Natori
A Japanese name meaning "guardian of the field".
Name Census estimates that about 375 living Americans carry the first name Natori. It is a predominantly female name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Natori today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Natori births was 1995 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Natori. 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
375
~ 1 in 914,012 Americans
Peak year
1995
70 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
1995 SSA rank
#8,550
Tracked since 1995
Census
Natori in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 348 people with the first name Natori, which placed it at #26,649 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
#26,649
National first-name rank
People counted
348
348 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Natori
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Natori is Black at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and White (6.6%). 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 Natori 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 Natori at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.4% · 273
- Two or more races6.9% · 24
- White6.6% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Natori
Natori leans heavily female at 98.4% of total registrations, but 6 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Natori as a male name
- Ranked #8,550 in 1995
- 6 male births in 1995
- Peak: 1995 (6 births)
Natori as a female name
- Ranked #16,801 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 1995 (64 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Natori leans strongly female. 322 people counted with this name were female (93.9%), compared with 21 male bearers (6.1%).
Popularity
Natori: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Natori from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 227 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Natori 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 Natori during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Natoris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Natori, while Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Natori
The name Natori finds its roots in Japanese culture, with its origins dating back several centuries. It is derived from the Japanese words "natori," meaning "master" or "expert," and "tori," meaning "bird." Thus, the name Natori can be interpreted as "master of birds" or "bird expert."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Natori can be found in the Edo period of Japanese history, which spanned from the early 17th century to the mid-19th century. During this time, the name was commonly associated with falconers and those skilled in the art of bird hunting and training.
In ancient Japanese mythology, there are references to deities and figures associated with birds, such as the Shinto god Takemikazuchi, who was often depicted as a falcon or hawk. It is possible that the name Natori may have been inspired by these mythological connections.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Natori. One of the earliest recorded was Natori Masazumi (1655-1719), a renowned falconer and advisor to the Shogun during the Edo period.
Another prominent figure was Natori Kanjuro (1786-1856), a celebrated Kabuki actor and playwright who helped popularize the art form during the late Edo and early Meiji eras.
In more recent times, Natori Ryu (1876-1964) was a revered master of Kendo, the Japanese martial art of swordsmanship, and played a significant role in preserving and promoting the discipline.
Natori Shunsen (1886-1960) was a highly acclaimed woodblock print artist, known for his intricate and vibrant depictions of birds and other natural subjects.
Lastly, Natori Shinsuke (1917-1975) was a respected ceramicist and potter, renowned for his innovative techniques and contributions to the Japanese ceramic arts.
These are just a few examples of the prominent individuals throughout history who have carried the name Natori, reflecting its deep-rooted connections to Japanese culture, art, and tradition.
People
Natori + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Natori 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
Natori: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Natori?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 375 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Natori 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 914,012 US residents.
Is Natori a common name?
We classify Natori as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Natori most popular?
The single biggest year for Natori was 1995, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Natori is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Natori in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 348 people with the name Natori, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,649 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 Natori 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 Natori?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Natori leans strongly female. 322 people counted with this name were female (93.9%), compared with 21 male bearers (6.1%). 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 Natori?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Natori is Black at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and White (6.6%). 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 Natori most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Natori in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (273 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 Natori in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Natori a female name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Natori 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 Natori still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Natori 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 Natori 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 Natori as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Natori, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.