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Nobuko
How to Pronounce Nobuko
Pronounced noh-BOO-koh /noˈbu.ko/Medium
Meaning: Nobuko is a Japanese given name combining 'nobu' (faith, trust, or duty) with the common feminine suffix 'ko' (child), yielding 'faithful child'. The exact sense shifts with the characters a family chose, but the -ko ending marks it clearly as a girl's name.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
Nobuko is a traditional Japanese name in which nobu - faith, trust, or fidelity - is completed by ko, 'child'. It was a familiar, dignified choice for girls in Japan and among Japanese immigrant families abroad in the early twentieth century.
In the US data Nobuko is tightly bounded, first appearing around 1915 and effectively ending by 1941 with only a small total - a pattern that reflects the Issei and Nisei Japanese-American cohort whose community was upended by wartime internment in the 1940s. It is a name to handle as a real piece of that history rather than a passing trend.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Nobuko mean?
Nobuko is a Japanese name meaning 'faithful child', from 'nobu' (faith, trust) plus 'ko' (child).
How do you pronounce Nobuko?
It's said noh-BOO-koh /noˈbu.ko/ — three syllables, stress on the second.
Is Nobuko a boy or girl name?
Nobuko is used as a girl's name.
How popular is Nobuko?
In US records Nobuko is rare and concentrated in the pre-war decades, reflecting the early Japanese-American community rather than any broad trend.