Makoto

Meaning & origin

No verified etymology recorded for this name yet — the entries below are drawn from usage statistics and the name graph.

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Makoto is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Chinese given name2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in China, Taiwan, United States, Hong Kong

  Also written Makato

• French given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, South Africa

  Also written Makötö

• Thai given name12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, Laos

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written มาโกโตะ, มาโคโตะ, มาโกโต, มาโกโต้, มะโกะโตะ

49 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Makoto is also recorded in one other lexicon, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In nch, short arm.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Saito Makotob. 1858JPPrime Minister of Japan (1858-1936)
• Mako Iwamatsub. 1933JPnot in their usual nameJapanese-American actor (1933-2006)
• Makoto Fujitab. 1933JPJapanese actor (1933-2010)
• Makoto Kobayashib. 1944JPJapanese theoretical physicist (1944–)
• Makoto Kobayashib. 1958JPJapanese manga artist
• Makoto Tezukab. 1961JPJapanese film and anime director
• Makoto Shinkaib. 1973JPJapanese anime director
• Makoto Kawamotob. 1974JPJapanese singer-songwriter
• Makoto Yukimurab. 1976JPJapanese manga artist
• Makoto Hasebeb. 1984JPJapanese association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them○(machine-generated)

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce Makoto?

A machine transcription gives /məˈkoʊtoʊ/ (IPA) for Japanese.

Is Makoto a male or female name?

Makoto is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

In which country does Makoto have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 1.1 thousand people named Makoto, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled makoto.

Where is Makoto most common?

Makoto is densest in the United States, where the national register counts about 1 in 314 thousand people carrying it.

How common is the name Makoto?

In the United States, the national register counted 1,060 people named Makoto in 2020, about 1 in 314 thousand residents.