Nori
A feminine Japanese name meaning "woven".
Name Census estimates that about 2,970 living Americans carry the first name Nori. It is a predominantly female name (93.0% of registrations). The average person named Nori today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nori births was 2023 (320 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nori. 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 Nori with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Nori is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.0K
~ 1 in 115,406 Americans
Peak year
2023
320 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,013
Tracked since 1950
Census
Nori in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,788 people with the first name Nori, which placed it at #8,171 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
#8,171
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,788 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
29.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nori
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nori is White at 29.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Hispanic (22.9%). 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 Nori 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 Nori at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White29.3% · 524
- Black or African American28.9% · 517
- Hispanic or Latino22.9% · 409
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.1% · 199
- Two or more races7.4% · 133
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Nori
Nori leans heavily female at 93.0% of total registrations, but 213 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nori as a male name
- Ranked #4,817 in 2024
- 21 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (30 births)
Nori as a female name
- Ranked #1,013 in 2024
- 251 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (296 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nori leans strongly female. 1,596 people counted with this name were female (89.2%), compared with 194 male bearers (10.8%).
Popularity
Nori: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nori from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,409 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nori 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 Nori during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Noris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. New York, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Nori, while Washington, Colorado, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 60 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nori
The name Nori has its origins in Japanese culture, tracing back to the 8th century CE. It is derived from the Japanese word "nori," which means seaweed, a staple ingredient in traditional Japanese cuisine. This association with a natural and essential food item suggests a connection with simplicity, nourishment, and sustenance.
In ancient Japanese texts, the name Nori is mentioned as a personal name for both men and women. It was particularly popular among the noble classes during the Heian period (794-1185 CE), when Japanese culture and art flourished. The name's simplicity and natural connotations were seen as virtues in the aesthetics of the time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nori was Nori no Kami, a celebrated poet and calligrapher who lived during the late 9th century CE. His works, preserved in imperial anthologies, are regarded as significant contributions to the development of Japanese literature.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Nori no Sukune served as a military commander and advisor to the powerful Minamoto clan. His strategic brilliance and loyalty earned him a place in historical records as a respected figure in the turbulent era of the Genpei War.
During the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), a renowned woodblock print artist named Nori no Hiroshige gained international acclaim for his ukiyo-e landscape prints, particularly his famous series depicting the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road.
In more recent times, Nori Matsui (1936-2005) was a influential Japanese novelist and essayist, renowned for her explorations of women's lives and societal issues. Her works, such as "Eldest Son" and "The Untouched Family," received critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
Another notable figure was Nori Otaki (1950-2022), a pioneering Japanese actress and singer who gained fame for her performances in kabuki theater and her advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights in Japan.
While the name Nori has retained its popularity in Japan, it has also gained recognition globally as a reflection of the increasing appreciation for Japanese culture and cuisine. Its enduring presence throughout history reflects its deep roots in tradition while also embracing modernity and universal appeal.
People
Nori + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nori 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
Nori: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nori?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,970 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nori 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 115,406 US residents.
Is Nori a common name?
We classify Nori as "Rare". It ranks above 95.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,046 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nori most popular?
The single biggest year for Nori was 2023, when 320 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nori is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nori in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,788 people with the name Nori, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,171 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 Nori 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 Nori?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nori leans strongly female. 1,596 people counted with this name were female (89.2%), compared with 194 male bearers (10.8%). 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 Nori?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nori is White at 29.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Hispanic (22.9%). 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 Nori most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nori in the 2020 Census, accounting for 29.3% (524 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 Nori in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nori a female name?
Yes, 93.0% of people registered as Nori 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 Nori still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nori 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 Nori 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 Nori?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.