Akai
A Japanese name meaning "red" or "bright red".
Name Census estimates that about 977 living Americans carry the first name Akai. It is a predominantly male name (93.1% of registrations). The average person named Akai today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akai births was 2023 (112 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akai. 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 Akai with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
977
~ 1 in 350,823 Americans
Peak year
2023
112 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,129
Tracked since 1975
Census
Akai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 554 people with the first name Akai, which placed it at #19,235 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
#19,235
National first-name rank
People counted
554
554 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
64.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Akai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akai is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.0%) and Hispanic (11.4%). 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 Akai 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 Akai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.1% · 355
- Two or more races15.0% · 83
- Hispanic or Latino11.4% · 63
- White5.2% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Akai
Akai leans heavily male at 93.1% of total registrations, but 68 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Akai as a male name
- Ranked #2,129 in 2024
- 69 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (102 births)
Akai as a female name
- Ranked #9,633 in 2023
- 10 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Akai leans strongly male. 455 people counted with this name were male (81.8%), compared with 101 female bearers (18.2%).
Popularity
Akai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Akai from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 414 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
Akai 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 Akai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Akais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Florida, New York, California recorded the most babies named Akai, while Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Akai
The name Akai is of Japanese origin and is believed to have roots dating back to the 8th century CE. The word "akai" in Japanese means "red," and the name is thought to have been derived from this word, possibly referring to a person with reddish hair or complexion.
In ancient Japanese texts, such as the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which are chronicles of early Japanese history and mythology, there are references to individuals with names that resemble "Akai." However, it is difficult to determine with certainty if these references are specifically related to the modern name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Akai was a Japanese poet and scholar named Akai no Yasunori, who lived during the late Heian period (794-1185 CE). Akai no Yasunori was known for his contributions to the development of Japanese literature and poetry.
Another notable figure in Japanese history with the name Akai was Akai Toshikiyo (1644-1718), a renowned mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge in Japan during the Edo period.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the name Akai was Akai Naoko (1905-1981), a Japanese actress and singer who was a prominent figure in the early days of Japanese cinema. She appeared in numerous films and was widely celebrated for her talent and beauty.
Akai Tomio (1923-1990) was a Japanese writer and literary critic who gained recognition for his works exploring the human condition and the complexities of modern society. His novels and essays were widely read and admired by both critics and the general public.
Lastly, Akai Teruko (1936-2020) was a renowned Japanese ceramic artist who was celebrated for her intricate and beautiful works of pottery. Her pieces were exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and she received numerous awards and accolades for her contributions to the art of ceramics.
People
Akai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akai as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Akai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 977 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akai 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 350,823 US residents.
Is Akai a common name?
We classify Akai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 986 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akai most popular?
The single biggest year for Akai was 2023, when 112 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akai is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Akai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 554 people with the name Akai, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,235 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 Akai 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 Akai?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Akai leans strongly male. 455 people counted with this name were male (81.8%), compared with 101 female bearers (18.2%). 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 Akai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akai is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.0%) and Hispanic (11.4%). 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 Akai most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Akai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.1% (355 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 Akai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akai a male name?
Yes, 93.1% of people registered as Akai 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 Akai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akai 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 Akai 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 common is the name Akai?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.