All About Japanese Names Posted by keiko on Feb 27, 2015 in Culture

What are some typical Japanese names you can think of? Many of you might say, many of the Japanese names for girls and women end with “ko(こ、子, meaning “child”).” This is true, especially for girls who were born in 1960’s and 1970’s. Today, let me introduce you to interesting facts about Japanese names, how they have changed during the last 40 years.

~Info from 生まれ年別の名前ランキング

In 1970, these were the most popular names for boys and girls.

	男の子(Boys)	女の子 (Girls)
1位(1st)	健一 (Kenichi)	直美 (Naomi)
2位(2nd)	誠 (Makoto)	智子 (Tomoko)
3位(3rd)	哲也(Tetsuya)	陽子 (yoko)
4位(4th)	剛(Takeshi)	裕子 (Yuko)
5位(5th)	博 (Hiroshi)	由美子 (Yumiko)
6位(6th)	直樹 (Naoki)	真由美 (Mayumi)
7位(7th)	学 (Manabu)	直子 (Naoko)
8位(8th)	博之 (Hiroyuki)	久美子 (Kumiko)
9位(9th)	英樹(Hideki)	由美 (Yumi)
10位(10th)	修 (Osamu)	恵子(Keiko)

In 1985, these were the most popular names for boys and girls.

	男の子(Boys)	女の子 (Girls)
1位(1st)	大輔(Daisuke)	愛(Ai)
2位(2nd)	拓也(Takuya)	麻衣(Mai)
3位(3rd)	直樹(Naoki)	麻美(Mami)
4位(4th)	健太(Kenta)	恵(Megumi)
5位(5th)	和也(Kazuya)	香織(Kaoru)
6位(6th)	達也(Tatsuya)	彩(Aya)
7位(7th)	亮(Ryo)	あゆみ(Ayumi)
8位(8th)	翔(Kakeru)	友美(Tomomi)
9位(9th)	洋平(Yohei)	舞(Mai)
10位(10th)	徹(Tooru)	裕子(Yuko)

In 1995, these were the most popular names for boys and girls.

	男の子(Boys)	女の子 (Girls)
1位(1st)	拓也(Takuya)	美咲(Misaki)
2位(2nd)	健太(Kenta)	愛(Ai)
3位(3rd)	翔太(Shota)	遥(Aya)
4位(4th)	翼(Tsubasa)	佳奈(Kana)
5位(5th)	大樹(Taiki)	舞(Mai)
6位(6th)	大貴(Ooki)	葵(Aoi)
7位(7th)	翔(Kakeru)	彩(Aya)
8位(8th)	亮太(Ryota)	菜摘(Natsumi)
9位(9th)	拓哉(Takuya)	桃子(Momoko)
10位(10th)	雄大(Yudai)	茜(Akane)

In 2005, these were the most popular names for boys and girls.

	男の子(Boys)	女の子 (Girls)
1位(1st)	翔(Kakeru)	陽菜
2位(2nd)	大翔(Ouga)	さくら
3位(3rd)	拓海(Takumi)	美咲
4位(4th)	翔太(Shota)	葵
5位(5th)	颯太(Sota)	美羽
6位(6th)	翼(Tsubasa)	美優
7位(7th)	海斗(Kaito)	凜
8位(8th)	輝(Akira)	七海
9位(9th)	太陽(Taiyo)	美月
10位(10th)	大和(Daiya)	結衣(Yui)

In 2014, these were the most popular names for boys and girls.

	男の子(Boys)	女の子 (Girls)
1位(1st)	蓮(Ren)	陽菜(Akina)
2位(2nd)	大翔(Ouga)	凛(Rion)
3位(3rd)	陽向(Hinata)	結菜(Yuina)
4位(4th)	陽太(Yohta)	葵(Aoi)
5位(5th)	悠真(Haruma)	結愛(Ai)
6位(6th)	湊(Minato)	愛莉(Ai)
7位(7th)	悠人(Haruto)	美咲(Misaki)
8位(8th)	陸(Riku)	結衣(Yui)
9位(9th)	駿(Kakeru)	桜(Sakura)
10位(10th)	朝陽(Asahi)	凜(Rin)

Did you find your Japanese friend’s name somewhere above? or have you heard of any of the names like these in the past?

By the way, if you ever wonder how the Japanese name(written in Kanji) is spelled out, or pronounced, the following site is a great resource for finding out the info. I use it quite often myself.