Akiko (given name)

Akiko is a feminine Japanese given name.

Possible writings
The kanji characters ("sparkle"),  ("bright"), and  ("autumn") are three variations of ways to write "aki", and the character  is a common suffix in female given names in Japan. In Japanese the character ("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), Japanese announcer and actress
 * Akiko Akasaka (赤坂 明子), Japanese cross-country skier
 * Akiko Aruga (有賀 秋子), Japanese speed skater
 * Akiko Domoto (堂本 暁子), former governor of Chiba Prefecture, Japan
 * Akiko Fukuda (福田 晶子), Japanese long jumper
 * Akiko Futaba (二葉 あき子), Japanese Ryūkōka singer
 * Akiko Hasegawa (長谷川 明子) Japanese voice actress and singer
 * Akiko Hatanaka (畠中 亜希子), Japanese ice hockey player
 * Akiko Hinagata (雛形あきこ), Japanese actress, television talent, and former gravure idol
 * Akiko Hiramatsu (平松 晶子), Japanese voice actress
 * Akiko Ikuina (生稲 晃子), Japanese actress, singer, tarento, and politician
 * Akiko Itoyama (絲山 秋子), 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), 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), Japanese field hockey player
 * Akiko Kijimuta (雉子牟田 明子), Japanese tennis player
 * Akiko Kobayashi (singer) (小林明子), a Japanese singer, composer, arranger, and songwriter
 * Akiko Kobayashi (voice actress) (小林 晃子), voice actress and singer from Japan
 * Akiko Kojima (児島 明子), a Japanese actress and the first Miss Universe to come from Asia
 * Akiko Koyama (小山 明子), Japanese actress
 * Akiko Matsumoto (松本 明子), Japanese television personality and actress
 * Akiko Matsuo (松尾 亜紀子), 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), Japanese javelin thrower
 * Akiko Miyamura (宮村 亜貴子), Japanese badminton player
 * Akiko Monō (桃生 亜希子), an actress and model from Japan
 * Akiko Morigami (森上 亜希子), Japanese tennis player
 * Akiko Naka (仲 晶子), Japanese ice hockey player
 * Akiko Nakagawa (中川 亜紀子), Japanese voice actress
 * Akiko Nakakura (中倉 彰子), Japanese shogi player
 * Akiko Nishina (仁科 亜希子), Japanese actress
 * Akiko Niwata (庭田 亜樹子), Japanese women's footballer
 * Akiko Shiga (志賀 暁子), Japanese actress
 * Akiko Shikata (志方 あきこ), Japanese composer and singer-songwriter
 * Akiko Suwanai (諏訪内 晶子), Japanese classical violinist
 * Akiko Suzuki (鈴木 明子), Japanese figure skater
 * Akiko Takojima (蛸島 彰子), 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), singer and television tarento from Ikuno-ku
 * Akiko Wakabayashi (若林 映子), 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), an actress from Kawasaki, Japan
 * Akiko Yajima (矢島 晶子), voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Japan
 * Akiko Yano (矢野 顕子), a Japanese singer and pop/jazz musician
 * Akiko Yazawa (矢澤 亜希子), backgammon player
 * Akiko Yosano (与謝野 晶子), 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