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Susumu
How to Pronounce Susumu
Pronounced soo-SOO-moo /suˈsumu/Medium
Meaning: Susumu is a Japanese boy's name taken from the verb susumu, 'to advance', 'to move forward' or 'to progress'. As a given name it carries the hopeful sense of forging ahead. The exact written character a family chose could shade the meaning, but the forward-moving idea is constant.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
Susumu is a traditional Japanese masculine name drawn from the verb susumu, 'to advance' or 'to progress', a hopeful, forward-looking choice. In American records it belongs to the early Japanese immigrant community of the first decades of the twentieth century.
It appears in United States data only briefly and thinly in that era, borne by a small handful of Japanese-American boys before receding from the records. It reads as an authentic heritage name of the Issei and Nisei generations.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Susumu mean?
It's a Japanese name from the verb susumu, meaning 'to advance', 'move forward' or 'progress'.
How do you pronounce Susumu?
It's said soo-SOO-moo /suˈsumu/, three syllables.
Is Susumu a boy or girl name?
Susumu is used as a boy's name.
Is Susumu a popular name?
No, it has always been rare in America, a Japanese heritage name borne by a small early-twentieth-century community.