How Many People Are Named Tanaka?
An estimated 128 people in the United States have the first name Tanaka. It is predominantly female (92.8%). The average bearer is 46 years old, and Tanaka peaked in popularity in 1976 with 19 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Tanaka as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Tanaka paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
128
About 1 in 2,677,768 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
92.8% confidence
Average Age
46
years old
Peak Year
1976
19 births
Total Registered
139
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Tanaka
Tanaka is predominantly female (92.8%), though 10 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Tanaka as a male name
Ranked #13,130 in 2005
5 male births in 2005
Peak: 1976 (5 births)
Tanaka as a female name
Ranked #18,534 in 2004
5 female births in 2004
Peak: 1978 (16 births)
Tanaka: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Tanaka span from the 1970s to the 2000s, covering 4 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 101 babies were registered. Tanaka has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Tanaka by Decade
How has Tanaka tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Tanaka + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Tanaka as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Tanaka
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
Tanaka: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tanaka?
We estimate approximately 128 people named Tanaka are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 2,677,768 Americans share this first name.
Is Tanaka a common name?
Tanaka is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 68.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 139 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Tanaka most popular?
Tanaka reached peak popularity in 1976, when 19 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Tanaka is approximately 46 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Tanaka a female name?
Tanaka is predominantly female. 92.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Tanaka Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Tanaka Smith, Tanaka Johnson, Tanaka Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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