Shoichi
A masculine Japanese name combining the characters meaning "soaring" and "first".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Shoichi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shoichi today is around 90 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shoichi births was 1927 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shoichi. 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 Shoichi is about 90 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Shoichis were born before 1946.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shoichi. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1927
19 babies that year
Average age
90
years old
1937 SSA rank
#3,944
Tracked since 1912
Census
Shoichi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 154 people with the first name Shoichi, which placed it at #44,677 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
#44,677
National first-name rank
People counted
154
154 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shoichi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shoichi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Shoichi 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 Shoichi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.6% · 138
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 7
- Two or more races3.2% · 5
- White1.9% · 3
- Black or African American0.6% · 1
Popularity
Shoichi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shoichi from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 80 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
Shoichi 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 Shoichi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shoichis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shoichi
The name Shoichi is of Japanese origin, derived from the combination of two distinct words in the Japanese language. The first part, "Sho," comes from the word "shō," which means "soaring" or "prosperous." The second part, "ichi," is derived from the word "ichi," meaning "first" or "one."
Together, the name Shoichi can be interpreted as "soaring first" or "prosperous first," reflecting a sense of aspiration and desire for success or prosperity. The name's roots can be traced back to ancient Japan, where it was commonly given to children as a symbol of hope and ambition.
While there are no clear records of the name's appearance in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have been in use for several centuries. One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Shoichi was Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant who fought in World War II and remained unaware of Japan's surrender until 1972, when he was discovered living in the jungles of Guam.
Throughout history, the name Shoichi has been associated with notable figures in various fields. One such individual was Shoichi Yokoi (1915-1997), the aforementioned Japanese sergeant who spent 28 years in hiding on Guam after World War II. Another prominent bearer of the name was Shoichi Nakagawa (1953-2009), a Japanese politician who served as the Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
Shoichi Sakata (1911-1970) was a renowned Japanese physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics, particularly in the study of nuclear forces. Shoichi Kozuka (1930-2001) was a celebrated Japanese architect known for his innovative designs, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
In the realm of literature, Shoichi Fujisawa (1927-1996) was a respected Japanese author and screenwriter, best known for his novels and adaptations of classic works like "The Tale of Genji."
While these examples illustrate the diverse fields in which individuals named Shoichi have made their mark, the name continues to hold cultural significance and remains a popular choice among Japanese families.
People
Shoichi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shoichi 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
Shoichi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shoichi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shoichi 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Shoichi a common name?
We classify Shoichi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 131 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shoichi most popular?
The single biggest year for Shoichi was 1927, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shoichi is about 90 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shoichi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 154 people with the name Shoichi, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,677 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 Shoichi 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 Shoichi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shoichi leans strongly male. 153 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 6 female bearers (3.8%). 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 Shoichi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shoichi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Shoichi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shoichi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (138 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 Shoichi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shoichi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shoichi 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.
Is Shoichi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shoichi 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 Shoichi 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 Shoichi?
Find out how many Americans are named Shoichi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.