popular japanese name

Aoi (あおい)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: ah-o–ee [à.ó̞.í]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The most commonly used form of this name is 葵, which refers to a mallow or other plants belonging to the mallow family, e.g. the hollyhock, and also a wild ginger (the form mainly used for females, but is sometimes used on males as well). It is generally thought to derive from the stem of verb 仰ぐ (aogu) meaning “to look up to, respect, revere; to seek; to depend/rely on” combined with 日 (hi) meaning “day,” in reference to its heliotropism. It can also be written as 碧, 蒼 or 青, from the adjective which nowadays has the general meaning of “blue,” but also meant “green” until recently and is still used to refer to that colour in certain things today (e.g. traffic lights and leaves). Compared to 葵, this way of writing Aoi is mainly used for males with some feminine usage. 藍, shifted from ai meaning “indigo,” is also occasionally used.
These single kanji can occasionally follow an a kanji, such as 愛 meaning “love, affection” or 彩 meaning “colour,” 明 meaning “bright” or 亜 (向葵 is also used, stemming from 向日葵 (himawari), which refers to a sunflower). It is more likely however that these single kanji are suffixed with a kanji that can be read as i, some of which include:

  • 生 meaning “live, exist”
  • 唯/惟 meaning “only”
  • 衣 meaning “clothing”
  • 依 meaning “reliance, dependence”
  • 彩 see above
  • 海 meaning “sea, ocean”***
  • 一/壱 meaning “one”*
  • 士 meaning “warrior; samurai”*
  • 叶 meaning “grant, answer”
  • 音 meaning “sound”
  • 空/天 meaning “sky”***
  • 愛 meaning “beloved”**
  • 李 meaning “Japanese/Chinese plum”
  • 泉 meaning “(natural) spring, fountain”
  • 大 meaning “large, big”*
  • 陽/日 see above
  • 心 meaning “heart, mind”
  • 維 meaning “tie, rope”
  • 結 meaning “tie, bond”**

* mostly used on males
** mostly used on females
*** mostly follows a kanji for “blue” in reference to the sea/sky’s colour

Popularity:
In use since at least the second half of the Meiji period (1868-1912), the name didn’t start seeing an increase in usage until the 1970s. By 1990, over 0.24% of girls and over 0.01% of boys received this name, placing Aoi just below the top 100 for girls. As time goes on, usage for both genders increase to the point that the name has, for the most part, maintained its position within the girls’ top 10 and stayed within the boys’ top 100 since the late 2000s.
Based on survey data from Baby Calendar, Tamahiyo and Meiji Yasuda Life as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, average percentages for that time period were at well over 1.1% for girls and over 0.7% for boys, the boys’ average percentage, in particular, on the up compared to the early third of the decade where Aoi sometimes ranked within the lower section of the top 50 but mostly ranked below it (meaning that percentages back then may have peaked at over 0.4%).

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.

Momoka (ももか)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: mo-mo-kah [mó̞.mò̞.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
For the first element, it is mainly written as 桃 meaning “peach” or 百 meaning “hundred” (for more writings for the first element, refer to the post about Momo). As for the second element, some kanji in use (not extensive) include:

  • 花/華 meaning “flower”
  • 香/郁/薫 meaning “fragrance”
  • 佳 meaning “beautiful, good”
  • 果 meaning “fruit”
  • 加 meaning “addition”
  • 夏 meaning “summer”
  • 歌 meaning “song”
  • 可 meaning “acceptable, fair”
  • 叶 meaning “grant, answer”
  • 圭 meaning “angle, edge”
  • 嘉 meaning “praise, esteem”
  • 樺/椛* meaning “birch”
  • 栞 meaning “bookmark”
  • 風 meaning “wind”
  • 奏 meaning “playing music”
  • 楓* meaning “maple”
  • 翔 meaning “fly, soar”

Popularity:
This name has been in use since at least the Meiji period (1868-1912), though it didn’t start gaining significant traction until the 1980s. At first, it struggled to break into the top 200, being given to only over 0.04% of girls in 1989. 1992 was the year when it began being used by more than 0.1% of girls and by 1994, it entered the top 100 for the first time with the percentage at over 0.29%.
As the rise continued throughout the rest of the 1990s, at some point in the latter third, it entered the top 10 with over 1.1% of girls receiving this name by 2000. Though the percentages began to fluctuate a bit at this point, Momoka remained a top 10 name, however, as survey data from Tamahiyo and Meiji Yasuda reveal, the name likely began dropping back outside of the top 10 in 2012. Based on data from these two sources (+ Baby Calendar) and my preliminary 2014-9 names research, by 2019, it was given to well over 0.6% of girls and is likely stuck in the 30s in rankings (MY places it at 24th).

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

Shōta (しょうた)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: sho:-ta [ɕó̞ò̞.tà]
Variant transliterations: Shota, Shouta

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is mainly written as 太 (ta) meaning “plump, thick,” 大 (ta) meaning “large, big,” 汰 (ta) meaning “wash, scour,” 多 (ta) meaning “many, much” or 泰 (ta) meaning “quiet, peaceful; great, excessive.” As for the first element, any kanji with the on’yomi reading shō can be used, such as:

  • 翔 meaning “fly, soar”
  • 将 meaning “commander, general”
  • 祥 meaning “blessedness, (good) omen”
  • 正 meaning “exact, precise”
  • 章 meaning “chapter”
  • 彰 meaning “clear”
  • 勝 meaning “victory, win”
  • 昇 meaning “ascent, climbing”
  • 渉 meaning “crossing, passage”
  • 奨 meaning “advice, encouragement​”
  • 昭 meaning “shine”
  • 昌 meaning “prosperous”
  • 晶 meaning “sparkle, crystal”

Popularity:
Throughout the early-to-mid 20th century, usage of this name was rather uncommon, though it began seeing small increases in the 1970s. However, it wasn’t until around 1981 that the name started seeing a spike in its popularity with 翔太 becoming its main form. At the time of writing, the cause could not be determined, even with the rise of 翔太 being one clue to narrow down, though it should be worth noting that Shō began rising at around the same time with 翔 becoming the main form as well.
By 1990, it was charting within the top 10 with well over 1.5% of baby boys receiving this name in that year. Since around that time, it began to fall down in popularity and recent survey data from Baby Calendar, Meiji Yasuda Life and Tamahiyo suggest that by 2018, Shōta had left the top 50 with 0.345% of baby names in the BC data being given this name in 2019. By the looks of things, it is set to leave the top 100 at some point in the early or middle part of the 2020s.

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

Iroha (いろは)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: ee-ro-hah [í.ɾò̞.hà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
As a modern Japanese word, it is used to refer to the traditional ordering of the Japanese syllabary, which gives off an extended reference to basics, rudiments or fundamentals (written in kanji as 伊呂波 or 以呂波). As a name though, these forms are very rarely used. Instead, the most popular form of Iroha is 彩葉, made up of 彩, from 彩り (irodori) meaning “colouring,” and 葉 (ha) meaning “leaf.”
For the first element, it can also be used as 色 meaning “colour” (the first element derivation for 彩り), as well as 紅 meaning “crimson” (紅葉 referring to autumn leaves), 綺, either meaning “thin silk” or part of 綺麗 (kirei) meaning “pretty; clean,” and 虹 meaning “rainbow.” 色 and 彩 can also be written on its own, alongside 椛, which can refer to the maple tree or, like 紅葉, the leaves that change colour in the autumn. As for the second element, it can be written as:

  • 羽 meaning “feather”
  • 花/華 meaning “flower”
  • 晴 meaning “clear, fine”
  • 絆 meaning “bonds, relationship; tether”
  • 巴, referring to a heraldic comma design
  • 陽 meaning “day; sun”
  • 生 meaning “growth”
  • 春, referring to the season of spring
  • 芭, part of 芭蕉 (bashō), referring to the Japanese (fibre) banana
  • 波 meaning “wave”
  • 帆 meaning “sail”
  • 心 meaning “heart, mind”
  • 暖 meaning “warmth”
  • 蓮, referring to the (sacred) lotus plant/flower
  • 初 meaning “first, new”
  • 白 meaning “white”

Popularity:
The first record of this name on FamilySearch that I can find and determine was a woman who was born towards the end of the 19th century. Despite this, it wasn’t until the 1980s that Iroha started seeing its first tiny signs of an increase in popularity.
Less than 0.01% of girls received this name in 1990 and its rise was steady throughout much of the 1990s but became more steep in the 2000s. By 2007, it was already ranking inside the top 100 with well over 0.25% of girls receiving this name. Data from Baby Calendar, Meiji Yasuda Life and Tamahiyo reveal that Iroha has been ranking within the top 50 for several years now, being given to over 0.7% of girls (when adding results from the three sources) since 2017.

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

Ritsu (りつ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Currently male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: rʸee-tsuu [ɾʲí.tsɨ̀ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is most commonly written as 律, which means “law, regulation,” with other kanji containing the Sino-Japanese reading ritsu including 立 meaning “stand, rise” and 率 meaning “rate, ratio, proportion.”
They can also be used in a 2-kanji combination, seen in the table below:

ri (り) tsu (つ)
里 “village” 津 “harbour, haven”
理 “reason, logic” 都 “metropolis”
莉 part of 茉莉 (matsuri) “Arabian jasmine” 通 “connoisseur, authority”
璃 part of 瑠璃 (ruri) “lapis lazuli” 月 “moon; month”
李 “Japanese/Chinese plum” 摘 “picking, plucking”
吏 “officer”
俐 “clever”
浬 “nautical mile”
凛/凜 “cold; dignified”
稜 “angle, edge”
凌 “endurance”

Popularity:
By the late Edo period (1603-1868), Ritsu had been used on a low-moderate rate. When combining data from Tsunoda and Collazo, the name was given to, on average, around 0.26% of women, which would place it at the bottom or just outside the top 100.
While the name remained mainly in use by females by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it had started to see growing use among males. Like most female names of pre-modernised Japan, Ritsu had become uncommon to rare during the 20th century.
In 1990, it had been used by no more than 0.003% of both girls and boys. Since the 2000s, it had started to see an uptick in male usage with female usage remaining steady. By the mid-2010s, over 0.05% of boys received this name year-by-year according to my preliminary 2014-8 names research. Since 2018, the name exploded in popularity for boys, ranking within the top 30 by 2019. This was thanks to the TV drama ‘Hanbun, Aoi.’ where one of the lead characters, played by Satō Takeru, has this name.

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

Ayumu (あゆむ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: ah-yuu–muu [à.jɯ̟́ᵝ.mɯ̟́ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the verb 歩む (ayumu) meaning “to walk; to advance along, follow someone’s footsteps.” It can also be written as 渉, which contains 歩 but comes from a slightly different verb 渉る (wataru) meaning “to cross over, go across.”
These single kanji can be combined with a mu kanji, like 夢 meaning “dream,” 武 meaning “valour, bravery,” 睦 meaning “intimate, friendly, harmonious” (also written with a similar-looking kanji 陸, which has the unrelated meaning of “land, shore”), 望 meaning “desire, wish, hope” or 舞 meaning “dance.” The first element can also be split into two, with an a kanji, e.g 亜, and a yu kanji, like 由 meaning “reason, cause,” 友 meaning “friend” or 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority.”

Popularity:
Very uncommon in its usage in the early 20th century, the name saw an uptick in the 1970s, though it wasn’t until the 1990s when it started seeing a real rise in its popularity.
In 1990, it was given to over 0.085% of boys, rising to over 0.135% by 1996 and over 0.33% by 2000. Though it did drop off a little bit by the late 2000s, it picked up some steam again for much of the 2010s, rising to well over 0.4% from 2014 to 2018 (just outside the top 50), according to my 2014-20 names research. However, based on the latest data from Baby Calendar and Nihon Ikuji, it’s barely ranking inside the top 100 in 2021, raising the likelihood that it will leave the top 100 in the following year.

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

Ren (れん)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: ren [ɾẽ̞́ɴ̀]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The most popular form of this name is 蓮, which means “lotus.”
Other kanji which can be read as ren include:

  • 漣 meaning “ripple”
  • 廉 meaning “pure, upright”
  • 連 meaning “lead, join, connect”
  • 煉/錬 meaning “kneading, gloss”
  • 恋 meaning “(romantic) love”
  • 練 meaning “practice”
  • 憐 meaning “pity, sorrow, compassion”

These kanji can be combined with one that can be read as on, mu and so on, which would be reduced to the moraic nasal N. They include 音 meaning “sound” and 夢 meaning “dream.” This type of combination can also work with preceding kanji with the reading re(i), like 澪 meaning “waterway, channel,” 怜/伶 meaning “clever, smart” or 礼 meaning “gratitude; manners; gift.”
Curiously enough, there have been several cases of 琉 being used for this name. Part of 琉璃 (ruri), which means “lapis lazuli,” the normal readings for this kanji are ryū and ru. As of the time of publishing, I am unable to figure out how 琉 came to be used as Ren.

Popularity:
By the latter half of the Edo period (1603-1868), it was an uncommonly used female name, being used by an average of over 0.1% of females (combined from Tsunoda and Collazo). Fast forward to the early 20th century and gender usage for this names switched to mainly masculine, though it was still uncommon by then (more uncommon than it was a century or so earlier).
Regarding Heisei period (1989-2019) popularity, it was, at first, uncommon to rare with well over 0.01% of boys and over 0.004% of girls receiving this name in 1989. A year later, it jumped a bit for boys at well over 0.06% and it generally underwent an uptick in use, becoming a bit more rapid from the mid-1990s to the early-2000s.
By 2007, it was given to well over 0.55% of boys and over 0.045% of girls. Compare to my preliminary 2014-8 names research where over 0.75% of boys and over 0.05% of girls were given this name in that following period. Aggregate data from Tamahiyo, Meiji Yasuda Life and Baby Calendar, on top of my own research, finds that despite its current popularity for boys, it never really entered the top 10.

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

Saki (さき)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: sah-kʸee [sá.kʲì]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
At face value, it may look like it’s based on 咲 meaning “blossom,” the continuative form of the verb 咲く (saku) meaning “to bloom.” There are other kanji with this reading, such as 幸 meaning “good luck, happiness,” 先 meaning “point, tip, end; future” and 崎, referring to a cape or small peninsula. At some level, the first and final kanji are related to 先, the final kanji’s relationship being a bit more clear-cut as it was a derivation of or at least cognate to 先 regarding semantics. As for the first kanji’s relationship, Eirikr from Wiktionary posits that it may be a possible cognate from the idea of a (favourable) future.
These standalone kanji are also used as a 1st element kanji (咲 can also be used in the 2nd element). The table below lists most of the kanji that can be used for a 2-kanji combination:

sa (さ) ki (き)
早 “early” 希/稀 “rare;” part of 希望 (kibō) “hope, wish, aspiration”
沙/砂 “sand” 紀/記 “account, chronicle”
紗 “gauze” 季 “season”
彩/采 “colouring” 貴 “precious, valuable”
佐 “help” 姫 “princess”
冴 “clarity; skilfulness” 妃 “empress, queen”
桜/櫻 “cherry (tree, blossom)” 輝/暉 “brightness, brilliance”
小 “small” 葵 “hollyhock; wild ginger;” part of 向日葵 (himawari) “sunflower”
瑳 “polish, shine” 樹/木 “tree”
左 “left” 生 “vitality”
颯 “sudden, quick” 喜 “delight, pleasure”
裟 part of 袈裟 (kesa), robes of fully ordained Buddhist monks and nuns 嬉 “happy, glad”
綺 “thin silk;” part of 綺麗 (kirei) “pretty; clean”
規 “standard”
起 “rise”

Popularity:
By the latter half of the Edo period (1603-1868), Saki (by then mainly written phonetically) was a slightly commonly used name for females. Data combined from Tsunoda and Collazo place the amount of females with this name at over 0.5%, comfortably sitting within the bottom half of the top 50. Like with most female names being used in that era, it decreased in popularity by the early 20th century, though it would start experiencing a resurgence in popularity in the mid-to-late 20th century.
From being uncommonly used just after WWII, by 1990, it was ranked 3rd with over 1.66% of girls receiving this name in that year. Though it would decrease a bit in its usage throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, for the most part, Saki was within the top 10. By 2004, it was given to well over 0.9% of girls, rebounding a bit with just over 1.1% of girls receiving this name by 2009, by then back within the top 5. All that would come to an end by the mid-to-late 2010s with the amount dropping to within the 0.4% range by 2021, based on multiple baby name surveys and my preliminary 2021 name research, ranking Saki, on average, around the edge of the top 50.

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