Sayuri
A feminine Japanese name meaning "small lily".
Name Census estimates that about 1,332 living Americans carry the first name Sayuri. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sayuri today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sayuri births was 2007 (106 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sayuri. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sayuri with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Sayuri is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 257,323 Americans
Peak year
2007
106 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,734
Tracked since 1979
Census
Sayuri in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,684 people with the first name Sayuri, which placed it at #8,585 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
#8,585
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,684 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
44.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sayuri
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sayuri is Hispanic at 44.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.6%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Sayuri 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 Sayuri at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino44.7% · 753
- Asian and Pacific Islander38.6% · 650
- Two or more races7.7% · 130
- Black or African American5.3% · 90
- White2.6% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 17
Popularity
Sayuri: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sayuri from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 582 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sayuri remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sayuri 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 Sayuri during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sayuris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Sayuri, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 55 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sayuri
The name Sayuri is derived from Japanese origins. It is a feminine name that combines the elements "sa" meaning blossom or bloom, and "yuri" meaning lily flower. The name can therefore be translated to mean "lily blossom" or "lily flower."
Sayuri's roots can be traced back to the late 7th century CE in Japan, a period known as the Nara Period. During this time, Buddhism gained widespread influence, and many names began incorporating elements from nature and flowers, which held significant symbolic meaning in Buddhist teachings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sayuri can be found in the 11th century Japanese classic, The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu. In this renowned work of literature, a character named Sayuri is mentioned, though her role is relatively minor.
Throughout Japanese history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sayuri. One such figure was Sayuri Yamate (1915-2005), a renowned Japanese dancer and actress. She was celebrated for her mastery of traditional Japanese dance forms and her contributions to preserving and promoting these art forms.
Another notable Sayuri was Sayuri Yoshinaga (1945-2022), a Japanese voice actress known for her roles in numerous anime series and films. Her distinctive voice and talent earned her a dedicated following among anime enthusiasts worldwide.
In the realm of literature, Sayuri Ishii (born 1954) is a celebrated Japanese author known for her novels and short stories exploring themes of family, identity, and the complexities of modern Japanese society.
Beyond Japan, the name Sayuri has also gained recognition thanks to the acclaimed novel and film "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden. The protagonist, a fictional geisha named Sayuri, brought the name to global attention and sparked interest in its meaning and cultural significance.
While these are just a few examples, the name Sayuri has a rich history and has been borne by numerous individuals throughout Japanese history, from artists and performers to writers and cultural figures, each leaving their mark on the diverse tapestry of Japanese culture and society.
People
Sayuri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sayuri 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
Sayuri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sayuri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sayuri 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 257,323 US residents.
Is Sayuri a common name?
We classify Sayuri as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,348 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sayuri most popular?
The single biggest year for Sayuri was 2007, when 106 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sayuri is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sayuri in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,684 people with the name Sayuri, or 0.56 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,585 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 Sayuri 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 Sayuri?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sayuri appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,678 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Sayuri?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sayuri is Hispanic at 44.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.6%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Sayuri most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Sayuri in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.7% (753 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 Sayuri in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sayuri a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sayuri 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 Sayuri still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sayuri 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 Sayuri 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 are called Sayuri?
You can see how many people have the name Sayuri on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.