NameRealm
Akira

Akira: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“bright, clear”
Origin
Japanese
Say it
ah-KEE-rah · 3 syllables
Used for
Both (79% girls, 21% boys since 1880)

A Japanese unisex name commonly written with characters meaning 'bright' or 'clear'; other kanji can give different nuances. It is unrelated to similar-sounding names in other languages.

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How popular is Akira?

202498.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Akira in 2024326

2024 rank#959 girls

Peak year2008

Total US babies since 18809,523

Akira has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Akira

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Renlotus; love; connection · Japanese
  • Akarilight or brightness · Japanese
  • Sorasky · Japanese
  • Koicarp · Japanese

Akira questions

What does the name Akira mean?

Akira means "bright, clear". It comes from Japanese. A Japanese unisex name commonly written with characters meaning 'bright' or 'clear'; other kanji can give different nuances. It is unrelated to similar-sounding names in other languages.

Is Akira a boy or girl name?

Akira is used for both: about 79% of US babies named Akira since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Akira?

326 US babies were named Akira in 2024. Its peak year was 2008.

How do you pronounce Akira?

Akira is usually pronounced ah-KEE-rah.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.