| Sources | Pronunciation guide |
(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: ko-to–ne [kò̞.tó̞.né̞]
Etymology and/or ways to write:
The main form of this name is 琴音, with the first kanji referring to the 13-stringed Japanese zither and the second kanji meaning “sound.”
Alternative second kanji include 子, referring to the sign of the Rat, and 寧 meaning “tranquillity.” As for the first element, other single ones include 詩 meaning “poem,” 奏 meaning “playing music,” 言 meaning “word” or 詞 meaning “language; word.” It can also be split into two kanji, with a ko kanji like 古 meaning “ancient” or 瑚, part of 珊瑚 (sango) meaning “coral,” and a to kanji, like 都 meaning “metropolis” and 十 meaning “ten” (古都 refers to an ancient or former capital city).
Popularity:
Though in use since at least the Meiji period (1868-1912), its usage is mostly concentrated on those born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards.
In 1989, it was given to around 0.019% of girls. From there, a continual rise would occur throughout the 1990s and by 2000, it was given to over 0.22% of girls. Since then, the name was wavered on and off the top 100. According to my preliminary 2014-8 names research, over 0.29% of girls received this name in that period, placing it within the bottom quarter of the top 100.
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Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi 