Yahari
An uncommon Japanese feminine name with uncertain origins and meanings.
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Yahari. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Yahari today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yahari births was 2024 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yahari. 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 Yahari. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
2024
21 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,549
Tracked since 2013
Gender
Gender distribution for Yahari
Yahari leans heavily female at 83.3% of total registrations, but 6 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Yahari as a male name
- Ranked #12,237 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (6 births)
Yahari as a female name
- Ranked #7,549 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (15 births)
Popularity
Yahari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yahari from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 31 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
Yahari 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 Yahari 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 Yahari
The name Yahari is believed to have its origins in the Japanese language. It is a relatively uncommon name, with its earliest known usage dating back to the 16th century in Japan.
Yahari is thought to be derived from the Japanese words "ya" meaning "arrow" and "hari" meaning "needle." The combination of these words could suggest a meaning related to sharpness, precision, or something pointed or piercing in nature. However, the exact etymology and original meaning are unclear due to the scarcity of historical records specifically addressing the origins of this name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Yahari was Yahari Masahiro, a samurai who lived in the late 16th century and served under the renowned warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Masahiro was known for his skills in archery and his unwavering loyalty to Hideyoshi during the Sengoku period of Japanese history.
In the 17th century, there was a Buddhist monk named Yahari Enkou who was renowned for his calligraphy skills and his contributions to the preservation of ancient Japanese texts. He spent much of his life at the Daitoku-ji temple in Kyoto, where he taught and practiced his art.
During the Edo period (1603-1868), a notable figure named Yahari Toshitsugu was a prominent merchant and entrepreneur in the city of Osaka. He established a successful trading company that dealt in silk and other luxury goods, becoming one of the wealthiest individuals of his time.
In more recent history, Yahari Kazuko was a celebrated Japanese writer and poet who lived from 1898 to 1972. She was known for her poetic works that explored themes of nature, love, and the human condition. Kazuko's writings were highly influential in the literary circles of her time and continue to be studied and appreciated today.
Another notable individual with the name Yahari was Yahari Kenji, a Japanese artist and sculptor who lived from 1920 to 2005. Kenji's works, often created from bronze and stone, were deeply inspired by traditional Japanese aesthetics and the natural world. He gained widespread recognition for his unique and distinctive style, with many of his sculptures being displayed in museums and public spaces throughout Japan.
While the name Yahari is not as common as some other Japanese names, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and encompasses individuals from various walks of life, including samurai, monks, merchants, writers, and artists.
People
Yahari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yahari as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yahari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yahari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yahari 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 9,520,954 US residents.
Is Yahari a common name?
We classify Yahari as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yahari most popular?
The single biggest year for Yahari was 2024, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yahari is about 4 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Yahari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yahari a female name?
Yes, 83.3% of people registered as Yahari 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 Yahari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yahari 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 Yahari 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Yahari?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.