Umeko
Japanese feminine name meaning "plum child" or "born in the plum season".
Name Census estimates that about 33 living Americans carry the first name Umeko. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Umeko today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Umeko births was 1990 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Umeko. 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 Umeko. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
33
~ 1 in 10,386,495 Americans
Peak year
1990
9 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1993 SSA rank
#11,740
Tracked since 1916
Census
Umeko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 100 people with the first name Umeko, which placed it at #53,336 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
#53,336
National first-name rank
People counted
100
100 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
41.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Umeko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Umeko is Black at 41.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.0%) and Two or More Races (12.0%). 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 Umeko 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 Umeko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American41.0% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander33.0% · 33
- Two or more races12.0% · 12
- White8.0% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
Popularity
Umeko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Umeko from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 24 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
Umeko 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 Umeko 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 Umeko
The given name Umeko is of Japanese origin, with its roots tracing back to the late 19th or early 20th century. The name is derived from the Japanese words "ume" meaning "plum" and "ko" which is a common suffix used in female names. Umeko can be interpreted as "child of the plum blossom" or "plum child," reflecting the cultural significance of the plum blossom in Japanese tradition.
While the exact origins of the name are uncertain, it is believed to have gained popularity during the Meiji period (1868-1912) in Japan. This era marked the country's rapid modernization and the embracing of Western influences, leading to the emergence of new naming conventions that combined traditional Japanese elements with fresh interpretations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Umeko can be found in the writings of the renowned Japanese author and poet, Natsume Soseki (1867-1916). In his novel "Sorekara" (And Then), published in 1909, he introduced a character named Umeko, further solidifying the name's presence in Japanese literature.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Umeko. Umeko Tsuda (1864-1929) was a pioneering educator and founder of Tsuda College, one of the first institutions in Japan dedicated to providing higher education for women. Her efforts played a crucial role in advancing women's rights and empowerment in Japan.
Another prominent figure was Umeko Ando (1905-1990), a renowned woodblock print artist renowned for her intricate depictions of traditional Japanese life and landscapes. Her works, showcasing the delicate beauty of plum blossoms, are celebrated internationally and held in prestigious museum collections.
In the realm of music, Umeko Toge (1929-2017) was a celebrated Japanese singer and actress. She rose to fame in the post-World War II era, captivating audiences with her powerful vocal performances and gracing numerous stage productions and films throughout her illustrious career.
Umeko Kawashima (1922-2013) was a highly respected textile artist and Living National Treasure of Japan. Her exquisite woven creations, imbued with traditional techniques and intricate patterns, earned her widespread acclaim both domestically and globally.
Lastly, Umeko Nishimura (1905-1989) was a revered Japanese ceramist known for her innovative glazing techniques and unique interpretations of traditional ceramic forms. Her works were widely exhibited and celebrated, earning her numerous accolades throughout her lifetime.
These individuals, spanning various fields and eras, have left an indelible mark on Japanese culture and history, carrying the name Umeko with grace and distinction.
People
Umeko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Umeko as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Umeko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Umeko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Umeko 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 10,386,495 US residents.
Is Umeko a common name?
We classify Umeko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Umeko most popular?
The single biggest year for Umeko was 1990, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Umeko is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Umeko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 100 people with the name Umeko, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,336 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 Umeko 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 Umeko?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Umeko leans strongly female. 105 people counted with this name were female (95.5%), compared with 5 male bearers (4.5%). 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 Umeko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Umeko is Black at 41.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.0%) and Two or More Races (12.0%). 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 Umeko most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Umeko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.0% (41 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 Umeko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Umeko a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Umeko 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 Umeko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Umeko 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 Umeko 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 Umeko?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Umeko, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.