Sachiko
A feminine Japanese given name meaning "child of bliss".
Name Census estimates that about 268 living Americans carry the first name Sachiko. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sachiko today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sachiko births was 1921 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sachiko. 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
268
~ 1 in 1,278,934 Americans
Peak year
1921
31 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2021 SSA rank
#17,228
Tracked since 1916
Census
Sachiko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,105 people with the first name Sachiko, which placed it at #7,294 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
#7,294
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,105 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
87.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sachiko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sachiko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Sachiko 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 Sachiko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander87.2% · 1,836
- Two or more races7.6% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 52
- White1.8% · 37
- Black or African American1.0% · 21
Popularity
Sachiko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sachiko from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 228 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
Sachiko 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 Sachiko during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sachikos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Hawaii, Washington recorded the most babies named Sachiko, while Washington, Hawaii, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 103 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sachiko
The given name Sachiko is of Japanese origin, deriving from the words "sachi" meaning "blessed, blissful, or happy" and "ko" meaning "child." The name can be translated to mean "happy child" or "blessed child." It is typically considered a feminine name, though in rare instances may be given to males in Japan.
The name Sachiko has been in use since at least the Heian period of Japanese history, which spanned from 794 to 1185 CE. During this time, the name appeared in various literary works and historical records, though its exact origins are unclear. Some scholars theorize the name may have been influenced by Buddhist philosophy, as the concept of happiness and blessings were central tenets of the religion.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Sachiko was Sachiko Hōshō, a Japanese Buddhist nun who lived during the Kamakura period, from 1185 to 1333 CE. She was known for her poetry and her influential role in promoting Zen Buddhism in Japan.
In the 16th century, Sachiko Nishi was a famous courtesan and poet in Kyoto, Japan. She was renowned for her beauty and her skill in writing waka poetry, a traditional Japanese form of verse.
During the Edo period, from 1603 to 1868, Sachiko Takayama was a notable female painter and artist. She specialized in creating intricate woodblock prints and was recognized for her exceptional skill and attention to detail.
In more modern times, Sachiko Murase was a Japanese novelist and playwright who lived from 1892 to 1971. She was known for her realistic portrayals of everyday life in Japan and her exploration of gender roles and societal expectations.
Another notable figure was Sachiko Yamada, a Japanese athlete who competed in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. She won a gold medal in women's gymnastics, becoming a national hero and inspiring many young girls in Japan to pursue sports and athletics.
Throughout history, the name Sachiko has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields, including literature, art, religion, and athletics. While its exact origins may be uncertain, the name has endured as a popular choice in Japan, symbolizing happiness, blessings, and the joy of childbirth.
People
Sachiko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sachiko as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sachiko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sachiko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 268 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sachiko 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 1,278,934 US residents.
Is Sachiko a common name?
We classify Sachiko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 662 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sachiko most popular?
The single biggest year for Sachiko was 1921, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sachiko is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sachiko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,105 people with the name Sachiko, or 0.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,294 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 Sachiko 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 Sachiko?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sachiko appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,100 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Sachiko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sachiko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Sachiko most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sachiko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (1,836 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 Sachiko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sachiko a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sachiko 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 Sachiko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sachiko 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 Sachiko 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 Sachiko as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.