Saori
A feminine Japanese name meaning "small woven thing" or "little weaving".
Name Census estimates that about 714 living Americans carry the first name Saori. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saori today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saori births was 2022 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saori. 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
714
~ 1 in 480,048 Americans
Peak year
2022
55 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,154
Tracked since 1983
Census
Saori in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,065 people with the first name Saori, which placed it at #11,867 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
#11,867
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,065 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
65.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saori
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Saori is Asian/Pacific Islander at 65.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Saori 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 Saori at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander65.2% · 694
- Hispanic or Latino30.7% · 327
- Two or more races2.2% · 23
- White1.6% · 17
- Black or African American0.4% · 4
Popularity
Saori: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saori from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 339 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Saori remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saori 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 Saori during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Saoris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Saori, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 88 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Saori
The name Saori originated in Japan and is a feminine Japanese given name. It is derived from the Japanese word "sao," which means "bamboo leaf" or "leaf of a plant." The name can also be written using the kanji characters 沙織, which translate to "sand weaving."
Saori is a relatively modern name, and its widespread use can be traced back to the 20th century. However, the name's roots can be found in ancient Japanese literature and poetry, where the beauty and grace of bamboo leaves were often celebrated and used as metaphors for various virtues.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Saori can be found in the classic Japanese novel "The Tale of Genji" written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century. In the novel, a character named Saori is mentioned, although it is unclear whether this was a given name or a reference to something else.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Saori. One of the most famous was Saori Yuki (1901-1994), a Japanese actress who rose to prominence during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. She is remembered for her roles in various Samurai films and is considered a pioneer of Japanese cinema.
Another notable Saori was Saori Kawano (1929-2008), a Japanese dancer and choreographer who helped popularize modern dance in Japan. She founded the Kawano Dance Company and was awarded the prestigious Order of Culture by the Japanese government in 1998.
In the world of sports, Saori Yoshida (born 1982) is a renowned Japanese wrestler who has won three Olympic gold medals and is considered one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time. She has also won numerous world championships and is a highly respected figure in the sport.
Saori Ariyoshi (born 1957) is a Japanese writer and novelist who has garnered critical acclaim for her works exploring themes of identity, culture, and social issues. Her novel "The McDonald's Masao" was a bestseller and brought her international recognition.
Lastly, Saori Kido (born 1988) is a Japanese voice actress who has lent her voice to numerous popular anime series, including "Naruto Shippuden," "Fairy Tail," and "Gintama." She is highly regarded in the anime industry and has a dedicated fan following.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Saori throughout history, showcasing the name's enduring presence and significance in Japanese culture.
People
Saori + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saori 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
Saori: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saori?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 714 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saori 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 480,048 US residents.
Is Saori a common name?
We classify Saori as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 722 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saori most popular?
The single biggest year for Saori was 2022, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saori 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 Saori in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,065 people with the name Saori, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,867 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 Saori 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 Saori?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Saori leans strongly female. 1,060 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 11 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Saori?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Saori is Asian/Pacific Islander at 65.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Saori most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Saori in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.2% (694 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 Saori in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Saori a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saori 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 Saori still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Saori 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 Saori 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 Saori?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.