Yoshiyuki
Masculine Japanese name meaning "good luck" or "good happiness".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Yoshiyuki. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yoshiyuki today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yoshiyuki births was 1924 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yoshiyuki. 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 Yoshiyuki is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Yoshiyukis were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yoshiyuki. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1924
10 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1927 SSA rank
#4,794
Tracked since 1918
Census
Yoshiyuki in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 228 people with the first name Yoshiyuki, which placed it at #35,335 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
#35,335
National first-name rank
People counted
228
228 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yoshiyuki
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yoshiyuki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and White (0.9%). 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 Yoshiyuki 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 Yoshiyuki at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.5% · 220
- Two or more races2.2% · 5
- White0.9% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 1
Popularity
Yoshiyuki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yoshiyuki from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 29 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
Yoshiyuki 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 Yoshiyuki during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yoshiyukis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yoshiyuki
The name Yoshiyuki is a Japanese given name with roots that can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1185 CE) in Japan. It is derived from the combination of two distinct Japanese words: "yoshi" meaning "good" or "virtuous," and "yuki" meaning "snow" or "prosperity." Together, the name Yoshiyuki can be interpreted as "good fortune" or "prosperous virtue."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Yoshiyuki can be found in the Nihon Shoki, an ancient chronicle of Japan's imperial history compiled in the 8th century CE. This text references a prince named Yoshiyuki who lived during the Asuka period (538-710 CE), indicating the name's usage in the early days of Japanese history.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Yoshiyuki. One of the most prominent figures was Minamoto no Yoshiyuki (1088-1155), a powerful samurai warrior and member of the influential Minamoto clan during the late Heian period. He played a crucial role in the Hogen Rebellion of 1156, a conflict that marked the beginning of the Gempei War, a pivotal period in Japanese history.
Another notable figure was Kamakura Yoshiyuki (1226-1293), a renowned Japanese calligrapher and poet who lived during the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE). His works were highly praised for their elegant and skilled execution, and he is considered one of the most influential calligraphers of his time.
In the realm of literature, Yoshiyuki Junnosuke (1888-1959) was a celebrated Japanese writer and poet who was active during the Taisho and Showa periods. He is best known for his novels and short stories that explored the human condition and the complexities of modern Japanese society.
Another notable individual with the name Yoshiyuki was Kawashima Yoshiyuki (1619-1672), a prominent Japanese artist and ukiyo-e painter during the Edo period (1603-1868 CE). His works, which often depicted scenes from Kabuki theater and everyday life, were highly influential and contributed significantly to the development of the ukiyo-e art form.
In the field of martial arts, Yoshiyuki Inoue (1948-1998) was a renowned Japanese karateka and instructor. He was a leading figure in the Kyokushin Karate organization and played a pivotal role in spreading the popularity of this martial art globally.
While this list is by no means exhaustive, it highlights the historical significance and presence of the name Yoshiyuki across various disciplines and time periods in Japanese history.
People
Yoshiyuki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yoshiyuki 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
Yoshiyuki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yoshiyuki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yoshiyuki 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Yoshiyuki a common name?
We classify Yoshiyuki as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% 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 Yoshiyuki most popular?
The single biggest year for Yoshiyuki was 1924, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yoshiyuki is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yoshiyuki in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 228 people with the name Yoshiyuki, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,335 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 Yoshiyuki 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 Yoshiyuki?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yoshiyuki appears almost entirely male. Of the 226 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Yoshiyuki?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yoshiyuki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and White (0.9%). 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 Yoshiyuki most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Yoshiyuki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (220 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 Yoshiyuki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yoshiyuki a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yoshiyuki 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 Yoshiyuki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yoshiyuki 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 Yoshiyuki 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 share the name Yoshiyuki?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.