Sources

Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: khee-nah-tah [çí.nà.tà]

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Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from 日向 (hinata), referring to the direction the sun is shining ora sunny spot or place, derived from a combination of 日 (hi) meaning “sun,” the Old Japanese possessive particle な (na) and the suffix た (ta) referring to a direction or side, also found in pronouns, e.g あなた (anata).
Despite 日向 being the original form (and usage of this particular writing being more unisex), 陽向 is the most popular kanji writing for both genders (as a feminine name, the phonetic spelling, usually in hiragana, is the most often used overall). Other than these three main writings, there is a myriad of writings for Hinata as well.

• Single kanji or combinations related to 日向:
  • 陽, 日陽, 日暖, etc.
  • 暖 meaning “warmth”
  • 光陽, 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow”
  • 優陽, 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority”
  • 光優, 晃優, etc., 晃 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling”
  • 陽空, 暖空, etc., 空/天 meaning “sky” (more often used for boys)
  • 太陽, from taiyō referring to the sun (more often used for boys)
  • 大空, from oozora referring to the big sky, the heavens, firmament, etc. (more often used for boys)
  • 陽晴, 天晴, etc., 晴 meaning “clear, fine”
• Combinations related to 向日葵 (himawari), referring to a sunflower:
  • 陽葵/日葵, 向葵, etc.
  • 陽咲/日咲, 咲 meaning “blossom”
  • 日向葵, 陽向葵, etc.
  • 陽菜/日菜, 菜 meaning “greens”
• Other imagery or actions for 日向:
  • 陽愛, 愛 meaning “love, affection” (more often used for girls)
  • 陽翔, 陽飛, from 飛翔 (hishō) meaning “flight, flying, soaring” (more often used for boys)
  • 陽詩/日詩, 陽歌, etc., 詩 meaning “poem” and 歌 meaning “song”
    • in turn: 陽奏, 奏陽, 陽音, etc., 奏 meaning “playing music” and 音 meaning “sound”
  • 陽叶, 叶 meaning “grant, answer”
  • 日宝, 宝 meaning “treasure”
  • 日笑, 笑 meaning “smile”

For boys, it is also common to combine a single kanji for this name, like 陽 but also 輝 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” a hi+na combination (which we will get to) or 雛, which means “doll,” with a ta kanji, like 太 meaning “plump, thick,” 大 meaning “large, big,” 汰 meaning “wash, scour” or 多 meaning “many, much,” the final one being used for girls as well. As for hi and na kanji, they are included in the table below:

hi (ひ)	na (な)
日/陽 see above	那 phonetic kanji
柊 “false holly”	奈 phonetic kanji
緋 “scarlet”	菜 see above
飛 see above	凪 “calm, lull”
比 phonetic kanji	南 “south”
妃/姫 “princess”	夏 “summer”
	和 “calm, gentle”
	七 “seven”

Popularity:
In use since at least the 1970s, much of the people with this name were born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards. In 1990, it was given to less than 0.005% of both boys and girls. The name started to rise in 1992, albeit at a small rate, though by the time it experienced a second, more prominent uptick in usage in 1996, it was given to over 0.03% of girls and well over 0.05% of boys. As of the time of writing, I have not being able to determine the cause(s) of these two upticks in popularity.
By 2000, usage of this name briefly flipped towards feminine with over 0.23% of girls and well over 0.15% of boys receiving this name. At this point, Hinata was about to enter the top 100 for both girls and boys. Seven years later, over 0.6% of boys and over 0.48% of girls received this name, by then placing Hinata within the top 50 for both genders. Based on survey data from Tamahiyo, Meiji Yasuda Life and Baby Calendar and my preliminary 2014-9 names research, during this time period, percentages are averaged at over 1% for boys and over 0.7% for girls.

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