Yoshira
A feminine name likely derived from the Japanese words "yo" (good) and "shira" (white).
Name Census estimates that about 8 living Americans carry the first name Yoshira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yoshira today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yoshira births was 2003 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yoshira. 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 Yoshira. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
8
~ 1 in 42,844,292 Americans
Peak year
2003
8 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2003 SSA rank
#12,384
Tracked since 2003
Census
Yoshira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 116 people with the first name Yoshira, which placed it at #51,012 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
#51,012
National first-name rank
People counted
116
116 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
88.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yoshira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yoshira is Hispanic at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and White (2.6%). 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 Yoshira 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 Yoshira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.8% · 103
- Black or African American6.9% · 8
- White2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Popularity
Yoshira: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Yoshira 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 Yoshira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Yoshira
The name Yoshira is of Japanese origin, deriving from the combination of two distinct elements: "Yo," meaning "good" or "positive," and "shira," a variant of the name Shira, which has roots in the Sanskrit word "shri," signifying beauty, grace, and prosperity. This unique blend of Japanese and Sanskrit influences highlights the name's multicultural essence.
The earliest recorded use of the name Yoshira can be traced back to the Heian period in Japan, which spanned from 794 to 1185 CE. During this era, traditional Japanese names often incorporated elements from Sanskrit, a language widely revered for its spiritual and literary significance in East Asian cultures.
One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the name Yoshira was a renowned poet and calligrapher who lived during the late Heian period. Her works, preserved in imperial anthologies, provided a glimpse into the artistic and literary milieu of the time.
In the Kamakura period, which followed the Heian era, records indicate the existence of a Yoshira, a highly skilled swordsmith whose blades were sought after by samurai warriors for their exceptional craftsmanship and durability.
As the centuries progressed, the name Yoshira continued to appear in various historical records, often associated with individuals of artistic or scholarly pursuits. One such figure was Yoshira Takahashi, a celebrated ukiyo-e woodblock artist who lived during the Edo period (1603–1868). His intricate depictions of the vibrant urban life in Edo (present-day Tokyo) have become iconic representations of that era.
In the realm of literature, Yoshira Matsumoto, a novelist and essayist born in 1904, gained recognition for her poignant explorations of human relationships and societal dynamics in her novels, which were widely acclaimed in the early 20th century.
Another notable individual bearing the name Yoshira was Yoshira Tanaka, a pioneering female scientist who made significant contributions to the field of genetics in the mid-20th century. Her groundbreaking research on plant genetics earned her numerous accolades and paved the way for future advancements in the field.
Throughout its long history, the name Yoshira has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, each leaving an indelible mark on their respective fields and adding to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this beautiful and multifaceted name.
People
Yoshira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yoshira 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
Yoshira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yoshira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yoshira 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 42,844,292 US residents.
Is Yoshira a common name?
We classify Yoshira as "Very Rare". It ranks above 24.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yoshira most popular?
The single biggest year for Yoshira was 2003, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yoshira is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yoshira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 116 people with the name Yoshira, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,012 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 Yoshira 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 Yoshira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yoshira leans strongly female. 112 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 3 male bearers (2.6%). 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 Yoshira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yoshira is Hispanic at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and White (2.6%). 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 Yoshira most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yoshira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (103 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 Yoshira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yoshira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yoshira 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 Yoshira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yoshira 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 Yoshira 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 common is the name Yoshira?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Yoshira on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.