and poet. He was awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan's highest literary honors, for his novel "Banana Wilderness" in 1965. His works often explored themes of identity, alienation, and the human condition.
Naoki Inose (born 1946) is a Japanese politician and former Governor of Tokyo (2012-2013). He gained prominence for his efforts to revive the city's economy and prepare for the 2020 Summer Olympics, before resigning due to a financial scandal.
Naoki Urasawa (born 1960) is a highly acclaimed Japanese manga artist and writer, best known for his critically acclaimed series such as "Monster," "20th Century Boys," and "Pluto." His works have been praised for their complex narratives, character development, and exploration of social issues.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Naoki, a name deeply rooted in Japanese culture and tradition, symbolizing uprightness, honesty, and strength of character.
People
Naoki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Naoki 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
Naoki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Naoki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 331 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Naoki 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 1,035,512 US residents.
Is Naoki a common name?
We classify Naoki as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 337 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Naoki most popular?
The single biggest year for Naoki was 2011, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Naoki 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 Naoki in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 706 people with the name Naoki, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,084 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 Naoki 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 Naoki?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Naoki leans strongly male. 679 people counted with this name were male (95.1%), compared with 35 female bearers (4.9%). 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 Naoki?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naoki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Naoki most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Naoki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.2% (573 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 Naoki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Naoki a male name?
Yes, 95.5% of people registered as Naoki 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 Naoki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Naoki 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 Naoki 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 share the name Naoki?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.