lucid

Sumika (すみか)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: suu-mʸee-kah [sɨ́ᵝ.mʲì.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The first element of this name is derived from 澄 (sumi) meaning “lucidity, transparency” with other related kanji including 純 meaning “innocent, chaste” and 済 meaning “completion, finish” (the verb 済む (sumu) is cognate to 澄む). 住, meaning “residence, dwelling” and derived from a different verb 住む, is rarely used here.
The first element can also be split into two-kanji, a su kanji like 寿/壽 meaning “congratulations; longevity,” 須 and 素 meaning “plain” and a mi kanji, such as 美 meaning “beauty,” 実 meaning “seed; fruit,” 未, referring to the sign of the Sheep or part of the word 未来 (mirai) meaning “future” and 心 meaning “heart, mind.” As for the second element, any kanji with the reading ka can be used:

  • 香/郁 meaning “fragrance”
  • 華/花 meaning “flower”
  • 佳 meaning “beautiful, good”
  • 夏 meaning “summer”
  • 加 meaning “addition”
  • 果 meaning “fruit”
  • 可 meaning “acceptable, fair”
  • 歌 meaning “song”
  • 伽 meaning “nursing, attending, entertaining”
  • 和 meaning “harmony, peace; sum”
  • 海 meaning “sea, ocean”
  • 圭 meaning “angle, edge”
  • 風 meaning “wind”
  • 霞 meaning “mist”
  • 嘉 meaning “praise, esteem”
  • 樺 meaning “birch”
  • 茄, part of 茄子 (nasu) meaning “eggplant/aubergine”
  • 楓 meaning “maple”
  • 日 meaning “day; sun”
  • 雅 meaning “elegance, grace”

Popularity:
Much of its uncommon usage is concentrated on those born within the last several decades. By 1989, over 0.02% of girls received this name, peaking later in 1992 at over 0.07%, largely driven by forms of this name that begin with 純. From then on until the mid-2000s, usage levels had gone down and up within the 0.04% to 0.06% range before falling back to over 0.02% by the late 2000s. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-21 names research, the average percentage from 2017-21 is over 0.03%.

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

Masumi (ますみ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: mah-suu–mʸee [mà.sɨ́ᵝ.mʲí]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The most commonly written form of this name, both for males and females, is 真澄, made up of 真 (ma) meaning “pure, true” (also used as the old variant 眞) and 澄 (sumi) meaning “lucidity, transparency.”
The second element can be substituted with other kanji like 純 meaning “innocent, chaste,” 清 meaning “clean, pure, chaste,” 淑 meaning “graceful, modest” or 登, which makes up part of 澄 but has a different meaning of “ascent.” Mostly applying to females, it can also be split into two kanji, combining a su kanji like 寿 meaning “congratulations; longevity,” 珠 meaning “gem, jewel,” 須 or 朱, the latter meaning “vermilion,” and a mi kanji, such as 美 meaning “beauty,” 実 meaning “seed; fruit” or 海 meaning “sea, ocean.” As for the first element, other kanji in use include 満 meaning “full, whole,” 麻 meaning “hemp, flax,” 万 meaning “ten thousand,” so on and so forth.
Another way of writing this name is through a combination of the verb 増す/益す (masu) meaning “to increase, grow” (whence 益 and 増 but also 升/枡/桝/斗 meaning “measuring container, measure”) and a mi kanji.

Popularity:
By the latter half of the Meiji period (1868-1912), Masumi saw a bit of usage for both genders, though in that part of the period through to the 1930s, it never really hit the top 100 and usage was, for the most part, slowly changing going inside and outside the 0.1% mark. It wasn’t until the 1940s and 1950s that it started to rise as a feminine name, culminating in its appearance in the lower half of top 100 there in the 1950s and 1960s (the latter being the peak at over 0.4%).
By 1990, it was already well out of the top 100, being given to just over 0.115% of girls (compared to over 0.015% of boys),further decreasing to over 0.07% (0.01% for boys) by 1996. The decrease in the usage of Masumi accelerated from 1998 following the arrest and conviction of ‘curry killer’ Hayashi Masumi. By 2000, only around 0.013% of girls and over 0.005% of boys received this name. Since the mid-2000s, percentage levels remain below 0.01% for both genders.

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

Ayato (あやと)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: ah-yah-to [á.jà.tò̞]

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

aya (あや) to (と)
綾/文/紋 “figure, design” 斗 “the Dipper”
絢 “gorgeous, brilliant” 人 “person”
彩/采 “colour” 翔/飛 “fly, soar”
彪 “small tiger; tiger stripes” 仁 “benevolence, compassion, humanity”
礼 “gratitude; manners; gift” 都 “metropolis”
綺 “thin silk;” part of 綺麗 (kirei) “pretty; clean” 士 “warrior; samurai”
郁 “cultural progress” 音 “sound”
恵 “blessing, grace” 知/智 “wisdom”
理 “reason, logic” 大 “large, big”
英 “wisdom, brilliance” 杜 “shrine grove”
純 “pure, genuine” 叶 “grant, answer”
朱 “red” 登 “ascent”
史 “history” 澄 “lucidity, transparency”
彰 “clear” 渡 “crossing, passage”
章 “chapter” 門 “gate”
  冬 “winter”
  統 “rule, reign, government”
  柊 “false holly”
  隼 “peregrine falcon”

Popularity:
The name was very uncommon throughout much of the 20th century, but the Heisei period (1989-2019) as a whole was when Ayato grew in popularity. In 1990, it was given to more than 0.02% of boys, rising to over 0.08% by 2000 and over 0.17% by 2009. Based on data from Baby Calendar, Meiji Yasuda Life and Tamahiyo, the name has grown more steeply since the mid-2010s and as of 2020, the name is ranking in the 20s on all three sources with an average percentage of over 0.7%.

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.