Haru
A unisex Japanese name meaning "spring" or "born in spring".
Name Census estimates that about 419 living Americans carry the first name Haru. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 61.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Haru today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haru births was 2023 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haru. 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 Haru with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
419
~ 1 in 818,029 Americans
Peak year
2023
47 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,926
Tracked since 1914
Census
Haru in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 391 people with the first name Haru, which placed it at #24,576 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
#24,576
National first-name rank
People counted
391
391 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
61.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haru
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Haru is Asian/Pacific Islander at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.9%) and White (7.9%). 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 Haru 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 Haru at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander61.6% · 241
- Two or more races15.9% · 62
- White7.9% · 31
- Black or African American7.4% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Haru
Haru is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 460 total registrations, 283 (61.5%) were male and 177 (38.5%) were female.
Haru as a male name
- Ranked #4,926 in 2024
- 20 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (28 births)
Haru as a female name
- Ranked #6,723 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Haru on both sides of the split. Of the 387 people counted with this name, 215 were male (55.6%) and 172 were female (44.4%).
Popularity
Haru: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haru from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 196 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
Haru 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 Haru during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Harus live
Origin
Meaning and history of Haru
The given name Haru originates from the Japanese language. It has been a popular name in Japan for centuries and is believed to have first emerged during the Heian period (794-1185 CE). Haru is derived from the Japanese word "haru" which translates to "spring" in English. This reflects the cultural significance of the spring season in Japan, which is celebrated for its natural beauty and renewal of life.
While the name Haru does not appear to have any direct references in ancient Japanese texts or religious scriptures, it is likely that its connection to the spring season was influenced by the country's rich cultural traditions and appreciation for nature. The name's simplicity and natural connotations made it a fitting choice for children born during the spring months.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Haru comes from the 12th century, when a Japanese female poet named Haru no Akiko (c. 1159-1216) gained recognition for her contributions to the imperial court's poetry anthologies. Her name, which translates to "Spring's Radiance," reflects the poetic symbolism associated with the name.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Haru. One such person was Haru Sameshima (1898-1966), a Japanese actress and singer who became a prominent figure in the early years of Japanese cinema. Another notable Haru was Haru Reischauer (1904-1998), an Austrian-born American educator and author who helped promote cultural understanding between Japan and the United States.
In the literary realm, Haru Murakami (1923-1981) was a renowned Japanese novelist and playwright, known for his works exploring themes of human relationships and societal issues. The name Haru has also been shared by artists, such as Haru Ohshima (1905-1985), a Japanese sculptor and ceramist who gained international recognition for his avant-garde works.
More recently, Haru Nomura (born 1991) is a professional golfer from Japan who has achieved success on the LPGA Tour, winning multiple tournaments and representing her country in international competitions.
People
Haru + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haru as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Haru: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haru?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 419 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haru 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 818,029 US residents.
Is Haru a common name?
We classify Haru as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 460 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haru most popular?
The single biggest year for Haru was 2023, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haru is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Haru in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 391 people with the name Haru, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,576 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 Haru 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 Haru?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Haru on both sides of the split. Of the 387 people counted with this name, 215 were male (55.6%) and 172 were female (44.4%). 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 Haru?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Haru is Asian/Pacific Islander at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.9%) and White (7.9%). 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 Haru most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Haru in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.6% (241 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 Haru in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haru a male name?
Yes, 61.5% of people registered as Haru 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 Haru still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haru 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 Haru 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 share the name Haru?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.