Akemi
A feminine Japanese name meaning "bright beautiful blessing".
Name Census estimates that about 882 living Americans carry the first name Akemi. It is a predominantly female name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Akemi today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akemi births was 2011 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akemi. 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 Akemi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
882
~ 1 in 388,610 Americans
Peak year
2011
49 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2006 SSA rank
#4,279
Tracked since 1944
Census
Akemi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,663 people with the first name Akemi, which placed it at #8,672 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
#8,672
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,663 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
57.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Akemi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akemi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.1%) and Two or More Races (13.4%). 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 Akemi 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 Akemi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander57.4% · 954
- Hispanic or Latino18.1% · 301
- Two or more races13.4% · 223
- Black or African American8.0% · 133
- White3.1% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Akemi
Out of the 909 babies given the name Akemi since 1880, 99.4% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Akemi as a male name
- Ranked #12,106 in 2006
- 5 male births in 2006
- Peak: 2006 (5 births)
Akemi as a female name
- Ranked #4,279 in 2024
- 33 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (49 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Akemi leans strongly female. 1,626 people counted with this name were female (98.1%), compared with 31 male bearers (1.9%).
Popularity
Akemi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Akemi from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 339 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Akemi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Akemi 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 Akemi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Akemis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Akemi, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 80 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Akemi
Akemi is a Japanese given name of feminine origin. It is derived from the Japanese words "ake" meaning "bright" or "dawn" and "mi" meaning "beautiful". The name can be interpreted to mean "beautiful dawn" or "bright beauty".
The name Akemi has been in use in Japan since ancient times, with records showing it being used as early as the 8th century AD during the Nara period. It was a popular name among the noble classes and samurai families of medieval Japan.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Akemi is found in the Kojiki, an ancient chronicle of Japanese mythology and history written in the early 8th century. The name is mentioned in the context of a mythological character or deity.
The first recorded individual with the name Akemi is believed to be Akemi no Sukune, a Japanese courtier and poet who lived during the late 8th century. She is renowned for her contributions to the Manyoshu, one of the earliest existing collections of Japanese waka poetry.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Akemi. One such person was Akemi Himekawa (1888-1975), a pioneering Japanese educator and women's rights activist who fought for equal access to education for girls and women in the early 20th century.
Another famous Akemi was Akemi Irie (1927-2022), a renowned Japanese artist and calligrapher known for her innovative techniques and contributions to the art of shodo (Japanese calligraphy). Her works are celebrated for their bold, expressive strokes and fusion of traditional and contemporary styles.
In the realm of literature, Akemi Shindō (1935-2019) was a celebrated Japanese novelist and essayist. She was renowned for her poignant and introspective works that explored themes of identity, memory, and the human condition.
Akemi Sone (1958-) is a renowned Japanese fashion designer and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the acclaimed Akemi Sone fashion brand, known for its elegant, minimalist designs and commitment to sustainability and ethical production practices.
Akemi Matsuzaki (1988-) is a contemporary Japanese singer and songwriter. She has achieved widespread popularity in Japan and abroad for her soulful vocals and fusion of genres, including J-pop, R&B, and jazz.
People
Akemi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akemi 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
Akemi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akemi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 882 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akemi 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 388,610 US residents.
Is Akemi a common name?
We classify Akemi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 909 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akemi most popular?
The single biggest year for Akemi was 2011, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akemi is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Akemi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,663 people with the name Akemi, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,672 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 Akemi 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 Akemi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Akemi leans strongly female. 1,626 people counted with this name were female (98.1%), compared with 31 male bearers (1.9%). 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 Akemi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akemi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.1%) and Two or More Races (13.4%). 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 Akemi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Akemi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.4% (954 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 Akemi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akemi a female name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Akemi in the SSA data are female. 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 Akemi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akemi 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 Akemi 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 are named Akemi?
Find out how many people have the name Akemi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.