# Yoshiko (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/yoshiko/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Japanese |
| Meaning | “good”, “excellent child” |
| Pronunciation | /joʊˈʃiːkoʊ/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,331 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 1,331 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 美子, 芳子 (よしこ, Yoshiko, literally “good, excellent child”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 7 | 8,429 |
| 1978 | 6 | 9,741 |
| 1980 | 5 | 12,146 |
| 1981 | 8 | 8,124 |
| 1983 | 5 | 12,055 |
| 1984 | 9 | 7,394 |
| 1985 | 12 | 6,028 |
| 1986 | 6 | 10,897 |
| 1987 | 7 | 9,813 |
| 1988 | 5 | 13,867 |
| 1990 | 9 | 9,238 |
| 1991 | 16 | 5,947 |
| 1992 | 7 | 11,721 |
| 1994 | 6 | 13,410 |
| 2007 | 7 | 15,437 |

## People named Yoshiko

- Yoshiko-naishinnō, empress consort of Emperor Kōkaku; daughter of emperor Go-Momozono
- Ranko Hanai, actress (1918-1961)
- Fujiwara no Shunshi, Empress consort of Emperor Go-Horikawa
- Shushi-naishinnō, Empress consort of Nijō; daughter of emperor Toba

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.