Shizue
A feminine Japanese name meaning "to calm" or "to dispel".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Shizue. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shizue today is around 106 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shizue births was 1919 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shizue. 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
- • The typical person named Shizue is about 106 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Shizues were born before 1930.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shizue. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1919
41 babies that year
Average age
106
years old
1935 SSA rank
#4,815
Tracked since 1904
Census
Shizue in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 330 people with the first name Shizue, which placed it at #27,622 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
#27,622
National first-name rank
People counted
330
330 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shizue
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shizue is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and White (3.0%). 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 Shizue 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 Shizue at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.6% · 299
- Two or more races3.9% · 13
- White3.0% · 10
- Black or African American1.2% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Shizue: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shizue from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 298 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
Shizue 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 Shizue during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shizues live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shizue
The name Shizue is a Japanese given name with origins dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Japanese words "shizu" meaning "calm" or "quiet," and "e" which can mean "blessed" or "prosperous." The combination of these elements suggests a name meaning something along the lines of "calm prosperity" or "quiet blessing."
In early Japanese history, the name Shizue can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1185 AD). During this era, the Imperial Court placed great emphasis on refined arts and literature, and names often reflected ideals of beauty, tranquility, and harmony with nature. The name Shizue would have resonated with these cultural values.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shizue was a Japanese noblewoman and lady-in-waiting who served at the Imperial Court during the late Heian period. She is mentioned in several historical records and diary accounts from the time, though exact dates are uncertain.
In the 16th century, a renowned Zen Buddhist monk named Shizue Yamamoto (1542-1612) gained fame for his teachings and contributions to the development of the Rinzai school of Zen. His life and works are well-documented in various Buddhist texts and historical chronicles.
During the Edo period (1603-1868), Shizue Katsura (1629-1703) was a highly respected female poet and calligrapher. Her poetic works were widely admired and continue to be studied and appreciated by scholars of classical Japanese literature.
In more recent history, Shizue Ogawa (1926-2008) was a celebrated Japanese author and recipient of prestigious literary awards such as the Akutagawa Prize and the Tanizaki Prize. Her novels and short stories, known for their poetic prose and exploration of human relationships, have been translated into numerous languages and enjoyed global acclaim.
Another notable figure was Shizue Tomoda (1924-2021), a pioneering Japanese woman scientist who made significant contributions to the field of microbiology. She was the first woman in Japan to earn a doctorate in agricultural science and played a crucial role in developing improved methods for cultivating microorganisms used in food production.
People
Shizue + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shizue 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
Shizue: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shizue?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shizue 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Shizue a common name?
We classify Shizue as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 608 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shizue most popular?
The single biggest year for Shizue was 1919, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shizue is about 106 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shizue in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 330 people with the name Shizue, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,622 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 Shizue 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 Shizue?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shizue appears almost entirely female. Of the 327 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Shizue?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shizue is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and White (3.0%). 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 Shizue most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shizue in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (299 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 Shizue in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shizue a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shizue 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 Shizue still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shizue 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 Shizue 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 share the name Shizue?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.