Declining since 2021, #9,714 for boys today.
Popularity of Goku since 2013
Babies named Goku per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2010s | 68 |
| 2020s | 61 |
Meaning & origin
Goku first appeared in U.S. birth records in 2013, likely reflecting the growing international reach of the Dragon Ball franchise. Its popularity peaked in 2020, coinciding with the release of the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) and sustained interest through streaming. Since 2021, usage has been falling; in 2025, it ranked 9,714, with only about 1 in 244,011 newborns receiving the name. The name remains almost exclusively associated with the iconic character, and its adoption as a given name is a clear example of pop-culture influence on modern naming practices.
The name Goku was coined by Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama for the protagonist of the Dragon Ball series, first published in 1984. The character is inspired by the Chinese literary figure Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), and the name itself is a Japanese transliteration of the Chinese term for 'aware of emptiness' (悟空), though this Buddhist concept is not typically treated as a personal name in Japan. Since the manga's global success, Goku has been adopted as a given name in some Western countries, particularly among fans of the series.
Sibling names for Goku
Names that share Goku's style, for a brother or sister.
