Yoshie
A feminine Japanese name meaning "good blessing" or "good household".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Yoshie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yoshie today is around 98 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yoshie births was 1924 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yoshie. 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
- • The typical person named Yoshie is about 98 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Yoshies were born before 1938.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yoshie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1924
38 babies that year
Average age
98
years old
1940 SSA rank
#4,344
Tracked since 1914
Census
Yoshie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 862 people with the first name Yoshie, which placed it at #13,861 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
#13,861
National first-name rank
People counted
862
862 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yoshie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yoshie is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Yoshie 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 Yoshie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.7% · 816
- Two or more races2.0% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 14
- Black or African American0.9% · 8
- White0.8% · 7
Popularity
Yoshie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yoshie from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 232 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
Yoshie 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 Yoshie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yoshies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yoshie
The name Yoshie has its roots in Japanese culture, with its origins dating back to the Heian period (794-1185 AD). It is a feminine name derived from the Japanese words "yo," meaning "good" or "beautiful," and "shie," meaning "wise" or "talented." The combination of these words suggests that the name Yoshie signifies a woman who is both beautiful and intelligent.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Yoshie can be found in the literary classic, "The Tale of Genji," written by the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century. In this work, Yoshie is mentioned as the name of a character, indicating that the name was already in use during that time period.
Throughout Japanese history, several notable figures have borne the name Yoshie. One such individual was Yoshie Akiya (1597-1677), a renowned Japanese woman warrior and strategist who played a crucial role in the defense of Osaka Castle during the Siege of Osaka in 1615.
Another famous Yoshie was Yoshie Hara (1904-1995), a pioneering Japanese film actress and singer who rose to prominence during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. Her performances in films such as "Sisters of the Gion" (1936) and "The Life of Oharu" (1952) earned her critical acclaim and a place in the annals of Japanese cinema.
In the realm of literature, Yoshie Akashi (1888-1942) was a celebrated Japanese poet and novelist whose works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Her most notable works include the poetry collection "Midaregami" (Disheveled Hair) and the novel "Takekurabe" (The Bamboo Grove).
Moving into the modern era, Yoshie Akiba (1948-2019) was a renowned Japanese feminist and activist who dedicated her life to fighting for women's rights and gender equality in Japan. She founded the Women's Action Network (WAN) and played a pivotal role in raising awareness about issues such as domestic violence and sexual harassment.
Lastly, Yoshie Ueno (born 1957) is a contemporary Japanese author and literary critic known for her thought-provoking works that explore gender, identity, and societal norms. Her notable publications include "Mirai no Musuko" (Sons of the Future) and "Kawaii Muishiki" (The Cute Unconscious).
The name Yoshie has endured through the ages, carried by remarkable women who have left an indelible mark on Japanese history, culture, and society. Its enduring popularity reflects the reverence and admiration held for the qualities of beauty, wisdom, and talent that it represents.
People
Yoshie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yoshie 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
Yoshie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yoshie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yoshie 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Yoshie a common name?
We classify Yoshie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 395 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yoshie most popular?
The single biggest year for Yoshie was 1924, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yoshie is about 98 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yoshie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 862 people with the name Yoshie, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,861 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 Yoshie 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 Yoshie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yoshie leans strongly female. 854 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 9 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Yoshie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yoshie is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Yoshie most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Yoshie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (816 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 Yoshie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yoshie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yoshie 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 Yoshie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yoshie 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 Yoshie 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 called Yoshie?
You can see how many Americans are named Yoshie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.