| Sources | Pronunciation guide |
(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: yo-he: [jó̞.hè̞ː]
Variant transliterations: Yohee, Yohei
Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is written in kanji form as 与兵衛 or 與兵衛, the first element (与/與) meaning “gift, award” and the second element being the combining form of 兵衛 (Hyōe).
兵衛 (Hyōe) is a hyakkanna, a court rank-style name that samurai used to announce oneself and give himself authority, and it is classified as such since it comes from the name, 兵衛府 (Hyōefu), the government department of middle palace guards under the Ritsuryō system.
Popularity:
In the Edo period (1603-1868), it seemed to have some significant usage among adults as a ‘common name’ (通称) or pseudonym (別名) among the samurai class and the classes below it.
Like pretty much every -兵衛 name out there, Yohē had begun its decline in usage in the Meiji period (1868-1912), continuing through the 20th century. As it stands, from the available data, it hasn’t seen any usage in the Heisei period (1989-2019).
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Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi 