Tetsuo
Masculine Japanese name meaning "gifted son" or "talented man".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Tetsuo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tetsuo today is around 94 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tetsuo births was 1924 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tetsuo. 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 Tetsuo is about 94 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Tetsuos were born before 1942.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tetsuo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
1924
26 babies that year
Average age
94
years old
1944 SSA rank
#3,850
Tracked since 1915
Census
Tetsuo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 208 people with the first name Tetsuo, which placed it at #37,486 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
#37,486
National first-name rank
People counted
208
208 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
88.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tetsuo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tetsuo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Tetsuo 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 Tetsuo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander88.0% · 183
- Two or more races5.3% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 6
- Black or African American2.4% · 5
- White1.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Tetsuo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tetsuo from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 179 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
Tetsuo 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 Tetsuo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tetsuos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tetsuo
The name Tetsuo originated in Japan and has its roots in the Japanese language. It is a combination of two kanji characters: "tetsu" meaning iron or steel, and "o" meaning man or masculine. The name can be interpreted as "man of steel" or "ironman."
In ancient Japan, the name Tetsuo was often given to sons born into samurai families, as it symbolized strength, resilience, and unwavering determination – qualities highly valued in the warrior class. The name's association with iron and steel also reflected the importance of swordsmithing and metalworking in samurai culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tetsuo can be found in the Heian period (794-1185 CE), in the literary work "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu. In this classic Japanese novel, a minor character named Tetsuo is mentioned, suggesting the name's usage during this time.
Throughout Japanese history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tetsuo. One of the most famous was Tetsuo Nozoe (1902-1996), a renowned Japanese chemist who made significant contributions to the field of organic chemistry. He is best known for his work on the synthesis of natural products and the development of new reaction mechanisms.
Another prominent figure was Tetsuo Hamuro (1921-1987), a Japanese diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Japan to the United States from 1976 to 1980. He played a crucial role in strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries during the post-World War II era.
In the realm of sports, Tetsuo Narikawa (1913-1998) was a Japanese baseball player and manager who helped popularize the sport in Japan during the early 20th century. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional baseball in the country.
Tetsuo Mizoguchi (1921-1999) was a renowned Japanese film director and screenwriter, best known for his works that explored the complexities of human relationships and the struggles of the lower classes in post-war Japan. His films, such as "The Life of Oharu" and "Ugetsu Monogatari," are widely regarded as masterpieces of Japanese cinema.
In the world of literature, Tetsuo Miura (1928-2018) was a celebrated Japanese author and poet. His works often explored themes of existentialism, loneliness, and the human condition. He received numerous awards and accolades, including the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, for his literary contributions.
People
Tetsuo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tetsuo 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
Tetsuo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tetsuo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tetsuo 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Tetsuo a common name?
We classify Tetsuo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 268 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tetsuo most popular?
The single biggest year for Tetsuo was 1924, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tetsuo is about 94 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tetsuo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 208 people with the name Tetsuo, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,486 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 Tetsuo 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 Tetsuo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tetsuo appears almost entirely male. Of the 210 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Tetsuo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tetsuo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Tetsuo most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tetsuo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (183 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 Tetsuo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tetsuo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tetsuo 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 Tetsuo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tetsuo 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 Tetsuo 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 the name Tetsuo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.