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Mitsue

♀ Girl

Pronounced mee-TSOO-eh /miˈtsuːe/Medium

Meaning: Mitsue is a Japanese feminine name; common character readings combine 'mitsu' ('light', 'shine', or 'three') with 'e' ('branch', 'blessing', or 'inlet'), often rendered 'shining branch' or 'blessing'. Given in romaji only here.Low

In 30 seconds: Mitsue is a Japanese girls' name often read 'shining branch' or 'blessing'. Its short U.S. span into the 1930s reflects the pre-war Japanese-American community (said 'mee-TSOO-eh').

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Origin MediumJapanese

MeaningMitsue is a Japanese feminine name; common character readings combine 'mitsu' ('light', 'shine', or 'three') with 'e' ('branch', 'blessing', or 'inlet'), often rendered 'shining branch' or 'blessing'. Given in romaji only here.

U.S. rank (1936)#3025 ↗ Rising

1936 U.S. births9 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1923

Total births (all-time)≈ 358

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

Mitsue is a traditional Japanese feminine name. Depending on the characters chosen, mitsu can mean 'light' or 'shine' and e 'branch' or 'blessing', so the name is often read as 'shining branch' or simply 'blessing'. It was borne by girls in the early Japanese-American Issei and Nisei generations.

In the U.S. record Mitsue appears only briefly, from the nineteen-teens into the nineteen-thirties, and only ever a handful of girls a year. That narrow span reflects the small pre-war Japanese-American population, whose communities were disrupted by wartime internment. The name reads as a graceful heritage name rather than one that ever entered wider American use.

Did you know? Like other names in the early Japanese-American record, Mitsue appears only in a narrow window before the Second World War reshaped those communities.

Overall data confidence 55%

References — Mitsue — Japanese given name; romaji only; pre-WWII Japanese-American cohort

Variations

Mitsuye

Nicknames

Mitsu

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Mitsue…

Mitsuko— a sister Mitsu- Japanese name of the same cohort

Kimiko— a traditional Japanese feminine name of the same generation

Shizue— a fellow Japanese choice

Miyori— lands in the same popularity range

Mayumi— another Japanese name

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Mitsue mean?

Mitsue is a Japanese name whose elements are often read as 'light/shine' and 'branch/blessing'.

How do you pronounce Mitsue?

It's said mee-TSOO-eh /miˈtsuːe/ — three syllables, stress on the second.

Is Mitsue a boy or girl name?

Mitsue is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Mitsue?

Mitsue is very rare in the U.S., seen mainly in the early Japanese-American community of the early twentieth century.