Tanaka
Mostly boys · ta-NAH-ka
Tanaka is a name, meaning “we are well; we are good”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies).
What does Tanaka mean?
Shona (Zimbabwe)
“we are well; we are good”
A Shona name; it is separately a very common Japanese surname meaning 'middle of the rice field'.
- Say it
- ta-NAH-ka
Is Tanaka a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Tanaka has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK.
How popular is Tanaka in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,065among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 12% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Tanaka, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,502nd. Its busiest year was 2004, with 17 boys.
Half of all the boys named Tanaka in the UK since 1996 were born between 2005 and 2015, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2023, 64% of the babies named Tanaka in the UK were girls.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Tanaka in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 7 | #3,003 |
| 2023 | 4 | #4,335 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 7 | #2,886 |
| 2020 | 5 | #3,502 |
| 2019 | 6 | #3,184 |
| 2018 | 5 | #3,596 |
| 2017 | 6 | #3,191 |
| 2016 | 4 | #4,214 |
| 2015 | 7 | #2,855 |
| 2014 | 6 | #3,125 |
| 2013 | 7 | #2,792 |
| 2012 | 13 | #1,850 |
| 2011 | 5 | #3,446 |
| 2010 | 15 | #1,654 |
| 2009 | 10 | #2,084 |
| 2008 | 13 | #1,696 |
| 2007 | 11 | #1,848 |
| 2006 | 13 | #1,558 |
| 2005 | 12 | #1,599 |
| 2004 | 17 | #1,183 |
| 2003 | 16 | #1,163 |
| 2002 | 4 | #2,751 |
| 2001 | 4 | #2,714 |
| 2000 | 3 | #3,146 |
Names like Tanaka
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Akiva Ayaan Yuvraj Atharva Aarav Sami Mustafa Arjun Aryan Taha Kai Nikita