Given name & surname
Aki
“Born in autumn”
Aki has distinct uses in Finnish and Japanese naming traditions.
Original Japanese亜紀
Meaning & origin
What it means
“Born in autumn” is a Japanese interpretation. It is not the meaning of the Finnish name.
Where it comes from
The Finnish and Japanese uses of Aki have different backgrounds and should be understood separately.
How it developed
In Finnish, Aki developed as a diminutive of Joakim, and less often of Aukusti or Akseli. This does not explain its separate Japanese use.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Aki through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 630
- 382 boys · 248 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 22 babies
- 2025
- 17
- #5,404 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −9%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 17 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,404 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 28.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (9). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,151 as a first name in 2020; 815 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Aki’s family of names
In Finnish usage, Aki is a diminutive of Joakim. In Finnish usage, Aki has a conventional equivalent in the English form Joachim. Aki has a related form in Akie.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Aki has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Japanese roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Akeavariant
- Akievariant
- Joakimfull form · Finnish
- Ågevariant · Danish
- Akyevariant
- Akeahvariant
- Akyvariant
- Akeevariant
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 9
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
- 亜紀original script · Japanese
- 亜樹original script · Japanese
- 亜季original script · Japanese
- 愛original script · Japanese
- 愛生original script · Japanese
- 亜希original script · Japanese
- 椛original script · Japanese
- 暁original script · Japanese
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Aki
- Aki KaurismäkiFinnish film director (born 1957)
- Aki ParviainenFinnish javelin throwerborn 1974
- Aki ToyosakiJapanese voice actressborn 1986
- Aki RiihilahtiFinnish association football player and sports executiveborn 1976
- Aki MaedaJapanese actress and singerborn 1985
- Aki Takayamasynchronized swimmerborn 1970
- Aki HoshinoJapanese gravure idolborn 1977
- Aki AleongTrinidadian-American actor1934–2025
- Aki Bergice hockey playerborn 1977
Characters named Aki: Aki Ross (Final Fantasy).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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