Akari is a Japanese name that usually means "light" or "brightness", written with characters such as the one for a lamp or glow; in Japan it is mostly given to girls, while in the United States it has recently caught on for boys. Its soft, open sound fits in with popular short names like Kai and Kairo. Akari stood at number 4894 for boys in 2015, climbed to number 1631 in 2024 and made a huge leap into the top 1000 in 2025, where it ranks number 542.