Akari
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- a-KAR-ee
- Origin
- Japanese
- UK rank, 2025
- #842 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #542 for boys
Akari is a name of Japanese origin, meaning “light, brightness”. In 2025 it ranked 842nd for boys in the UK (42 babies) and 542nd for boys in the US (554 babies).
What does Akari mean?
Japanese
“light, brightness”
Akari is also the name of Isamu Noguchi's famous paper lamps.
Is Akari a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Akari has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 4 girls and 42 boys in the UK and 104 girls and 554 boys in the US.
How popular is Akari in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 842nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 42 about 1 in 7,100 boys
- Five-year trend
- Newly popular new in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 42 boys in the UK were named Akari, making it the 842nd most popular name for boys. 4 girls were also named Akari in 2025 (4,935th for girls).
Half of all the boys named Akari in the UK since 1996 were born between 2023 and 2025, the years shaded on the chart below.
Girls were 47% of the babies named Akari in the UK in 2022, and 9% in 2025.
Among boys in 2025, it was 782nd in England and Wales.
Akari in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 | #842 |
| 2024 | 9 | #2,515 |
| 2023 | 7 | #2,965 |
| 2022 | 9 | #2,457 |
| 2021 | 4 | #4,188 |
How popular is Akari in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 542nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 554 about 1 in 3,100 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising fast up 418% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 554 boys in the US were named Akari, making it the 542nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,322nd. It first appears in the records in 2002. 104 girls were also named Akari in 2025 (1,880th for girls).
2025 had the most boys named Akari of any year since it first appeared, in 2002.
Half of all the boys named Akari in the US since 1880 were born between 2019 and 2025, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 626 boys in the US were given Akari or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #486, up from #542 for this spelling alone.
Girls were 66% of the babies named Akari in the US in 2008, and 16% in 2025.
Akari in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 554 | #542 |
| 2024 | 104 | #1,631 |
| 2023 | 108 | #1,608 |
| 2022 | 71 | #2,093 |
| 2021 | 53 | #2,498 |
| 2020 | 58 | #2,322 |
| 2019 | 50 | #2,581 |
| 2018 | 40 | #2,942 |
| 2017 | 33 | #3,376 |
| 2016 | 22 | #4,469 |
| 2015 | 19 | #4,888 |
| 2014 | 24 | #4,135 |
| 2013 | 27 | #3,751 |
| 2012 | 22 | #4,387 |
| 2011 | 14 | #5,939 |
| 2010 | 15 | #5,737 |
| 2009 | 12 | #6,798 |
| 2008 | 11 | #7,182 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,169 |
| 2006 | 6 | #10,655 |
| 2005 | 7 | #9,108 |
| 2004 | 5 | #11,348 |
| 2003 | 6 | #9,574 |
| 2002 | 8 | #7,636 |
Names like Akari
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Bodhi, Loki, Rumi, Avi, Aviraj, Kairo, Aarav, Ruairi, Avrumi, Avyaan, Arjan, Amari
Other spellings of Akari
Names related to Akari
More Japanese names
Kobe, Kaizen, Raiden, Ren, Kenzo, Ronin, Kyomi, Akira, Yuna, Emi, Kiyomi, Kairi, Miya, Kenji, Reo, Jiraiya
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Akari: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/akari, updated 20 October 2026.