No one Japanese name sticks around in the top 100 forever. Tastes and styles change and oldies are left out in the back burner for decades and centuries before being revived. In this list, we will be taking a look at the top “word” names of the 1960s that is still being used to some extent today.
For this list, a name needs to derive from a noun, verb or adjective (Sino-Japanese words are not counted here), in the top 100 back in the 1960s (stemming from my mid-century name research) and is used by 0.02% or more of baby boys from 2014-8 (from my preliminary research for that time period). So, there is no Hiroshi in this list, that’s one thing I want to mention.
Starting things off is:

1. Takashi – The first of the classical adjective names on this list, this adjective in question (高し, modern takai) means “high, tall.” The meaning is, like pretty much most names, broadened to refer to other concepts, seen in uses of 隆 “prosperous,” 貴 “precious, valuable” and 敬 “reverence, respect.” The name was popular for a long while until around the end of the 20th century and is now uncommon.
2. Akira – stemming from the adjective 明らか/顕らか (akiraka) meaning “clear, obvious,” much of the meanings of kanji used for this name refer to brightness, seen in cognate lemmas with the ak- stem. That extends to other concepts, like intelligence (聡), enlightenment (啓), width (陽 “sun” and 光 “light; ray, beam, glow”), to name a few. The name was a tad less popular than Takashi during the 2nd half of the 20th century, though it is still burning brightly today compared to other names on this list with well over 0.1% of boys still being given this name from 2014-8.
3. Makoto – deriving from a combination of 真 (ma) meaning “true” and 事 (koto) meaning “thing, matter” or 言 (koto) meaning “word,” it is usually written as 誠 meaning “truth, reality” or “sincerity, honesty.” Other kanji that fit in with this meaning include 真, 信, 允 and 実 (you can throw in 真理 as an extra). It was a tad less popular as it is now compared to Akira, though it is still being used to a large extent compared to others shown here.
4. Satoshi – from the classical adjective (聡し/敏し, modern satoi) meaning “clever, smart; sensitive,” intelligence is the theme for many of the other kanji in use for this name, such as 智/知 meaning “wisdom,” 哲 meaning “sagacity, intelligence​” and 理 meaning “reason, logic.” Unlike the previous 3 names, Satoshi wasn’t in the top 10 in the 1960s, only gaining prominence as a top 10 name in the following two decades. Right now though, it is not doing so well.
5. Atsushi – there are three overall meanings to this name, but the meaning that most kanji revolve around is “kind, cordial, hospitable” (厚し/篤し, modern atsui). Other kanji with extended meanings include 淳/純 meaning “pure,” 貴 and 優 meaning “gentle, elegant.” Like Satoshi, Atsushi only gained prominence within the top 10 in the 1970s and 80s, though unlike Satoshi, it is doing slightly better with over 0.05% of boys receiving this name from 2014-8.
6. Minoru – from the verb (実る/實る/稔る) meaning “to bear fruit, ripen,” the meaning extends to other concepts related to agriculture and growth, like 穂 meaning “ear/head (of plant); point, tip,” 幹 meaning “(tree) trunk, base,” 農 meaning “agriculture” and 年 meaning “year; age.” The name was way past its golden age from the 1910s to the 30s, though it is still seeing rather uncommon usage today with over 0.03% of boys receiving this name from 2014-8.
7. Yutaka – from the adjective (豊か) meaning “abundant, wealthy, plentiful, rich,” other kanji with similar meanings include 裕, 浩 and 穣. Concepts extended from this meaning include broad-mindedness (寛) and greatness (泰). The name was already starting to fall in popularity by the 1960s and right now, it is uncommonly used.
8. Hajime – from the noun meaning “first” (初め) or “origin” (始め), other kanji with similar meanings include 肇, 一, 元, 創 and 源. Concepts extended from these meanings include ancestry (祖) and history (紀). Unlike most of the names shown here, Hajime is not particularly popular, though not to the extent of being very uncommon. From 2014-8, over 0.08% of boys were given this name, placing behind Akira.
9. Satoru – a verbal cognate (悟る/覚る) to Satoshi meaning “to perceive, sense; to understand,” most kanji used for that name can be applied to Satoru as well. Though only slightly more used right now compared to Satoshi, like his brother, Satoru isn’t doing so great in terms of popularity.
10. Hisashi – from the classical adjective (久し, modern hisashii) meaning “long (time),” the name is equally written as 寿, referring to longevity. The meaning extends to constancy, as seen in the usage of 恒 for this name. This name hasn’t been really popular during the 2nd half of the 20th century, the 1960s being the only decade from that period in which Hisashi was in the top 100, and is now uncommon.

What do you think? If you would like to add in your thoughts or other suggestions for this list, please share them in the comments below.