Issei (いっせい)
Sources | Pronunciation guide |
(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: ees-se: [ís.sè̞ː]
Etymology and/or ways to write:
For the first element of this name, any kanji with the reading ichi or itsu is used, mainly 一/壱 (ichi) meaning “one,” but also 逸 (itsu) meaning “ease, comfort” or 稜 (itsu) meaning “angle, edge.” In rare, modern-day contexts, this can also apply to kanji that are partially read as ichi/itsu, e.g. 樹 meaning “tree,” taken from the nanori reading itsuki.
As for the second element, any sei kanji can be used, such as:
- 生 meaning “life, living”
- 成 meaning “growth, reach, attainment”
- 誠 meaning “truth, reality”
- 星 meaning “star”
- 晴 meaning “clear, fine”
- 晟 meaning “clear”
- 惺 meaning “realise”
- 正 meaning “exact, precise”
- 聖 meaning “sacred, holy”
- 世 meaning “generation”
- 誓 meaning “oath, vow”
- 清 meaning “clean, pure, chaste”
- 盛 meaning “prosperous”
- 勢 meaning “force, vigour, energy”
The reading issei can also be found in words such as 一斉 meaning “simultaneous, all at once,” 一世 meaning “generation, lifetime; the age/day” (literally “first generation”) and 一声 which refers to a voice, cry or shout.
Popularity:
Usage of this name was rather uncommon for much of the 20th century with percentages peaking at no more than 0.02% before the 1970s. From that point on, its general track was upwards, reaching over the 0.1% by the second half of the 1990s.
Since then, it is still sticking onto the 0.1% range albeit going up and down on occasions, barely making it above 0.2% (and peaking several 10ths of a percent below the top 100) for a year or two. Combining Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my own 2014-20 names research, the 2020 percentage is averaged out at over 0.175%.
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