颯

Sonoka (そのか)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: so-no-kah [só̞.nò̞.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The first element is taken from 園(薗)/苑 (sono) meaning “garden, orchard, park.” It can also be split into two kanji, the second part written as either 乃/之 (no), referring to the possessive particle, or 野 (no) meaning “field.” Most kanji for the first part can be seen in the table below alongside some of the ones used for the second element:

so (そ) ka (か)
素 “plain” 佳 “beautiful, good”
想 “conception, idea, thought” 香/郁/薫/馨 “fragrance”
早 “early” 花/華 “flower”
初 “first, new” 加 “addition”
颯 “sudden, quick” 夏 “summer”
蒼 “blue” 果 “fruit”
奏 “playing music”* 歌 “song”
爽 “fresh”

* also used for the second element

Popularity:
The name started rising in usage in the 1980s, though usage levels at the beginning of the Heisei period (1989-2019) were within the 0.01% range. It rose to over 0.03% in 1994 and 1995, dropping slighty out in 1996 before peaking at around 0.045% in 1997. By 1999, it fell back down below 0.02%, largely remaining within the 0.01% range since then.

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Hayuma (はゆま)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: hah-yuu-mah [há.jɯ̟̀ᵝ.mà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
For the first element, any kanji can be used that contains the stem reading hay-, like 隼 (hayabusa), referring to the peregrine falcon, 颯/駿, from 疾風 (hayate) referring to a gale or otherwise a strong or swift wind, 映, from the classical verb 映ゆ (hayu) meaning “to shine, glow,” or 早 (haya) meaning “early.” It can also be split into two kanji, a ha kanji like 羽 meaning “feather” or 波 meaning “wave” and a yu kanji such as 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority,” 由 meaning “reason, cause” or 祐/佑 meaning “help.”
As for the second element, any kanji with the reading ma can be used, such as:

  • 磨/摩 meaning “polish, shine”
  • 真/眞 meaning “truth”
  • 馬 meaning “horse”
  • 麻 meaning “hemp, flax”
  • 万 meaning “ten thousand”
  • 茉, part of 茉莉 (matsuri) referring to the Arabian jasmine

Popularity:
With its usage influenced by footballer Tanaka Hayuma, especially after his marriage to model Malia in 2001 and the birth of their son the next year, percentages from 2002 to the end of the 2000s (when 隼磨 was the most popular form) stayed between 0.005% and 0.010%, going above the 0.010% threshold in the second half of the 2010s.

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Sasuke (さすけ)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: sah-ske [sà.sɨ̥́ᵝ.ké̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is most commonly written as 佐助, both kanji generally refers to assistance, help or support. Other kanji with this reference can also be used in the second element, such as 介, 輔, 丞, etc. As for the first element, any kanji with the reading sa can be used, such as:

  • 咲 meaning “blossom”
  • 沙 meaning “sand”
  • 桜 meaning “cherry (tree, blossom)”
  • 冴 meaning “clarity; skilfulness”
  • 瑳 meaning “polish, shine”
  • 作 meaning “work, production”
  • 彩 meaning “colouring”
  • 紗 meaning “gauze”
  • 颯 meaning “quick, sudden”
  • 三 meaning “three”

Popularity:
This name was most commonly used before the 20th century. Based on Edo period (1603-1868) villager data from Collazo and merchant data compiled by Issendai + passenger lists from before the Second World War, percentages range from just under 0.1% to just over 0.2%.
Regarding its usage from the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards, it was rarely used throughout the 1990s and 2000s, though it was used slightly more in the latter decade at more or less 0.005%. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-20 names research, usage of this name had increased somewhat in the second half of the 2010s with an average percentage of more than 0.02%.

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Sono (その)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: so-no [só̞.nò̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from 園(薗)/苑 (sono) meaning “garden, orchard, park.” Nowadays, it is more common to be written with 2 kanji, so kanji used including 想 meaning “conception, idea, thought,” 蒼, generally meaning “blue,” 爽 meaning “fresh,” 奏 meaning “playing music,” 颯 meaning “sudden, quick” or 素 meaning “plain.” As for the second element, it is mainly written as 乃 (no), referring to the possessive particle, but it can also be written as 野 (no) meaning “field.”

Popularity:
By the latter half of the Edo period (1603-1868), usage of Sono, which was mainly written phonetically, had grown to be somewhat common with percentage levels, when combining data from Tsunoda and Collazo, at around 0.55%, placing it within the bottom section of the top 50. Like other names of this type, it began to fall down in popularity in the latter half of the Meiji period (1868-1912), becoming rarely used by the 1930s.
Regarding Heisei period (1989-2019) popularity, it was given to around 0.002-3% of girls throughout much of the 1990s, slowing rising to over 0.005% by 2000 before making a more steep rise to over 0.015% by 2004. Since the late 2000s, percentages remain stable at around the 0.02% mark.

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Satsuki (さつき)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: sah-tskʸee [sà.tsɨ̥́ᵝ.kʲí]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from 五月/皐月 (satsuki) (皐 is also used for this name), which archaically referred to the the fifth month of the lunar calendar but is now used in poetic contexts to refer to the month of May. It also refers to a type of azalea known as Rhododendron indicum, so named because of the timing of its usual blooming. As explained on Wiktionary, some sources derive the word from a possible contraction of the synonym 早苗月 (sanaedzuki). Some others however point to an ancient word さ (sa) as the first element, relating to rice and used in many ancient terms relating to the rice plant.
As for other ways to write this name, there are two pathways which relate to gender proportion. The first one is mostly feminine and it is most commonly written as a sa+月 combination, kanji in the first element including 咲 meaning “blossom,” 沙/砂 meaning “sand,” 彩 meaning “colouring,” 紗 meaning “gauze,” so on and so forth. The second element can be substituted with a tsu+ki combination, combining either 津 (tsu) meaning “harbour, haven” or 都 (tsu) meaning “metropolis” with a ki kanji, such as 希/稀, either meaning “rare” or part of 希望 (kibō) meaning “hope, wish, aspiration,” 姫 meaning “princess,” 季 meaning “season” or 樹/木 meaning “tree.”
The second one is mainly masculine with a significant feminine minority and it is most commonly written with a combination of 颯 meaning “sudden, quick” (others including 皐 and 幸/倖, the latter meaning “good luck, happiness”) and a ki kanji or 月.

Popularity:
Satsuki has been used as a feminine name since the late Nara period (710-794), back then suffixed with 賣/女 (-me). However, it wasn’t until the Meiji period (1868-1912) that its usage began to rise (for both genders). The name first peaked in usage for females in the 1900s and 1910s, ranking within the bottom quarter of the top 100 with percentage levels at slightly below 0.3%.
In the following decades, female percentages would maintain within the 0.1% range, not touching the top 100, stretching into the 1990s and 2000s by which point masculine usage would rise into the 0.02% and 0.03% levels by 2000. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, the average percentage for baby girls is over 0.23% with the percentage for boys at over 0.05%, representing a slight increase in overall popularity compared to the previous decade.

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

Kakeru (かける)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: kah-ke–ruu [kà.ké̞.ɾɯ̟́ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
As some of you can tell from the -ru ending, this is a verb-derived name. However, it’s not just one verb that Kakeru is derived from, as can be seen below:

  • 翔る/翔ける meaning “to soar, fly”
  • 駆ける/駈ける meaning “to run, dash”
    • whence the usage of 颯, meaning “sudden, quick,” and 駿
  • 架ける meaning “to suspend between two points, build (a bridge, etc.)”
  • 掛ける meaning “to hang up, suspend (from), hoist; to put on”

They can be suffixed with a ru kanji, like 琉/瑠, part of 琉璃/瑠璃 (ruri) meaning “lapis lazuli,” 流 meaning “current, flow” or 留 meaning “stop.” Other suffixing kanji which can shift to ru include 龍/竜 meaning “dragon,” 隆 meaning “prosperous” or 塁 meaning “fortress, stronghold.”

Popularity:
In use since at least the 1950s, Kakeru had started to rise in its usage in the 1980s. In 1990, it was given to over 0.07% of boys, rising to over 0.2% by the mid-to-late 2000s. Based on Baby Calendar data and my preliminary 2014-9 names research, the average percentage for that time frame is over 0.27% with the name ranking in the full year BC data within the top 100 from 2017 to 2019 (2020 survey data has Kakeru outside the top 100).

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.

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Ryūsei (りゅうせい)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: rʸuu:-se: [ɾʲɨ́ᵝɨ̀ᵝ.sè̞ː]
Variant transliterations: Ryusei, Ryuusei

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

ryū (りゅう) sei (せい)
琉/瑠 part of 琉璃/瑠璃 (ruri) “lapis lazuli” 聖 “sacred, holy”
龍/竜 “dragon” 生 “life, living”
隆 “prosperous” 星 “star”
流 “current, flow” 成 “growth, reach, attainment”
颯 “sudden, quick” 誠 “truth, reality”
柳 “willow” 惺 “realise”
晴 “clear, fine”
正 “exact, precise”
世 “generation”
晟 “clear”
征 “conquest”
清 “clean, pure, chaste”
政 “rule, government”
勢 “force, vigour, energy”
盛 “prosperous”

This name also makes a reference to the words 流星 meaning “meteor, falling star” and 隆盛 meaning “prosperity.”

Popularity:
The name was already in use in the late 19th century, though back then, it was mostly concentranted in Okinawa with usage in the main islands not starting to increase until the Heisei period (1989-2019). In 1990, it was given to less than 0.035% of boys, increasing to well over 0.2% by 1996 and over 0.425% by 2000 before generally dropping down a bit for much of the 2000s, down to over 0.35% by 2007.
The name rose back up to over 0.43% by 2009 and, based on Tamahiyo and Meiji Yasuda Life data, peaked in 2012 at 7th with over 1.1% of boys receiving this name. The name charted below the top 30 the previous year and the peak is explainable – much of 2012 (and 2000 for that matter) was the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar and with it come increases for names containing 龍/竜 (or 辰) (compare Tatsumi and Tatsuya/Ryūya). These sets of data, alongside my preliminary 2014-9 names research, suggest that Ryūsei is still within the top 100 as of 2019 but is ranking in the lowest fifth, being given to less than 0.4% of boys.

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

Sōta (そうた)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: so:-tah [só̞ò̞.tà]
Variant transliterations: Sota, Souta, Sohta

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is most commonly written as 太 meaning “plump, thick,” with other ta kanji in use including 大 meaning “large, big,” 汰 meaning “wash, scour” and 多 meaning “many, much.” Second element kanji that are used more recently have ta as part of a reading (be it Sino-Japanese, native or name) and they include:

  • 泰 meaning “quiet, peaceful; great, excessive”
  • 空/天 meaning “sky”
  • 詩 meaning “poem”
  • 龍/竜 meaning “dragon”
  • 達 meaning “reach, arrive, attain”
  • 樹 meaning “tree”

As for the first element, any kanji with the reading sō can be used, most of them including:

  • 颯* meaning “sudden, quick”
  • 蒼 meaning “blue”
  • 壮 meaning “vibrancy, strength, bravery”
  • 創 meaning “making, building; start, origin, beginning”
  • 聡 meaning “wise”
  • 奏 meaning “playing music”
  • 爽 meaning “fresh”
  • 想 meaning “conception, idea, thought”
  • 湊 meaning “harbour, port”
  • 草 meaning “grass”
  • 早 meaning “early”
  • 宗 meaning “sect”
  • 綜 meaning “rule, synthesise”
  • 惣/総 meaning “whole, all”
  • 相 meaning “appearance, look”
  • 崇 meaning “respect”

* 楓, meaning “maple,” is also occasionally used for its similarity to 颯

Popularity:
This name was already in use by the Meiji period (1868-1912), though it was very uncommon at the time, becoming very rare before World War II. It would not start increasing again until the 1970s and 1980s.
By 1990, it was given to over 0.07% of boys, gradually increasing to over 0.25% by 1996 before jumping a tad more steeply to over 0.75% by 2000 and over 1.35% by 2004. Around that time, Sōta was already ranking within the top 10. Since the mid-2010s, Sōta is consistently ranked in 2nd place with an average of over 1.5%, well behind the top ranking boy name Haruto.

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