# Akiko (given name)

Akiko (あきこ, アキコ) is a feminine Japanese given name.

## Written forms

The kanji characters 晶 ("sparkle"), 明 ("bright"), and 秋 ("autumn") are three variations of ways to write "aki", and the character 子 is a common suffix in female given names in Japan. In Japanese the character 子 ("ko") means "child". The name can be written many different ways, and has different meanings depending on which kanji is used for "aki" (as well as the hiragana and katakana). Some variations of Akiko include:
* 亜妃子 ("Asia, queen, child")
* 安希子 ("peaceful, hope, child")
* 明子 ("bright, child")
* 充子 ("provide, child")
* 上子 ("superior, above, child")
* 暁子 ("dawn, child")

## Notable people

* Princess Akiko of Mikasa (彬子女王), member of the Japanese Imperial Family
* Akiko Abe (阿部 哲子, born 1978), Japanese announcer and actress
* Akiko Akasaka (赤坂 明子, born 1951), Japanese cross-country skier
* Akiko Aruga (有賀 秋子, born 1942), Japanese speed skater
* Akiko Domoto (堂本 暁子, born 1932), former governor of Chiba Prefecture, Japan
* Akiko Fukuda (福田 晶子, born 1937), Japanese long jumper
* Akiko Futaba (二葉 あき子, 1915-2011), Japanese Ryūkōka singer
* Akiko Hasegawa (長谷川 明子) Japanese voice actress and singer
* Akiko Hatanaka (畠中 亜希子, born 1975), Japanese ice hockey player
* Akiko Hinagata (雛形あきこ, born 1978), Japanese actress, television talent, and former gravure idol
* Akiko Hiramatsu (平松 晶子, born 1967), Japanese voice actress
* Akiko Ikuina (生稲 晃子, born 1968), Japanese actress, singer, tarento, and politician
* Akiko Itoyama (絲山 秋子, born 1966), Japanese writer
* Akiko Iwamoto (岩本 亜希子), born 1978), Japanese rower who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics
* Akiko Kamei (亀井 亜紀子, born 1965), Japanese politician of the People's New Party, and a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet
* Akiko Kato (加藤 彰子, born 1988), Japanese field hockey player
* Akiko Kijimuta (雉子牟田 明子, born 1968), Japanese tennis player
* Akiko Kobayashi (singer) (小林明子, born 1958), a Japanese singer, composer, arranger, and songwriter
* Akiko Kobayashi (voice actress) (小林 晃子, born 1979), voice actress and singer from Japan
* Akiko Kojima (児島 明子, born 1936), a Japanese actress and the first Miss Universe to come from Asia
* Akiko Koyama (小山 明子, born 1935), Japanese actress
* Akiko Matsumoto (松本 明子, born 1966), Japanese television personality and actress
* Akiko Matsuo (松尾 亜紀子, born 1964), Japanese engineer
* Akiko Matsuura, singer and drummer from Osaka, Japan who plays for the British bands; The Big Pink, Comanechi, and Pre
* Akiko Miyajima (宮島 秋子, born 1966), Japanese javelin thrower
* Akiko Miyamura (宮村 亜貴子, born 1974), Japanese badminton player
* Akiko Monō (桃生 亜希子, born 1976), an actress and model from Japan
* Akiko Morigami (森上 亜希子, born 1980), Japanese tennis player
* Akiko Naka (仲 晶子, born 1980), Japanese ice hockey player
* Akiko Nakagawa (中川 亜紀子, born 1973), Japanese voice actress
* Akiko Nakakura (中倉 彰子, born 1977), Japanese shogi player
* Akiko Nishina (仁科 亜希子, born 1953), Japanese actress
* Akiko Niwata (庭田 亜樹子, born 1984), Japanese women's footballer
* Akiko Shiga (志賀 暁子, 1910–1990), Japanese actress
* Akiko Shikata (志方 あきこ), Japanese composer and singer-songwriter
* Akiko Suwanai (諏訪内 晶子, born 1972), Japanese classical violinist
* Akiko Suzuki (鈴木 明子, born 1985), Japanese figure skater
* Akiko Takojima (蛸島 彰子, born 1946), professional shogi player
* Akiko Tsuruga (敦賀 明子), jazz keyboard musician, composer, organist, and pianist from Osaka
* Akiko Wada (和田 アキ子, born 1950), singer and television tarento from Ikuno-ku
* Akiko Wakabayashi (若林 映子, born 1939), Japanese actress best known for her role as the Bond girl Aki in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice
* Akiko Yada (矢田 亜希子, born 1978), an actress from Kawasaki, Japan
* Akiko Yajima (矢島 晶子, born 1967), voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Japan
* Akiko Yano (矢野 顕子, born 1955), a Japanese singer and pop/jazz musician
* Akiko Yazawa (矢澤 亜希子, born 1980), backgammon player
* Akiko Yosano (与謝野 晶子, 1878-1942), Japanese poet, feminist and social reformer of late 19th-early 20th century Japan
* Akiko Yoshida (吉田 亜紀子, born 1976), Japanese pop singer better known under her stagename KOKIA
* Empress Shōshi, former Empress of Japan, who was also known as Akiko

## Fictional characters

* Aki, a female ninja and Japanese agent played by Akiko Wakabayashi in the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice. Wakabayashi convinced director Lewis Gilbert to change the name of her character to one closer to her own
* Akiko Hiroguchi, a girl born with fur in the 1985 Kurt Vonnegut novel Galápagos
* Akiko Minase (水瀬 秋子), a supporting character in the anime, visual novel, and manga series Kanon
* Akiko Narumi (鳴海 亜樹子), a character in the tokusatsu drama series Kamen Rider W
* Akiko Bloom, a character in CutiePieMarzia (Marzia Bisognin)'s novel Dream House
* Akiko Yosano, a character in Bungo Stray Dogs