Toki
A feminine Japanese name meaning "time", "eternity", or "everlasting".
Name Census estimates that about 16 living Americans carry the first name Toki. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 54.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Toki today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Toki births was 1961 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Toki. 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 Toki. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
16
~ 1 in 21,422,146 Americans
Peak year
1961
7 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,797
Tracked since 1922
Census
Toki in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 181 people with the first name Toki, which placed it at #40,888 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
#40,888
National first-name rank
People counted
181
181 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
39.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toki
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and White (14.4%). 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 Toki 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 Toki at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander39.8% · 72
- Black or African American24.9% · 45
- White14.4% · 26
- Two or more races12.7% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Toki
Toki is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 22 total registrations, 10 (45.5%) were male and 12 (54.5%) were female.
Toki as a male name
- Ranked #14,005 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (5 births)
Toki as a female name
- Ranked #5,797 in 1961
- 7 female births in 1961
- Peak: 1961 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Toki on both sides of the split. Of the 186 people counted with this name, 64 were male (34.4%) and 122 were female (65.6%).
Popularity
Toki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Toki from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 7 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Toki remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Toki 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 Toki 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 Toki
The name Toki has its origins in the Polynesian languages, specifically in the Tongan and Maori cultures. Toki is derived from the Polynesian word "to'i," which means "adze" or "axe," referring to a type of stone tool used for woodworking and carving.
In Tongan culture, the name Toki was traditionally given to boys born during the months associated with woodworking and carving activities. It symbolized the importance of these skills in their society and the connection to the natural environment.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Toki date back to the 16th century, when it appeared in oral traditions and genealogical records of Polynesian societies. One notable historical figure bearing this name was Toki Paufahu, a renowned Tongan chief and navigator who lived in the late 18th century.
Another prominent figure in Polynesian history was Toki Taofahau, a Tongan chief and political leader who played a crucial role in the unification of the Tongan Islands in the early 19th century. He was born in 1797 and died in 1865.
In Maori culture, the name Toki also carried significance. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Toki Paa, a skilled Maori carver and tohunga (expert) who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was renowned for his intricate woodcarvings and knowledge of traditional Maori arts.
Beyond the Polynesian islands, the name Toki also appeared in other cultures, albeit less frequently. In Japanese history, there was a notable figure named Toki Yorinaga, a 16th-century samurai and daimyo (feudal lord) who played a role in the Sengoku period.
Additionally, Toki Tomotada was a 14th-century Japanese military commander and samurai who served under the Ashikaga shogunate. He was born in 1322 and died in 1391, leaving a lasting impact on the military history of Japan during that era.
While the name Toki may have evolved and taken on different meanings in various cultures over time, its origins can be traced back to the Polynesian languages, where it held deep symbolism and cultural significance.
People
Toki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Toki 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
Toki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Toki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Toki 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 21,422,146 US residents.
Is Toki a common name?
We classify Toki as "Very Rare". It ranks above 36.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Toki most popular?
The single biggest year for Toki was 1961, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Toki is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Toki in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 181 people with the name Toki, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,888 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 Toki 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 Toki?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Toki on both sides of the split. Of the 186 people counted with this name, 64 were male (34.4%) and 122 were female (65.6%). 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 Toki?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and White (14.4%). 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 Toki most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Toki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.8% (72 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 Toki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Toki a female name?
Yes, 54.5% of people registered as Toki 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 Toki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Toki 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 Toki 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 named Toki?
Find out how many people share the name Toki on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.