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Hajimu (はじむ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

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.

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.

Rikka (りっか)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

This name post replaces Yui, which has now been reclassified as a mainly feminine name with some current male usage.

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: rʸeek-kah [ɾʲík̚.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The most popularly used form of this name is 六花, literally meaning “six flowers” (華 is an alternative to 花). This combination is also used as a synonym for 雪 “snow” with the six petals of a flower resembling a typical snowflake. Other word combinations include 立花, from a form of ikebana in which flowers are placed upright, and 立夏, a traditional solar term signifying the beginning of summer (立 meaning “stand, rise”).
Regarding other ways to write this name, it can also be written as 律 (ritsu) meaning “law, regulation” or, occasionally, a kanji with the reading ri, like 里 meaning “village,” 梨 meaning “pear” or 理 meaning “reason, logic.” As for the second element, other ka kanji in use include 香 meaning “fragrance,” 佳 meaning “beautiful, good,” 果 meaning “fruit” and 歌 meaning “song.”

Popularity:
Much of the name’s usage has occurred since the Heisei period (1989-2019). It was given to less than 0.001% in 1990 and 1991, gradually rising to 0.0025% by 1995. By the late 1990s, the name was starting to experience a more prominent rise – the percentage was 0.0048% in 2000, rising to 0.0195% by 2009 and over 0.09% from 2014-8.

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