japanese baby name

On (おん)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: on [ṍ̞ɴ̀]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
For the most part, this name is written with kanji that has this reading, such as 温 meaning “warmth,” 穏 meaning “moderation” or 恩 meaning “favour, obligation.”

Popularity:
Rarely used since at least the late 19th century, it was a mostly masculine name up until relatively recently. By the 2010s, average usage levels for both genders were generally above 0.005%, occasionally getting above 0.01%.

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Shinba (しんば)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: sheem-ba [ɕĩ́m̀.bà]
Variant transliterations: Shimba, Simba

Etymology and/or ways to write:
Most of the kanji used for this name can be seen in the table below:

shin (しん) ba (ば)
心 “heart, mind” 羽 “feather”
真/眞 “truth, reality” 絆 “bonds, relationship; tether”
神 “spirit, psyche; god, deity” 葉 “leaf”
伸 “lengthen, expand” 覇 “domination”
信 “honesty, sincerity” 晴 “clear, fine”
新 “new” 芭 part of 芭蕉 (bashō) “Japanese (fibre) banana”
進/晋 “advance, progress” 陽 “day; sun”
芯 “wick, marrow; core, centre”
親 “close, familiar, intimate”
慎 “careful, discreet”
臣 “retainer, attendant”
紳 part of 紳士 (shinshi) “gentleman”

Popularity:
Usage of this name began to rise a tiny bit soon after the release of ‘The Lion King’ in 1994 as usage levels max out at 0.001% for the first few years. From 1999, it rose above 0.002% with its first peak occurring in 2005 and 2006 with 0.010% and 0.011% of baby boys receiving this name in these respective years.
After singer, actress and semi-retired model Tsuchiya Anna gave birth to her second son with this name (Simba) in March of 2010, the name rose further in usage to the point where, more often than not, usage levels rise above 0.02%.

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Miyabi (みやび)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: mʸee-yah-bʸee [mʲí.jà.bʲì]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the adjective 雅 (miyabi) meaning “courtly, elegant, refined,” from the stem/continuative form of the verb みやぶ (miyabu) meaning “to be courtly, elegant, refined.” The verb itself is derived from 宮 (miya) meaning “palace; shrine” combined with the verb-forming suffix ぶ (bu) that has a meaning of “to seem like, have that quality.”
雅 can also be part of a 2-kanji combination with a kanji inserted either after or before. For the former, a kanji that can be read as bi is used, like 陽/日 meaning “day; sun,” 弥 meaning “increase” or 姫/妃 meaning “princess.” For the latter, a kanji with the reading mi is used, such as 美 meaning “beauty,” 心 meaning “heart, mind” or 未, referring to the sign of the Sheep or part of the word 未来 (mirai) meaning “future.”
As for other ways to write this name, 雅 in 2-kanji combinations can be substituted with those with the (partial) reading miya, like 都/京, from miyako referring to a capital or a seat of government (originally referring to the place of residence of the emperor), and 宮. For 3-kanji combinations, ya kanji used for this include 弥, 夜 meaning “night,” 雅 and 哉.

Popularity:
In use since at least the 1920s, the name started to rise in usage for girls in the 1970s and 1980s. By 1989, just under 0.03% of baby girls received this name, peaking at over 0.11% in 1999 before dropping to over 0.05% by 2009.
By the mid-2010s, it had gone back up, sometimes getting above 0.1% again. By this point, usage for boys had already gone well above 0.02% which wasn’t the case throughout much of the 1990s. The rise as a masculine name was likely prompted by guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor MIYAVI.

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Naotarō (なおたろう)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: nah-o-tah-ro: [nà.ó̞.tà.ɾò̞ː]
Variant transliterations: Naotaro, Naotarou

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The first element of this name is usually derived from 直 (nao) meaning “ordinary, common; straight,” but it can also come from 尚 or 猶, from the adverb meaning “furthermore; still.”
As for the second element, it is derived from 太郎 (tarō), a birth order suffix referring to an eldest son. Substitutes include 大 (ta) meaning “large, big,” 多 (ta) meaning “many, much,” 汰 (ta) meaning “wash, scour” and 朗 (rō) meaning “cheerful.”

Popularity:
This name was in rare use in the Edo period (1603-1868) and the same thing can be said about Nao- names in general. It first peaked in usage in the first half of the Meiji period (1868-1912) at over 0.05%.
Dropping down in usage by the early Shōwa period (1926-1989), usage levels were at 0.001% or below in the 1990s and early 2000s. That changed in 2003 when ‘Sakura’, the 2nd major single by pop singer-songwriter Moriyama Naotarō, released in March of that year.
By that point, the percentage went up to 0.018%, peaking for the second time at 0.041% in 2007. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-21 names research, it went back down a bit in usage, averaging within the 0.01% range.

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Mayuri (まゆり)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: mah-yuu–rʸee [mà.jɯ̟́ᵝ.ɾʲí]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
Most of the kanji used for this name can be seen in the table below:

ma (ま) yu (ゆ) ri (り)
真/眞 “pure, true” 百合 “lily”
麻 “hemp, flax” 由 “reason, cause” 里 “village”
茉 part of 茉莉 (matsuri) “Arabian jasmine” 優 “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority” 莉 part of 茉莉 (matsuri)
万 “ten thousand” 友 “friend” 理 “reason, logic”
満 “full, whole” 佑/祐/佑/侑 “help” 梨 “pear”
摩/磨 “polish, shine” 有 “existence” 璃 part of 瑠璃 (ruri) “lapis lazuli”
舞 “dance” 悠 “quiet, calm; far off, distant” 利 “advantage, benefit”
愛 “beloved” 結 “tie, bond” 李 “Japanese/Chinese plum”
雅 “refinement, elegance” 夕 “evening” 吏 “officer”
柚 “yuzu fruit” 凛/凜 “cold; dignified”
唯 “only” 栞 “bookmark”
裕 “abundant, rich”
遊 “play”
夢 “dream”

Popularity:
Overall usage of this name is uncommon, only starting to rise in the middle of the Shōwa period (1926-1989). In any given year in the 1990s and 2000s, usage levels generally rise above 0.01%. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-21 names research, by that time frame, percentages usually tend to go above 0.02%.

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Hasune (はすね)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: hah-suu–ne [hà.sɨ́ᵝ.né̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is usually written as 音 meaning “sound,” though other ne kanji can be used, e.g. 寧 meaning “tranquillity.”
As for the first element, it is taken from 蓮 (hasu), which refers to the (sacred) lotus plant/flower. It can also be written as 芙, part of 芙蓉 (fuyō), referring to the Confederate rose with its taxonomic name Hibiscus mutabilis (蓮, through its older reading hachisu, is also used as an alternative name for 木槿 (mukuge), which refers to the rose of Sharon with its taxonomic name Hibiscus syriacus).

Popularity:
Much of this name’s usage is concentrated on those born since the second half of the 1990s. Even so, this name is in rare usage with percentages from the mid-2010s maxing out at over 0.005%.

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Hare (はれ)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: hah-re [há.ɾè̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from 晴れ (hare) meaning “clear/fine weather.” It can also be written with 2 kanji.
The first element can be written with a ha kanji, e.g. 羽 meaning “feather,” and also kanji that are normally read as haru. As for the second element, any kanji with a partial reading of re can be used, such as 玲 meaning “tinkling,” 怜/伶 meaning “clever, smart” or 麗 meaning “lovely, beautiful.”

Popularity:
In use for both genders since at least the late 19th century, much of its usage is concentrated on those born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards.
By the mid-2000s, the name rose to around 0.005% for both genders and to over 0.01% by the late 2010s. As of 2021, the name is currently at its peak at well over 0.02%.

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

Hidetora (ひでとら)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: khee-de-to-rah [çì.dé̞.tò̞.ɾà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of 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. 彪 is a more recently used kanji, which can refer to a small tiger or otherwise the stripes of a tiger.
As for the first element, it is derived, via a sound shift, from the imperfective and continuative form of the verb 秀でる (hiideru) meaning “to excel, surpass.” From old Japanese 秀づ (hiidzu), it stems from a combination of 穂 (ho), shifted to hi, meaning “ear/head (of plant); point, tip” and verb 出づ (idzu) meaning “to come out.” 英, meaning “wisdom, brilliance,” is another kanji used in relation to the derivation as is 日出, in this case a shortening of hinode meaning “sunrise.”

Popularity:
Before the 21st century, this name was in rare to very rare use with around 0.0002% of males recorded in telephone book data bearing this name. Throughout the first half of the 1990s, usage levels peaked at 0.001% but beginning in 1996, it started to rise above it.
By 2000, it was given to 0.006% of boys. Throughout the 2000s, the name would more often than not rise above 0.01% with a decadal peak of just over 0.02% in 2009. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-21 names research, by the second half of the 2010s, average usage levels had gone back down below 0.01%.

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

Serina (せりな)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: se-rʸee-nah [sé̞.ɾʲì.nà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
A couple of the most popular forms of this name use 芹 (seri) as the first element, referring to a plant known by various names like the Java water dropwort, water celery and Japanese (flat leaf) parsley. It can also be split into two kanji, most of which can be seen, along with na kanji, in the table below:

se (せ) ri (り) na (な)
瀬 “shallows, rapids” 里 “village” 奈 phonetic kanji
世 “generation” 莉 part of 茉莉 (matsuri) “Arabian jasmine” 菜 “greens”
聖 “sacred, holy” 梨 “pear” 那 phonetic kanji
星 “star” 利 “advantage, benefit” 南 “south”
静 “quiet, calm” 理 “reason, logic” 名 “name”
清 “clean, pure, chaste” 璃 part of 瑠璃 (ruri) “lapis lazuli” 夏 “summer”
成 “growth, reach, attainment” 李 “Japanese/Chinese plum” 渚 “beach, shore”
勢 “force, vigour, energy” 吏 “officer” 凪 “calm, lull”
青 “blue” 凛/凜 “cold; dignified” 七 “seven”
晴 “clear, fine” 琳 “jewel” 愛 “beloved”
晟 “clear” 倫 “ethics” 波 “wave”
惺 “realise”

This name may be influenced by foreign names like Celina/Selina and Serena.

Popularity:
Similar to Sonoka, this name started rising in usage in the 1980s. By the start of the Heisei period (1989-2019), it was given to 0.025% of baby girls. When 芹 was selected as a jinmeiyō kanji in March 1990, usage levels continued to rise a bit further, to just over 0.05% in 1992. However, there was a jump in usage in 1993 to over 0.075%, peaking at close to 0.1% in 1997.
Since the peak, usage levels made a general gradual decline with a few occassions of little jumps. By 2009, just under 0.04% of girls received this name, stabilising throughout the 2010s onward.

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