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Masami

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Masami

Pronounced mah-SAH-mee /mɑˈsɑ.mi/Medium

Meaning: Masami is a Japanese given name whose meaning shifts with the characters chosen — commonly 'elegant beauty', 'true beauty', or 'righteous/correct'. Used for both sexes in Japan, it appears here in the male column among the pre-war Japanese-American cohort.Low

In 30 seconds: Masami is a Japanese name read as 'elegant' or 'true beauty', its exact sense depending on the characters (said 'mah-SAH-mee').

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Origin MediumJapanese

MeaningMasami is a Japanese given name whose meaning shifts with the characters chosen — commonly 'elegant beauty', 'true beauty', or 'righteous/correct'. Used for both sexes in Japan, it appears here in the male column among the pre-war Japanese-American cohort.

U.S. rank (1936)#3404 ↘ Falling

1936 U.S. births6 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year1917

Total births (all-time)≈ 288

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

Masami is a Japanese name whose meaning depends on the written characters, often 'elegant beauty', 'true beauty', or 'correct/just'. Its early American use belongs to the immigrant Issei and their Nisei children in the decades before the Second World War.

Its faint high point came in the early twentieth century around 1917, and the record thins by the late 1930s — a small, poignant window tied to a pre-war community. Only a handful of boys a year ever carried it here.

Did you know? The name's span in the U.S. record — beginning early last century and thinning by the late 1930s — reflects the Issei and Nisei Japanese-American families of that generation, before wartime upheaval scattered the community.

Overall data confidence 55%

References — Masami — Japanese given name; romaji only; pre-war Nisei cohort

Variations

MasahiroMasao

Nicknames

Masa

Famous Bearers

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If you like Masami…

Masao— a fellow Japanese Masa- boys' name

Akira— another traditional Japanese boys' name

Hiroshi— a like Japanese given name of the era

Kiyoshi— another Japanese name from the same cohort

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Masami mean?

Masami is a Japanese name generally read as 'elegant beauty' or 'true beauty', depending on the characters.

How do you pronounce Masami?

It's said mah-SAH-mee /mɑˈsɑ.mi/ — three syllables, stress on the second.

Is Masami a boy or girl name?

Masami appears here as a boy's name; in Japan it is used for both boys and girls.

How popular is Masami?

Masami has always been rare in the U.S., a Japanese name most seen among early-twentieth-century immigrant families.