Sayaka
A Japanese feminine name meaning "serene, calm, or peaceful".
Name Census estimates that about 206 living Americans carry the first name Sayaka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sayaka today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sayaka births was 2000 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sayaka. 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
206
~ 1 in 1,663,856 Americans
Peak year
2000
15 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2017 SSA rank
#15,622
Tracked since 1979
Census
Sayaka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 706 people with the first name Sayaka, which placed it at #16,084 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
#16,084
National first-name rank
People counted
706
706 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sayaka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sayaka is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and White (2.0%). 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 Sayaka 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 Sayaka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.1% · 629
- Two or more races6.9% · 49
- White2.0% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 8
- Black or African American0.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Sayaka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sayaka from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 83 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sayaka 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 Sayaka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sayakas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sayaka
The name Sayaka is of Japanese origin and is believed to have originated during the Heian period in Japan, which lasted from 794 to 1185 AD. It is a combination of two Japanese words, "sa" meaning "blossom" or "flower," and "ya" meaning "elegant" or "refined."
The earliest recorded use of the name Sayaka dates back to the 10th century, when it appeared in several Japanese literary works and historical records. One notable example is the "Tale of Genji," a classic work of Japanese literature written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu around the year 1010. In this epic novel, Sayaka is mentioned as the name of a minor character.
Over the centuries, the name Sayaka has been associated with various notable individuals in Japanese history. One of the earliest recorded people with this name was Sayaka no Gosho, a Japanese noblewoman who lived during the late Heian period in the 12th century. She was known for her skills in calligraphy and poetry.
Another noteworthy individual named Sayaka was Sayaka Miyata, a Zen Buddhist nun who lived in the 17th century. She was renowned for her dedication to spiritual practice and her teachings on mindfulness and compassion.
In more recent history, Sayaka Isoyama (1934-2020) was a celebrated Japanese actress and singer who appeared in numerous films, television shows, and stage productions throughout her long career. She was also known for her philanthropic work and advocacy for children's causes.
Sayaka Murata (born 1979) is a contemporary Japanese author who has gained international acclaim for her novels, including "Convenience Store Woman" and "Earthlings." Her works often explore themes of societal conformity and the human condition with a unique and insightful perspective.
Sayaka Hiraki (born 1985) is a Japanese professional tennis player who has represented her country in several Olympic Games and achieved notable success on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour, winning multiple singles and doubles titles throughout her career.
The name Sayaka continues to be a popular choice for baby girls in Japan, reflecting its deep cultural roots and the enduring appeal of its delicate and refined meaning.
People
Sayaka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sayaka 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
Sayaka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sayaka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 206 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sayaka 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 1,663,856 US residents.
Is Sayaka a common name?
We classify Sayaka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 212 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sayaka most popular?
The single biggest year for Sayaka was 2000, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sayaka is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sayaka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 706 people with the name Sayaka, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,084 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 Sayaka 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 Sayaka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sayaka appears almost entirely female. Of the 718 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Sayaka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sayaka is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and White (2.0%). 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 Sayaka most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sayaka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (629 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 Sayaka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sayaka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sayaka 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 Sayaka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sayaka 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 Sayaka 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 Americans are named Sayaka?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.