Shigeko
A feminine Japanese name meaning "child's path, harmonious child".
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Shigeko. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shigeko today is around 93 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shigeko births was 1926 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shigeko. 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 Shigeko is about 93 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Shigekos were born before 1943.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shigeko. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1926
27 babies that year
Average age
93
years old
1936 SSA rank
#4,111
Tracked since 1909
Census
Shigeko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 427 people with the first name Shigeko, which placed it at #23,071 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
#23,071
National first-name rank
People counted
427
427 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shigeko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shigeko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Shigeko 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 Shigeko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.8% · 409
- Two or more races2.3% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Popularity
Shigeko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shigeko from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 194 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
Shigeko 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 Shigeko during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shigekos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shigeko
The name Shigeko is of Japanese origin, derived from the combination of the words "shige" meaning "bearer" or "blossom," and "ko" meaning "child." It is a feminine name that has been in use in Japan for centuries.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Shigeko can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1185 AD) in Japan. During this era, the name was primarily used by members of the aristocratic class and was often associated with the imperial court and its cultural traditions.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Shigeko was Shigeko Higashikuni, a Japanese princess who lived from 1925 to 1961. She was the daughter of Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni and played a prominent role in preserving traditional Japanese arts and culture.
Another famous Shigeko was Shigeko Kubota, a Japanese sculptor and ceramist who lived from 1937 to 2015. Her works, which often featured natural motifs and organic forms, were widely exhibited both in Japan and internationally, earning her numerous accolades and recognition.
In the realm of literature, Shigeko Wakayama (1901-1995) was a renowned Japanese writer and poet. Her works explored themes of feminism, social inequality, and the experiences of women in modern Japan. She received several prestigious literary awards throughout her career.
Moving to the world of politics, Shigeko Ishida (1923-2019) was a prominent Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives for over three decades. She was known for her advocacy of women's rights and her efforts to promote gender equality in Japanese society.
Lastly, Shigeko Fukuda (1913-2007) was a celebrated Japanese violinist and music educator. She performed with renowned orchestras both in Japan and abroad and dedicated her life to nurturing young musical talents through her teaching and mentorship.
People
Shigeko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shigeko 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
Shigeko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shigeko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shigeko 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Shigeko a common name?
We classify Shigeko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 325 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shigeko most popular?
The single biggest year for Shigeko was 1926, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shigeko is about 93 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shigeko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 427 people with the name Shigeko, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,071 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 Shigeko 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 Shigeko?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shigeko appears almost entirely female. Of the 423 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Shigeko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shigeko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Shigeko most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shigeko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (409 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 Shigeko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shigeko a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shigeko 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 Shigeko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shigeko 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 Shigeko 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 Shigeko?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.