Sources

Pronunciation guide

The list that we will be looking at today are names that are currently used among baby boys that end in -suke (from 助け (suke) which generally refers to assistance, help or support), which, apart from 助, can also be written as 介, 輔, 祐, 佑 or 丞, stretching to kanji like 翼, from tsubasa meaning “wing,” 友, from tomo meaning “friend,” 空, from sora meaning “sky,” or 涼, from suzu(shii) meaning “cool, refreshing.”
For this list, the names are listed in order of popularity, sourced from my preliminary 2014-8 names research. In general, names ending in -suke have fallen down in popularity from its modern peak of well over 7% in the 1980s down to a little over 2% in the mid-2000s, though it has rebounded a tad bit since then, thanks mainly to one name that we will start the list on, which is:

1. Sōsuke – the three main kanji used for the first element are 蒼 meaning “blue,” 颯 meaning “quick, sudden” and 奏 meaning “playing music” – other kanji with the Sino-Japanese reading sō include 壮 meaning “vibrancy, strength, bravery,” 宗 meaning “sect,” 湊 meaning “harbour, port,” 創 meaning “making, building; start, origin, beginning” and 聡 meaning “wise”
2. Kōsuke – further down the bottom half of the top 100, popular first element kanji for this name include 幸/倖 meaning “good luck, happiness,” 煌/晃 meaning “brilliant, bright, dazzling,” 康 meaning “peace,” 航 meaning “navigation” and 光 meaning “light; ray, beam, glow”
3. Ryōsuke – this next name on the list is most popularly written as 涼, with other kanji containing the Sino-Japanese reading ryō being used such as 亮/瞭 meaning “clear,” 椋, referring to the scabrous aphananthe/muku tree, 綾 meaning “figure, design,” 遼 meaning “far off, distant,” 凌 meaning “endurance” and 稜 meaning “angle, edge”
4. Ōsuke – the most popular first element kanji for this next name is 旺 meaning “vigorous, prosperous,” with others including 桜 meaning “cherry (tree, blossom),” 央 meaning “middle, centre,” 凰, part of 鳳凰 (hōō) referring to the Chinese firebird/phoenix, and 應 meaning “answer, reply”
5. Keisuke – for this next name, 圭, which means “angle, edge,” is the most popular first element kanji, with other kei kanji in use including 恵/慧 meaning “wisdom,” 佳 meaning “beautiful, good,” 啓 meaning “opening,” 慶 meaning “delight, pleasure” and 桂, referring to the katsura tree
6. Shunsuke – now heading outside the top 100, popular first element kanji for this name include 俊 meaning “excellence, genius,” 駿, which has similar meanings to 颯, 春 meaning “spring” and 隼, referring to a peregrine falcon
7. Yūsuke – some of the first element kanji in use for this next name include 悠 meaning “quiet, calm; far off, distant,” 優 meaning “gentle, elegant; excellence, superiority,” 友, 勇 meaning “bravery, courage,” and 祐/佑/侑, these last three also in use as the second element
8. Yōsuke – this name is most commonly written as 陽 meaning “day; sun,” though other yō kanji can be used, such as 耀/燿 meaning “brightness, brilliance,” 洋 meaning “ocean, sea” and 遥/遙 meaning “far off, distant”
9. Shūsuke – for this next name, 柊, which refers to the false holly, is the most popular first element kanji, with other kanji containing the Sino-Japanese reading shū including 修 meaning “discipline,” 秀 meaning “excellence” and 周 meaning “circumference”
10. Kyōsuke – this next name is most often written as 京 meaning “capital” or 恭 meaning “respect, revere,” though other kyō kanji, like 杏 meaning “apricot” and 馨 meaning “fragrance,” can be used as well
11. Eisuke – for this name, 瑛, which means “crystal,” is the most popular first element kanji, with other ei kanji in use including 英 meaning “wisdom, brilliance,” 永 meaning “eternity” and 栄 meaning “glory, prosperity”
12. Taisuke – for this name, 泰, which means “quiet, peaceful; great, excessive,” is most commonly used, followed by 太 meaning “plump, thick”
13. Daisuke – once popular from the 1970s to the 1990s and now fallen down into very uncommon territory, this name is mainly written as 大 meaning “large, big” (太 is also used to a lesser extent)
14. Kansuke – this next name on the list is mainly written as 寛 meaning “broadminded,” 貫 meaning “piercing, penetration,” or 勘 meaning “perception, intuition, the sixth sense”
15. Kensuke – for this final name on the list, 健 meaning “health” and 絢 meaning “gorgeous, brilliant” are popular first element kanji among baby boys that I’ve found

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.