Sakai
A Japanese name of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from words meaning "boundary" or "border".
Name Census estimates that about 509 living Americans carry the first name Sakai. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 82.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Sakai today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sakai births was 2022 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sakai. 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
509
~ 1 in 673,388 Americans
Peak year
2022
68 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,385
Tracked since 1998
Gender
Gender distribution for Sakai
Sakai leans heavily male at 82.5% of total registrations, but 90 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sakai as a male name
- Ranked #2,385 in 2024
- 59 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (59 births)
Sakai as a female name
- Ranked #14,915 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (12 births)
Popularity
Sakai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sakai from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 237 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
Sakai 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 Sakai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sakais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Sakai, while Virginia, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sakai
The given name Sakai has its origins in Japanese culture, tracing back to the Heian period (794-1185 CE) of ancient Japan. It is derived from the Japanese word "sakai," which means "border" or "boundary," referring to the geographical demarcation between regions or territories.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sakai can be found in the Kojiki, an ancient chronicle of Japanese history and mythology compiled in the early 8th century CE. This text mentions the name in reference to a local chieftain or ruler from the Sakai region, which was located near the present-day city of Osaka.
Throughout Japanese history, the name Sakai has been associated with several notable individuals. One such figure was Sakai Tadatsugu (1527-1596), a renowned samurai warrior who served under the powerful warlord Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. He was known for his bravery and loyalty on the battlefield.
Another prominent individual with the name Sakai was Sakai Masato (1564-1619), a skilled swordsman and martial artist who founded his own school of swordsmanship, known as the Shinden Fudo-ryu. His teachings and techniques had a significant influence on the development of Japanese swordsmanship.
In the realm of literature, Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828) was a renowned Japanese poet and artist during the Edo period. He is particularly celebrated for his haiku poetry and his contributions to the revitalization of the traditional Japanese art form of woodblock printing.
The name Sakai also appears in the historical records of the Meiji Restoration, a pivotal event that marked the transition from the Edo period to modern Japan in the late 19th century. Sakai Masaru (1846-1903) was a prominent political figure and reformist who played a significant role in the abolition of the feudal system and the establishment of a modern, centralized government.
Throughout its long history, the name Sakai has been borne by various individuals across different walks of life, from warriors and artists to politicians and intellectuals. Its connection to the concept of boundaries and borders has given it a unique cultural significance in Japanese tradition.
People
Sakai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sakai 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
Sakai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sakai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 509 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sakai 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 673,388 US residents.
Is Sakai a common name?
We classify Sakai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 513 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sakai most popular?
The single biggest year for Sakai was 2022, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sakai is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sakai a male name?
Yes, 82.5% of people registered as Sakai 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.
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.