Sakae
Meaning "prosperity" or "thriving", a Japanese feminine given name.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Sakae. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Sakae today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sakae births was 1923 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sakae. 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 Sakae. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1923
15 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1926 SSA rank
#3,337
Tracked since 1914
Census
Sakae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 173 people with the first name Sakae, which placed it at #41,949 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
#41,949
National first-name rank
People counted
173
173 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
76.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sakae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sakae is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.1%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Sakae 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 Sakae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander76.9% · 133
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 21
- Two or more races5.8% · 10
- Black or African American4.6% · 8
- White0.6% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Sakae
Sakae is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 115 total registrations, 58 (50.4%) were male and 57 (49.6%) were female.
Sakae as a male name
- Ranked #3,337 in 1926
- 8 male births in 1926
- Peak: 1922 (10 births)
Sakae as a female name
- Ranked #19,916 in 2008
- 5 female births in 2008
- Peak: 1919 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sakae on both sides of the split. Of the 181 people counted with this name, 47 were male (26.0%) and 134 were female (74.0%).
Popularity
Sakae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sakae from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 63 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
Sakae 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 Sakae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sakaes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sakae
The given name Sakae has its origins in Japanese culture, dating back to ancient times. The name is derived from the Japanese word "sakae," which means "prosperity," "glory," or "flourishing."
In the Japanese language, the name Sakae is written using the kanji characters 栄 (sakae) or 榮 (sakae). These characters convey a sense of growth, flourishing, and thriving, reflecting the positive connotations associated with the name.
Historically, the name Sakae has been mentioned in various Japanese texts and records, although specific references are scarce. It is believed to have been used as a given name for both males and females throughout Japan's history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Sakae was Sakae no Kimi, a Japanese princess who lived during the Nara period (710-794 AD). She was the daughter of Emperor Shōmu and played a significant role in the establishment of the Tōdai-ji temple in Nara.
Another notable figure bearing the name Sakae was Sakae Tsuboi (1901-1967), a Japanese politician and educator. He served as the President of the House of Representatives in post-World War II Japan and worked towards the promotion of education and international understanding.
In the realm of literature, Sakae Tsuboi (1925-2022) was a renowned Japanese author and activist. As a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, he dedicated his life to promoting peace and nuclear disarmament through his writing and activism.
The name Sakae also gained prominence in the world of Japanese martial arts. Sakae Isozaki (1925-2005) was a highly respected master of Shorinji Kempo, a Japanese martial art. He played a crucial role in the development and spread of Shorinji Kempo throughout Japan and internationally.
Another notable figure with the name Sakae was Sakae Hemmi (1907-1995), a Japanese architect known for his contributions to modernist and brutalist architecture in Japan. His works, including the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, left a lasting impact on Japanese architecture.
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and fields in which individuals with the name Sakae have made their mark throughout Japanese history.
People
Sakae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sakae 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
Sakae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sakae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sakae 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Sakae a common name?
We classify Sakae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sakae most popular?
The single biggest year for Sakae was 1923, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sakae is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sakae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 173 people with the name Sakae, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,949 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 Sakae 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 Sakae?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sakae on both sides of the split. Of the 181 people counted with this name, 47 were male (26.0%) and 134 were female (74.0%). 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 Sakae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sakae is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.1%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Sakae most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sakae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.9% (133 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 Sakae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sakae a male name?
Yes, 50.4% of people registered as Sakae 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 Sakae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sakae 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 Sakae 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 Sakae?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Sakae, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.