How popular is the baby name Shohei 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 Shohei.

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Popularity of the baby name Shohei


Posts that mention the name Shohei

Boy names that debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2024

lotus bud

Which boy names emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2024 for the first time ever?

A total of 628 boy names debuted in the data last year, and the most impressive debut was made by Lahiam. Here are the top debuts overall:

  1. Lahiam, 152 baby boys
  2. Xyleek, 115
  3. Ezelio, 53
  4. Kenzai, 37
  5. Rahzi, 34
  6. Akaay, 32
  7. Zeovanni, 32
  8. Kisen, 31
  9. Acyris, 26
  10. Zyro, 24
  11. Arcaius, 22
  12. Neeom, 22
  13. Zyleel, 21
  14. Khamazi, 19
  15. Zyleek, 19
  16. Soan, 18
  17. Mattisyahu, 17
  18. Jasyi, 16
  19. Zamariel, 16
  20. Manoe, 15
  21. Vedang, 15
  22. Eirian, 14
  23. Mcaiden, 14

Colombian social media influencer Katy Cardona (who has over 10 million followers on TikTok and over 3 million on Instagram) had a son named Lahiam in March of 2024.

Here are some more debuts:

13 baby boysAviance, Bayker, Emren
12 baby boysNivam, Omiras, Syierre, Ziovanni
11 baby boysAliam, Dovy, Izam, Keiver, Meylan, Rivian, Rumani, Sabar, Tezekiah
10 baby boysAcyrus, Adwait, Arzen, Jeider, Jhyzir, Kameiro, Kazai, Kyis, Naunihal, Ohtani, Ravilucca, Renlen, Santori

Ohtani was inspired by baseball pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani, the three-time MVP who won his first World Series last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (His first name returned to the data in 2023.)

Finally, here’s a sampling of the rest of the debuts:

  • 9 baby boys: Alessi, Giomani, Kavello, Rudeus, Seoul, Stolas, Zaelix
  • 8 baby boys: Azuryn, Banjo, Briadam, Cassio, Dieumerci, Ezzeldin, Kovey, Nischay, Ozian, Solano
  • 7 baby boys: Altai, Arize, Bellingham, Esoni, Frantzley, Gursher, Hakari, Kodis, Lyham, Omiri, Rennox, Woodmael, Yloan
  • 6 baby boys: Axios, Bandit, Camzen, Dunia, Ezrian, Franyel, Grizz, Gurtegh, Invictus, Josthin, Kallo, Lawakua, Mpano, Oceanus, Ripper, Ritsu, Sangwa, Vajra, Xolo, Yelson, Zelle
  • 5 baby boys: Atreides, Beaudie, Charter, Crow, Damjan, Elionai, Fatehbir, Galahad, Gratian, Jingze, Kanekoa, Lienzo, Methuselah, Nofal, Olukolade, Pressure, Rexley, Searcher, Stunner, Teotl, Thrasher, Vedavid, Whip, Xol, Yitbarek, Zanvil

Briadam was likely influenced by Cuban-American diver Briadam Herrera, who was featured on two seasons of the reality competition series Exatlón Estados Unidos.

Atreides probably refers to Paul Atreides, the main character of the recent movies Dune and Dune: Part Two, which were based on the 1965 book Dune by Frank Herbert.

(A few extra facts: Seoul is the capital of South Korea, Dieumerci means “thank God” in French, Grizz is the mascot of the Memphis Grizzlies, Invictus means “unconquered” in Latin, Kanekoa is a Hawaiian deity, Lawakua means “strong-backed” in Hawaiian, and Teotl refers to “a divine or sacred force” in Nahuatl.)

If you can explain any of the other debuts, please leave a comment!

Sources: SSA, Wikipedia, Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian Language Dictionaries

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

Top baby names in Japan, 2024

Flag of Japan
Flag of Japan

This year, the island nation of Japan will likely welcome fewer than 700,000 babies for the first time in modern history.

What will the most popular names among this (relatively small) group of newborns be?

We’ll never know for sure, because Japan doesn’t release official baby name rankings. But the country’s top names of 2024 could include Rin and Tsumugi for girls, and Ao and Haruto for boys.

How do we know this?

Because, every year, two Japanese companies — the Benesse Corporation and the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company — come up with unofficial baby name rankings for Japan using their own data (i.e., the names of the newborns of their own customers/clients). Both companies rank names in two ways: as they’re written, and as they’re said aloud (because so many Japanese names have more than one possible pronunciation).

  • Benesse’s 2024 rankings account for 263,885 babies born in Japan from January to September, 2024.
  • Meiji Yasuda’s 2024 rankings account for 14,325 babies born in Japan from January to September, 2024.

Girl names

Here are Japan’s top girls names as written, according to both companies:

Top baby names for girls in Japan, 2024

The top three girl names on Benesse’s list are commonly read Rin (meaning “cold” or “dignified”), Himari/Hinata (a combination of two kanji characters meaning “sun” and “hollyhock“), and Sui (meaning “green” or “verdant”). The top girl name on Meiji Yasuda’s list is commonly read Tsumugi (meaning “pongee“).

And here are Japan’s top girl-name readings, according to both companies:

Top baby name readings for girls in Japan, 2024

The top three readings on Benesse’s list are Sana, Ema, and Mei, while the top three on Meiji Yasuda’s list are Tsumugi, Ema, and Sana.

Boy names

Here are Japan’s top boy names as written, according to both companies:

Top baby names for boy in Japan, 2024

The top three boy names on Benesse’s list are commonly read Ao/Aoi (meaning “blue-green”), Ren (meaning “lotus”), and Nagi (meaning “calm”). The top name on Meiji Yasuda’s list is commonly read Haruto/Hinato (a combination of two kanji characters meaning “sun” and “soar”).

And here are Japan’s top boy-name readings, according to both companies:

Top baby name readings for boys in Japan, 2024

Notably, Benesse and Meiji Yasuda are in agreement on the top three: Haruto, Minato, and Riku.

Benesse’s data reveals the name Ran (meaning “indigo”) has seen a significant increase in usage among babies of both genders, likely because of (male) Olympic volleyball player Ran Takahashi.

The Japanese name Ran
Ran

And Meiji Yasuda’s data indicates that the most popular kanji character used in boy names (for the fourth consecutive year) is sho, no doubt thanks to the ongoing success of professional baseball player Shohei “Shotime” Otani.

The kanji character "sho"
Sho

Finally, here’s a link to Japan’s unofficial 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare this year to last year.

Sources

Image: Adapted from Flag of Japan (public domain)

Boy names that returned to the U.S. baby name data in 2023

young leaves

In 2023, which boy names re-emerged most impressively in the U.S. baby name data (after an absence of at least one year)?

Here are the top 10+ boy-name returns:

  1. Yamari, 55 baby boys
  2. Khmari, 24
  3. Amell, 21 (tie)
  4. Jozhiel, 21 (tie)
  5. Nachmen, 18 (tie)
  6. Riftyn, 18 (tie)
  7. Jaydence, 17
  8. Dagim, 16 (tie)
  9. Jehiel, 16 (tie)
  10. Adriell, 15 (5-way tie)
  11. Kamsiyochukwu, 15 (5-way tie)
  12. Leniel, 15 (5-way tie)
  13. Rhettlee, 15 (5-way tie)
  14. Wyndham, 15 (5-way tie)

The return that caught my eye was a little lower on the list — Shohei, given to 13 baby boys last year (after being absent from the data for more than two decades). I’m surprised that the first name of baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani didn’t return a year (or two) earlier than 2023, actually.

If you can think of a likely explanation for any of the returns listed above, please leave a comment!

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from First leaves Novosibirsk Siberia 24.04.2012 by Mikhail Koninin under CC BY 2.0.