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Tsuruko
How to Pronounce Tsuruko
Pronounced tsoo-ROO-koh /tsuˈruː.ko/Medium
Meaning: Tsuruko is a traditional Japanese feminine name combining tsuru ('crane') with the classic girls' suffix ko ('child'), giving 'crane child.' The crane is a Japanese emblem of longevity and good fortune. Precise nuance is kanji-dependent, but this reading is standard.Low
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
Tsuruko joins tsuru ('crane') with the traditional -ko ('child') ending common in Japanese girls' names of its era. Carried by Issei and Nisei women, it appears in U.S. records in the early twentieth century, spanning the immigrant and internment generations.
It was never common in the United States, recorded for only about twenty girls a year at its peak around 1915, within the early Japanese-American community. A girl named Tsuruko then was born over a century ago.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Tsuruko mean?
It is a Japanese name joining tsuru 'crane' with ko 'child,' so 'crane child.'
How do you pronounce Tsuruko?
It is said tsoo-ROO-koh /tsuˈruː.ko/, with the stress as marked.
Is Tsuruko a boy or girl name?
Tsuruko is used here as a girl's name.
How popular is Tsuruko?
It has always been very rare in the United States, recorded for only about twenty girls a year even at its peak in the mid-nineteen-tens.