夏

Ritsuka (りつか)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: rʸee-tskah [ɾʲí.tsɨ̥̀ᵝ.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name combines a ritsu kanji, like 律 meaning “law, regulation,” 六 meaning “six” or 立 meaning “stand, rise,” with a ka kanji, such as 花/華 meaning “flower,” 香 meaning “fragrance,” 夏 meaning “summer” or 果 meaning “fruit.”

Popularity:
The name began rising in the latter half of the 1990s and the 2000s. In 1990, it was given to only around 0.001% of girls, rising by 2009 to at least ten-fold. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, percentages in the mid-2010s rose to over 0.03%, jumping further to over 0.06% by 2019. This rise is, undoubtedly, resulted from what has happened with the name Ritsu, which saw an amazing jump into the top 30 by 2019.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Nao (なお)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: nah-o [ná.ò̞]
Archaic writing: なを (Nawo), なほ (Naho)

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is usually derived from 直 (nao) meaning “ordinary, common; straight.” It can also be written as 尚 or 猶, from the adverb meaning “furthermore; still” or as two-kanji combinations, which can be seen below with coloured markings for gender tendency:

na (な) o (お)
菜 “greens” 央 “middle, centre”
奈 phonetic kanji 緒 “cord, strap”
直 or 尚/猶 see above 桜/櫻 “cherry (tree, blossom)”
那 phonetic kanji 生 “grow”
七 “seven” 音 “sound”
梛 “Asian bayberry” 和 “harmony, peace”*
成 “growth, reach, attainment” 旺 “vigorous, prosperous”
凪 “calm, lull” 雄 “male”
夏 “summer” 織 “weave, fabric”
和 “calm, gentle”* 穂 “ear/head (of plant); point, tip”
南 “south” 鳳/凰 from 鳳凰 (hōō) “Chinese firebird/phoenix”
名 “name” 朋 “friend, companion”**
波 “wave”

* not used as 和和/和々 for this name
** mostly in the form 南朋, as popularised by actor Ōmori Nao

Popularity:
Although this name (suffixed with 賣 (me)) was found in the ‘Izumo-no-kuni Fudoki’ from the 8th century as per Tagomori‘s research, it wasn’t until the latter half of the Edo period (1603-1868) that Nao began to see some moderate usage as a feminine name (in that period, female names are mostly written phonetically). Based on data from Tsunoda and Collazo, the general percentage is averaged at around 0.5%, putting it shy of the top 50.
As with most feminine names used back then, it began to drop down in popularity as a feminine name in the latter half of the Meiji period (1868-1912) heading into the Taishō (1912-1926) and early Shōwa (1926-1989) periods. At the same time, male usage began to increase (though not reaching above 0.1%) and, for a while from the 1930s to the 1960s, it was more often than not a masculine name.
From the mid-1970s, feminine usage of this name began to rise again, leading to Nao’s reentrance to the top 100 as a feminine name in the 1980s. It has remained in the girls’ top 100 since then, though it did peak in popularity in the second half of the 1990s and early 2000s with yearly percentage at well over 0.5%, within the top 50. As for male usage, it did slowly creep back up in the 1990s and 2000s with the 2010s being the decade of acceleration. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, the average male percentage for that time frame is over 0.21% compared to over 0.33% for the girls, suggesting a generally tightening gender gap.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Kaho (かほ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: kah-ho [ká.hò̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
Most of the kanji used for this name can be seen in the table below:

ka (か) ho (ほ)
花/華 “flower” 穂/穗 “ear/head (of plant); point, tip”
果 “fruit” 帆 “sail”
佳 “beautiful, good” 歩 “step”
香 “fragrance” 保 “protection; preservation”
夏 “summer” 朋 “friend, companion”
歌 “song” 萌 “bud, sprout”
可 “acceptable, fair” 芳 “fragrance, aroma”
加 “addition” 甫 “first”
奏 “playing music” 方 “direction, way, side”
楓/椛 “maple”
伽 “nursing, attending, entertaining”
嘉 “praise, esteem”
圭 “angle, edge”
叶 “grant, answer”
賀 “congratulation”
雅 “elegance, grace”
樺/椛 “birch”

Popularity:
The name was very uncommonly to rarely used before the second half of the 1980s when it began rising in popularity, likely influenced by actress Minami Kaho. In 1989, it was given to just over 0.1%, rising to over 0.31% by 1992, by then already ranking inside the top 100.
Since the second half of the 1990s, Kaho has stayed ranking within the top 50 with percentages always over 0.4%. Based on surveys from multiple sources, the name seems to have peaked in popularity in around 2015 and 2016 with percentage levels averaging at over 0.8%. As of the past few years though, it seems to be falling down in popularity with the average percentage for 2020 being somewhere within the 0.5% range.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Niina (にいな)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: nʸee:-nah [ɲ̟íì.nà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name looks to be borrowed from the pan-European name Nina. The table below shows most of the kanji that are used for this name:

nii (にい)* na (な)
新 “new” 菜 “greens”
仁 “benevolence, compassion, humanity” 奈 phonetic kanji
虹 “rainbow” 愛 “beloved”
笑/咲 “smile” 那 phonetic kanji
日 “day; sun” 夏 “summer”
二 “two” 梛 “Asian bayberry”
凪 “calm, lull”
渚 “beach, shore”
名 “name”
南 “south”
波 “wave”
和 “calm, gentle”

* the first kanji can also be followed by an i kanji, like 衣 meaning “clothing,” 依 meaning “reliance, dependence,” 唯 meaning “only,” or 以, or occasionally a hi kanji, such as 陽 (see 日) or 妃/姫 meaning “princess.”

Popularity:
This name had been steadily rising in usage in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1990, it was given to over 0.01% of baby girls, rising to over 0.02% by 1996. The increase briefly became steeper in the late 1990s at which point, by 2000, the percentage rose to over 0.07% before dropping a bit to over 0.06% in 2004. Since then, it rose in a steady manner again and by the late 2010s, based on Baby Calendar rankings data and my preliminary 2014-9 names research, the average percentage of baby girls receiving this name rose to over 0.15%.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Hikari (ひかり)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: khkah–rʸee [çì̥.ká.ɾʲí]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from 光 (hikari) meaning “light; ray, beam, glow” (as a feminine name, it is most commonly used phonetically). Other kanji used in relation or expanded from the noun include 輝 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” 陽 meaning “day; sun,” 晃/煌 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling,” 燈 meaning “light, lamp,” 星 meaning “star,” 彩 meaning “colour,” so on and so forth. These single kanji can also be suffixed with a ri kanji, which can be seen in the table below that shows ways to write a 3-kanji combination:

hi (ひ) ka (か) ri (り)
日/陽 see above 花/華 “flower” 里 “village”
妃/姫 “princess” 香/郁 “fragrance” 梨 “pear”
比 phonetic kanji 加 “addition” 莉 part of 茉莉 (matsuri) “Arabian jasmine”
緋 “scarlet” 佳 “beautiful, good” 理 “reason, logic”
柊 “false holly” 夏 “summer” 利 “advantage, benefit”
飛 “fly, soar” 果 “fruit” 吏 “officer”
斐 “figure, design” 歌 “song” 俐 “clever”
枇 part of 枇杷 (biwa) “loquat” 可 “acceptable, fair”
翔 “fly, soar”
嘉 “praise, esteem”

Popularity:
From the Meiji period (1868-1912) to the middle third of the Shōwa period (1926-1989), Hikari was very uncommonly used though more spread out in terms of gender usage. Usage started to increase, especially for girls, in the 1980s. In 1990, it was given to over 0.17% of girls compared to just over 0.01% of boys, increasing to well over 0.27% for girls by 1994, by then within the bottom quarter of the top 100.
Percentage levels then stabilised somewhat throughout the rest of the 1990s and stretching into the early 2010s with relatively little upswing and downfall. Starting in 2015, usage began increasing again to the point that Hikari has been ranking within the top 30 for girls for the past few years on multiple surveys with percentage levels within the 0.6% range. As for its usage on baby boys, based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, the average percentage is over 0.04%.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Monika (もにか)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: mo-nʸee-kah [mó̞.ɲ̟ì.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is, as you guessed, borrowed from the name Monica, a name of likely North African origin with an unknown meaning but has been linked since the Middle Ages to Latin verb moneō meaning “I warn, advise” and Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos) meaning “alone; only; unique.”
As for how it’s written in kanji, most of them that are used for this name are included in the table below:

mo (も) ni (に) ka (か)
萌* “bud, sprout” 仁 “benevolence, compassion, humanity” 香 “fragrance”
百 “hundred” 日 “day; sun” 花/華 “flower”
茂 “luxuriant” 二 “two” 佳 “beautiful, good”
望 “full moon” 虹 “rainbow” 加 “addition”
桃 “peach” 夏 “summer”
もに (phonetic) 果 “fruit”
歌 “song”
架 “rack, mount, stand”

* also used for 萌+ka combinations

Popularity:
Usage of this name is relatively recent with most Japanese-born females named Monika born from the Heisei period (1989-2019) onward. In 1990, it was given to only 0.001% of girls and those percentage levels were stable until 1993 when it increased to around 0.004% and then to around 0.006% in 1996. Those percentage levels then stabilised up to the early 2000s when it had fallen down back down to 0.003% or below, which has been remaining since the mid-2000s.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Kanade (かなで)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: kah-nah–de [kà.ná.dé̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the stem of the verb 奏でる (kanaderu) meaning “to play (an instrument).” As for other ways to write this name, the single kanji is most commonly prefixed with a ka kanji, like:

  • 花 meaning “flower”
  • 夏 meaning “summer”
  • 香 meaning “fragrance”
  • 果 meaning “fruit”
  • 佳 meaning “beautiful, good”
  • 楓 meaning “maple”
  • 叶 meaning “grant, answer”
  • 架 meaning “rack, mount, stand”
  • 風 meaning “wind”

A ka kanji can also be followed by 撫, from the stem of the verb 撫でる (naderu) meaning “to stroke, caress, pat, rub.” Occasionally, a kanji which shifts its reading to de can follow 奏, e.g. 天 meaning “sky.” Sometimes, another kanji can be added to 奏, whether after or before it, to enhance its image, such combinations include, 奏音, the other kanji meaning “sound,” and 奏心/心奏, the other kanji meaning “heart, mind.”

Popularity:
In use since at least the 1970s, the majority of its usage is concentrated on those born in the 21st century. In 1990, it was given to over 0.01% of girls and less than 0.002% of boys, gradually increasing to over 0.03% for girls and under 0.01% for boys by 2000. The rise of Kanade steepened between 2003 and 2007, by which point over 0.12% of girls and over 0.04% of boys received this name.
Since then, usage stabilised somewhat for girls, though it increased a bit for boys. Based on my preliminary 2014-9 names research combined with rankings data from Baby Calendar, over 0.12% of girls born in that time period were given this name compared to over 0.07% of baby boys.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Anna (あんな)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: ahn-nah [ã́ǹ.nà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is borrowed from the Pan-European name, derived from the Hebrew name Channah meaning “favour, grace.” It is mostly made up of an an kanji, like 杏 meaning “apricot,” 安 meaning “quiet, peaceful” or 晏 meaning “calm, tranquil” (sometimes a kanji with the partial reading a is used, such as 愛 meaning “love, affection,” 明 meaning “bright” or 蒼 meaning “blue”), combined with a na kanji, most of which are included below:

  • 奈 or 那, both phonetic kanji
  • 菜 meaning “greens”
  • 南 meaning “south”
  • 名 meaning “name”
  • 凪 meaning “calm, lull”
  • 夏 meaning “summer”
  • 和 meaning “calm, gentle”
  • 花 meaning “flower”
  • 梛, referring to the Asian bayberry tree
  • 波 meaning “wave”
  • 渚 meaning “beach, shore”
  • 捺, a phonetic kanji*
  • 苗 meaning “(rice) seedling, young plant”
  • 心 meaning “heart, mind”
  • 樹 meaning “tree”

* refers otherwise to the stamping or applying/affixation of a seal

Popularity:
The name started to increase in usage in the 1970s, entering the top 100 in the late 1980s. In 1989, it was given to around 0.3% of girls, rising to a peak of 0.57% in 1994, within the bottom half of the top 50, before dropping below 0.4% by the next year. For the rest of the 1990s, usage slided up and down a bit. By 2000, over 0.36% of girls received this name. By then however, it began to drop in popularity to an extent that it left the top 100 at one point in 2003 with a low of over 0.215%.
Since the next year in 2004, it re-entered the top 100 and has remained there to the present day. By 2009, over 0.41% of girls were given this name and throughout the 2010s, yearly percentages, based on survey data from Tamahiyo, Meiji Yasuda Life and Baby Calendar, range between 0.4% and 0.55%, mostly within the top 50.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Itsuka (いつか)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: ee-tskah [í.tsɨ̥̀ᵝ.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
Here are some of the kanji used for this name:

itsu (いつ) ka (か)
一 “one” 花/華 “flower”
五 “five” 佳 “beautiful, good”
樹 “tree” 香 “fragrance”
逸 “ease, comfort” 夏 “summer”
慈/愛 “affection, love” 風 “wind”
乙 “second”
いつ (phonetic)
衣 “clothing” 都 “metropolis”

The name coincides with the noun 五日 (itsuka), literally meaning “five days” but can also refer to the fifth day of the month, and the adverb 何時か (itsuka) meaning “sometime (or the other), someday, one day, the other day, in due course, in time.”

Popularity:
Itsuka is somewhat of a rare feminine name in Japan. Even though it has been in use since at least the late 19th century, much of its usage is concentrated on females born in the Heisei period (1989-) onwards where percentages every year hover back and forth between under and over 0.01%.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.

Sora (そら)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: so-rah [só̞.ɾà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name stems from the word 空 (sora) meaning “sky,” as a name also written as 昊, 宙, 天 and 穹. 大空 and 青空 (also, and more popularly, 蒼空 and 碧空) are also used, normally read as oozora and aozora and meaning “(literally) big sky, heavens, firmament, the blue” and “blue sky” respectively. The first kanji for aozora can also be used as a single kanji.
As far as other 2-kanji combinations go, the single kanji mentioned at the beginning are used as both a first and second element kanji. Other kanji in use for this type of combinations are shown in the table below:

so (そ) ra (ら)
奏 “playing music” 来/來 “arrival”
爽 “fresh” 良 “good”
想 “conception, idea, thought” 咲 “blossom”
颯 “quick, sudden” 楽 “comfort, ease”
壮 “vibrancy, strength, bravery” 桜 “cherry (tree, blossom)”
創 “making, building; start, origin, beginning” 愛 “love, affection”
星 “star”
翔 “fly, soar”
蘭 “orchid”
頼 “request, favour; trust”
礼 “gratitude; manners; gift”
麗 “lovely, beautiful”
大 “large, big”
虎 “tiger”

Image-based kanji combinations are not out of the question for Sora, most of which include:

  • 夏空, the first kanji meaning “summer”
  • 叶空, the first kanji meaning “grant, answer”
  • 希空, the first kanji meaning “rare” or part of 希望 (kibō) meaning “hope, wish, aspiration”
  • 輝空, the first kanji meaning “brightness, brilliance”
  • 幸空, the first kanji meaning “good luck, happiness”
  • 澄空, the first kanji meaning “lucidity, transparency”
  • 星空 – see the table above for 星
  • 美空, the first kanji meaning “beauty”
  • 夢空, the first kanji meaning “dream”
  • 優空, the first kanji meaning “gentle, elegant”

Simply put, the sky really is the limit for this name!

Popularity:
Although in use since at least the early 20th century, the name started to see its first signs of an increase in popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1990, it was given to just over 0.01% of both boys and girls. By the mid-1990s, the increase gets steeper, the percentages increasing to over 0.08% for boys and over 0.04% for girls by 1996, over 0.3% and over 0.12% by 2000 and over 0.84% and over 0.32% by 2007.
By then, Sora began to maintain its position within the boys’ top 20 and the lower half of the girls’ top 100, though over the past few years, the name flip flops out and back in the boys’ top 20, based on data from Baby Calendar, Tamahiyo and Meiji Yasuda Life.

If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.