Takeo
Masculine
Takeo is a Japanese man's name whose first element can be written two different ways, meaning two different things. One of them is bamboo, which is not a tree and does not behave like one.
How old is the name Takeo?
Takeo first appears in US birth records in 1911 — 114 years ago. The typical Takeo alive today was born around 1928, making them about 97 years old. About 300 people named Takeo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Takeo most popular?
Takeo peaked in 1913, reaching #1075 nationally. See the whole 1913 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Takeo
Bamboo is a grass. It has no bark, no annual rings and no real trunk, and the tall stem is a hollow tube braced by joints, which is why it is so strong for its weight. Some species grow astonishingly fast, adding close to a meter in a day under good conditions, and a stand can be harvested on a four-year cycle indefinitely. It flowers rarely and strangely: many species bloom simultaneously across whole regions after decades, set seed and die together, which has caused famines where people depended on it. It builds scaffolding on skyscrapers, makes flooring, paper and pipes, and it is a grass throughout.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The element take can be written with the character for bamboo or the one for warrior, and both are used in this name. An American record preserving only the sound cannot say which a family chose, so the meaning genuinely depends on the household.
Pronouncing Takeo
TAH-keh-oh
Three syllables, evenly weighted, with clear vowels. The first is not the English word take, which is the one correction worth making early.
Nicknames for Takeo
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
- 1911
- Most boys named
- 191937 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1075reached in 1913
- Change vs 2023
- −22.2%7 in 2024, from 9
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.
Takeo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Takeo in Japanese — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Takeos among us
people named Takeo are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Takeo 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
- Three open syllables with no sound English lacks survive the crossing intact.
- It is entirely ordinary in Japan and genuinely rare in the United States.
- It is short to write and difficult to mispronounce badly once heard.
- American readers will see an English verb at the front, which children notice first.
- The characters that fix the meaning are not recorded on an American certificate, so part of the name stays behind.
- The -o ending now reads in Japan as belonging to an older generation.
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Takeo
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Takeos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Takeo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Takeo in 2025?
- Takeo is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Takeo with classmates?
- Takeo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Thomas#34 · Timothy#203 · Tyler#219 · Terry#1115 · Theodore#4 · Travis#434 · Todd#1609 · Tony#783
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Takeo? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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