build

Tsukuru (つくる)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: tskuu–ruu [tsɨ̥̀ᵝ.kɯ̟́ᵝ.ɾɯ̟́ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the verb 作る/造る/創る (tsukuru) meaning “to make, produce, build; to raise, grow, cultivate; to draw up, prepare, write,” among other meanings. The second form is usually used in reference to large-scale production while the third form is usually used in reference to the creation of new things.
Other kanji used in relation to the verb include 耕 meaning “tilling, cultivation” and 健 meaning “health.” A ru kanji can occassionally be suffixed in, e.g. 瑠/琉, part of 瑠璃/琉璃 (ruri) meaning “lapis lazuli.”

Popularity:
Overall usage for this name is rare, not really topping 0.01% at any given year since the start of the Meiji period (1868-1912). When calculating from telephone book data, taking into consideration that 創 is far more often read as either Hajime or Sō, the percentage throughout the overall male population is under 0.005%.

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

Tatsuko (たつこ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: tah-tsko [tá.tsɨ̥̀ᵝ.kò̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is usually written as 子 (ko) meaning “child.” As for the first element, any kanji with the reading tatsu can be used, such as:

  • 達 meaning “reach, arrive, attain”
  • 辰, referring to the sign of the Dragon
  • 龍/竜 meaning “dragon”
  • 建 meaning “build, erect”
  • 立 meaning “stand, rise”
  • 起 meaning “rise”

The first element can also be written with a combination of a ta kanji, e.g. 多 meaning “many, much,” and a tsu kanji, e.g. 津 meaning “harbour, haven.”

Popularity:
As with most names ending in -ko, Tatsuko began to be used more widely in the general population in the latter half of the Meiji period (1868-1912), peaking at around the 1920s when well over 0.2% of girls received this name and the name placed itself around the bottom of the top 100 for a short time. By the 1960s, it already dropped down in popularity, not going above 0.01%, and by the Heisei period (1989-2019), it already became a rarely used feminine name.

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

Kakeru (かける)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

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)

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.

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.