空

Haruku (はるく)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: hah-ruu-kuu [há.ɾɯ̟̀ᵝ.kɯ̟̀ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is a combination of the element haru and a ku kanji, most of them included in the list below:

  • 空 meaning “sky”
  • 久 meaning “long time”
  • 玖, meaning “black jewel” but also refers to the number 9 in legal documents
  • 琥, part of 琥珀 (kohaku) meaning “amber”
  • 駈 meaning “run, dash”
  • 来/來 meaning “to come, arrive”
  • 句 meaning “section, sentence”

Popularity:
Usage of this name is relatively recent, having only risen in usage in the 2000s. Usage rose from less than 0.005% before the turn of the millennium to over 0.02% by the late 2000s and largely staying that way throughout the 2010s.
Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-21 names research, Haruku experience a jump in usage in 2021 with percentages averaging at well over 0.07% (compared to over 0.03% the year before). This jump in usage is influenced by Ōmura Haruku, son of comedian Ōmura Tomohiro, whose appearances were becoming increasingly frequent in that year (examples of Japanese articles featuring him here).

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Aozora (あおぞら)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: ah-o–zo-rah [à.ó̞.zó̞.ɾà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is taken from 青空 (aozora) meaning “blue sky.” The first kanji can be substituted with 蒼, 碧 or 葵, the third one referring to a mallow or other plants belonging to the mallow family, e.g. the hollyhock, and also a wild ginger, and the second kanji can be substituted with one that either shares its meaning or relates to sora, e.g. 天.

Popularity:
Overall usage of this name is rare with only just over 10 examples found on PDFs through search results and on FamilySearch and overall percentage from telephone book data calculated at less than 0.001% for both genders (usage tends to skew towards younger people). Except for any combinations with 葵 as the first kanji, all others tend to be most commonly read as just Sora.

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Kanoa (かのあ)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: kah-no-ah [ká.nò̞.à]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is often written as a combination of 叶, in this case a sound shift from the verb 叶う (kanau) meaning “to come true (of a wish, prayer, dream, etc.), be fulfilled, be realised,” and an a kanji, such as 愛 meaning “love, affection” (mostly feminine), 空 meaning “space, room,” 蒼 meaning “blue” (mostly masculine), so on and so forth. As a substitute for 叶, a ka kanji, like 海 meaning “sea, ocean,” 奏 meaning “playing music,” 花/華 meaning “flower” or 和 meaning “harmony, peace; sum” can be written with an option to insert 乃 or 之, which can refer to the possessive particle no.
This name, especially pertaining to its masculine name, can be influenced by the Hawaiian name, which is derived from noa, which refers to freedom (from taboo or restrictions) or a commoner, with the singular definite article ka, as exemplified by the American-born surfer Igarashi Kanoa and given the unusually tight split in phonetic usage between hiragana and katakana (compare カノア and かのあ for girls in the Baby Calendar rankings data – かのあ is not shown for boys).

Popularity:
Usage for this name began rising in the 1990s and 2000s. While only a handful of boys named Kanoa popped up during that decade, by 2009, the percentage for girls rose to around 0.01%. Based on the aforementioned rankings data as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, over 0.03% of girls received this name as well as about half of that amount for boys.

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

Sorato (そらと)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: so-rah-to [só̞.ɾà.tò̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is made up of Sora (in this case, usually written as 空 meaning “sky”) and a to kanji, some of which include:

  • 翔/飛 meaning “fly, soar”
  • 斗, referring to the Chinese constellation known as the Dipper
  • 燈 meaning “light, lamp”
  • 音 meaning “sound”
  • 叶 meaning “grant, answer”
  • 人 meaning “person”
  • 士 meaning “warrior; samurai”
  • 仁 meaning “benevolence, compassion, humanity”
  • 都 meaning “metropolis”
  • 渡 meaning “crossing, passage”
  • 杜 meaning “shrine grove”
  • 冬 meaning “winter”

Popularity:
With the rise of Sora in the Heisei period (1989-2019), usage of Sorato picked up accordingly. In 1990, it was only given to around 0.001% of boys, rising to around 0.010% by 2000 and over 0.03% by 2007. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, the average percentage for that time frame is over 0.06%.

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

Hinata (ひなた)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: khee-nah-tah [çí.nà.tà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from 日向 (hinata), referring to the direction the sun is shining ora sunny spot or place, derived from a combination of 日 (hi) meaning “sun,” the Old Japanese possessive particle な (na) and the suffix た (ta) referring to a direction or side, also found in pronouns, e.g あなた (anata).
Despite 日向 being the original form (and usage of this particular writing being more unisex), 陽向 is the most popular kanji writing for both genders (as a feminine name, the phonetic spelling, usually in hiragana, is the most often used overall). Other than these three main writings, there is a myriad of writings for Hinata as well.

  • Single kanji or combinations related to 日向:
    • 陽, 日陽, 日暖, etc.
    • 暖 meaning “warmth”
    • 光陽, 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow”
    • 優陽, 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority”
    • 光優, 晃優, etc., 晃 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling”
    • 陽空, 暖空, etc., 空/天 meaning “sky” (more often used for boys)
    • 太陽, from taiyō referring to the sun (more often used for boys)
    • 大空, from oozora referring to the big sky, the heavens, firmament, etc. (more often used for boys)
    • 陽晴, 天晴, etc., 晴 meaning “clear, fine”
  • Combinations related to 向日葵 (himawari), referring to a sunflower:
    • 陽葵/日葵, 向葵, etc.
    • 陽咲/日咲, 咲 meaning “blossom”
    • 日向葵, 陽向葵, etc.
    • 陽菜/日菜, 菜 meaning “greens”
  • Other imagery or actions for 日向:
    • 陽愛, 愛 meaning “love, affection” (more often used for girls)
    • 陽翔, 陽飛, from 飛翔 (hishō) meaning “flight, flying, soaring” (more often used for boys)
    • 陽詩/日詩, 陽歌, etc., 詩 meaning “poem” and 歌 meaning “song”
      • in turn: 陽奏, 奏陽, 陽音, etc., 奏 meaning “playing music” and 音 meaning “sound”
    • 陽叶, 叶 meaning “grant, answer”
    • 日宝, 宝 meaning “treasure”
    • 日笑, 笑 meaning “smile”

For boys, it is also common to combine a single kanji for this name, like 陽 but also 輝 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” a hi+na combination (which we will get to) or 雛, which means “doll,” with a ta kanji, like 太 meaning “plump, thick,” 大 meaning “large, big,” 汰 meaning “wash, scour” or 多 meaning “many, much,” the final one being used for girls as well. As for hi and na kanji, they are included in the table below:

hi (ひ) na (な)
日/陽 see above 那 phonetic kanji
柊 “false holly” 奈 phonetic kanji
緋 “scarlet” 菜 see above
飛 see above 凪 “calm, lull”
比 phonetic kanji 南 “south”
妃/姫 “princess” 夏 “summer”
和 “calm, gentle”
七 “seven”

Popularity:
In use since at least the 1970s, much of the people with this name were born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards. In 1990, it was given to less than 0.005% of both boys and girls. The name started to rise in 1992, albeit at a small rate, though by the time it experienced a second, more prominent uptick in usage in 1996, it was given to over 0.03% of girls and well over 0.05% of boys. As of the time of writing, I have not being able to determine the cause(s) of these two upticks in popularity.
By 2000, usage of this name briefly flipped towards feminine with over 0.23% of girls and well over 0.15% of boys receiving this name. At this point, Hinata was about to enter the top 100 for both girls and boys. Seven years later, over 0.6% of boys and over 0.48% of girls received this name, by then placing Hinata within the top 50 for both genders. Based on survey data from Tamahiyo, Meiji Yasuda Life and Baby Calendar and my preliminary 2014-9 names research, during this time period, percentages are averaged at over 1% for boys and over 0.7% for girls.

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

Akua (あくあ)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: ah-kuu-a [á.kɯ̟̀ᵝ.à]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is a borrowing of the Latin word aqua meaning “water.” Most of the kanji used for this name are included in the table below:

a (あ) ku (く)*
亜 phonetic kanji 久 “long time”
愛 “love, affection” 玖 “black jewel; nine”
杏 “apricot” 来/來 “to come, arrive”
阿 phonetic kanji 紅 “crimson”
青/碧 “blue”
茜 “Japanese madder”
空 “space, room”**
海 “sea, ocean”**

* can be elided
** can also be part of a+空/海 combination

Popularity:
Mostly in use among those born from the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards, this name is, for the most part, rarely used. Yearly percentages for both genders are mostly 0.003% or less, peaking at no more than 0.005%.

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

Fuku (ふく)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: fkuu [ɸɯ̟̥́ᵝ.kɯ̟̀ᵝ] (on its own)

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is mainly written as 福 (fuku) meaning “good fortune, happiness, blessing, good luck.” It can be combined, either by suffixation with a ku kanji, like 久 meaning “long time,” 玖, meaning “black jewel” but also refers to the number 9 in legal documents, 空 meaning “sky” or 来/來 meaning “to come, arrive,” or by prefixation with a fu kanji, such as 歩 meaning “step,” 富 meaning “riches, wealth, fortune” or 風 meaning “wind.”

Popularity:
The name first began to see some usage as a feminine name in the Kamakura period (1185–1333), back then suffixed with 女/売 (me). It then peaked in the early part of the Edo period (1603-1868) placing within the top 20 (thus being used by a percent or more of women), based on data from Tsunoda, before dropping down a bit to the bottom half of the top 100 by the latter portion. Data from Tsunoda and Collazo place the average percentage in that time frame at just under 0.4%.
Though it remained moderately popular for much of the Meiji period (1868-1912), as with most short feminine names of that time, it began dropping down in popularity throughout the 20th century. By the 1990s and 2000s, the name only peaks at around 0.001-2% for baby girls born in those decades. However, in recent decades, it began to be used as a masculine name as well. That is all the more the case in the 2010s when it saw a slight rise in popularity as a masculine name (and, to some extent, as a feminine name as well).
The cause of this rise, which occurred since the early third of the decade, is attributed to actor Suzuki Fuku, who first gained prominence as a child actor. According to my preliminary 2014-9 names research combined with Baby Calendar rankings data, around 0.03% or more of baby boys in that time period received as well as about 0.005% or less of baby girls.

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

Takara (たから)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: tah-kah–rah [tà.ká.ɾá]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The name is derived from 宝/財 (takara) meaning “treasure.” How it is derived is uncertain. Both Ōtsuki and Yamada give a shift from 力 (chikara), meaning “strength, power,” as one of the derivations, though Ōtsuki lists out a couple of other derivations, like:

  • a combination of 田 (ta) meaning “rice field” and kara, written as 自, likely 柄 (kara) meaning “quality, characteristic”
  • a combination of 田 (ta) and 税 (chikara) meaning “tax”
  • a derivation of 高い (takai), written in source as 貴い, meaning “high”

Robbeets has a similar theory to the last derivation, being that the word/name is derived from the stem taka– with what she refers as a “collective bound noun” suffix –ra/ら, likely referring to the nominalising/pluralising suffix used in other words/names like Sakura and Katsura.
宝/財, alongside other kanji related to 高, like 貴/尊 meaning “precious, valuable,” 空/天 meaning “sky” or 孝 meaning “filial piety,” and 鷹, which refers to a hawk, can be suffixed with either a –ra kanji, such as 良 meaning “good,” 来/來 meaning “arrival” or 楽/樂 meaning “comfort, ease,” or a kanji that can be read as kara, e.g. 柄 or 空.

Popularity:
In use since the Meiji period (1868-1912), usage of this name is pretty uncommon. In the early 20th century, it was a rare, mostly masculine name, but fast forward to the 1990s and 2000s and feminine usage picked up a bit. In 1990, it was given to around 0.005% of boys and around 0.001% of girls, rising to over 0.01% for both genders by 2000 before dropping back down to 0.005% or below by 2009. Now, according to my preliminary 2014-9 names research and Baby Calendar rankings data, usage of this name is seemingly very similar to what happened in the early 20th century – over 0.02% of baby boys are receiving this name with few instances of baby girl Takaras.

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.

Riria (りりあ)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: rʸee-rʸee-a [ɾʲí.ɾʲì.à]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
Judging by the name, it is seemingly taken from the name Lilia and the broader Lily family of names (compare Riri and Ririko). As for kanji combinations, most are listed in the table below:

ri (り) a (あ)
莉 part of 茉莉 (matsuri) “Arabian jasmine” 愛 “love, affection”
梨 “pear” 彩 “colour”
里 “village” 亜 phonetic kanji
凛/凜 “cold; dignified” 空 “space, room”
璃 part of 瑠璃 (ruri) “lapis lazuli” 杏 “apricot”
理 “reason, logic” 朱 “vermilion”
李 “Japanese/Chinese plum” 叶 “grant, answer”
俐 “clever” 海 “sea, ocean”
娃 “beautiful”

Regarding how the second ri is written, it can vary from adding another ri kanji to adding the repetition mark 々 to occasionally not including a second ri kanji at all.

Popularity:
Much of its usage is concencrated on females born from the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards. It was given to only a few girls in 1990, slowly rising to over 0.002% in 1996 before jumping to over 0.015% by 2000. The increase slowed down for some years after but jumped again to over 0.04% by 2007 and 2009. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data and my preliminary 2014-9 names research, percentages in that time period range from over 0.05% to over 0.09%.

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