Nobuo

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Nobuo

Pronounced noh-BOO-oh /noʊˈbuː.oʊ/Medium

Meaning: Nobuo is a Japanese given name whose meaning depends on the characters chosen to write it. A very common writing combines nobu ('faith, trust, extend') with o ('man, husband'), giving a sense of 'faithful man' or 'trustworthy man.' Other kanji shift the nuance, which is why the romanized spelling alone cannot fix a single meaning.Low

In 30 seconds: Nobuo is a Japanese boy's name, often 'faithful man,' though the exact sense depends on the kanji. It was rare in the U.S. (said noh-BOO-oh).

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Origin HighJapanese

MeaningNobuo is a Japanese given name whose meaning depends on the characters chosen to write it. A very common writing combines nobu ('faith, trust, extend') with o ('man, husband'), giving a sense of 'faithful man' or 'trustworthy man.' Other kanji shift the nuance, which is why the romanized spelling alone cannot fix a single meaning.

U.S. rank (1938)#3887 ↗ Rising

1938 U.S. births5 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year1921

Total births (all-time)≈ 242

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

Nobuo shows up in United States birth records from around 1913, carried by Japanese immigrant (Issei) families and given to their American-born (Nisei) sons. Its small American peak fell in the early 1920s, and by the late 1930s it had all but vanished from the counts. It was never common here, given to only a couple dozen boys a year even at its height.

Boys named Nobuo in that cohort came of age around the Second World War and the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, a history the name quietly carries. In Japan it remained a familiar early-twentieth-century men's name; in the United States it stayed tied to that first immigrant generation rather than any later revival.

Did you know? Like most Japanese names, Nobuo's meaning lives in its written characters, not its sound - the same spoken name can be written several ways with different shades of meaning.

Overall data confidence 60%

References - Nobuo — Japanese given name; nobu 'faith/trust' + o 'man'; Issei/Nisei cohort

Variations

NobuNobuho

Nicknames

Nobu

Famous Bearers

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Masao— another -o Japanese name of the era

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Nobuo mean?

It is a Japanese boy's name most often meaning 'faithful' or 'trustworthy man,' though the precise meaning depends on the kanji chosen.

How do you pronounce Nobuo?

It's said noh-BOO-oh /noʊˈbuː.oʊ/, three syllables.

Is Nobuo a boy or girl name?

Nobuo is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Nobuo?

It has always been rare in the United States, a Japanese name carried by early-twentieth-century immigrant families and given to only a couple dozen boys a year at most.