strength

Chikashi (ちかし)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: chkah-shee [tɕì̥.ká.ɕì]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the classical adjective 近し/親し (chikashi; modern chikashii) meaning “intimate, close.” Other kanji in use which relate to the meanings include 愛 meaning “love,” 睦 meaning “intimate, friendly, harmonious” and 慈 “mercy, affection.”
These kanji, along with other unrelated ones that share the chika– reading, e.g. 力 (chikara) meaning “strength, power,” can be suffixed with a shi kanji, like 志 meaning “will, aim, goal” and 士 meaning “warrior; samurai.”

Popularity:
Overall usage for this name is uncommon with percentages generally not topping 0.05%. Much of its usage is concentrated on those born before the 1970s. By that decade, percentages dropped to below 0.01% which is still the case today.

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Takuto (たくと)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: tah-kto [tá.kɯ̟̥̀ᵝ.tò̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
Most of the kanji used are listed in the table below:

taku (たく) to (と)*
拓 “opening” 翔/飛 “fly, soar”
卓 “preeminence, excellence; table, desk” 人 “person”
琢 “polish, shine” 斗 “the Dipper”
匠/巧/工 “workman, artisan; craft” 登 “ascent”
逞 “burly, strong; robust” 音 “sound”
択 “choice, option” 都 “metropolis”
託 “entrusting” 叶 “grant, answer”
太 “plump, thick” 空 “sky” 杜 “shrine grove”
大 “big, large”* 久 “long time” 士 “warrior; samurai”
玖 “black jewel; nine” 仁 “benevolence, compassion, humanity”
豊 “abundant, wealthy, plentiful, rich”
隼 “peregrine falcon”
虎 “tiger”
永 “eternity”
澄 “lucidity, transparency”
心 “heart, mind”
渡 “crossing, passage”

Also used for this name are 奏音 (奏 meaning “playing music”) and 揮 (rarely used) which refers to an act of wielding and brandishing. Both examples are derived from German, the first from the word Takt, in this case a musical term for time or a bar/measure, the second shortened from Taktstock, referring to a conductor’s baton (in Japanese, タクト is used for this word as well as 指揮棒).

Popularity:
In use since the Meiji period (1868-1912), usage of this name remained rare to very uncommon until the second half of the 1980s when it began rising. By 1990, over 0.16% of boys received this name. The name ranked within the top 100 from the late 1990s to the late 2010s with percentages up above 0.3% for much of the 2000s and 2010s. Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well my 2014-20 names research, the average percentage in 2020 is below 0.14%, below the top 150.

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

Kyōhei (きょうへい)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: kʸo:–he: [kʲò̞ó̞.hé̞ː]
Variant transciptions: Kyohei, Kyouhei

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The two most common forms of this name are 恭平 and 恭兵, combining 恭 (kyō) meaning “respect, revere” and 平 (hei) meaning “even, flat” or 兵 (hei) meaning “soldier, army.” Other kanji with the reading kyō include:

  • 京 meaning “capital”
  • 享 meaning “enjoyment; receiving”
  • 響 meaning “echo, reverberation”
  • 匡 meaning “correct; save”
  • 喬 meaning “high, tall”
  • 亨 meaning “smooth progression”
  • 杏 meaning “apricot”
  • 教 meaning “teaching, doctrine”
  • 強 meaning “strong, hard”
  • 共/協 meaning “together”
  • 橋 meaning “bridge”

Popularity:
The name had some usage in the late 19th century, rising to over 0.1% before falling off in the early 20th century. It remained very uncommon until the early 1980s when it rose again in usage, from over 0.01% in the late 1970s to just under 0.1% in the early 1980s and over 0.1% in the mid-1980s.
The late 1980s was when the name peaked in popularity with the percentage near 0.5%. Undoubtedly, the rise in usage throughout the decade was spurred by actor Shibata Kyōhei. The first half of the 1990s would see stabilisation with percentages above 0.35% but below 0.4%, though by 1997, it already fell off the top 100, once again stabilising at around the 0.03-4% range since around 2007.

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

Takehiro (たけひろ)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: tah-ke-khee-ro [tà.ké̞.çì.ɾò̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is most commonly written as 雄大, made up of the kanji 雄 meaning “male” and 大 meaning “big, large.”
Regarding its overall make-up, the first element is derived mainly from the stem 猛/武 (take) which refers to bravery and ferocity with other related kanji including 健 meaning “healthy,” 毅, 剛 or 壮, the last three having meanings related to strength and hardiness. It can also be derived from 丈 (take) meaning “height, stature” or 岳 (take) meaning “peak; mountain” (both cognates) and also 竹 (take) which means “bamboo.”
As for the second element, it is derived from the stem of adjective 広(廣)/弘/宏い (hiroi) meaning “spacious, vast, wide” (as a name, also written as 博, 浩, 裕, 紘, etc.) with other related kanji in use including 洋 meaning “ocean, sea,” 寛 meaning “broadminded,” so on and so forth.

Popularity:
Though it had been used as an adulthood name among the upper class before the Meiji period (1868-1912) (see two examples here), it wasn’t until around the 1920s that it started seeing an increase in usage, albeit staying stagnant for a time afterwards until the 1960s. It peaked in popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s with percentage levels at one point being close to 0.2% (not in top 100 but close) before dropping back down again with percentage levels staying at 0.02% or below since the late 2000s.

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

Ken’yū (けんゆう)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: kew̃-yuu: [kẽ̞́ɰ̃̀.jɯ̟̀ᵝː]
Variant transliterations: Ken’yu, Ken’yuu

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

ken (けん) yū (ゆう)
健 “health” 悠 “quiet, calm; far off, distant”
賢 “intelligence” 勇 “bravery, courage”
剣 “sword, sabre, blade” 優 “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority”
憲 “constitution, law” 祐/佑/侑 “help”
顕 “exposure” 裕 “abundant, rich”
謙 “modest, humble” 雄 “male”
兼 “concurrence” 友 “friend”
拳 “fist” 由 “reason, cause”
絢 “gorgeous, brilliant” 右 “right”
堅 “strength, solidity”
建 “building, construction”
研 “sharpening; study”

Popularity:
Though it has been (very uncommonly) used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the majority from Okinawa prefecture, the name has seen a rise in usage since the 2000s, rising to over 0.01% by 2009 and over 0.04% by the second half of the 2010s, the latter based on Baby Calendar rankings data and my preliminary 2014-9 names research.

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

Rikimaru (りきまる)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: rʸee-kʸee–mah–ruu [ɾʲì.kʲí.má.ɾɯ̟́ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is mainly written as 力丸, a combination of 力 (riki) meaning “strength, power” and the suffix 丸 (-maru) meaning “circle, round.” The suffix (related to another suffix, 麿/麻呂 (-maro)) was used in childhood names, mainly among those of the upper class, before the Meiji Period (1868-1912).

Popularity:
The earliest example of any capacity that I can find for this name comes from the samurai Mori Nagauji (1567-1582), one of the attendants to Oda Nobunaga, whose childhood name was Rikimaru. As for overall usage, it is very rare with only about 0.0003% of men having this name based on telephone book data. Recent usage of this name is higher (if only a tad bit) with percentages from 1990-2009 ranging between 0.002% and 0.009%, the peak occurring in the early 2000s.

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

Gōichi (ごういち)

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Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: go:–ee–chee [ɡò̞ó̞.í.tɕí]
Variant transliterations: Goichi, Gouichi

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is made up of a gō kanji, like 剛/豪 meaning “strong, hard” or 郷 meaning “country(side),” and either 一 (ichi) meaning “one” or, less commonly, 市 (ichi) meaning “market, fair.”

Popularity:
Overall usage of this name is very uncommon to rare. Based on telephone book data and my own calculations, the overall percentage of men bearing this name is estimated to be around 0.005% or less. There are very few bearers of this name recorded in Japanese passenger lists and percentages from my 1950s-80s names research normally sit below 0.02%.
Based on Namae Jiten data for the years between 1990 and 2009 as well as my preliminary 2014-9 names research, Heisei period (1989-2019) percentages max out at 0.005% with most years sitting below that.

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.