Yoshito
A masculine Japanese name meaning "good person" or "virtuous person".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Yoshito. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yoshito today is around 98 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yoshito births was 1925 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yoshito. 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 Yoshito is about 98 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Yoshitos were born before 1938.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yoshito. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1925
20 babies that year
Average age
98
years old
1937 SSA rank
#4,018
Tracked since 1914
Census
Yoshito in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 129 people with the first name Yoshito, which placed it at #48,862 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
#48,862
National first-name rank
People counted
129
129 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
87.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yoshito
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yoshito is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Yoshito 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 Yoshito at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander87.6% · 113
- Two or more races4.7% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 5
- Black or African American3.1% · 4
- White0.8% · 1
Popularity
Yoshito: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yoshito from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 123 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
Yoshito 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 Yoshito during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yoshitos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yoshito
The name Yoshito originates from Japan and is considered a traditional Japanese masculine name. It is a combination of the Japanese words "yoshi," meaning good or virtuous, and "to," meaning person or warrior. The name can be translated to mean "a good person" or "virtuous warrior."
In ancient times, Japanese names were often chosen to reflect desired qualities or characteristics for the child. The name Yoshito likely emerged during the feudal era in Japan, when samurai warriors and their virtues were highly esteemed. Parents may have chosen this name in hopes that their son would embody the virtues of a honorable and skilled warrior.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Yoshito can be found in the 14th century historical text "Taiheiki," which chronicles the struggles for imperial power during the late Kamakura and early Muromachi periods. In this text, a samurai warrior named Yoshito is mentioned as a loyal retainer to the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō era of competing imperial courts.
Throughout Japanese history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yoshito. In the 16th century, Yoshito Ogasawara was a renowned samurai and military strategist who served under the powerful Takeda clan during the Sengoku period of civil war. He played a crucial role in several battles and was known for his tactical brilliance.
Another notable figure was Yoshito Yamashina, a 19th century Japanese nobleman and scholar. He was an authority on Japanese literature and poetry, and served as a tutor to members of the imperial family. His contributions to the preservation and study of traditional Japanese arts and culture were significant.
In the 20th century, Yoshito Usui was a Japanese diplomat and statesman who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the 1930s. He played a key role in Japan's foreign policy during a turbulent period leading up to World War II.
Additionally, Yoshito Harada was a renowned Japanese architect known for his innovative designs that blended traditional Japanese elements with modern techniques. Some of his most notable works include the Harada House in Tokyo and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
While the name Yoshito is not as commonly used today as it was in previous centuries, it remains a significant part of Japanese cultural heritage, evoking the virtues of a good and honorable person, as well as the spirit of the revered samurai warriors of ancient Japan.
People
Yoshito + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yoshito 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
Yoshito: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yoshito?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yoshito 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Yoshito a common name?
We classify Yoshito as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yoshito most popular?
The single biggest year for Yoshito was 1925, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yoshito 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 Yoshito in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 129 people with the name Yoshito, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,862 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 Yoshito 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 Yoshito?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yoshito leans strongly male. 125 people counted with this name were male (98.4%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.6%). 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 Yoshito?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yoshito is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Yoshito most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Yoshito in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (113 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 Yoshito in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yoshito a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yoshito 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 Yoshito still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yoshito 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 Yoshito 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 Yoshito?
See how many people have the name Yoshito on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.