Sadako
A Japanese feminine name meaning "beautiful wise child".
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Sadako. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sadako today is around 99 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sadako births was 1924 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sadako. 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
- • The typical person named Sadako is about 99 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Sadakos were born before 1937.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sadako. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1924
25 babies that year
Average age
99
years old
1940 SSA rank
#4,923
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Sadako: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sadako from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 205 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sadako 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 Sadako during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sadakos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sadako
Sadako is a feminine Japanese given name with its origins in the 8th century. The name is derived from the combination of two Japanese words: "sa" meaning "prudent" or "chaste," and "ko" meaning "child" or "little one." Together, the name conveys a sense of purity and innocence.
The earliest known historical reference to the name Sadako can be found in the Kojiki, an ancient chronicle of Japanese history written in 712 AD. The Kojiki mentions a princess named Sadako who was the daughter of Emperor Bidatsu.
In Japanese folklore, Sadako is also the name of a character from the famous story "The Thousand Paper Cranes." This story tells the tale of a young girl named Sadako Sasaki, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 but later developed leukemia. Inspired by the Japanese legend that folding a thousand origami cranes would grant a wish, Sadako attempted to fold enough cranes to be granted her wish to live. She tragically passed away at the age of 12 before completing her goal, but her story has become a powerful symbol of peace and resilience.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Sadako was Sadako Ogata, a renowned Japanese poet and calligrapher who lived from 1658 to 1740. Her poetic works were highly acclaimed during her lifetime and have been preserved in anthologies.
Another notable Sadako was Sadako Yokoo, a Japanese artist and illustrator who lived from 1897 to 1976. She was known for her delicate and intricate woodblock prints, many of which depicted scenes from nature and traditional Japanese life.
In the realm of Japanese literature, Sadako Kurihara (1913-2005) was a celebrated novelist and essayist. Her works often explored themes of family, identity, and the complexities of modern Japanese society.
More recently, Sadako Ogata (born 1927) is a renowned Japanese diplomat and academic who served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1991 to 2000. She has been widely recognized for her humanitarian efforts and has received numerous awards and honors for her work.
People
Sadako + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sadako as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sadako: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sadako?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sadako 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Sadako a common name?
We classify Sadako as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 349 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sadako most popular?
The single biggest year for Sadako was 1924, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sadako is about 99 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sadako a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sadako 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.
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.