Taisen
A Japanese masculine name meaning "great battle" or "great victory".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Taisen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Taisen today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taisen births was 2006 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taisen. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Taisen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2006
6 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2006 SSA rank
#11,884
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Taisen: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Taisen 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 Taisen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Taisen
The given name Taisen has its origins in Japanese culture and language. It is a masculine name that dates back to the medieval period in Japan, around the 12th to 16th centuries. The name is believed to be derived from the Japanese words "tai" meaning "great" or "big" and "sen" meaning "battle" or "war." Together, the name Taisen can be interpreted as "great war" or "big battle."
Historically, the name Taisen was likely given to boys born during times of war or conflict, with the hope that they would grow up to be strong and victorious warriors. It may have also been used as a symbolic name, representing the aspiration for the child to achieve greatness in life, whether on the battlefield or in other pursuits.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Taisen can be found in the historical chronicles of the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE). Taisen Minamoto (1182-1239 CE) was a prominent samurai and military commander who played a significant role in the Genpei War, a conflict between the Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan.
Another notable figure with the name Taisen was Taisen Deshima (1570-1653 CE), a Japanese samurai and diplomat who played a crucial role in establishing and maintaining trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands during the Edo period (1603-1867 CE).
During the Sengoku period (1467-1615 CE), a time of constant warfare and territorial disputes in Japan, the name Taisen may have been more prevalent, reflecting the martial culture of the time. One such individual was Taisen Uesugi (1522-1580 CE), a powerful daimyo (feudal lord) who ruled over the Uesugi clan and was involved in numerous battles and sieges.
In the 17th century, Taisen Tokugawa (1607-1678 CE) was a prominent member of the Tokugawa shogunate, serving as a daimyo and military leader. He was known for his involvement in the Siege of Osaka, a major conflict that solidified the Tokugawa clan's control over Japan.
Moving forward to the late 19th century, Taisen Nogi (1849-1912 CE) was a revered Japanese general who served in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. He is remembered for his bravery, leadership, and unwavering loyalty to the imperial family.
People
Taisen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taisen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Taisen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taisen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taisen 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 Taisen a common name?
We classify Taisen 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, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taisen most popular?
The single biggest year for Taisen was 2006, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taisen is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Taisen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Taisen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Taisen 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 Taisen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Taisen 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 Taisen 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Taisen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.