This post got me looking into names, and I found something interesting: a listing of the top ten names given to girls born between 1912 and 2007.
Just looking at the top three for each year shows striking trends. Everyone knows that Japanese girls' names ending in "-ko" (子, "child") are extremely common, but this trend didn't begin until the 1910s. Before that, two-syllable names like "Chiyo," "Haru," "Hana," "Yoshi," and "Kiyo" were popular. The two names that enjoyed the longest popularity of the 20th century were Sachiko (幸子, "Happiness Child"), which was in the top three every year from 1922 to 1950 (29 years!), and Kazuko (和子, "Harmony Child"), which was a top-three name from 1927 to 1953 (27 years). Keiko (written 恵子 "Blessing Child") was top three from 1951 to 1963, Yumiko (由美子--Don't ask me to translate "由"; "美" means "beauty") from 1960 to 1969, Yohko (陽子 "Sun Child") was popular throughout the 1970s, Ai (愛, "Love") was top three from 1981 to 1995, and Misaki (美咲 "Beauty Blooming") was top three from 1991 to 2006.
The top ten (well, eleven) for 2007 were:
1. Aoi (葵 "Mallow/Hollyhock")
2. Sakura (さくら, written with hiragana rather than kanji, but meaning "Cherry Blossom") and Yuuna (優奈--Another hard one to translate)
4. Yui (結衣) and Hina (陽菜)--Man, there's no point trying to translate these because they have no "meaning" per se; they're just "nice" kanji.)
6. Nanami (七海 "Seven Seas") and Misaki (see above)
8. Miyu (美優, "Beautiful Gentleness...?")
9. Hinata (ひなた, "Sunny Spot"), Miu (美羽, "Beautiful Feather"), and Yui (優衣--"Gentle Garment...?" whatever)
Not a single "-ko" (子) in the lot! In fact, there hasn't been a "-ko" in the top ten since 2002, and that was the (by traditional standards) unusual "Riko" (莉子). Girls' names ending in "-mi" (美, "Beauty") were once as common as names ending in "-ko," but these have become far less common, and only appear occasionally in the top ten in recent years.
Here's something amusing. The name Moe (萌 "Bud/Sprout") was in the top ten every year since 1993, but suddenly disappeared from the top ten in 2004. Anyone care to guess why? :evillaugh:
Keep in mind that the same name--for example, "Mai"--can be written dozens of different ways, and the meaning (if there is any) changes with the kanji used. (In the case of "Mai,: 舞, 麻衣, 真衣, 舞伊, 舞依, 麻伊, 麻依, まい, etc., etc.)
Just looking at the top three for each year shows striking trends. Everyone knows that Japanese girls' names ending in "-ko" (子, "child") are extremely common, but this trend didn't begin until the 1910s. Before that, two-syllable names like "Chiyo," "Haru," "Hana," "Yoshi," and "Kiyo" were popular. The two names that enjoyed the longest popularity of the 20th century were Sachiko (幸子, "Happiness Child"), which was in the top three every year from 1922 to 1950 (29 years!), and Kazuko (和子, "Harmony Child"), which was a top-three name from 1927 to 1953 (27 years). Keiko (written 恵子 "Blessing Child") was top three from 1951 to 1963, Yumiko (由美子--Don't ask me to translate "由"; "美" means "beauty") from 1960 to 1969, Yohko (陽子 "Sun Child") was popular throughout the 1970s, Ai (愛, "Love") was top three from 1981 to 1995, and Misaki (美咲 "Beauty Blooming") was top three from 1991 to 2006.
The top ten (well, eleven) for 2007 were:
1. Aoi (葵 "Mallow/Hollyhock")
2. Sakura (さくら, written with hiragana rather than kanji, but meaning "Cherry Blossom") and Yuuna (優奈--Another hard one to translate)
4. Yui (結衣) and Hina (陽菜)--Man, there's no point trying to translate these because they have no "meaning" per se; they're just "nice" kanji.)
6. Nanami (七海 "Seven Seas") and Misaki (see above)
8. Miyu (美優, "Beautiful Gentleness...?")
9. Hinata (ひなた, "Sunny Spot"), Miu (美羽, "Beautiful Feather"), and Yui (優衣--"Gentle Garment...?" whatever)
Not a single "-ko" (子) in the lot! In fact, there hasn't been a "-ko" in the top ten since 2002, and that was the (by traditional standards) unusual "Riko" (莉子). Girls' names ending in "-mi" (美, "Beauty") were once as common as names ending in "-ko," but these have become far less common, and only appear occasionally in the top ten in recent years.
Here's something amusing. The name Moe (萌 "Bud/Sprout") was in the top ten every year since 1993, but suddenly disappeared from the top ten in 2004. Anyone care to guess why? :evillaugh:
Keep in mind that the same name--for example, "Mai"--can be written dozens of different ways, and the meaning (if there is any) changes with the kanji used. (In the case of "Mai,: 舞, 麻衣, 真衣, 舞伊, 舞依, 麻伊, 麻依, まい, etc., etc.)
