Kaori
Feminine · “fragrance”
Kaori is given to both — 1,409 girls and 73 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Kaori is fragrance in Japanese — kaori, the noun for a scent carried on air, and one of the language's more precise words.
How old is the name Kaori?
Kaori first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Kaori is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,400 people named Kaori are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kaori most popular?
Kaori peaked in 2022, reaching #1898 nationally. Today it ranks #1962, 64 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From kaoru to Kaori
The story of Kaori
Japanese has a substantial vocabulary for scent, and kaoru names the kind that reaches you rather than the kind you seek out; the incense ceremony kodo speaks of 'listening' to fragrance rather than smelling it. Kaori is a long-established Japanese name and appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
fragrance, scent
From the Japanese kaori, 'fragrance' or 'aroma', from kaoru, 'to be fragrant'. Written with characters chosen by each family — commonly 香, incense or fragrance, with 織, weaving, or 里, village. The spoken word is ordinary and the meaning undisputed.
How the name formed
- kaoru
- kaori
- Kaori
Related forms: 香織 · Kaoru · Kaory
Pronouncing Kaori
kah-OH-ree
Three syllables, evenly weighted in Japanese. English speakers put the stress in the middle.
Nicknames for Kaori
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1969
- Most girls named
- 2022106 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1898reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- +22.5%98 in 2025, from 80
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kaori in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- 香織 in Japanese — transliteration
- Kaoru in Japanese — related form
- Kaory in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Georgia, Texas.
Kaoris among us
people named Kaori are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 16,401 born in 2025 was named Kaori
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lauran test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kaori's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lauran climbed just as high around 1989, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lauran's path sketches the road Kaori is walking now.
Kaori is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Kaori is headed
Kaori looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 19% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kaori beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kaori in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The fragrance meaning is concrete, transparent and undisputed.
- That kodo speaks of listening to incense is a genuinely fine detail.
- Ori is available as a short form that is a real name elsewhere.
- The written meaning depends on which characters a family chose.
- Japanese gives the syllables an even weight English does not reproduce.
- Kaori and Kori are close enough to be misheard.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kaori to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kaori
Feminine · #1962 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kaoris are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Kaori are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kaori in 2025?
- Kaori ranks #1962 among US girl names in 2025, with 98 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kaori?
- About 1 in every 16,401 US girls born in 2025 was named Kaori — 98 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kaori with classmates?
- Kaori will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kaori
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Romee#1962 · Tia#1962 · Alanni#1962 · Lucianna#1962 · Stormy#1962 · Janiya#1962 · Asiyah#1962 · Reverie#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kaori? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kaori and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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