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Issei (いっせい)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

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%.

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.

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)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

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.