brave

Sora (そら)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

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.

Kōtarō (こうたろう)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: ko:–tah–ro: [kò̞ó̞.tá.ɾó̞ː]
Variant transliterations: Kotaro, Koutarou

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is most commonly written as 太郎 (tarō), a birth order suffix referring to an eldest son. Substitutes include 大 (ta) meaning “large, big,” 汰 (ta) meaning “wash, scour,” 多 (ta) meaning “many, much” and 朗 (rō) meaning “cheerful.” As for the first element, any kō kanji can be used, such as:

  • 幸/倖 meaning “good luck, happiness”
  • 孝 meaning “filial piety”
  • 航 meaning “navigation”
  • 晃/煌 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling”
  • 康 meaning “peace”
  • 洸 meaning “valiant, brave”
  • 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow”
  • 広~廣/弘/宏/浩/紘/滉 meaning “spacious, vast, wide”
  • 鋼 meaning “steel”
  • 甲 meaning “shell”
  • 公 meaning “monarch, ruler”
  • 晄 meaning “clear”
  • 虹 meaning “rainbow”
  • 耕 meaning “tilling, cultivation”
  • 鴻 meaning “large bird”
  • 昊 meaning “sky”
  • 興 meaning “interest, entertainment”
  • 荒 meaning “rough, wild, raw”
  • 鑛 meaning “ore”

Popularity:
Based on data from Collazo and merchant data available via Issendai, Kōtarō wasn’t used very much in the Edo period (1603-1868) but, from what I can gather from passenger lists, it did gain steam in the Meiji period (1868-1912), ranking somewhere around the lower half of the top 100 up to the 1910s when it began dropping off. From the 1950s to the 1980s, usage went up and down within the 0.05% to 0.2% range, though it did end up rising again starting in the late 1980s.
In 1990, it was given to over 0.24% of boys and though it did drop a little bit to over 0.2% by 1994, it rose again throughout the rest of the 1990s and 2000s. By 2007, it was given to over 0.65% of boys. Based on data from Baby Calendar, Tamahiyo and Meiji Yasuda Life as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, by that time period, the name was already starting to drop off and currently, it is being given to 0.3% or less of baby boys, effectively out of the top 50.

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

Sōta (そうた)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

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.

Kamui (かむい)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: kah-muu-ee [ká.mɯ̟̀ᵝ.ì]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name from Ainu カムィ (kamuy), which refers to a god (deity) and can be extended from that sense to refer to a bear. It may possibly be related to Proto-Japonic *kamuy, a hypothesised fusion of *kamu with the emphatic nominal particle i.
Most of the kanji in use for this name include:

ka (か) mu (む) i (い)
神 “god, deity, spirit”* 威 “power, authority, might”
可 “acceptable, fair” 夢 “dream” 偉 “greatness”
加 “addition” 武 “valour, bravery” 生 “live, exist”
叶 “grant, answer” 舞 “dance” 衣 “clothing”
佳 “beautiful, good” 矛 “lance” 伊 phonetic kanji
翔 “fly, soar” 無 “nothing” 維 “tie, rope”
夏 “summer” 宗 “sect” 唯/惟 “only”
花/華 “flower” 心 “heart, mind” 意 “feeling, thought”
嘉 “praise, esteem” 尉 “military officer”
海 “sea, ocean” 居 “being, existing”
香 “fragrance” 依 “reliance, dependence”
樺 “birch” 慰 “comfort, consolation”
位 “rank, place, standing”
以 phonetic kanji
勇 “bravery, courage”
一/壱 “one”

* can be used on its own

Popularity:
This name has been in use since at least the 1980s. In the earliest years of the Heisei period (1989-2019), it was given to less than 0.001% of boys, slowly rising to over 0.02% by the mid-1990s.
By 1997, it jumped to 0.004% and peaking at 0.008% in 2000 and 2002. The rise, or at least its initial steps, is likely factored by the manga and anime ‘X’, seeing as the form 神威, the form used for the main character, began rising in 1997.
The name dropped a bit in usage by the middle and latter thirds of the 2000s, though my preliminary 2014-9 names research points to a rise in 2014 and 2015. It may or may not be the case in the grand scheme of things but if further data gathering confirms this result, then the rise might be influenced by racing driver Kobayashi Kamui.

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

Yūsuke (ゆうすけ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: yuu:-ske [jɯ̟́ᵝɯ̟̀ᵝ.sɨ̥̀ᵝ.kè̞]
Variant transliterations: Yusuke, Yuusuke

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element for this name is 助 (suke) meaning “help,” also written as 介, 輔, 祐, 佑, 亮, 典, and so on. As for the first element, it can be written as:

  • 祐/佑/侑 meaning “help”
  • 裕 meaning “abundant, rich”
  • 勇 meaning “bravery, courage”
  • 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority”
  • 雄 meaning “male”
  • 友 meaning “friend”
  • 有 meaning “existence”
  • 悠 meaning “quiet, calm; far off, distant”
  • 夕 meaning “evening”
  • 由 meaning “reason, cause”
  • 結 meaning “tie, bond”
  • 唯 meaning “only”
  • 遊 meaning “play”

Popularity:
Throughout the early to mid-20th century, this name was uncommonly used and it wasn’t until the early 1970s that it started its meteoric rise in popularity, rising from over 0.03% in the early 1960s to just under 0.1% at the start of the 1970s to under 1.5% by the end of the decade. By the mid 1980s, the name peaked at well over 2%, resulting in it toppling Daisuke to become the most popular boy name for a short while before being overtaken by Yūki.
Regarding Heisei period (1989-2019) popularity, it was already on its way to falling down in popularity. In 1990, it was in 5th place with just over 1.6% of boys receiving this name. By 2007, the percentage reduced to over 0.34% and data from Baby Calendar and my preliminary 2014-8 names research show that Yūsuke has been out of the top 100 for several years now.

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

Trendy, masculine -kis

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

For today’s name list, we will be taking a look at the masculine names ending in -ki that have been popular over the past 5 years, the list going in descending order of popularity. The list is put together from my preliminary 2014-8 names research. Unless noted, these names on the list tend to be suffixed with a ki kanji, like 稀/希, either meaning “rare” or part of 希望 (kibō) meaning “hope, wish, aspiration,” 輝/暉 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” 生 meaning “vitality,” 樹/木 meaning “tree,” so on and so forth.
Let’s jump into the most popular -ki name on the list, which is:

  1. Haruki – the most popular masculine name ending in -ki, 陽, which means “day, sun,” is the most popular first element kanji, though other kanji in use can include 悠 meaning “far off, distant,” 晴 meaning “clear/fine weather,” 遥/遙 meaning “far off, distant” and 春 meaning “spring”
  2. Kōki – for this next name on the list, any first element kanji with the reading kō can be used, such as 幸/倖 meaning “good luck, happiness,” 煌/晃 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling,” 航 meaning “navigation” or 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow” – 聖, which refers to a virtuous person, has also seen occasional usage, influenced by Kōki Tanaka
  3. Itsuki – unlike the first two names shown above, 樹 is the main form of this name and how it came to be read as Itsuki is unclear to me, though a derivation of 斎 (itsuki), which refers to an act of purification or worshipping, is one possibility I’ve found (the kanji in question is also used for this name), as well as a similar derivation of 斎槻 (itsuki), mentioning a sacred zelkova tree – 慈, meaning “affection, love,” is one other single kanji used and first element kanji for itsu+ki combinations include 一/壱 meaning “one,” 稜 meaning “angle, edge,” 伍/五 meaning “five” or 逸 meaning “ease, comfort”
  4. Yūki – once the most popular male name, now slowing down in popularity, any kanji with the reading yū can be used, such as 悠 meaning “quiet, calm; far off, distant,” 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority,” 佑/祐/侑 meaning “help” or 勇 “bravery, courage”
  5. Ibuki – this next name on the list is mainly written as either 一颯, the second kanji meaning “sudden, quick,” or 伊吹, which refers to the tree known as the Chinese juniper
  6. Daiki – for this name, the kanji that is most often used in the first element is 大 which means “large, big”
  7. Kazuki – the first element of this next name is mainly written as either 和 meaning “harmony, peace” or 一/壱
  8. Yudzuki – this next name is similar to how Yūki is formed except the second element is mostly written as 月 meaning “moon”
  9. Masaki – the first element of this name can be used as 正/将 meaning “exact, precise,” 雅 meaning “refinement, elegance,” 政 meaning “rule” or 真/眞 meaning “pure, true” – also used are 真咲, the second kanji meaning “blossom,” and 柾/正木, referring to the tree known as ‘Euonymus japonicus’ or ‘Japanese spindletree’
  10. Tatsuki – for this final name on the list, it is mainly written with a tatsu+ki combination, such kanji including 龍/竜 meaning “dragon,” 達 meaning “reach, arrive, attain,” 辰, referring to the sign of the Dragon, or 建 meaning “build, erect” – 樹 is also used, likely a derivation of 立つ (tatsu) meaning “to stand, rise, stand up” or 建つ (tatsu) meaning “to be erected/built​” with the addition of 木

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.

Yūta (ゆうた)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: yuu:-tah [jɯ̟́ᵝɯ̟̀ᵝ.tà]
Variant transliterations: Yuta, Yuuta

Etymology and/or ways to write:
For the second element, it can be written as 太 meaning “plump, thick,” 大 meaning “large, big,” 汰 meaning “wash, scour” or 多 meaning “many, much.” Kanji with ta included as one of the syllables are also used, such as 詩 (uta) meaning “song” and 泰 (tai) meaning “quiet, peaceful; great, excessive.”
As for the first element, it can be written as, among other kanji:

  • 雄 meaning “male”
  • 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority”
  • 裕 meaning “abundant, rich”
  • 悠 meaning “quiet, calm; far off, distant”
  • 祐/佑/侑 meaning “help”
  • 勇 meaning “bravery, courage”
  • 湧 meaning “springing, surging”
  • 友 meaning “friend”
  • 結 meaning “tie, bond”
  • 有 meaning “existence”
  • 由 meaning “reason, cause”
  • 宥 meaning “soothing, calming”
  • 遊 meaning “play”
  • 唯 meaning “only”
  • 夕 meaning “evening”

The first element can also be split into two, using a yū kanji and either another one of them or a kanji that can (partially) be read as u, such as 宇 meaning “eaves, roof,” 羽 meaning “feathers” or 海 meaning “sea, ocean.”

Popularity:
Though in use by the Meiji period (1868-1912), it remained very uncommon up until the 1970s when it began seeing increases in its popularity. It wasn’t until around 1982 that the name started experiencing an explosion in popularity and by the late 1980s, over 1.6% of boys received this name. There are very few clues as to how the name started to chart so high from so low but the most logical explanation I can find (if the bar is set very low, that is) is the birth of actor Ōwada Shin’ya‘s eldest son, which took place in September of 1981.
Throughout the 1990s and much of the 2000s, the name consistently ranked within the top 5. Starting off in 1990, it was in 3rd place behind Yūki and Takuya with over 1.8% of boys receiving this name. From 1992 to 1994, it was given to around or close to 2% of boys and throughout the rest of the 1990s and into the start of the new millennium, it mostly ranked 2nd, even when it dropped to over 1.45% by 2000.
By 2007, it was given to over 1.325% of boys, placing it in 4th place. Since the late 2000s, its decline in popularity have been more severe and by the mid and late 2010s, the amount of boys being given this name averaged within a range of between 0.2% and 0.4%, placing Yūta within the lower half of the top 100.

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

Takezō (たけぞう)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: tah-ke–zo: [tà.ké̞.zó̞ː]

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

take (たけ) zō (ぞう)
武/猛 “brave” 蔵/藏 “possession”
竹 “bamboo” 造 “structure”
丈 “height, stature” 三 “three”
毅 “strong”
健 “healthy”
岳 “peak; mountain”

Popularity:
Though there are no records of Takezō in the merchant data, Collazo’s villager data has 9 men whose names were written as 竹蔵, meaning that usage for this name in the Edo period (1603-1868) is somewhere between slightly uncommon and slightly frequent. Like most other names used in that period, usage decreased during the 20th century and by the Heisei period (1989-2019), it became rarely used.

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