Tomoki
A masculine Japanese name meaning "friend of virtue".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Tomoki. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tomoki today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tomoki births was 2014 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tomoki. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tomoki with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
2014
12 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,126
Tracked since 1989
Census
Tomoki in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 238 people with the first name Tomoki, which placed it at #34,342 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
#34,342
National first-name rank
People counted
238
238 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
87.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tomoki
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tomoki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Tomoki 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 Tomoki at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander87.4% · 208
- Two or more races9.2% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 5
- White1.3% · 3
Popularity
Tomoki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tomoki from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 55 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tomoki 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 Tomoki during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tomokis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tomoki
The name Tomoki has its origins in Japan, derived from the combination of two Japanese words: "tomo" meaning "friend" and "ki" meaning "tree" or "wood." This name gained popularity during the Heian period (794-1185 AD) in Japan, reflecting the cultural significance of friendship and nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tomoki can be found in the Kokin Wakashū, an ancient anthology of Japanese poetry from the early Heian period, where it was used as a poetic name or pseudonym. The name was also mentioned in historical records from the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD), suggesting its continued use among the Japanese aristocracy and samurai class.
Throughout Japanese history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tomoki. One such figure was Tomoki Togo (1900-1941), a Japanese naval officer who served during World War II and was known for his courage and leadership. Another was Tomoki Kameda (1936-2022), a renowned Japanese writer and poet who received numerous literary awards for his work.
In the realm of sports, Tomoki Kameda (born 1991) is a professional boxer from Japan who has held multiple world titles in the bantamweight division. Tomoki Miyoshi (born 1988) is a Japanese footballer who has played for several clubs in the J-League, Japan's professional soccer league.
Moving to the arts, Tomoki Hirota (born 1976) is a Japanese actor and musician who has appeared in numerous films, television shows, and stage productions. He is particularly known for his roles in historical dramas and his work as a voice actor.
The name Tomoki has maintained its cultural significance in Japan, serving as a reminder of the country's rich history and traditions. While its meaning has evolved over time, it continues to evoke a sense of friendship, nature, and the enduring spirit of the Japanese people.
People
Tomoki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tomoki 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
Tomoki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tomoki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tomoki 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Tomoki a common name?
We classify Tomoki as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tomoki most popular?
The single biggest year for Tomoki was 2014, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tomoki is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tomoki in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 238 people with the name Tomoki, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,342 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 Tomoki 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 Tomoki?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tomoki appears almost entirely male. Of the 236 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Tomoki?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tomoki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Tomoki most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tomoki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (208 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 Tomoki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tomoki a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tomoki 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 Tomoki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tomoki 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 Tomoki 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 share the name Tomoki?
Want to know how many people have the name Tomoki? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.