origin

Hajimu (はじむ)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: hah-zhee–muu [hà.ʑí.mɯ̟́ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the archaic verb 始/創む (hajimu) meaning “to begin, start, initiate, originate” (compare the modern transitive verb 始/創める (hajimeru) from which the continuative form derives the more commonly used name Hajime).
Aside from these two kanji, others in use with the same or similarly themed meanings for this name include 肇, 一 and 元, the second kanji standing for the number one.

Popularity:
Compared to Hajime, percentages for this name only peak at around or just under 0.01%, primarily in the first half of the 20th century. Regarding recent popularity, no matches for this name can be found either in the Baby Calendar rankings data or my own 2014-20 names research.

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

Kangen (かんげん)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: kahn-gen [kã́ŋ̀.ɡẽ̞̀ɴ̀]

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

kan (かん) gen (げん)
寛 “broadminded” 玄 “deep, profound; mystery, occult”
勘 “perception, intuition, the sixth sense” 弦/絃 “(bow)string”
歓 “delight, pleasure” 舷 “gunwale”
勧 “recommendation, advice” 源 “origin, source”
貫 “piercing, penetration” 彦 “boy, prince”
莞 “smiling”
侃 “outspoken”
環 “ring, band, rim”

Popularity:
Until around 2013, this name was extremely rarely used with percentages from 1989-2009 maxing out at around 0.001%. Since the birth of the son of kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizō XI, usage of this name had increased. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data combined with my 2014-20 names research, the average percentage from 2017-2020 is over 0.015%.

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

Motozane (もとざね)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: mo-to-zah-ne [mò̞.tó̞.zà.nè̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The first element of this name is derived from 元 (moto) meaning “origin, source; basis, foundation,” with other kanji used for names with moto including 基 and 志. As for the second element, it is derived from 実/實 (sane) meaning “seed (of a fruit), pit, pip, stone; substance, essence, entity,” other kanji for names with sane including 真/眞 and 孚. As for the etymology of the second element, both Ōtsuki and Yamada derive it from a combination of 小/狭 (sa) meaning “narrow, thin” and 根 (ne) meaning “root” (other dictionaries covered by Kotobanka and Sora transcribe the etymon as 真根, the first normally read as ma and having the meaning of “true”).

Popularity:
There is some level of usage as an adult name among the upper class before the Meiji period (1603-1868) with at least 9 examples found on Japanese Wikipedia, those found on the Motozane page on English Wikipedia including middle Heian period nobleman and waka poet Fujiwara no Motozane (10th century), late Heian period kugyō Konoe Motozane (1143-1166) and Sengoku period samurai Abe Motozane (1513-1587).
As a given name used among the massed after the Meiji period however, it is an extremely rare name. Counting up the number of people with combinations like 元実 or 志真 places the overall percentage at less than 0.0009% and that percentages disregards variations in readings (志真, for example, can also be read as Shima). From FamilySearch and general search results, I’ve only been able to found 3 examples (or 4 if you include the variant Motosane).

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.

Sōta (そうた)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: so:-tah [só̞ò̞.tà]
Variant transliterations: Sota, Souta, Sohta

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is most commonly written as 太 meaning “plump, thick,” with other ta kanji in use including 大 meaning “large, big,” 汰 meaning “wash, scour” and 多 meaning “many, much.” Second element kanji that are used more recently have ta as part of a reading (be it Sino-Japanese, native or name) and they include:

  • 泰 meaning “quiet, peaceful; great, excessive”
  • 空/天 meaning “sky”
  • 詩 meaning “poem”
  • 龍/竜 meaning “dragon”
  • 達 meaning “reach, arrive, attain”
  • 樹 meaning “tree”

As for the first element, any kanji with the reading sō can be used, most of them including:

  • 颯* meaning “sudden, quick”
  • 蒼 meaning “blue”
  • 壮 meaning “vibrancy, strength, bravery”
  • 創 meaning “making, building; start, origin, beginning”
  • 聡 meaning “wise”
  • 奏 meaning “playing music”
  • 爽 meaning “fresh”
  • 想 meaning “conception, idea, thought”
  • 湊 meaning “harbour, port”
  • 草 meaning “grass”
  • 早 meaning “early”
  • 宗 meaning “sect”
  • 綜 meaning “rule, synthesise”
  • 惣/総 meaning “whole, all”
  • 相 meaning “appearance, look”
  • 崇 meaning “respect”

* 楓, meaning “maple,” is also occasionally used for its similarity to 颯

Popularity:
This name was already in use by the Meiji period (1868-1912), though it was very uncommon at the time, becoming very rare before World War II. It would not start increasing again until the 1970s and 1980s.
By 1990, it was given to over 0.07% of boys, gradually increasing to over 0.25% by 1996 before jumping a tad more steeply to over 0.75% by 2000 and over 1.35% by 2004. Around that time, Sōta was already ranking within the top 10. Since the mid-2010s, Sōta is consistently ranked in 2nd place with an average of over 1.5%, well behind the top ranking boy name Haruto.

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

Motoki (もとき)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: mo-to-kʸee [mó̞.tò̞.kʲì]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name comes from the word 元木 (motoki), referring to the root of a tree and/or, as some dictionaries would say, the trunk of a tree. It is made up of 元 (moto) meaning “origin, source; basis, foundation” and 木 (ki) meaning “tree.” As a name, the second element is likely to be more commonly written as 樹. 元 (also 源 and 本) can also be used on its own.
As for other writings, 幹, from miki meaning “(tree) trunk, base,” and 基 meaning “origin” are also used as single kanji and as second element kanji. There is also the combination 大幹, the first kanji meaning “large, big.”
Regarding other 2-kanji combinations for this name, the first element can also be written as 心 meaning “heart, mind” or 求, from the verb 求める (motomeru) meaning “to want, wish for; to request, demand; to seek, search for.” As for other ki kanji, they include:

  • 希/稀 meaning “rare” or part of 希望 (kibō) meaning “hope, wish, aspiration”
  • 輝/暉 meaning “brightness, brilliance”
  • 気/氣 meaning “spirit, mind”
  • 紀/記 meaning “account, chronicle”
  • 規 meaning “standard”
  • 起 meaning “rise”
  • 葵, referring to a mallow (e.g. hollyhock) or a wild ginger; part of 向日葵 (himawari) “sunflower”
  • 己, referring to the 6th heavenly stem in Chinese calendar
  • 城 meaning “castle”
  • 騎 meaning “equestrian” or part of 騎士 (kishi) meaning “knight”
  • 毅 meaning “strong”
  • 響 meaning “echo, reverberation​”

Popularity:
Overall usage for this name is uncommon, though it is most often seen on males born from the 1970s to the early 2000s. The general percentage for the first half of the 20th century was below 0.05%. Around 0.07% of men in the mid-century data born in the 1970s have this name compared to over 0.02% of men born in the previous decade and over 0.06% for the 1980s.
As far as Heisei period (1989-2019) popularity goes, over 0.1% of boys received this name in 1990, dropping to over 0.07% by 2000 and over 0.02% by 2007. Usage since the late 2000s remain relatively stable.

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

A random assortment of currently under-used Japanese boy names

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

It’s gotten to a point where I feel that I am running out of good list ideas to publish to this blog, so I thought to myself “Ehh…just randomise some names.” And that’s what this list is about today. I might possibly turn this into a list series in itself in the future.
For a name to qualify on this list, the number one rule is that it needs to be given to between 0.015% and 0.050% of boys from 2014-2018, based on my preliminary research into baby names from that period.
Now, on with the list, starting with:

  1. Ōjirō – this first name on the list combines 3 kanji containings the readings ō, like 桜 meaning “cherry (tree, blossom)” or 旺 meaning “vigorous, prosperous,” shi, like 史 meaning “history,” 士 meaning “warrior; samurai” or 次 meaning “next,” and rō, usually 郎 meaning “son”
  2. Tatsumi – this next name can be written as 巽/辰巳, referring to the south-east direction, though other kanji can be used, like 竜/龍 (tatsu) meaning “dragon,” 実 (mi) meaning “seed; fruit” or 海 (mi) meaning “sea, ocean”
  3. Gento – this next name combines a gen kanji, like 玄 meaning “deep, profound; mystery, occult,” 弦/絃 meaning “(bow)string” or 源 meaning “origin, source,” with a to kanji, such as 音 meaning “sound,” 都 meaning “metropolis,” 兎 meaning “rabbit, hare,” 隼, referring to a peregrine falcon, or 士
  4. Kenshō – for this next name, a ken kanji, like 健 meaning “health” or 拳 meaning “fist,” is combined with a shō kanji, such as 勝 meaning “victory, win,” 将 meaning “commander, general,” 翔 meaning “fly, soar,” 聖 meaning “sacred, holy” or 照 meaning “shine”
  5. Taihei – this name is written with a tai kanji, like 泰 meaning “quiet, peaceful; great, excessive” or 大 meaning “large, big,” with a hei kanji, mostly 平 meaning “even, flat”
  6. Retsu – for this name, 烈 is the main kanji used, meaning “violent, furious; intense, fierce”
  7. Shiyū – this next name on the list combines a shi kanji, like 志 meaning “will, aim, goal,” 士 or 心 meaning “heart, mind,” with a yū kanji, such as 雄 meaning “male,” 勇 meaning “bravery, courage” or 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority”
  8. Masamune – the main forms of this name are 正宗 and 政宗 – the latter belonging to Date Masamune – made up of 正 meaning “exact, precise,” 政 meaning “rule” and 宗 meaning “principle, aim, central part, pillar,” though other first element kanji, like 誠 meaning “truth, reality” or 優 meaning “excellence, superiority,” can be used
  9. Koo – pronounced like Kō (Kou), this name is mainly written with 2 kanji instead of 1, combining those with readings kō, like 皐, part of 皐月 (satsuki) which refers to the fifth month of the lunar calendar, or 煌 meaning “glitter, sparkle,” and o, such as 央 meaning “middle, centre” or 生 meaning “grow”
  10. Sōei – for this final name on the list, a sō kanji, like 想 meaning “conception, idea, thought” or 将, is combined with an ei kanji, such as 永 meaning “eternity” or 慧 meaning “wisdom”

What do you think? If you would like to add in your thoughts or other suggestions for this list, please share them in the comments below.

Single kanji with interesting readings

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

One thing that I keep noticing while I am doing research into names given to babies born from 2014-8 is the variety of (unofficial) name readings for single kanji. These readings have a wide number of derivations from similarities in meaning to similarities in how kanji are written to connotations about another thing and so on. All of the readings on this list are rarely (or at least, very uncommonly) used and are taken from my (preliminary) research. The first 5 items on this list are masculine and the last 5 feminine, and with that out of the way:

  1. 陸 (Daichi) – for this first item on the list, the reading comes from 大地 (daichi) meaning “ground, earth,” the meaning similar to the one used for Riku “land”
  2. 蒼 (Sora) – this reading comes from 空 (sora) meaning “sky,” in reference to its blue colour (it’s worth noting that 蒼 has the on’yomi reading of sō and is used in so+ra combinations)
  3. 颯 (Kaede) – this reading is inspired by the kanji’s similarity to 楓 (kaede), which refers to the maple tree
  4. 琉 (Kohaku) – for this next item, the reading comes from 琥珀 (kohaku) meaning “amber,” 琉 being part of 琉璃 (ruri) meaning “lapis lazuli” (different composition compared to amber), implying a general gemstone connotation
  5. 源 (Minato) – this final male item on the list contains a reading that is shortened from 源 (minamoto) meaning “source, origin,” the reading resembling the word/name meaning “harbour”
  6. 彩 (Iroha) – for the first female item on this list, this reading comes from the given name, 彩 being the most often used first element kanji (the most popular form 彩葉 includes 葉, which means “leaf,” seemingly referring to the autumn leaves)
  7. 詩 (Oto) – this reading comes from 音 (oto) meaning “sound,” in reference to a recitation of a poem
  8. 光 (Akane) – this next reading comes from 茜 (akane), referring to the (Japanese) madder, though it’s worth pointing out that there are other words which contain aka, such 赤 (aka) meaning “red” and 明かり (akari) meaning “light; lamp” (the latter being more fitting for 光, which means “light; ray, beam, glow”)
  9. 陽 (Haruka) – for this next item, the reading comes from 遥か (haruka) meaning “far (away), distant, remote,” a likely reference to the distance of the sun from Earth.
  10. 薫 (Sumire) – the reading of this final female item references the kanji’s similarity to 菫 (sumire), which generally refers to the violet flower (the kanji in question means “fragrance”)

What do you think? If you would like to add in your thoughts or other suggestions for this list, please share them in the comments below.