Fun Facts About the Name Kaze
- 90 babies named Kaze: U.S. records list 90 babies given the name Kaze from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Kaze Mean?
Kaze is a Japanese name meaning "wind." It is written with the kanji 風, and kaze is a native Japanese (kun) reading of that character rather than a Chinese-derived one.
Modern Japanese also has a homophone, kaze, meaning "a cold" or "influenza," written with the different combination 風邪. That illness word is not the sense behind the name; the "wind" meaning comes from 風 alone.
Japanese given names can be written with various kanji for the same sound, so a person called Kaze in Latin letters may in principle use another character. The form that carries the meaning "wind" is 風.
Kaze Name History & Origins
Kaze is part of the old native Japanese vocabulary for weather. It has a cognate in the Ryukyuan languages - Okinawan kaji, "wind" - which indicates that the word goes back to a shared Japonic ancestor rather than being borrowed. The written character 風 did come from Chinese, where it is read fēng and also means "wind," but the spoken Japanese word kaze is native, and the character was fitted to it.
In Japanese naming practice, personal names are normally written in kanji and read with kun readings. Kaze can be used as a given name on its own, and the character 風 also appears as an element in longer names built on the idea of wind, such as 風太 (Fūta) and 風花 (Fūka), where the same character takes the reading fū instead.
In modern popular culture the word has been used as a title element and as a character name - an anime character named Kaze appears in Final Fantasy: Unlimited (2001), and Kaze to Ki no Uta ("The Poem of Wind and Trees") uses the word in its title. Such uses are recent and say nothing about when the word or the name first appeared.
When Japanese names are written in Latin letters, the kanji are lost. A romanized "Kaze" therefore does not by itself show which character a bearer uses, and the meaning above follows the 風 ("wind") form.
How Popular is the Name Kaze?
Kaze has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2022. Its best rank was #6,009 in 2022.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,593 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #8,640 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #7,101 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #6,009 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #9,265 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #7,257 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #10,304 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #13,179 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #11,493 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #9,239 | 8 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Kaze Shapes Your Personality and Life?
EXTREMES in fortune, health and spirituality. You are very versatile, idealistic and intuitive. You either enjoy great success or suffer abject misery. The solution is service to others. Use your leadership abilities for humanity and not for self-glorification. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Kaze's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kaze's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.