| Sources | Pronunciation guide |
(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: mah-ah-sah [má.à.sà]
Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is most commonly written as 真麻, individually meaning “pure, true” (also written as 眞) and “hemp, flax.” As a word, it is used, with the reading mao, as an alternative form of 苧 (karamushi) referring to the ramie plant and, with the reading maso, a euphemism for 麻.
The second element can be substituted for 朝 (asa) meaning “morning” or it can be split into two kanji, an a kanji, like 亜 or 愛 meaning “love, affection,” combined with a sa kanji, such as 沙 meaning “sand” or 紗 meaning “gauze.” As for the first element, it can be replaced with 麻 (not to be used twice), 茉, part of 茉莉 (matsuri) referring to the Arabian jasmine, or 万 meaning “ten thousand,” among other ma kanji.
Popularity:
This name is mostly used among those born since the 1980s, first brought to wider attention by the birth of the daughter of actor Takahashi Hideki in late 1981. By 1990, over 0.02% of girls received this name, dropping down below 0.01% by 1996. It rebounded a bit above it in the early-mid 2000s before jumping over 0.02% again in 2007.
Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my own 2014-20 names research, percentages fell below 0.01% again in the mid 2010s and the average percentage from 2017-20 is below 0.005%.
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Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi 