Iwao

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Iwao

Pronounced ee-WAH-oh /iˈwɑoʊ/Low

Meaning: Iwao is a Japanese boy's name written in romaji here; it traditionally connotes rock or a large stone, from the element iwa, a masculine virtue name suggesting steadiness, though the precise meaning depends on the kanji used.Low

In 30 seconds: Iwao is a Japanese boy's name recorded among early United States immigrant families (said ee-WAH-oh). It traditionally suggests rock or large stone, a name of strength, with the exact sense depending on the kanji.

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Origin MediumJapanese

MeaningIwao is a Japanese boy's name written in romaji here; it traditionally connotes rock or a large stone, from the element iwa, a masculine virtue name suggesting steadiness, though the precise meaning depends on the kanji used.

U.S. rank (1936)#3793 ↗ Rising

1936 U.S. births5 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year1921

Total births (all-time)≈ 178

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

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

Iwao appears in early twentieth-century United States records during the Issei and Nisei era, the first Japanese immigrants and their American-born children, and is written here in romaji only.

The name was very rare and brief in United States records, given to only a handful of boys a year around 1921 and largely gone by the mid nineteen-thirties, a span that predates the wartime internment years. A boy named Iwao then would be around a hundred and five today. Its exact meaning lives in the Japanese kanji, which the records do not preserve.

Did you know? The iwa element points to rock or stone, and Iwao has long served as a masculine virtue name evoking firmness and endurance, though as with all Japanese names the chosen kanji shapes the precise meaning.

Overall data confidence 40%

References - Iwao — Japanese boys name, romaji only; iwa connotes rock/stone; masculine virtue name; Issei/Nisei era

Variations

IwauIwaIwane

Nicknames

Iwa

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If you like Iwao…

Isamu— another Japanese boys virtue name of the same generation

Tadao— a like Japanese boys name of the era

Minoru— a traditional Japanese given name of the period

Saburo— a comparable Japanese boys name of the immigrant era

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Iwao mean?

It is a Japanese boy's name that traditionally connotes rock or large stone, from the element iwa, though the exact sense depends on the kanji.

How do you pronounce Iwao?

It is said ee-WAH-oh /iˈwɑoʊ/, three syllables with the stress on the second.

Is Iwao a boy or girl name?

Iwao is a boy's name.

How popular is Iwao?

In the United States it was very rare and brief, given to only a handful of boys a year around the early nineteen-twenties in Japanese immigrant families.