Keiko

#6,688 in 2025Girls' name

Japanese name; meaning depends on kanji

Keiko has been given to 1,184 babies in the U.S. since 1922. In 2025 it ranked #6,688 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1995, with 31 recorded.

Babies named Keiko, 2025

1 in 195,000

Keiko over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Keiko: meaning, origin, and history

Japanese name; meaning depends on kanji

Japanese

What Keiko means

Keiko 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 celebration, respect, open, begin, favour, benefit.

Origin, language, and formation

Keiko is used in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Tagalog. Its origins include Japanese.

Keiko comes through Japanese けいこ.

Pronunciation and spelling

In French, Keiko is pronounced /kej.ko/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,170 girls were recorded with the name Keiko between 1922 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 31 in 1995; its best national rank was #2,469 in 1941.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #4,698 in 2020 to #6,688 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #8,693 in 2015 to #6,688 in 2025.

In the United States, 14 boys were recorded with the name Keiko between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 7 in 2024; its best national rank was #10,202 in 2025.

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 Keiko?

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

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 195,000; 17 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only: 1 in 94,500; <0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025: #6,688; of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 135,172 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Keiko 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 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 135,172 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Keiko. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Keikos were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Keiko was born before 1993 — so the typical Keiko is around 32 today.

Median birth year: 1993; About 32 years old
Biggest decade: 1990s; 15.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 39.1%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 1,006; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1990s — 15.6% of all recorded uses (182).

Is Keiko 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: −1,160; Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago: −1,990; Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago: +2,005; Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago: 1.31×; More babies than then
Share of its own peak: 54.8%; Peak was 1995 (31)
Years since peak: 30; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Shifting; 23.1% average annual change
Best rank ever: #2,469; 1941

Spellings of Keiko

Keiko is not the most common spelling — Keira is, with 52.8% against Keiko's 1.8%.

Keira52.8%33,836
Keila11.6%7,424
Keily8.4%5,355
Keith3.5%2,216
Keiry3.2%2,070
Emiko2.9%1,850
Kimiko2.9%1,843
Aiko2.8%1,785

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 Keiko is used

Across 1910–2025, Keiko was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 50,000 girls, against 1 in 60,426 across all states with data.

22 per 100,000

State popularity map

Most concentrated

1California1 in 50,000

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

Keiko around the world

Where Keiko 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
2006–2021
#5,581
in 2021
France
2002–2010
#4,965
in 2010
South Australia
1974–1974
#683
in 1974

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

Keiko by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: #6,688
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Down 1,990
Best rank ever: #2,469; 1941
Peak year: 1995; 31 that year
First recorded: 1922
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 1,170
Count in 2025: 17

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #10,202
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: New entry
Best rank ever: #10,202; 2025
Peak year: 2024; 7 that year
First recorded: 2024
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 14
Count in 2025: 7

Names similar to Keiko

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

Keidy Keisy Keiry Keilyn Keiana Keili Keiara Keilah Keilly Keisi Keilany Keily Akiko Emiko Keirah Keila Keith Mariko Keina Keitha Keirra Keiona Keisa Keilana

Sibling names for Keiko

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

For a sister

Corrina Dasia Darian Lexus Alexandrea Nikole Jacquelynn Tristan

For a brother

Trever Samual Brandan Madison Tylor Laron Coty Garrick

Explore around Keiko

Top names of 1995, Keiko's peak year The 1990s in full Other names that peaked in 1941 Girls' names starting with K Japanese Girl Names