How popular is the baby name Akihito in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Akihito.

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Popularity of the baby name Akihito


Posts that mention the name Akihito

How did Japan’s Showa era influence U.S. baby names in 1927?

Emperor Hirohito, a.k.a. Emperor Showa (1901-1989)
Emperor Hirohito of Japan

According to the U.S. baby name data, the Japanese name Shoji saw a distinct spike in usage in 1927 — the one and only year it reached the U.S. top 1,000.

  • 1929: 8 baby boys named Shoji
  • 1928: 6 baby boys named Shoji
  • 1927: 81 baby boys named Shoji [rank: 725th]
    • 35 born in Hawaii, 34 in California, 6 in Washington state
  • 1926: unlisted
  • 1925: unlisted

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Shoji in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Shoji

The fact that over 85% of the usage came from the states of Hawaii and California strongly suggests that this name was being used primarily (if not entirely) by Japanese-Americans.

Unlike the Japanese names Tatsuo and Torao, though, Shoji’s pattern of usage doesn’t correspond to the Chinese zodiac (which follows a repeating 12-year cycle).

Instead, I think the most plausible theory regarding the single spike has to do with a different sort of calendar system: the Japanese “era” calendar, in which an “era name” is assigned to the reign of each emperor.

Japan’s four most recent eras are:

  • Taisho (1912-1926), under Emperor Yoshihito
  • Showa (1926-1989), under Emperor Hirohito
  • Heisei (1989-2019), under Emperor Akihito
  • Reiwa (2019-present), under Emperor Naruhito

The Showa era began in the final days of 1926, when Yoshihito passed away (on December 25) and was succeeded by his eldest son, Hirohito (who’d been the de facto ruler of the empire since late 1921, due to Yoshihito’s declining mental and physical health).

Right away, this news appeared in the U.S. papers. For example, here’s a December 26 headline from the Japanese American News (which was headquartered in San Francisco):

Showa headline

And here’s a quote from the article:

Upon ascending to the throne of Japan […] the Prince Regent who became the 124th Emperor, issued the rescript naming the new era to begin today “Showa,” meaning brilliant peace.

The word Showa — which has also been defined as “enlightened peace” and “bright peace” — consists of two kanji characters: sho, meaning “bright” or “enlightened,” and wa, meaning “peace” or “harmony.”

According to data from Japan’s Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company, era names influenced baby names in Japan during the early 1900s. Specifically, many babies born during the early part an emperor’s reign were given names that incorporated a kanji from the new era name.

So it follows that Japanese-Americans would likewise be influenced by new era names.

And this would explain the conspicuous spike in the usage of Shoji [sho+ji] in 1927.

In fact, it would also explain the rise in usage of the name Shoichi [sho+ichi] the same year.

(In Japanese names, the elements ichi and ji — meaning “one” and “two,” respectively — are typically associated with first- and second-born sons.)

Do you have any thoughts on the name Shoji?

P.S. The Reiwa era began in May of 2019, but it didn’t inspire very many people in either Japan or the U.S. to chose baby names featuring rei or wa. (That said, the girl name Rei did happen to reach peak usage in the U.S. in 2020, and more than a third of that usage came from California…)

Sources:

Images: Adapted from Emperor Showa (public domain); clipped from the Japanese American News (26 Dec. 1926)

How did John Lennon’s murder influence U.S. baby names in 1981?

Musician John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono in Amsterdam (Mar. 1969)
John Lennon and Yoko Ono (in 1969)

John Lennon — a founding member of the massively popular English rock band The Beatles, and the voice behind hits like “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (1963), “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964), “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967), “Come Together” (1969), and, as a solo artist, “Imagine” (1971) — was shot and killed by a fan outside his New York City apartment building on December 8, 1980.

What followed was a worldwide outpouring of grief.

In lieu of holding a memorial service, Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, asked fans to remember him with a silent vigil on December 14 (the following Sunday).

Millions around the globe participated.

By far the biggest crowd gathered at Central Park in New York. More than 100,000 people … braved stinging cold to listen to recorded music and pray in silence at 2 p.m. EST.

[…]

Simultaneously, somber crowds in Philadelphia, Memphis, Tenn., Raleigh, N.C., Atlanta, Hartford, Conn., Concord, N.H., Cincinnati, Columbia, S.C., Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and numerous other communities across the nation fell silent for 10 minutes.

The following year, the baby names Lennon and Yoko both saw an uptick in usage:

Babies named LennonGirls named Yoko
198322 boys14
198222 boys14
198148 boys + 6 girls*24†
198015 boys11
19799 boys.
*Gender-specific debut, †Peak usage

So what do “Lennon” and “Yoko” mean?

John Lennon’s Irish surname can be traced back to either the Irish word lon, meaning “blackbird,” or the Irish word leann, meaning “cloak, mantle.”

And Yoko Ono’s Japanese forename is written using a pair of kanji characters meaning “ocean” and “child” — though the name can be written with other characters as well.

These days, the name Yoko remains rare among U.S. babies (though not as rare as Ringo).

The name Lennon, on the other hand, has become quite popular. It now ranks well inside the top 1,000 for both baby boys and baby girls. (Female usage surpassed male usage in 2014.)

P.S. Did you know that Yoko Ono, who was born into an affluent family, went to school with future Japanese emperor Akihito?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from John Lennon and Yoko Ono photo by Eric Koch via Nationaal Archief under CC0.

Will Japan’s next “era name” influence Japanese baby names?

Emperor Showa (1901-1989)
Emperor Showa

Japan has been using a system of “era names” continuously since the 8th century. Each era name “is said to represent an ideal of an era and in principle consists of two auspicious kanji, including hei (peace), ei (eternal), ten (heaven) and an (safety).”

In modern times, each era name has corresponded to the rule of a single emperor. Here are the four most recent era names and their meanings:

  • Meiji (1868-1912) – “enlightened rule”
  • Taisho (1912-1926) – “great righteousness”
  • Showa (1926-1989) – “radiant peace”
  • Heisei (1989-) – “peace everywhere”

The current emperor, 83-year-old Akihito, hinted last summer that he wanted to step down from the throne. (He would be succeeded by his son, Prince Naruhito.)

If he does, Japan will transition to a new era name. And this could have an impact on baby names.

Data released by Japan’s Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company (est. 1881) indicates that during the early Taisho era, the most popular names for baby boys (e.g., Shoichi, Shoji, Shozo) all started with Taisho’s sho character, which means “right” or “just.”

And during the early Showa era, there was strong usage of Showa’s (different) sho character, which means “bright” or “shining.”

These days Japanese parents are less tradition-bound and more influenced by “look and sound,” said a Meiji Yasuda Life spokesperson. But if Japan’s next era name includes an attractive kanji character, who knows — Japanese parents might just start using it and kick off a new baby name trend…

Update, 6/18/2017: On June 10, Japan passed a law allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate (within the next three years specifically).

Update, November 2017: Emperor Akihito will abdicate on April 30, 2019.

Update, April 2019: The new era name, Reiwa, was recently revealed. Reiwa is “a very Japanese-sounding name; previous era names have come from Chinese classic literature,” but Reiwa “appears in a poem about plum blossoms from the Manyoshu, the oldest existing collection of Japanese poems.” (Source)

Update, September 2020: The start of the Reiwa era on May 1, 2019, did not have a strong effect on Japanese baby names that year.

Sources: Imperial abdication talk poses question of Japan’s next era, What to call baby?, Businesses await Japan’s new era name as Emperor’s abdication looms

Image: Adapted from Emperor Showa (public domain)