sky

Kanade (かなで)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: kah-nah–de [kà.ná.dé̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the stem of the verb 奏でる (kanaderu) meaning “to play (an instrument).” As for other ways to write this name, the single kanji is most commonly prefixed with a ka kanji, like:

  • 花 meaning “flower”
  • 夏 meaning “summer”
  • 香 meaning “fragrance”
  • 果 meaning “fruit”
  • 佳 meaning “beautiful, good”
  • 楓 meaning “maple”
  • 叶 meaning “grant, answer”
  • 架 meaning “rack, mount, stand”
  • 風 meaning “wind”

A ka kanji can also be followed by 撫, from the stem of the verb 撫でる (naderu) meaning “to stroke, caress, pat, rub.” Occasionally, a kanji which shifts its reading to de can follow 奏, e.g. 天 meaning “sky.” Sometimes, another kanji can be added to 奏, whether after or before it, to enhance its image, such combinations include, 奏音, the other kanji meaning “sound,” and 奏心/心奏, the other kanji meaning “heart, mind.”

Popularity:
In use since at least the 1970s, the majority of its usage is concentrated on those born in the 21st century. In 1990, it was given to over 0.01% of girls and less than 0.002% of boys, gradually increasing to over 0.03% for girls and under 0.01% for boys by 2000. The rise of Kanade steepened between 2003 and 2007, by which point over 0.12% of girls and over 0.04% of boys received this name.
Since then, usage stabilised somewhat for girls, though it increased a bit for boys. Based on my preliminary 2014-9 names research combined with rankings data from Baby Calendar, over 0.12% of girls born in that time period were given this name compared to over 0.07% of baby boys.

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Ten (てん)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: ten [tẽ̞́ɴ̀]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
For this name, any kanji with the on’yomi (Sino-Japanese) reading ten can be used, most commonly 天 meaning “sky.” Others include 典 meaning “rule, law,” 添 meaning “accompanying” and 辿 meaning “following, pursuing.” Occasionally, a kanji that can be shifted to the moraic nasal n is suffixed to the single kanji, e.g. 夢 meaning “dream.”

Popularity:
Before the Heisei period (1989-2019), usage of this name for both genders was very rare. From the 6 examples I’ve found online with an even gender split, the females were all born before the 20th century whilst 2 of the 3 males were born in the mid-20th century.
As for Heisei period popularity, in 1990, it was given to only less than 0.005% of baby boys as well as only a few baby girls. Usage increased in the 2000s with around or slightly less than 0.005% of girls receiving this name compared to over 0.01% for boys. According to my preliminary 2014-9 names research combined with rankings data from Baby Calendar, usage in that time frame stabilised for the most part, albeit with percentages for girls and boys occasionally rising above 0.01/0.02%.

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

Fuku (ふく)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: fkuu [ɸɯ̟̥́ᵝ.kɯ̟̀ᵝ] (on its own)

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is mainly written as 福 (fuku) meaning “good fortune, happiness, blessing, good luck.” It can be combined, either by suffixation with a ku kanji, like 久 meaning “long time,” 玖, meaning “black jewel” but also refers to the number 9 in legal documents, 空 meaning “sky” or 来/來 meaning “to come, arrive,” or by prefixation with a fu kanji, such as 歩 meaning “step,” 富 meaning “riches, wealth, fortune” or 風 meaning “wind.”

Popularity:
The name first began to see some usage as a feminine name in the Kamakura period (1185–1333), back then suffixed with 女/売 (me). It then peaked in the early part of the Edo period (1603-1868) placing within the top 20 (thus being used by a percent or more of women), based on data from Tsunoda, before dropping down a bit to the bottom half of the top 100 by the latter portion. Data from Tsunoda and Collazo place the average percentage in that time frame at just under 0.4%.
Though it remained moderately popular for much of the Meiji period (1868-1912), as with most short feminine names of that time, it began dropping down in popularity throughout the 20th century. By the 1990s and 2000s, the name only peaks at around 0.001-2% for baby girls born in those decades. However, in recent decades, it began to be used as a masculine name as well. That is all the more the case in the 2010s when it saw a slight rise in popularity as a masculine name (and, to some extent, as a feminine name as well).
The cause of this rise, which occurred since the early third of the decade, is attributed to actor Suzuki Fuku, who first gained prominence as a child actor. According to my preliminary 2014-9 names research combined with Baby Calendar rankings data, around 0.03% or more of baby boys in that time period received as well as about 0.005% or less of baby girls.

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

Takara (たから)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: tah-kah–rah [tà.ká.ɾá]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The name is derived from 宝/財 (takara) meaning “treasure.” How it is derived is uncertain. Both Ōtsuki and Yamada give a shift from 力 (chikara), meaning “strength, power,” as one of the derivations, though Ōtsuki lists out a couple of other derivations, like:

  • a combination of 田 (ta) meaning “rice field” and kara, written as 自, likely 柄 (kara) meaning “quality, characteristic”
  • a combination of 田 (ta) and 税 (chikara) meaning “tax”
  • a derivation of 高い (takai), written in source as 貴い, meaning “high”

Robbeets has a similar theory to the last derivation, being that the word/name is derived from the stem taka– with what she refers as a “collective bound noun” suffix –ra/ら, likely referring to the nominalising/pluralising suffix used in other words/names like Sakura and Katsura.
宝/財, alongside other kanji related to 高, like 貴/尊 meaning “precious, valuable,” 空/天 meaning “sky” or 孝 meaning “filial piety,” and 鷹, which refers to a hawk, can be suffixed with either a –ra kanji, such as 良 meaning “good,” 来/來 meaning “arrival” or 楽/樂 meaning “comfort, ease,” or a kanji that can be read as kara, e.g. 柄 or 空.

Popularity:
In use since the Meiji period (1868-1912), usage of this name is pretty uncommon. In the early 20th century, it was a rare, mostly masculine name, but fast forward to the 1990s and 2000s and feminine usage picked up a bit. In 1990, it was given to around 0.005% of boys and around 0.001% of girls, rising to over 0.01% for both genders by 2000 before dropping back down to 0.005% or below by 2009. Now, according to my preliminary 2014-9 names research and Baby Calendar rankings data, usage of this name is seemingly very similar to what happened in the early 20th century – over 0.02% of baby boys are receiving this name with few instances of baby girl Takaras.

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

Sora (そら)

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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.

Kōtarō (こうたろう)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: ko:–tah–ro: [kò̞ó̞.tá.ɾó̞ː]
Variant transliterations: Kotaro, Koutarou

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is most commonly written as 太郎 (tarō), a birth order suffix referring to an eldest son. Substitutes include 大 (ta) meaning “large, big,” 汰 (ta) meaning “wash, scour,” 多 (ta) meaning “many, much” and 朗 (rō) meaning “cheerful.” As for the first element, any kō kanji can be used, such as:

  • 幸/倖 meaning “good luck, happiness”
  • 孝 meaning “filial piety”
  • 航 meaning “navigation”
  • 晃/煌 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling”
  • 康 meaning “peace”
  • 洸 meaning “valiant, brave”
  • 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow”
  • 広~廣/弘/宏/浩/紘/滉 meaning “spacious, vast, wide”
  • 鋼 meaning “steel”
  • 甲 meaning “shell”
  • 公 meaning “monarch, ruler”
  • 晄 meaning “clear”
  • 虹 meaning “rainbow”
  • 耕 meaning “tilling, cultivation”
  • 鴻 meaning “large bird”
  • 昊 meaning “sky”
  • 興 meaning “interest, entertainment”
  • 荒 meaning “rough, wild, raw”
  • 鑛 meaning “ore”

Popularity:
Based on data from Collazo and merchant data available via Issendai, Kōtarō wasn’t used very much in the Edo period (1603-1868) but, from what I can gather from passenger lists, it did gain steam in the Meiji period (1868-1912), ranking somewhere around the lower half of the top 100 up to the 1910s when it began dropping off. From the 1950s to the 1980s, usage went up and down within the 0.05% to 0.2% range, though it did end up rising again starting in the late 1980s.
In 1990, it was given to over 0.24% of boys and though it did drop a little bit to over 0.2% by 1994, it rose again throughout the rest of the 1990s and 2000s. By 2007, it was given to over 0.65% of boys. Based on data from Baby Calendar, Tamahiyo and Meiji Yasuda Life as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, by that time period, the name was already starting to drop off and currently, it is being given to 0.3% or less of baby boys, effectively out of the top 50.

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

Aoi (あおい)

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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.

Noa (のあ)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: no-ah [nó̞.à]

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

no (の) a (あ)
乃/之 phonetic kanji* 愛 “love, affection”
希/望/稀 “desire, wish, hope” 空 “space, room”
叶 “grant, answer” 蒼/碧 “blue”
音 “sound” 彩 “colour”
野/埜 “field” 歩 “step”
祈 “prayer” 亜/亞 phonetic kanji
能 “talent, gift” 杏 “apricot”
心 “heart, mind” 葵 “hollyhock; wild ginger;” part of 向日葵 (himawari) “sunflower”
夢 “dream” 綾 “figure, design”
和 “calm, gentle” 綺 “thin silk;” part of 綺麗 (kirei) “pretty; clean”
暖 “warmth” 羽 “feather”
和 “harmony, peace”
麻 “hemp, flax”
吾 phonetic kanji**
天 “sky; heaven”
秋 “autumn”
明 “bright”
絢 “gorgeous, brilliant”
朱 “vermilion”
茜 “Japanese madder”
藍 “indigo”

* can refer to the possessive particle
** can refer to the formal/literary 1st person pronoun

Masculine usage of this name may be inspired by the Biblical name Noah.

Popularity:
This name is mostly used on people born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards. In 1990, it was given to only over 0.005% of girls and very little in the way of usage for boys. The name slowly increased in usage in the mid-1990s, though by 1997, the increase started to steepen.
By 2000, over 0.26% of girls and over 0.015% of boys received this name, increasing to over 0.33% for the girls and just under 0.03% for the boys by 2007. By then, Noa was already ranking within the girls’ top 100. Based on survey data from Baby Calendar, Meiji Yasuda Life and Tamahiyo and my preliminary 2014-9 names research, over 0.5% of girls received this name for most years in the 2010s (a couple of years do fall below that mark). As for the boys, my research, coupled with BC rankings data, suggests that the percentage for the middle and latter parts of the 2010s is largely at 0.05% or above.

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

Takane (たかね)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: tah-kah–ne [tà.ká.né̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The first element of this name is a stem of the adjective 高い (takai) meaning “high, tall.” 鷹, which refers to a hawk, can also be used for this name. Other kanji which either share or expands upon the adjective’s meanings include:

  • 貴/尊 meaning “precious, valuable”
  • 岳 meaning “peak; mountain”
  • 崇 meaning “respect”
  • 天 meaning “sky”
  • 敬 meaning “reverence, respect”
  • 孝 meaning “filial piety”
  • 隆 meaning “prosperous”
  • 聖 meaning “sacred, holy”
  • 陵 meaning “(big) hill”

It can also be split into two kanji, a ta kanji, e.g. 多 meaning “many, much,” combined with a ka kanji, e.g. 嘉 meaning “praise, esteem.” As for the second element, any ne kanji can be used, such as 音 meaning “sound,” 嶺/峰 meaning “peak, summit,” 根 meaning “root,” 寧 meaning “tranquillity,” 祢/禰 meaning “ancestral shrine” or 子, referring to the sign of the Rat.
The name coincides with the words 高嶺/高根 (takane), referring to a high peak, and 高音 (takane), referring to a high-pitched tone or soprano.

Popularity:
Overall usage for this name is rare. Telephone book data has just under 500 people whose writings in their names have any one of the combinations used for the name Takane and assuming they are all read as that, percentages for both men and women are likely to be at between 0.001% and 0.002%.
Regarding Heisei period (1989-2019) popularity, based on data from Namae Jiten, Baby Calendar and my preliminary 2014-9 names research, percentages range from 0.001% to 0.003% per year.

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

Raku (らく)

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(Main) gender: Generally unisex
Pronunciation: rah-kuu [ɾá.kɯ̟̀ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is mainly used as 楽/樂 meaning “comfort, ease.” It can also be written with two kanji, a ra kanji such as 頼 meaning “request, favour; trust” or 良 meaning “good,” combined with a ku kanji, like 久 meaning “long time,” 空 meaning “sky” or 玖, meaning “black jewel” but also refers to the number 9 in legal documents.

Popularity:
By the late Edo period (1603-1868), Raku was in moderate use as a feminine name (mainly written phonetically at the time) with average percentages at well over 0.2%. Like most female names of the period, it lost much of its popularity in the 20th century.
Regarding its popularity for Heisei (1989-2019) and current Reiwa (2019-) periods, it was, at first, very rarely used for both genders, though as time goes on, they start rising a bit more and by 2009, around 0.010% of boys and 0.006% of girls received this name. Since the 2010s, the gender gap for Raku widened a bit and is now used more for boys than girls. According to my preliminary 2014-8 names research, over 0.02% of boys and just under 0.01% of girls received this name.

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