Takaya
A Japanese unisex name meaning "high field" or "lofty valley".
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Takaya. It is a predominantly female name (94.0% of registrations). The average person named Takaya today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Takaya births was 2002 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Takaya. 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 Takaya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
2002
12 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2005 SSA rank
#13,120
Tracked since 1994
Census
Takaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 183 people with the first name Takaya, which placed it at #40,598 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
#40,598
National first-name rank
People counted
183
183 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
60.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Takaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Takaya is Black at 60.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.4%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Takaya 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 Takaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American60.1% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander22.4% · 41
- Two or more races7.1% · 13
- White6.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Takaya
Takaya leans heavily female at 94.0% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Takaya as a male name
- Ranked #13,120 in 2005
- 5 male births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (5 births)
Takaya as a female name
- Ranked #19,902 in 2009
- 5 female births in 2009
- Peak: 2002 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Takaya on both sides of the split. Of the 178 people counted with this name, 49 were male (27.5%) and 129 were female (72.5%).
Popularity
Takaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Takaya from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 65 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Takaya 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 Takaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Takaya
The name Takaya is of Japanese origin and is believed to have its roots in the ancient Japanese language. It is a combination of two words: "taka," meaning "noble" or "high," and "ya," meaning "arrow" or "night." Together, the name can be interpreted as "noble arrow" or "noble night."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Takaya can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1185 CE) in Japan. During this time, the name was associated with members of the aristocratic class, reflecting the "noble" aspect of its meaning. It was not uncommon for noble families to incorporate names with aspirational or symbolic meanings.
In the centuries that followed, the name Takaya continued to be used, albeit less frequently than during the Heian period. Notable individuals bearing this name include Takaya Kageyama (1888-1982), a Japanese politician and former Prime Minister of Japan from 1937 to 1939.
Another prominent figure with the name Takaya was Takaya Miou (1903-1987), a Japanese writer and poet. His works, which often explored themes of nature and spirituality, garnered critical acclaim and contributed to the literary landscape of 20th century Japan.
In the realm of sports, Takaya Tsutsumi (born 1976) is a Japanese professional wrestler known for his tenure in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. His in-ring persona and accomplishments have made him a recognizable figure in the world of Japanese wrestling.
Moving to the arts, Takaya Imamura (1937-2022) was a renowned Japanese artist and sculptor. His abstract and minimalist works, often incorporating natural materials like stone and wood, were widely exhibited and celebrated both in Japan and internationally.
Lastly, Takaya Kawamura (born 1976) is a contemporary Japanese architect and designer. His innovative and sustainable designs have earned him recognition, including the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2018, one of the highest honors in the field of architecture.
While the name Takaya may have waxed and waned in popularity over the centuries, its enduring presence in Japanese culture and history is undeniable. From noble origins to modern-day figures, the name continues to carry a sense of distinction and nobility, reflecting its etymological roots.
People
Takaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Takaya 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
Takaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Takaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Takaya 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 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Takaya a common name?
We classify Takaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 83 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Takaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Takaya was 2002, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Takaya is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Takaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 183 people with the name Takaya, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,598 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 Takaya 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 Takaya?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Takaya on both sides of the split. Of the 178 people counted with this name, 49 were male (27.5%) and 129 were female (72.5%). 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 Takaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Takaya is Black at 60.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.4%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Takaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Takaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.1% (110 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 Takaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Takaya a female name?
Yes, 94.0% of people registered as Takaya 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 Takaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Takaya 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 Takaya 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 have Takaya as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Takaya on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.