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Home › Baby Names Directory › Hatsuko

Hatsuko

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Hatsuko

Pronounced hah-TSOO-koh /hɑˈtsuː.koʊ/Medium

Meaning: Hatsuko is a Japanese girl's name, most often written to mean 'firstborn child' or 'first child,' from hatsu, 'first, beginning,' and the common girls'-name element ko, 'child.' It was frequently given to a family's eldest daughter.Medium

In 30 seconds: Hatsuko is a Japanese girl's name meaning 'firstborn child,' from hatsu ('first') and ko ('child'). A rare heritage name (said hah-TSOO-koh).
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Origin MediumJapanese
MeaningHatsuko is a Japanese girl's name, most often written to mean 'firstborn child' or 'first child,' from hatsu, 'first, beginning,' and the common girls'-name element ko, 'child.' It was frequently given to a family's eldest daughter.
U.S. rank (1932)#4107 ↘ Falling
1932 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1918
Total births (all-time)≈ 204

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 191819111932

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Hatsuko is a Japanese girl's name from hatsu, 'first,' and ko, 'child,' typically read as 'firstborn child.' In United States records it appears in a narrow window in the nineteen-tens and twenties, carried by Japanese immigrant families before the naming style shifted. It was always rare, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at most.

A woman named Hatsuko from that early cohort would be very elderly or remembered by great-grandchildren today. The name marks a specific Japanese-American immigrant generation; the -ko ending, once nearly universal for Japanese girls, has faded in Japan itself, so the name reads as distinctly of its time.

Did you know? Hatsuko often marked a family's eldest daughter: the hatsu in it means 'first,' and the ko ending, 'child,' closed a great many traditional Japanese girls' names.
Overall data confidence 55%
References - Hatsuko — Japanese 'firstborn child'; hatsu 'first' + ko 'child'; romaji only

Variations

HatsuHatsueHatsuyo

Nicknames

HatsuKo

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Hatsuko…

Sadako— a like -ko Japanese girls' name of the era
Kimiko— a same-generation Japanese name
Shizuko— another traditional -ko name of the period
Hideko— another vintage pick
Haruko— shares Hatsuko's Japanese roots

Explore names like Hatsuko

By themerarevintageheritagejapanese

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Hatsuko mean?

It is Japanese for 'firstborn child,' from hatsu, 'first,' and ko, 'child.'

How do you pronounce Hatsuko?

It's said hah-TSOO-koh /hɑˈtsuː.koʊ/, three syllables, stress in the middle.

Is Hatsuko a boy or girl name?

Hatsuko is used as a girl's name; the -ko ending is a traditional Japanese girls'-name element.

How popular is Hatsuko?

It was always rare in the United States, a Japanese heritage name given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its peak.

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