bright | Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi

Kiryū (きりゅう)

Posted on November 19, 2022 by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources

Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: kʸee-rʸuu: [kʲí.ɾʲɨ̀ᵝː]
Variant transliterations: Kiryu, Kiryuu

Etymology and/or ways to write:
For the second element, any kanji with the reading ryū can be used, like 龍/竜 meaning “dragon,” 琉/瑠, part of 琉璃/瑠璃 (ruri) meaning “lapis lazuli,” 流 meaning “current, flow” or 隆 meaning “prosperous.” As for the first element, any kanji with the (partial) reading ki is used, such as:

希/稀 meaning “rare” or part of 希望 (kibō) meaning “hope, wish, aspiration”
輝/暉 meaning “brightness, brilliance”
樹 meaning “tree”
貴 meaning “precious, valuable”
喜 meaning “delight, pleasure”
来/來 meaning “arrival”
紀 meaning “account, chronicle”
季 meaning “season”
葵, referring to a mallow (e.g. hollyhock) or a wild ginger; part of 向日葵 (himawari) “sunflower”
生 meaning “vitality”
毅 meaning “strong”
綺, either meaning “thin silk” or part of 綺麗 (kirei) meaning “pretty; clean”
起 meaning “rise”
騎, either meaning “equestrian” or part of 騎士 (kishi) “knight”
基 meaning “origin”
気 meaning “spirit, mind”
祈 meaning “prayer”
煌 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling”

On rare occasions, this name can also be written as 桐生. More often seen as a surname and a place name (the latter particularly referring to the city in Gunma Prefecture), it is, via a sound shift, a combination of 桐 (kiri), referring to the paulownia tree, and 生 (fu), referring to an area of thick growth (of trees, grass, etc.).

Popularity:
In use since at least the Meiji period (1868-1912), overall usage of this name is rare to uncommon. Before the second half of the 1990s, usage levels peak at around 0.002%. From that point onwards, it rose above 0.005% and then above 0.01% just before the end of the 1990s.
The first peak of its popularity occurred in the mid-2000s with usage levels rising above 0.02% (topping at 0.026% in 2006). Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-21 names research, Kiryū remains above 0.01% in that time frame, sometimes going above 0.02% like in the previous decade.

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

Juria (じゅりあ)

Posted on May 27, 2022 by maybeitisdaijirou

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Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: juu-rʸee-ah [dʑɨ́ᵝ.ɾʲì.à]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is borrowed from the pan-European name Julia, the feminine form of Latin Iūlius. Most of the kanji used for this name can be seen in the table below:

ju (じゅ)	ri (り)	a (あ)
樹 “tree”	里 “village”	亜/亞 phonetic kanji
珠 “gem, jewel”	莉 part of 茉莉 (matsuri) “Arabian jasmine”	愛 “love, affection”
寿 “congratulations; longevity”	利 “advantage, benefit”	杏 “apricot”
朱 “vermilion”	梨 “pear”	彩/采 “colour”
純 “pure, genuine”	璃 part of 瑠璃 (ruri) “lapis lazuli”	安 “quiet, peaceful”
雛 “doll”	理 “reason, logic”	阿 phonetic kanji
	李 “Japanese/Chinese plum”	明 “bright”
	吏 “officer”	有 “existing”
	凛 “cold; dignified”	藍 “indigo”
	鈴 “bell”	葵 “hollyhock; wild ginger;” part of 向日葵 (himawari) “sunflower”

Popularity:
Much of its usage is concentrated on those born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards. In 1989, only 0.003% of girls received this name, gradually rising to 0.011% by 1992 before jumping to 0.017% in 1993 and over 0.032% in 1994. The cause of this jump was singer Mazda Julia, whose first solo single was released in August of 1993.
Percentages remained above 0.025% throughout the rest of the 1990s and much of the 2000s before dropping to below 0.02% by 2009. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-20 names research, the average percentage from 2017-20 is around 0.012% with yearly percentages in that time frame sometimes dropping below 0.01%.

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

Kiito (きいと)

Posted on May 27, 2022 by maybeitisdaijirou

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Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: kʸee-ee-to [kʲí.ì.tò̞]~kʸee:-to [kʲíì.tò̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
How this name is written is mainly gender-dependent. For males, it mainly revolves around combining a ki kanji, like 希/稀, either meaning “rare” or part of 希望 (kibō) meaning “hope, wish, aspiration,” 季 meaning “season,” 葵, referring to a mallow (e.g. hollyhock) or a wild ginger or part of 向日葵 (himawari) meaning “sunflower,” or 輝 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” and a to kanji, such as 斗, referring to the Chinese constellation known as the Dipper, 叶 meaning “grant, answer,” 人 meaning “person” or 翔 meaning “fly, soar.” An i kanji can sometimes be added in the middle and they include 唯 meaning “only,” 依 meaning “reliance, dependence” and 偉 meaning “greatness.”
The second element of this name can also be written as 糸 (ito) meaning “thread, yarn, string” (mainly feminine) along with other related kanji, e.g. 絃/弦 meaning “(bow)string,” (mainly masculine) or it can be written as 愛, from the stem of adjective 愛しい (itoshii) meaning “lovely, dear, beloved.”
The single kanji 純, meaning “pure, genuine,” is also used for both genders, taken from the word 生糸 (kiito), referring to a raw silk thread.

Popularity:
This name is mostly used on those born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards, especially those born since the early 2010s. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-20 names research, average percentages for boys and girls from 2017-20 are just over 0.020% and under 0.005% respectively.

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

Teru (てる)

Posted on February 19, 2022 by maybeitisdaijirou

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Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Currently male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: te-ruu [té̞.ɾɯ̟̀ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the verb 照る (teru) meaning “to shine.” Other kanji in use for this name include, but are not limited to, 輝/耀 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow,” 瑛 meaning “crystal” and 晴 meaning “clear, fine.”
These single kanji, along with kanji that can be read as te, e.g. 天 meaning “sky,” can be combined with a ru kanji, such as 琉/瑠, part of 琉璃/瑠璃 (ruri) meaning “lapis lazuli,” or 流 meaning “current, flow.”

Popularity:
By the late Edo period (1603-1868), Teru was a slightly common feminine name (mainly written phonetically) with an average percentage (based on Tsunoda and Collazo) close to 0.3% and within the bottom section of the top 100. It grew in usage in the Meiji period (1868-1912), ranking within the top 50 in the first half.
As with most feminine name of this type, it fell off in usage throughout the early 20th century, dropping out of the top 100 by the 1930s. Masculine usage at that time was uncommon, though with the decrease of feminine usage, the amount of male Terus would end up being the majority, even when overall usage would be uncommon up to now.
By 1990, less than 0.01% of boys received this name, slowly increasing to over 0.03% by the late 2010s (based on Baby Calendar rankings data and my 2014-20 names research). At that same time, feminine usage of this name amount to only several a year.

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

Koyuki (こゆき)

Posted on February 12, 2022 by maybeitisdaijirou

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Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: ko-yuu–kʸee [kò̞.jɯ̟́ᵝ.kʲí]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is most commonly written as 小雪 which refers to light snowfall (individually meaning “small” and “snow”). 幸/倖, meaning “good luck, happiness,” can also be used for the second and (rarely) first elements and it can also be split into two kanji in the second element, as shown in the table below which also lists out other ko kanji:

ko (こ)	yu (ゆ)	ki (き)
瑚 part of 珊瑚 (sango) “coral”	由 “reason, cause”	季 “season”
心 “heart, mind”	有 “existence”	希 “rare;” part of 希望 (kibō) “hope, wish, aspiration”
湖 “lake”	優 “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority”	紀 “account, chronicle”
恋 “(romantic) love”	夢 “dream”	姫 “princess”
来/來 “coming”	佑 “help”	妃 “empress, queen”
呼 “call; breath”	友 “friend”	輝 “brightness, brilliance”
琴 koto (the 13-stringed Japanese zither)	結 “tie, bond”	樹 “tree”
紅 “crimson”	柚 “yuzu fruit”	葵 “hollyhock; wild ginger;” part of 向日葵 (himawari) “sunflower”
胡 “foreign;” part of 胡桃 (kurumi) “walnut”	夕 “evening”
木 see 樹
鼓 “drum, beat”

Popularity:
Names beginning in Ko (小)-, which Collazo classify as diminutives, were used in the Edo period (1603-1868) though rather rare at just around 1% of all names when combining data from Collazo and Tsunoda. Koyuki is found once in Tsunoda, making it very uncommon to rare compared to Yuki. Usage increased in the first half of the Meiji period (1868-1912) with percentages close to 0.2%, dropping to less than 0.1% in the second half before becoming rare by the 1930s.
By the start of the Heisei period (1989-2019), it was given to just over 0.01% of girls, remaining around that level until 1993 when it jumped to over 0.03% and then over 0.04% the following year. This jump in usage is attributed to the television drama ‘Hitotsu Yane no Shita’ which featured a main character going by this name (Masaya (雅也) is another notable character name that rose in usage as well).
Usage for Koyuki would remain within the 0.03-4% range for the rest of the 1990s before jumping to around 0.06% in 2000 and peaking to over 0.125% in 2004. In this case, this rise in usage is influenced by actress Koyuki, best known outside Japan for her role as Taka in the film ‘The Last Samurai’.
Since the 2004 peak, the name fell a bit in usage. By 2009, around 0.06% of girls received this name. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-20 names research, the average percentage from 2017-20 is over 0.04%.

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

Kōmei (こうめい)

Posted on October 29, 2021 by maybeitisdaijirou

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Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: ko:-me: [kó̞ò̞.mè̞ː]
Variant transliterations: Komei, Koumei, Kohmei

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is mainly written as 明 meaning “brightness; clarity,” but other mei kanji can be used, e.g. 盟 meaning “alliance.” As for the first element, any kanji with the reading kō can be used, such as:

幸/倖 meaning “good luck, happiness”
煌 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling”
孔, part of 孔子 (Kōshi), referring to Confucius
康 meaning “peace”
孝 meaning “filial piety”
光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow”
洸 meaning “valiant, brave”
昊 meaning “sky”
皇 meaning “imperial”
広/浩/滉 meaning “spacious, vast, wide”
耕 meaning “tilling, cultivation”
功 meaning “merit, success; achievement”
航 meaning “navigation”
好 meaning “good, excellent”
高 meaning “high, tall”
興 meaning “interest, entertainment”

When using 明 for the second element, this name can be linked to two words, 公明 meaning “fairness, openness, impartiality” and 光明 meaning “bright light; hope, bright future.”

Popularity:
Usage of this name is rather uncommon. From the late 19th to the early 20th century, most boys receiving this name were born in Okinawa with occassional usage outside. Regarding Heisei period (1989-2019) popularity, percentages throughout the 1990s and the turn of the millennium stabilised at around the 0.01% range before rising throughout the 2000s to well over 0.03% by 2009. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-20 names research, the average percentage from 2017-2020 is around 0.04%.

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

Tatsuki (たつき)

Posted on October 29, 2021 by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources

Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: tah-tskʸee [tà.tsɨ̥́ᵝ.kʲí]

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

ta (た)	tsu (つ)	ki (き)
龍/竜 “dragon”		樹 “tree”*
達 “reach, arrive, attain”		輝/暉 “brightness, brilliance”
立 “stand, rise”		生 “vitality”
辰 sign of the Dragon		希/稀 “rare;” part of 希望 (kibō) “hope, wish, aspiration”
建 “build, erect”		喜 “delight, pleasure”
健 “healthy”		紀/記 “account, chronicle”
幸 “good luck, happiness”		貴 “precious, valuable”
汰 “wash, scour”	津 “harbour, haven”	季 “season”
多 “many, much”	都 “metropolis”	己 6th heavenly stem in Chinese calendar
太 “plump, thick”	月 “moon”
	槻 “Japanese zelkova tree”

* 樹 can also used as a 1st element kanji (likely from verbs 立つ (tatsu) meaning “to stand, rise, stand up” or 建つ (tatsu) meaning “to be erected/built”) or on its own (likely from the same verbs + 樹)

Popularity:
From the late 19th to the early 20th century, usage of this name was uncommon with a peak of less than 0.1% in the later Meiji period (1868-1912). The majority of its usage occurred in Kumamoto Prefecture where 辰喜 was the most commonly used form.
After becoming rarely used by the 1950s, it slowly rebounded in the 1970s and 1980s, rising more quickly to well over 0.2% by 1996. Aside from a peak of over 0.4% in 2000 (that year being the Year of the Dragon), percentages since the early 2000s remained well within the 0.2% range, sometimes entering and then dropping out of the bottom half of the top 100.

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

Raito (らいと)

Posted on October 22, 2021 by maybeitisdaijirou

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Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: rah-ee-to [ɾá.ì.tò̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
Normally, this name follows a rai+to kanji combination, some of the kanji used shown in the table below:

rai (らい)		to (と)
來/来/徠 “arrival”		斗 “the Dipper”
頼 “request, favour; trust”		翔/飛 “fly, soar”
礼 “gratitude; manners; gift”		人 “person”
蕾 “bud”		叶 “grant, answer”
雷 “lightning, thunder”		音 “sound”
麗 “lovely, beautiful”		都 “metropolis”
萊/莱 “goosefoot”		大 “big, large”
良 “good”	偉 “greatness”	虎 “tiger”
羅 “thin silk, gauze”		杜 “shrine grove”
		采 part of 采配 (saihai) “order, command”
		心 “heart, mind”
		門 “gate”

You may notice that Raito also transcribes to the English word light. It is indeed the case that, sometimes (especially among babies born from the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards), kanji either related to the word or otherwise used for image conjuring are used, like 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow,” 月 meaning “moon,” 輝 meaning “brightness, brilliance” and 煌 meaning “glitter, sparkle.” While single kanji are used for this name, they are more likely to be combined with a to kanji or another kanji with some sort of connection to light, examples of the latter being 煌月, 輝星 and 月輝.

Popularity:
In use since at least the 1920s, much of its usage is concentrated on those born in the Heisei period onwards. In 1990, it was only given to around 0.005% of boys, remaining stable until the late 1990s when it began to rise in usage. By the late 2000s, well over 0.12% of boys received this name.
Based on my 2014-20 names research, by 2014, it already ranked in the top 100 with 0.253% of boys receiving this name and peaking at 0.332% and ranking 74th in 2015. By 2020, it fell to around 0.104%, just above the top 200 threshold (when combined with Baby Calendar rankings data, the 2020 percentage increased to just below 0.12%).

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

Hisaki (ひさき)

Posted on October 8, 2021 by maybeitisdaijirou

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Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: khsah-kʸee~khsah–kʸee [çì̥.sá.kʲì]~[çì̥.sá.kʲí]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The way this name is written is usually dependent on the gender of the bearer. For males, the first element is derived from the stem 久 (hisa), referring to a long time that has passed (can also written as 寿, referring to longevity, 永 meaning “eternity” or 弥 meaning “increase”). The second element can be written as 樹 meaning “tree,” 輝/暉 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” 喜 meaning “delight, pleasure,” among other ki kanji.
For females, it is mainly written as a combination of a hi kanji, like 陽/日 meaning “day, sun,” or 柊, referring to the false holly,” and 咲 (saki) meaning “blossom.”

Popularity:
Usage of this name is rather uncommon for both genders. Throughout the late 19th century and stretching into the 20th century, it was mostly used as a masculine name. Percentages peaked near or at around the 0.02% mark at some point from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Since the mid-2000s, this name has been given to more girls than boys. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-20 names research, the average percentages for that time frame are around or over 0.045% for girls and around 0.01% for boys.

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

Uzuhi (うずひ)

Posted on October 1, 2021 by maybeitisdaijirou

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Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: uu-zuu-khee [ɯ̟́ᵝ.zɨ̀ᵝ.çì]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name’s most common form is 太陽, taken from taiyō which refers to the sun. The 太 in Uzuhi seems to be taken from 太秦 (Uzumasa), a location situated within the Ukyō ward of Kyōto.
Other kanji can be used for this name, such as 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority” for the first element, 日, another form of 陽, or 晃 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling” for the second element.

Popularity:
Usage of this name is extremely rare. Through my research, I’ve only found at least 5 examples by searching. Despite this, it seems that it is mainly used among younger generations, particularly those born after 2000.

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