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Kaoru

UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Fragrance, fragrant

Kaoru has been given to 251 babies in the U.S. since 1914. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1921, with 17 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 67% boys, 33% girls all-time.

Babies named Kaoru, 1999

1 in 615,000

Kaoru over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
0510152018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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 — Kaoru over time

In 1999, Kaoru went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19141999

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.

Kaoru: meaning, origin, and history

Fragrance, fragrant

Japanese

What Kaoru means

Kaoru means “fragrance, fragrant”.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Kaoru is used in Japanese.

Another recorded pronunciation is /kä.o̞.ɾɯᵝ/ for Kaoru.

Origin, language, and formation

Kaoru is used in English. Its origins include Japanese.

Kaoru comes through Japanese かおる.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 168 boys were recorded with the name Kaoru between 1914 and 1999. Its highest annual count was 17 in 1921; its best national rank was #1,943 in 1917.

In the United States, 83 girls were recorded with the name Kaoru between 1915 and 1994. Its highest annual count was 13 in 1921; its best national rank was #2,707 in 1921.

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 Kaoru?

Kaoru had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1999, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1999
1 in 615,000
6 of 3,692,373 births
Among boys only
1 in 320,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 1999
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
426,561 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kaoru sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1999 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 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 426,561 children born in 1999 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kaoru. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kaorus were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kaoru was born before 1921 — so the typical Kaoru is around 104 today.

Median birth year
1921
About 104 years old
Biggest decade
1920s
60.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
3.6%
Mostly a past generation
Recorded since 1950
6
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1920s — 60.1% of all recorded uses (101).

Is Kaoru 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
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 1921 (17)
Years since peak
104
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
27.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,943
1917

Spellings of Kaoru

Kaoru is not the most common spelling — Karl is, with 75.0% against Kaoru'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 Kaoru is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Kaoru was most concentrated in Hawaii — about 1 in 5,556 boys, against 1 in 151,252 across all states with data. It was least common in California (1 in —).

018 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Hawaii1 in 5,556
  2. 2California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys 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. Kaoru has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Kaoru is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Kaoru was most concentrated in Hawaii — about 1 in 50,000 girls, against 1 in 588,380 across all states with data. It was least common in California (1 in —).

02 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Hawaii1 in 50,000
  2. 2California1 in —

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. Kaoru has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Kaoru around the world

Where Kaoru 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.

  • South Australia
    2008–2008
    #796
    in 2008

Popularity data from Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Kaoru by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#1,943
1917
Peak year
1921
17 that year
First recorded
1914
Last recorded
1999
All-time count
168
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#2,707
1921
Peak year
1921
13 that year
First recorded
1915
Last recorded
1994
All-time count
83
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Kaoru

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

KaoriKaosKaoMamoruSatoruKaonKaoirToruNoboruMinoru

Sibling names for Kaoru

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 Kaoru

Top names of 1921, Kaoru's peak yearThe 1920s in fullOther names that peaked in 1917Boys' names starting with K