| Sources | Pronunciation guide |
(Main) gender: Currently male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: te-ruu [té̞.ɾɯ̟̀ᵝ]
Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the verb 照る (teru) meaning “to shine.” Other kanji in use for this name include, but are not limited to, 輝/耀 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow,” 瑛 meaning “crystal” and 晴 meaning “clear, fine.”
These single kanji, along with kanji that can be read as te, e.g. 天 meaning “sky,” can be combined with a ru kanji, such as 琉/瑠, part of 琉璃/瑠璃 (ruri) meaning “lapis lazuli,” or 流 meaning “current, flow.”
Popularity:
By the late Edo period (1603-1868), Teru was a slightly common feminine name (mainly written phonetically) with an average percentage (based on Tsunoda and Collazo) close to 0.3% and within the bottom section of the top 100. It grew in usage in the Meiji period (1868-1912), ranking within the top 50 in the first half.
As with most feminine name of this type, it fell off in usage throughout the early 20th century, dropping out of the top 100 by the 1930s. Masculine usage at that time was uncommon, though with the decrease of feminine usage, the amount of male Terus would end up being the majority, even when overall usage would be uncommon up to now.
By 1990, less than 0.01% of boys received this name, slowly increasing to over 0.03% by the late 2010s (based on Baby Calendar rankings data and my 2014-20 names research). At that same time, feminine usage of this name amount to only several a year.
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Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi 