Given name
Makoto
“a thankful woman”·“a good and sincere man”
Makoto is used as a given name. Interpretations include “a thankful woman” (Japanese) and “a good and sincere man” (Japanese). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original Japanese眞人
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a thankful woman” (Japanese) and “a good and sincere man” (Japanese). These may reflect different naming traditions.
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 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Makoto through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 553
- 553 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1922
- 17 babies
- 2025
- 11
- #7,490 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 11 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 7,490 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 11.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 17 in 1922. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,060 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.
Makoto’s family of names
In Japanese usage, Makoto is a Roman-alphabet rendering of まこと. In Japanese usage, Makoto is a Roman-alphabet rendering of 允. In Japanese usage, Makoto is a Roman-alphabet rendering of 周.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 13
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Chengequivalent
- Xinequivalent
- Liangequivalent
- 亮equivalent
- 誠equivalent
- 信equivalent
- 良equivalent
- Zhongequivalent
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People named Makoto
- Makoto HasebeJapanese association football playerborn 1984
- Makoto KobayashiJapanese theoretical physicist (1944–)
- Makoto ShinkaiJapanese anime directorborn 1973
- Makoto TanakaJapanese association football player and managerborn 1975
- MakoJapanese-American actor (1933-2006)
- Saitō MakotoPrime Minister of Japan (1858-1936)
- Makoto TeguramoriJapanese association football player and managerborn 1967
- Makoto SugiyamaJapanese association football playerborn 1960
- Makoto YonekuraJapanese association football playerborn 1970
Characters named Makoto: Sailor Jupiter (Sailor Moon), Shishio Makoto (Rurouni Kenshin), Makoto Niijima (Persona 5 character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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