Shizue
Feminine
Shizue is a Japanese name brought to America by Japanese families early in the twentieth century. It belonged to one of the women who changed modern Japan: a campaigner for birth control who was among the first women ever elected to its parliament.
How old is the name Shizue?
Shizue first appears in US birth records in 1904 — 121 years ago. The typical Shizue alive today was born around 1920, making them about 105 years old. Fewer than a hundred people named Shizue are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
When was the name Shizue most popular?
Shizue peaked in 1915, reaching #1075 nationally. See the whole 1915 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Shizue
Katō Shizue, born into a wealthy Tokyo family, met Margaret Sanger in New York after the First World War and brought the birth-control movement back to Japan, where she was arrested for it before the war. In April 1946, in the first election in which Japanese women could vote, thirty-nine women were elected to the House of Representatives, and she was one of them; she lived to be a hundred and four. Shizue was given by Japanese families in America in the early twentieth century.
Meaningscholars disagree
Often 'quiet branch' or 'quiet blessing'
Shizue is usually written with shizu, 'quiet', and e, which can mean 'branch', 'inlet' or 'blessing' depending on the character; the meaning depends on the family's choice.
Pronouncing Shizue
shee-ZOO-eh
Three even syllables in Japanese; the final e is said.
Nicknames for Shizue
Limited
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
- 1904
- Most girls named
- 191941 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1075reached in 1915
- Change vs 1934
- −16.7%5 in 1935, from 6
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.
Shizue in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shizue in Japanese — transliteration
Shizues among us
Fewer than a hundred people named Shizue are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Shizue sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A gentle meaning in its usual forms.
- Carries a remarkable bearer.
- Comes with Shizu as a ready short form.
- English readers may treat the final e as silent.
- Its meaning depends on the characters chosen.
- It reads as an older-generation name in Japanese-American communities.
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Shizue
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shizues are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. Fewer than a hundred people named Shizue are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
- How popular is the name Shizue in 2025?
- Shizue is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shizue with classmates?
- Shizue will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shizue? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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