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Kaori

#1,970 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Japanese name; meaning depends on kanji

Kaori has been given to 1,482 babies in the U.S. since 1969. In 2025 it ranked #1,970 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2022, with 106 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 95% girls, 5% boys all-time.

Babies named Kaori, 2025

1 in 33,800

Kaori over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Kaori over time

In 2025, Kaori went to 95% girls and 5% boys.

19692025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Kaori: meaning, origin, and history

Japanese name; meaning depends on kanji

Japanese

What Kaori means

Kaori is documented with more than one possible Japanese character combination. The Latin-letter spelling records a pronunciation; it does not specify one unique kanji spelling or one universal meaning.

Possible character meanings include fragrance.

Origin, language, and formation

Kaori is used in English and Spanish. Its origins include Japanese.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Spanish, Kaori is pronounced /kaˈoɾi/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,409 girls were recorded with the name Kaori between 1969 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 106 in 2022; its best national rank was #1,902 in 2022.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #3,362 in 2020 to #1,970 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #5,206 in 2015 to #1,970 in 2025.

In the United States, 73 boys were recorded with the name Kaori between 2003 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 9 in 2009; its best national rank was #8,667 in 2009.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Kaori?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 33,800
98 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 16,400
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#1,970
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
23,449 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kaori sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5001%

Put another way: gather 23,449 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kaori. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kaoris were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kaori was born before 2015 — so the typical Kaori is around 10 today.

Median birth year
2015
About 10 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
37.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
84.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,409
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 37.1% of all recorded uses (523).

Is Kaori rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+350
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+1,392
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+3,236
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
3.77×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
92.5%
Peak was 2022 (106)
Years since peak
3
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
32.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,902
2022

Spellings of Kaori

Kaori is not the most common spelling — Lori is, with 29.3% against Kaori's 0.12%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Kaori is used

Across 2016–2025, Kaori was most concentrated in Georgia — about 1 in 9,091 girls, against 1 in 25,886 across all states with data. It was least common in Tennessee (1 in 50,000).

211 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Georgia1 in 9,091
  2. 2Louisiana1 in 16,667
  3. 3Florida1 in 25,000
  4. 4North Carolina1 in 25,000
  5. 5New York1 in 25,000
  6. 6Pennsylvania1 in 25,000
  7. 7California1 in 33,333
  8. 8Texas1 in 33,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Kaori around the world

Where Kaori ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2010–2022
    #5,670
    in 2022
  • France
    2003–2024
    #7,435
    in 2024
  • Canada
    2018–2018
    #3,384
    in 2018
  • South Australia
    2002–2011
    #840
    in 2011

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Kaori by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,970
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,392
Best rank ever
#1,902
2022
Peak year
2022
106 that year
First recorded
1969
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,409
Count in 2025
98

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#12,961
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#8,667
2009
Peak year
2009
9 that year
First recorded
2003
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
73
Count in 2025
5

Names similar to Kaori

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

KaoirEmoriStoriKaomiSaoriKhoriAmoriIvoriJoriZoriMaloriNoriRoriMalloriKamoriSatoriDoriAzoriMiyoriMidoriCatoriSayoriGloriAlori

Sibling names for Kaori

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Kaori

Top names of 2022, Kaori's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2022Girls' names starting with KJapanese Girl Names