Takeshi
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.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Takeshi has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
381 people · the #16,138 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 73
Among people named Takeshi living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1940s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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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