Entry № 6576 · Japanese origin

Masako Masako — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ mah-SAH-koh /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Japanese
Meaning
"The Nun Shogun (Hojo Masako)"
Syllables
3
First recorded
Medieval (Japanese)

A name that means "the nun shogun (hojo masako)".

Masako (政子) combines the Japanese masa (correct, government) and ko (child). Hojo Masako (1156-1225) was the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Shogun of Japan. After her husband's death, she took Buddhist vows but continued to wield supreme political power as ama-shogun ("the Nun Shogun") through her father, brother, and sons. Effectively the first female ruler of Japan in the warrior era.

Featured throughout Azuma Kagami and Japanese historical drama.

The Nun Shogun. Took Buddhist vows but ruled Japan as ama-shogun.

The name in its native script.

政子
Transliteration
Masako
Pronunciation
/ məˈsɑː.koʊ /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Masako stands.

Masako does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.

Masakos before her.

Real people
Hojo Masako
The Nun Shogun.
1156 – 1225
Empress Masako
Current Empress of Japan.
born 1963
In fiction
Masako
Azuma Kagami.

Names connected to Masako.

The number behind Masako.

6

The Nurturer

In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Masako reduce to 6, The Nurturer. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.