Takeshi
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Meaning
fierce, warrior-like
The story
Takeshi is a Japanese boys' name usually written with characters for fierce or warrior-like, a mid-century Japanese classic in the same generational register as American names like Robert. Its most famous bearer embodies both halves: Takeshi Kitano, the comedian turned filmmaker known at home as Beat Takeshi, whose deadpan crime films made the name internationally recognizable to cinephiles. It is rare in US records since 1890, held mostly within Japanese-American families, where it often honors a grandfather's generation. A warrior name whose most famous carrier conquered television comedy first, which is its own kind of fierce. Different kanji can give Takeshi different exact meanings, so warrior describes a familiar route rather than every bearer. The name's generation and tone matter too.
How popular is Takeshi around the world?
In the United States, 15 babies were named Takeshi between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Takeshi in 2022.
Takeshi is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Argentina, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 1.5M
In the United States, 15 babies were named Takeshi between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Takeshi has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Takeshi in 2022.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 330,000
In Argentina, 2 newborns were given the name Takeshi in 2024.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
1 in 500,000
At the 2022 census, 381 people in Brazil were named Takeshi, ranked 16,138th, with a median age of 73.
Among people named Takeshi living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1940s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 1.3M
In Spain, 34 residents are named Takeshi, ranked 20,052nd among men, with a mean age of 43.8 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
South Australia
last on record 2000
Takeshi is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, England and Wales, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Takeshi
Most people given the name Takeshi in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Takeshi deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Takeshi truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Takeshi fits with your family’s names and surname.
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