Hiroshi
Masculine Japanese name meaning "generous," "tolerant," or "prosperous".
Name Census estimates that about 529 living Americans carry the first name Hiroshi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hiroshi today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hiroshi births was 1924 (81 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hiroshi. 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.
People living today
529
~ 1 in 647,929 Americans
Peak year
1924
81 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,931
Tracked since 1912
Census
Hiroshi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,769 people with the first name Hiroshi, which placed it at #8,238 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
#8,238
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,769 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
85.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hiroshi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hiroshi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Hiroshi 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 Hiroshi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander85.5% · 1,512
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 130
- Two or more races4.9% · 86
- White1.5% · 26
- Black or African American0.8% · 15
Popularity
Hiroshi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hiroshi from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 611 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hiroshi 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 Hiroshi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hiroshis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Hawaii, Washington recorded the most babies named Hiroshi, while Texas, Washington, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 245 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hiroshi
The name Hiroshi is of Japanese origin, derived from the words "hiro" meaning "generous" or "tolerant" and "shi" meaning "person" or "warrior." It is a masculine name that has been in use for centuries in Japan.
The earliest recorded use of the name Hiroshi dates back to the 8th century, during the Nara period of Japanese history. It was a popular name among the samurai warrior class, as it embodied the virtues of generosity and honor that were highly valued in their code of conduct.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Hiroshi was Hiroshi no Michinaga, a powerful nobleman and courtier who lived during the Heian period (794-1185 AD). He served as a regent and played a significant role in the governance of Japan during his time.
In the 12th century, Hiroshi Taka no Tsunemori was a renowned samurai and military leader who fought in the Gempei War, a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan. His bravery and leadership skills were celebrated in various historical accounts of the time.
During the Edo period (1603-1868), Hiroshi Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for over 250 years. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and powerful figures in Japanese history.
In more recent times, Hiroshi Yamauchi (1927-2013) was the third president of Nintendo, the renowned video game company. Under his leadership, Nintendo achieved global success with iconic franchises like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon.
Another notable figure was Hiroshi Inagaki (1905-1980), a celebrated Japanese film director known for his samurai films, including the acclaimed "Samurai Trilogy" featuring Toshiro Mifune in the lead role.
Throughout its history, the name Hiroshi has been associated with qualities such as generosity, honor, courage, and leadership, reflecting the cultural values of Japan. It has been borne by prominent individuals across various fields, from politics and warfare to business and entertainment.
People
Hiroshi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hiroshi 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
Hiroshi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hiroshi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 529 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hiroshi 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 647,929 US residents.
Is Hiroshi a common name?
We classify Hiroshi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,558 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hiroshi most popular?
The single biggest year for Hiroshi was 1924, when 81 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hiroshi is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hiroshi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,769 people with the name Hiroshi, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,238 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 Hiroshi 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 Hiroshi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hiroshi appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,778 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Hiroshi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hiroshi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Hiroshi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Hiroshi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (1,512 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 Hiroshi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hiroshi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hiroshi 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 Hiroshi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hiroshi 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 Hiroshi 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 Hiroshi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.