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Junko
How to Pronounce Junko
Pronounced JOON-koh /ˈdʒuːnkoʊ/Medium
Meaning: Junko is a traditional Japanese girl's name in which the final -ko means 'child.' Depending on the characters chosen, the first part can mean 'genuine' or 'pure,' or 'obedient' and 'gentle,' so the name reads as 'pure child' or 'obedient child.' It was a classic, graceful choice for girls born in mid-century Japan.Medium
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
Junko is a classic Japanese girl's name ending in -ko, 'child,' a suffix that crowned countless mid-century Japanese names. Its first element yields 'genuine' or 'pure,' or else 'obedient' and 'gentle,' so Junko reads as 'pure child.' In America it appeared mainly among Japanese American families.
Junko was always rare in the United States, given to only about fourteen girls a year at its early-1970s peak and first recorded back in the 1920s. A woman named Junko then is in her fifties today; the -ko names have since grown old-fashioned in Japan itself.
Variations
Nicknames
Famous Bearers
- ★Junko Tabei (1939-2016)Japanese mountaineer, the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and to climb the highest peak on every continent.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Junko mean?
It is a Japanese girl's name meaning 'genuine, pure child' or 'obedient child'; the -ko ending means 'child.'
How do you pronounce Junko?
It is said JOON-koh /ˈdʒuːnkoʊ/ - two syllables, with the stress on the first.
Is Junko a boy or girl name?
Junko is used as a girl's name.
How popular is Junko?
It was always rare in the United States, given to only about fourteen girls a year at its peak in the early nineteen-seventies.