Masayoshi
A Japanese masculine name derived from elements meaning "righteous" and "justice".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Masayoshi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Masayoshi today is around 104 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Masayoshi births was 1918 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Masayoshi. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Masayoshi is about 104 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Masayoshis were born before 1932.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Masayoshi. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1918
13 babies that year
Average age
104
years old
1929 SSA rank
#4,345
Tracked since 1914
Census
Masayoshi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 182 people with the first name Masayoshi, which placed it at #40,748 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
#40,748
National first-name rank
People counted
182
182 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Masayoshi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Masayoshi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Masayoshi 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 Masayoshi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.7% · 165
- Two or more races3.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 5
- White2.2% · 4
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
Popularity
Masayoshi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Masayoshi from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 79 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
Masayoshi 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 Masayoshi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Masayoshis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Masayoshi
The given name Masayoshi has its origins in Japan, where it was derived from a combination of the Japanese words "masa" meaning "right" or "justice", and "yoshi" meaning "good" or "virtuous". The name can therefore be interpreted to mean something along the lines of "righteous and good".
As an ancient name with deep cultural roots, Masayoshi likely emerged sometime during the Heian period of Japanese history, which spanned from 794 to 1185 CE. During this era, Japan underwent a golden age of cultural influence from China, which helped shape many aspects of Japanese society, including naming conventions.
While there are no definitive records of the name Masayoshi appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures from this time, its constituent parts can be found in various literary works and philosophical teachings that emphasized the importance of moral righteousness and virtuous living.
One of the earliest recorded individuals to bear the name Masayoshi was a 14th-century samurai warrior and feudal lord named Masayoshi Kusunoki (1294-1336). He played a significant role in the wars between the imperial court and the Kamakura shogunate, ultimately supporting the Southern Court in their struggle for power.
Another notable figure with this name was Masayoshi Yamagata (1838-1922), a prominent statesman and field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Meiji period. He played a pivotal role in the modernization of Japan's military forces and helped establish the nation as a formidable power in the region.
In the realm of Japanese art and culture, Masayoshi Kanetsuna (1909-2003) was a renowned potter and Living National Treasure of Japan. His works, which included ceramics and calligraphy, were highly regarded for their traditional techniques and aesthetic beauty.
Masayoshi Kida (1924-2008) was a Japanese author and literary critic who made significant contributions to the study of modern Japanese literature. His works explored the intersection of literature, culture, and sociopolitical issues, providing insightful analyses of renowned writers and their works.
Finally, Masayoshi Sukita (born 1938) is a celebrated Japanese photographer and artist, best known for his iconic album cover designs for musicians such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop. His work has been widely acclaimed for its artistic vision and innovative approach to capturing the essence of his subjects.
People
Masayoshi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Masayoshi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Masayoshi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Masayoshi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Masayoshi 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Masayoshi a common name?
We classify Masayoshi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 133 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Masayoshi most popular?
The single biggest year for Masayoshi was 1918, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Masayoshi is about 104 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Masayoshi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 182 people with the name Masayoshi, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,748 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 Masayoshi 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 Masayoshi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Masayoshi appears almost entirely male. Of the 172 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Masayoshi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Masayoshi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Masayoshi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Masayoshi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (165 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 Masayoshi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Masayoshi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Masayoshi 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 Masayoshi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Masayoshi 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 Masayoshi 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 Masayoshi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.