ease

Issei (いっせい)

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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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Itsuka (いつか)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: ee-tskah [í.tsɨ̥̀ᵝ.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
Here are some of the kanji used for this name:

itsu (いつ) ka (か)
一 “one” 花/華 “flower”
五 “five” 佳 “beautiful, good”
樹 “tree” 香 “fragrance”
逸 “ease, comfort” 夏 “summer”
慈/愛 “affection, love” 風 “wind”
乙 “second”
いつ (phonetic)
衣 “clothing” 都 “metropolis”

The name coincides with the noun 五日 (itsuka), literally meaning “five days” but can also refer to the fifth day of the month, and the adverb 何時か (itsuka) meaning “sometime (or the other), someday, one day, the other day, in due course, in time.”

Popularity:
Itsuka is somewhat of a rare feminine name in Japan. Even though it has been in use since at least the late 19th century, much of its usage is concentrated on females born in the Heisei period (1989-) onwards where percentages every year hover back and forth between under and over 0.01%.

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Tora (とら)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex, currently male
Pronunciation: to-rah [tó̞.ɾà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name comes from the word referring to a tiger, written as 虎. When written as 寅, it refers to the sign of the tiger in the Chinese zodiac. A more recent single kanji for this name is 彪, which can refer to a small tiger or otherwise the stripes of a tiger.
As far as 2-kanji combinations go, 刀良 and 戸良 are mostly found in examples from before the 20th century, 刀 (to) and 戸 (to) meaning “sword; knife” and “door” respectively and 良 (ra) meaning “good.” Kanji used more recently include 十 meaning “ten,” 人 meaning “person” and 叶 meaning “grant, answer” for the first element, and 羅 meaning “thin silk, gauze” and 楽 meaning “comfort, ease” for the second element.

Popularity:
This name has been in use as a feminine name since at least the Nara period (710-794). Back then and for centuries afterwards, feminine name were, for the most part, suffixed with 賣/女 (-me). Usage of this name for females has, to some extent, been common for more than 1,000 years and has been especially popular among those born in the year of the Tiger. Regarding Edo period (1603-1868) popularity, data from Tsunoda regarding its usage in the early part of the period puts the average percentage at over 1% (most of the sources come from Kyūshū with one from the north of Honsh, though Tora is commonly used in all sources, so the popularity is spread out). The average percentage for the latter part, based on Tsunoda and Collazo, is just under 0.95%, within the top 20.
Like most feminine name of the olden days, it began dropped in popularity throughout the first half of the 20th century and it’s at this time that birth name masculine usage began to very slowly increase. Since the 2000s, usage of this name has been mostly masculine with percentages in the second half of the 2010s at just under 0.01% according to my preliminary 2014-9 names research combined with Baby Calendar rankings data.

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

Sora (そら)

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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.

Isshin (いっしん)

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(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: eesh-sheen [íɕ.ɕĩ̀ɴ̀]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The most popular form of this name is 一心 (also written as 壱心), taken from the word which literally means “one mind” but can also mean “wholeheartedness.” Other words turned names in this instance include 一新 meaning “complete change, reform, restoration, renewal​” and 一身 meaning “oneself, one’s own interests, throughout the body​.”
As for other kanji combinations, the first element can be written as 逸 (itsu) meaning “ease, comfort.” As for the second element, any shin kanji can be used, such as 真/眞 meaning “truth, reality,” 芯 meaning “wick, marrow; core, centre,” 進/晋 meaning “advance, progress,” 伸 meaning “lengthen, expand,” 慎 meaning “careful, discreet” and 臣 meaning “retainer, attendant.”

Popularity:
Although in use as a given name since at least the early 20th century, it wasn’t until the Heisei period (1989-) that it started seeing a rise in its popularity. In the early 1990s, it was given to around 0.005% of boys on average with the percentage steadily rising through the 1990s and into the new millennium.
By 2001, however, the rise became steeper with more than 0.06% of boys receiving this name by 2007. The rise may initially be influenced by the manga ‘Bleach’ and its subsequent adaptations, the name belonging to the father of the protagonist Kurosaki Ichigo. According to my preliminary 2014-8 names research, over 0.12% of boys received this name and Baby Calendar ranking data reports the name entering the top 100 in 2018.

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

Raku (らく)

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(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: rah-kuu [ɾá.kɯ̟̀ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is mainly used as 楽/樂 meaning “comfort, ease.” It can also be written with two kanji, a ra kanji such as 頼 meaning “request, favour; trust” or 良 meaning “good,” combined with a ku kanji, like 久 meaning “long time,” 空 meaning “sky” or 玖, meaning “black jewel” but also refers to the number 9 in legal documents.

Popularity:
By the late Edo period (1603-1868), Raku was in moderate use as a feminine name (mainly written phonetically at the time) with average percentages at well over 0.2%. Like most female names of the period, it lost much of its popularity in the 20th century.
Regarding its popularity for Heisei (1989-2019) and current Reiwa (2019-) periods, it was, at first, very rarely used for both genders, though as time goes on, they start rising a bit more and by 2009, around 0.010% of boys and 0.006% of girls received this name. Since the 2010s, the gender gap for Raku widened a bit and is now used more for boys than girls. According to my preliminary 2014-8 names research, over 0.02% of boys and just under 0.01% of girls received this name.

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

Urara (うらら)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: uu-rah–rah [ɯ̟̀ᵝ.ɾá.ɾá]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the adjective 麗らか (uraraka) meaning “bright, clear, beautiful, glorious.” The kanji can be prefixed with an u kanji, like 羽 meaning “feather” or 詩 meaning “poem,” or it can be suffixed with a ra kanji, such as 良 meaning “good,” 羅 meaning “thin silk, gauze,” 楽 meaning “comfort, ease” or 来/來 meaning “arrival” (it can also be repeated with 々), also used for u+ra+ra combinations.

Popularity:
Though in use since at least the 1930s, it wasn’t until the 1990s when it gained any significant amounts of usage. More than 0.03% of girls were given this name in 1990, rising to over 0.05% by the mid-1990s. The asadora (morning drama) ‘Ten Urara’, broadcast from April to October of 1998 and whose main character has this name, helped it peak to near 0.1% by 1999. Since then however, it has fallen down in popularity a bit and has remained at around the 0.05% level throughout much of the 2010s.

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