tranquil

Shizuru (しずる)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: shee-zuu–ruu [ɕì.zɨ́ᵝ.ɾɯ̟́ᵝ]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is most commonly written as 静流, a combination of 静 (shizu) meaning “quiet, calm” (also written as the old variant 靜, 閑 and 鎮) and 流 (ru) meaning “current, flow.”
The second element can also be written as 瑠/琉, part of 瑠璃/琉璃 (ruri) meaning “lapis lazuli” or 留 meaning “stop.” As for the first element, other kanji in use that relate to 静 include 寧 meaning “tranquillity,” 玄 meaning “deep, profound; mystery, occult” and 穏 meaning “moderation.” It can also be split into two kanji, a shi kanji like 志 meaning “will, aim, goal,” 紫 meaning “purple, violet” or 詩 meaning “poem” combined with a zu kanji, such as 津 meaning “harbour, haven” or 寿 meaning “congratulations; longevity.”

Popularity:
Much of its usage is concentrated on those born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards. It began to see a rise in usage from 1992, influenced in large part by the TV anime adaptation of the manga series ‘YuYu Hakusho’ which featured the female character Kuwabara Shizuru.
Usage levels rose above 0.01% for girls on several occasions from the mid-90s to the early 2000s whereas for boys, it peaked at around 0.003%. By the late 2000s, its usage for girls had dropped down somewhat to less than 0.005%, staying that way since.

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

Hasune (はすね)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: hah-suu–ne [hà.sɨ́ᵝ.né̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The second element of this name is usually written as 音 meaning “sound,” though other ne kanji can be used, e.g. 寧 meaning “tranquillity.”
As for the first element, it is taken from 蓮 (hasu), which refers to the (sacred) lotus plant/flower. It can also be written as 芙, part of 芙蓉 (fuyō), referring to the Confederate rose with its taxonomic name Hibiscus mutabilis (蓮, through its older reading hachisu, is also used as an alternative name for 木槿 (mukuge), which refers to the rose of Sharon with its taxonomic name Hibiscus syriacus).

Popularity:
Much of this name’s usage is concentrated on those born since the second half of the 1990s. Even so, this name is in rare usage with percentages from the mid-2010s maxing out at over 0.005%.

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

Suzune (すずね)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: suu-zuu–ne [sɨ̀ᵝ.zɨ́ᵝ.né̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The name is made up of Suzu (mainly used as 鈴 meaning “bell”) with the suffixation of a ne kanji, most commonly written as 音 meaning “sound,” but also used as 寧 meaning “tranquillity,” 峰 meaning “peak, summit” or 響 meaning “echo, reverberation” (seemingly inspired from 音).

Popularity:
Much of its usage is concentrated on females born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards. In 1990, it was given to less than 0.005% of girls, rising to over 0.07% in the first half of the 2000s before dropping back down to over 0.03% by 2009. Since then, it has risen back up with the average percentage in the second half of the 2010s calculated at around 0.08%, 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.

Anna (あんな)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: ahn-nah [ã́ǹ.nà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is borrowed from the Pan-European name, derived from the Hebrew name Channah meaning “favour, grace.” It is mostly made up of an an kanji, like 杏 meaning “apricot,” 安 meaning “quiet, peaceful” or 晏 meaning “calm, tranquil” (sometimes a kanji with the partial reading a is used, such as 愛 meaning “love, affection,” 明 meaning “bright” or 蒼 meaning “blue”), combined with a na kanji, most of which are included below:

  • 奈 or 那, both phonetic kanji
  • 菜 meaning “greens”
  • 南 meaning “south”
  • 名 meaning “name”
  • 凪 meaning “calm, lull”
  • 夏 meaning “summer”
  • 和 meaning “calm, gentle”
  • 花 meaning “flower”
  • 梛, referring to the Asian bayberry tree
  • 波 meaning “wave”
  • 渚 meaning “beach, shore”
  • 捺, a phonetic kanji*
  • 苗 meaning “(rice) seedling, young plant”
  • 心 meaning “heart, mind”
  • 樹 meaning “tree”

* refers otherwise to the stamping or applying/affixation of a seal

Popularity:
The name started to increase in usage in the 1970s, entering the top 100 in the late 1980s. In 1989, it was given to around 0.3% of girls, rising to a peak of 0.57% in 1994, within the bottom half of the top 50, before dropping below 0.4% by the next year. For the rest of the 1990s, usage slided up and down a bit. By 2000, over 0.36% of girls received this name. By then however, it began to drop in popularity to an extent that it left the top 100 at one point in 2003 with a low of over 0.215%.
Since the next year in 2004, it re-entered the top 100 and has remained there to the present day. By 2009, over 0.41% of girls were given this name and throughout the 2010s, yearly percentages, based on survey data from Tamahiyo, Meiji Yasuda Life and Baby Calendar, range between 0.4% and 0.55%, mostly within the top 50.

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.

Haruka (はるか)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: hah-ruu-kah [há.ɾɯ̟̀ᵝ.kà]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the adjectival noun/adverb 遥か/遙か (haruka) meaning “far off, distant,” shared with kanji such as 悠 and 遼 and has a relation with 永, from naga meaning “long.” 瑶/瑤 is also used for this name (normally used in compounds referring to beauty), which look similar 遥/遙.
Some of the other kanji in use for this name, mainly in multi-kanji combinations, include:

haru (はる) ka (か)
春 “spring” 香/薫/芳/郁 “fragrance”
晴 “clear/fine weather” 佳 “beautiful, good”
陽 “day; sun” 花/華* “flower”
明 “bright” 加 “addition”
美 “beauty” 夏 “summer”
榛 “Asian hazel; Japanese alder” 果 “fruit”
治 “govern, manage” 歌 “song”
温/暖 “warmth” 日* see 陽
晏 “calm, tranquil” 海 “sea, ocean”
葉 “leaf” 瑠 part of 瑠璃 (ruri) “lapis lazuli” 和 “harmony, peace; sum”
巴 heraldic comma design 留 “stop” 可 “acceptable, fair”
波 “wave” 翔 “fly, soar”
羽 “feather” 叶 “grant, answer”
賀 “congratulation”
奏 “playing music”
風 “wind”
楓 “maple”
河 “river, stream”
嘉 “praise, esteem”
雅 “elegance, grace”
珂 “jewel”

* also used in the first element

The main difference in usage between males and females for this name is that while single kanji usage and multi-kanji combinations are more varied in usage, albeit erring more towards the latter, for females, single kanji usage is far more prevalent for males.

Popularity:
The name began to be used in the Meiji period (1868-1912). Up until the 1980s, it was uncommonly used with the first peak occurring in the 1910s with around 0.2% of girls born in that decade receiving this name alongside lesser masculine usage. It fell down in popularity by the 1930s and did not rise significantly again until around the 1960s and 1970s.
By the 1980s, well over 0.5% of girls received that name along with over 0.03% of boys, rising in 1990 to over 1.25% for the girls and less than 0.05% for the boys. The high percentage places Haruka at the bottom half of the girls’ top 10. The name dropped a bit to 10th place by 1992 with the percentage at over 1.1% before rising again to over 1.4% in 1993 and peaking at over 2% in 1994, by then becoming the most popular feminine name in Japan. Two pieces of media being released/broadcast in 1993 contain a female character with the name Haruka, the first being a film released in February of that year called ‘はるか、ノスタルジィ’ (Haruka, nostalgie) and the second (in my view, the primary influence) being a television drama first broadcast in July called ‘素晴らしきかな人生’ (Subarashiki kana jinsei).
Haruka stayed in the top spot for girls throughout the rest of the 1990s and early 2000s until it was displaced by Yui. By 2004, it was in 2nd place with over 1.3% of girls receiving this name, dropping to 9th place by 2007 and out of the top 10 by 2009, by then falling below the 1% mark to over 0.8%. Based on survey data from Tamahiyo, Meiji Yasuda Life and Baby Calendar as well my preliminary 2014-8 names research, Haruka has been ranking within the bottom half of the top 50 for several years now with percentages within the 0.4% to 0.5% range. As for masculine usage, it has remained largely stable with little dips and jumps, though it has gone a little over 0.05% recently.

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

Anji (あんじ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Male, can be female as well
Pronunciation: ahnʸ-jee [ã́ɲ̟̀.dʑì]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
As a preface to the usual talking points here, female usage of this name seems to be influenced by Angie, the diminutive of Angela (Female Anji as 天使 is found on the ENAMDICT, though no evidence of it being used as such can be found).
For the most part, kanji which can be used for the first element on both genders are 晏 meaning “calm, tranquil,” 杏 meaning “apricot” and 安 meaning “quiet, peaceful” (庵, meaning “hermitage, retreat,” seems to be used exclusively for boys). The second element includes a number of kanji used mainly for either males or females or can be used on either gender:

  • Both genders:
    • 慈 meaning “mercy, affection”
    • 詩 meaning “poem”
    • 路 meaning “road, path; way”
    • 時 meaning “time”
  • Mainly female usage:
    • 蒔 meaning “sowing, planting”
    • 樹 meaning “tree”
    • 紫 meaning “purple, violet”
    • 心 meaning “heart, mind”
  • Mainly male usage:
    • 士°/侍, referring, in this case, to a man° or samurai
    • 滋 meaning “nourishment​”
    • 志 meaning “will, aim, goal”
    • 嗣 meaning “heir, successor”
    • 詞 meaning “words, writing”
    • 司 meaning “office”
    • 獅 meaning “lion”
    • 次 meaning “next”
    • 二 meaning “two”
    • 治 meaning “cure; management”
    • 史 meaning “history”

Popularity:
The name had been in use as a rare masculine name in the Meiji period (1868-1912), though by the Heisei period (1989-2019), it began seeing use among females as well. Initially rare among both genders in the first half of the 1990s, by the mid-2010s, usage of this name increased with over 0.02% of boys and over 0.01% of girls receiving this name from 2014-8 according to my preliminary names research for that time period.

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

Amane (あまね)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: ah-mah–ne [à.má.né̞]

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name comes from the root of classical adjective 普し/周し (amaneshi) meaning “wide, extensive, universal” and adverb 普く/周く (amaneku) meaning “widely, extensively, universally.” As a single kanji, the name can also be written as 弥 meaning “increase.”
These kanji can also be used in multi-kanji combinations, the more common being 2-kanji combinations. The first element of that kind of combination can be used as 天 (ama) meaning “sky; heaven,” 海 (ama), the kanji meaning “sea, ocean” but refers to female (海女) or male (海人/海士) diving fishers, or 雨 (ama) meaning “rain” (the first and last kanji having bound forms of ame and are cognates). The second element can be any kanji with the reading ne, such as 音 meaning “sound,” 寧 meaning “tranquillity,” 嶺/峰/峯 meaning “peak, summit” or 祢 meaning “ancestral shrine.” For 3-kanji combinations, the first element can be split into two, with an a kanji, e.g. 亜 and 天, and a ma kanji, such as 舞 meaning “dance,” 万 meaning “ten thousand” and 茉, part of 茉莉 (matsuri) which refers to the Arabian jasmine.

Popularity:
Though we have Nishi Amane (also called Shūsuke) as our Meiji period (1868-1912) example, usage of this name didn’t really increase until the 1990s. Less than 0.005% of girls and boys were given this name in 1990. That increased to over 0.01% for the girls by 1996.
1998 is when its popularity had a significant boost, resulting to over 0.11% of girls receiving this name by the next year. This was seemingly caused by the television drama ‘WITH LOVE’ (aired from April to June of 1998) where one of the main characters has this name (written as 雨音). Since the late 2000s, usage of this name for both genders has remained relatively steady. According to my preliminary 2014-8 names research, over 0.08% of girls and over 0.03% of boys received this name in that time period.

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

Shizuka (しずか)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: shee-zuu-kah [ɕí.zɨ̀ᵝ.kà]
Alternative writing: しづか

Etymology and/or ways to write:
This name is derived from the adjective 静か/閑か (shizuka) meaning “quiet; slow; calm, peaceful.” Other kanji which have similar meanings or connotations to the adjective include 寧 meaning “tranquillity,” 禅, which is normally read as zen and thus refers to Zen Buddhism, and 玄 meaning “deep, profound; mystery, occult.”
These kanji can also be combined with a ka kanji, such as 香/馨/薫/郁 meaning “fragrance,” 佳 meaning “beautiful, good,” 花/華 meaning “flower” and 夏 meaning “summer.” Speaking of multi-kanji combinations, the first element can also be split into two, with a shi kanji like 志 meaning “will, aim, goal” and 紫 meaning “purple, violet” and a kanji that can be read as (d)zu, such as 津 meaning “harbour, haven,” 寿 meaning “congratulations; longevity” and 都 meaning “metropolis.”

Popularity:
[For this post, the percentages for both Shizuka and Shidzuka are added up]
At the turn of the 20th century, the name was uncommonly used with about 2/3 of the new population with that name at the time being girls. By the 1920s, it was commonly used enough for girls for Shi(d)zuka to just manage to break the top 100 before tumbling down by the 1930s.
The name would experience a second rise in popularity for girls starting in the 1960s and 1970s, which would end up in the top 100 by 1990 with over 0.33% of girls receiving this name in that year. By then, male usage for this name became very to extremely rare. Its place in the top 100 would not last long as by 1992, it was out of the list again with just over 0.2% of girls receiving this name, dropping down to less than a fraction by 2007 and currently staying that way.

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

Shizue (しずえ)

Posted on by maybeitisdaijirou

Sources Pronunciation guide

(Main) gender: Female
Pronunciation: shee-zuu–e [ɕì.zɨ́ᵝ.é̞]
Alternative writing: しづえ
Archaic writing: しずゑ (Shizuwe), しづゑ (Shidzuwe)

Etymology and/or ways to write:
The two most common forms of this name are 静江 and 静枝, the first kanji (also old variant 靜 and 閑) meaning “quiet, calm” and the second meaning “inlet, bay” and 枝 meaning “branch, bough” respectively.
Most other kanji combinations can be seen in the table below:

shi (し) zu/dzu (ず/づ) e (え)
寧 “tranquillity” 恵/惠 “wisdom”
志ず/づ see below 衛 “defence, protection”
倭文 type of ancient textile* 英 “wisdom, brilliance”
志 “will, aim, goal” 津 “harbour, haven” 重 “fold, layer”
紫 “purple, violet” 寿/壽 “congratulations; longevity” 永 “eternity”
詩 “poem” 都 “metropolis” 衣 “clothing”
市 “city” 鶴 “crane” 瑛 “crystal”

* (shifted from earlier shitsu) made of paper mulberry and hemp, it is used for woven lattice(work), decorated with colours such as blue and red

Popularity:
In the first half of the Meiji period (1868-1912), it was an uncommonly used name, though that would end up changing dramatically in the second half. By then, the name rose in popularity to such an extent that it was ranking within the top 10 in the 1910s with well over 1.5% of girls receiving this name in that decade.
By the 1930s, it had already begun dropping in popularity, though in that decade, it still ranked within the bottom quarter of the top 50, being one of the only few names not ending in -ko to do so at that point. Fast forward to the Heisei period (1989-2019) and this name had become rarely used, being given to no more than 0.01% of girls in any given year since 1991.

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