Eriko
A feminine Japanese name meaning "blessed child" or "prosperous child".
Name Census estimates that about 74 living Americans carry the first name Eriko. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eriko today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eriko births was 1990 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eriko. 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 Eriko with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eriko. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
74
~ 1 in 4,631,815 Americans
Peak year
1990
12 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1998 SSA rank
#12,942
Tracked since 1972
Census
Eriko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 801 people with the first name Eriko, which placed it at #14,645 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
#14,645
National first-name rank
People counted
801
801 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
88.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eriko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eriko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Eriko 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 Eriko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander88.6% · 710
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 36
- Two or more races4.0% · 32
- White2.2% · 18
- Black or African American0.6% · 5
Popularity
Eriko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eriko from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 39 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
Eriko 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 Eriko during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Erikos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Eriko
The name Eriko is of Japanese origin, derived from the combination of the Japanese words "eri" meaning "blessed" or "fortunate," and "ko" which translates to "child." This name gained popularity in Japan during the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and the Edo period (1603-1868).
In ancient Japanese literature, the name Eriko can be found in the "Kokin Wakashū," an influential anthology of Japanese waka poetry compiled in the early 10th century. The name appears in several poems, often associated with themes of beauty, grace, and good fortune.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Eriko was Eriko no Tsubone, a Japanese court lady who lived during the Kamakura period (1185-1333). She was known for her exceptional skills in poetry and calligraphy, and her works were highly regarded by her contemporaries.
In the 16th century, Eriko Hosokawa, a prominent daimyo (feudal lord) and military commander, played a significant role in the Sengoku period. She was renowned for her strategic prowess and her unwavering loyalty to the Hosokawa clan.
During the Edo period, Eriko Iwami (1678-1744) was a celebrated Noh actress and dancer. Her performances were highly acclaimed, and she was considered one of the greatest Noh performers of her time.
In the 19th century, Eriko Ito (1825-1895) was a pioneering female artist and educator. She established one of Japan's first art schools for women and helped pave the way for future generations of female artists.
Another notable figure was Eriko Yamanaka (1886-1973), a renowned Japanese novelist and poet. Her works explored themes of love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships. She was a recipient of numerous literary awards and is considered a significant figure in modern Japanese literature.
While the name Eriko has been primarily associated with Japanese culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among those with an appreciation for Japanese traditions and aesthetics.
People
Eriko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eriko as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eriko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eriko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 74 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eriko 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 4,631,815 US residents.
Is Eriko a common name?
We classify Eriko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 78 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eriko most popular?
The single biggest year for Eriko was 1990, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eriko is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eriko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 801 people with the name Eriko, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,645 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 Eriko 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 Eriko?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eriko leans strongly female. 749 people counted with this name were female (93.5%), compared with 52 male bearers (6.5%). 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 Eriko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eriko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Eriko most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Eriko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (710 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 Eriko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eriko a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eriko 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 Eriko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eriko 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 Eriko 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 have the name Eriko?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.