Takumi
Masculine · “Japanese takumi”
Some Japanese names are a single character read as a whole word. Takumi is one: the character means an artisan, a skilled craftsman, someone who makes things well. It is not a compound of pleasant elements but a noun, and a Japanese reader takes it in at a glance the way an English reader takes in the word Smith.
How old is the name Takumi?
Takumi first appears in US birth records in 1920 — 105 years ago. The typical Takumi alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 500 people named Takumi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Takumi most popular?
Takumi peaked in 1996, reaching #3107 nationally. Today it ranks #8243, 5,136 places below that high. See the whole 1996 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Takumi
The word takumi carries more weight in Japanese than artisan does in English. It names a category of skilled maker with a recognized standing, and it is the word used in modern industry for a master craftsman whose judgment cannot be replaced by measurement: carmakers and instrument makers use it as a formal designation. The older sense is administrative, since the Takumi-ryo was a Nara-period government bureau responsible for palace construction and craft work. As a personal name it is modern, common since the late twentieth century, and it belongs to a group of single-character names that read as direct and unornamented. Compare Maki, where several different characters share one reading; here the character is nearly always the same one, so the name is unusually stable in meaning for a Japanese name.
Meaning
Japanese takumi, an artisan or skilled craftsman
Written most often with a single character meaning artisan or craftsman, and also with combinations meaning to open and beauty, or wisdom, depending on the family. The single-character writing is the commonest and the one that gives the name its usual reading. As with all Japanese names, the meaning depends on the characters chosen and cannot be read off the romanisation. It peaks in the American data in 1996.
Pronouncing Takumi
TAH-koo-mee
Three syllables, all short and even. Japanese has no stress accent, so the English habit of stressing the first syllable is added rather than translated. Americans usually say tah-KOO-mee.
Nicknames for Takumi
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
- 1920
- Most boys named
- 200725 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3107reached in 1996
- Change vs 2024
- +28.6%9 in 2025, from 7
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.
Takumi in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Takumi in Japanese — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Takumis among us
people named Takumi are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 189,786 born in 2025 was named Takumi
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 Stefanos test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Takumi's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stefanos climbed just as high around 1968, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stefanos's path sketches the road Takumi is walking now.
Takumi sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Takumi beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Takumi in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and unusually stable for a Japanese name.
- Taku is a natural short form in both languages.
- Every syllable is easy for English speakers to produce.
- Three syllables is long for American use.
- The English stress pattern is an addition.
- It is rare outside Japanese American families.
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Takumi
Masculine · #8243 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Takumis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Takumi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Takumi in 2025?
- Takumi ranks #8243 among US boy names in 2025, with 9 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Takumi?
- About 1 in every 189,786 US boys born in 2025 was named Takumi — 9 in all.
- Will my child share the name Takumi with classmates?
- Takumi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Takumi
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Danial#8243 · Ogden#8243 · Aaren#8243 · Trinity#8243 · Kourtney#8243 · Maury#8243 · Lindon#8243 · Elbert#8243
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Takumi? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Takumi and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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