Tomie
A Japanese feminine name derived from "Tomi", meaning "beautiful gem".
Name Census estimates that about 321 living Americans carry the first name Tomie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 65.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Tomie today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tomie births was 1919 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tomie. 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
- • Tomie started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
321
~ 1 in 1,067,771 Americans
Peak year
1919
53 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1983 SSA rank
#7,251
Tracked since 1886
Census
Tomie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 547 people with the first name Tomie, which placed it at #19,370 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
#19,370
National first-name rank
People counted
547
547 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tomie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tomie is White at 45.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.1%) and Black (19.7%). 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 Tomie 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 Tomie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.2% · 247
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.1% · 110
- Black or African American19.7% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 37
- Two or more races5.7% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 14
Gender
Gender distribution for Tomie
Tomie is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,380 total registrations, 904 (65.5%) were male and 476 (34.5%) were female.
Tomie as a male name
- Ranked #7,251 in 1983
- 5 male births in 1983
- Peak: 1919 (39 births)
Tomie as a female name
- Ranked #15,010 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1924 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tomie on both sides of the split. Of the 556 people counted with this name, 183 were male (32.9%) and 373 were female (67.1%).
Popularity
Tomie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tomie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 397 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
Tomie 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 Tomie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tomies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Mississippi, Hawaii, Texas recorded the most babies named Tomie, while South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tomie
The name Tomie has its origins in Japan, where it is believed to have derived from the Japanese word "tomi," which means "wealth" or "fortune." This name likely emerged during the Heian period (794-1185 CE) in Japanese history, when it was common to give names that expressed aspirations or positive attributes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tomie can be found in the Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji), a classic work of Japanese literature written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century. The name appears as a character in this seminal novel, suggesting its usage during the Heian period.
In Japanese Buddhist traditions, the name Tomie may also be associated with the bodhisattva Tara, known as the embodiment of compassion and spiritual guidance. This connection could have contributed to the name's popularity among certain Buddhist communities in Japan.
Throughout Japanese history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tomie. One example is Tomie Ohtake (1913-2015), a renowned Brazilian-Japanese architect and artist who made significant contributions to the modernist movement in Brazil. Another is Tomie Kawakami (1903-1992), a Japanese actress and singer who achieved fame in the early 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Tomie Arai (1901-1923) was a Japanese writer and poet who gained recognition for her lyrical works exploring themes of love and nature. Her poetic legacy continues to be celebrated in Japan.
Moving to more recent times, Tomie dePaola (1934-2020) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books, best known for his Strega Nona series. His work has been widely acclaimed and has introduced generations of children to the joys of reading and storytelling.
While the name Tomie may have originated in Japan, it has transcended cultural boundaries and been adopted by people of various backgrounds worldwide. Its association with wealth, fortune, and spiritual guidance has likely contributed to its enduring appeal across different societies.
People
Tomie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tomie 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
Tomie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tomie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 321 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tomie 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 1,067,771 US residents.
Is Tomie a common name?
We classify Tomie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,380 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tomie most popular?
The single biggest year for Tomie was 1919, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tomie is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tomie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 547 people with the name Tomie, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,370 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 Tomie 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 Tomie?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tomie on both sides of the split. Of the 556 people counted with this name, 183 were male (32.9%) and 373 were female (67.1%). 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 Tomie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tomie is White at 45.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.1%) and Black (19.7%). 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 Tomie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tomie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.2% (247 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 Tomie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tomie a male name?
Yes, 65.5% of people registered as Tomie 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 Tomie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tomie 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 Tomie 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 Tomie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.