Yuuki
A Japanese name meaning "superior courage" or "brave spirit".
Name Census estimates that about 198 living Americans carry the first name Yuuki. It is a predominantly male name (92.1% of registrations). The average person named Yuuki today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yuuki births was 2001 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yuuki. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Yuuki with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
198
~ 1 in 1,731,083 Americans
Peak year
2001
14 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,284
Tracked since 1989
Census
Yuuki in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 185 people with the first name Yuuki, which placed it at #40,305 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
#40,305
National first-name rank
People counted
185
185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
67.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yuuki
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yuuki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (21.6%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Yuuki 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 Yuuki at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander67.0% · 124
- Two or more races21.6% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 12
- White3.8% · 7
- Black or African American1.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Yuuki
Yuuki leans heavily male at 92.1% of total registrations, but 16 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Yuuki as a male name
- Ranked #12,284 in 2022
- 6 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2001 (14 births)
Yuuki as a female name
- Ranked #19,460 in 2012
- 5 female births in 2012
- Peak: 2011 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Yuuki on both sides of the split. Of the 181 people counted with this name, 140 were male (77.3%) and 41 were female (22.7%).
Popularity
Yuuki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yuuki from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yuuki 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 Yuuki during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yuukis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yuuki
The name Yuuki is a Japanese given name with origins dating back to ancient times. Its roots can be traced to the Japanese words "yu" meaning "superior" or "brave" and "ki" meaning "hope" or "radiance." Together, the name Yuuki conveys a sense of bravery, resilience, and brightness.
In Japanese culture, names often carry deep symbolic meanings and are carefully chosen to instill positive qualities in the child. The name Yuuki reflects the desire for the bearer to possess a courageous spirit and a hopeful outlook on life.
While the exact origins of the name are obscure, it is believed to have emerged during the Heian period (794-1185 CE) when Japanese names took on more complex meanings and symbolism. During this era, literature and poetry flourished, and names were influenced by the artistic and philosophical ideals of the time.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Yuuki can be found in the 12th-century literary work "The Tale of Genji," widely considered a masterpiece of Japanese literature. In this work, a minor character bears the name Yuuki, suggesting its use during the Heian period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Yuuki. One example is Yuuki Atsuko (1923-2017), a renowned Japanese author and translator known for her work in introducing Western literature to Japanese audiences. Her translations of works by authors like Gabriel García Márquez and Milan Kundera were instrumental in expanding cultural understanding between East and West.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Yuuki is Yuuki Takahiro (1952-), a Japanese businessman and former CEO of the electronics company Sharp Corporation. Under his leadership, Sharp became a global leader in liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and expanded its presence in international markets.
In the realm of sports, Yuuki Abe (1989-) is a notable name. A professional baseball player in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, Abe has played for the Yomiuri Giants and has been a part of several championship-winning teams.
Historically, the name Yuuki has also been associated with warriors and samurai. One example is Yuuki Masatsugu (1592-1615), a renowned samurai who served under the powerful Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period. He was known for his bravery and loyalty, exemplifying the qualities embodied by the name Yuuki.
Lastly, in the realm of Japanese art, Yuuki Somei (1875-1941) was a renowned woodblock print artist and painter. His works, which often depicted traditional Japanese landscapes and scenes, were highly influential in the Shin-hanga ("new prints") movement of the early 20th century.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Yuuki throughout history, each contributing to their respective fields and embodying the qualities of bravery, hope, and radiance associated with this meaningful Japanese name.
People
Yuuki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yuuki 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
Yuuki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yuuki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 198 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yuuki 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 1,731,083 US residents.
Is Yuuki a common name?
We classify Yuuki as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.1% 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 Yuuki most popular?
The single biggest year for Yuuki was 2001, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yuuki is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yuuki in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 185 people with the name Yuuki, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,305 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 Yuuki 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 Yuuki?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Yuuki on both sides of the split. Of the 181 people counted with this name, 140 were male (77.3%) and 41 were female (22.7%). 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 Yuuki?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yuuki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (21.6%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Yuuki most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Yuuki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.0% (124 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 Yuuki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yuuki a male name?
Yes, 92.1% of people registered as Yuuki 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 Yuuki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yuuki 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 Yuuki 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 Americans are named Yuuki?
See how many people have the name Yuuki on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.