Given name
Kaori
“having a pleasant scent”
Kaori is used as a given name. One Japanese interpretation is “having a pleasant scent.”
Original Japanese薫
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Japanese interpretation is “having a pleasant scent.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Japanese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1969. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kaori through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,482
- 73 boys · 1,409 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 106 babies
- 2025
- 103
- #1,970 for girls · #12,965 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +116%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 98 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,970 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 119.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 5 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Georgia had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,252 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kaori’s family of names
Kaori has a related form in Kaoru. Kaori has a related form in Kaorea. Kaori has a related form in Kaoree.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 11
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Kaori
- Kaori NagamineJapanese association football playerborn 1968
- Kaori IchoOlympic wrestlerborn 1984
- Kaori SakamotoJapanese figure skaterborn 2000
- Kaori MatsumotoJapanese judokaborn 1987
- Kaori KawanakaJapanese archerborn 1991
- Kaori IidaJapanese female singer and talent (1981-)
- Kaori MomoiJapanese actressborn 1951
- Kaori MizuhashiJapanese voice actressborn 1974
- Kaori YukiJapanese manga artistborn 2000
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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