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Even just five years ago, parents-to-be might have thumbed through a book of baby names to help them select the perfect name for their child. In this age of there’s-an-app-for-everything, however, many couples have turned to their phones instead.
One free online Japanese baby naming app managed by Recruit Staffing (“Recstu”) released a ranking of the past year’s most popular names for boys and girls on October 27. The list accounts for the names that were accessed most frequently on the app between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021. Let’s see how they compare to a similar list of names released last year by another company, beginning with the girls.
Top 10 Girl Names in 2021
The numbers in parentheses denote each name’s ranking on Recstu’s top 10 list last year.
10. Haruna 陽菜 (7)
9. Kaede 楓 (new)
8. Aoi 葵 (4)
7. Reira 莉来 (new)
6. Koharu 心陽 (new)
5. Mio 澪 (3)
4. Ema 恵茉 (12)
3. Kokoro 心桜 (new)
2. Rin 凛 (2)
1. Tsumugi 紬 (1)
In addition to the top two names maintaining their respective places from the year before, a general trend of using plants and other terms from the natural world in girls’ names seems to be continuing as well. Number 7’s “Reira,” which features a kanji meaning “jasmine flower,” was singled out for being a particularly hot new addition to this year’s list.
OK, let’s now turn our attention to the other half of the list by moving on to the boys.
Top 10 Boy Names in 2021
The numbers in parentheses denote each name’s ranking on Recstu’s top 10 list last year.
10. Saku 朔 (new)
9. Minato 湊斗 (new)
8. Ren 蓮 (5)
7. Itsuki 伊槻 (new)
6. Hiroto 大翔 (13)
5. Ibuki 伊蕗 (new)
4. Gen 絃 (new)
3. Ao 碧 (1)
2. Hayate 颯 (2)
1. Haruto 陽翔 (new)
The most general trend this year for the boys appears to be names ending in “to,” which can be represented in kanji in a couple of ways. The top pick “Haruto” and Number 6’s Hiroto feature a kanji for “to” which has a meaning of flying or soaring.
We must admit that we’re a little surprised that no names from the global hit "Kimetsu no Yaiba: Demon Slayer" phenomenon have managed to break into the top 10.
Source: My Navi News via Otakomu
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© SoraNews24
4 Comments
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starpunk
Give it time. Somebody will. I've seen the name 'Ema' used as a girl's name in western culture.
When I was 19 and that song 'Sussudio' hit #1, I thought it was a Japanese name. Of course I was a bit wrong and ignorant, Phil Collins made that name entirely up. Nonetheless there are now women (at least in America) with that name.
savethegaijin
@starpunk
Give it time. Somebody will. I've seen the name 'Ema' used as a girl's name in western culture.
Ema, Emma, etc. are all diminutives of Emily (amongst other names) used for centuries in the English diaspora. I wonder how far back the Japanese Ema goes. Always interesting researching the history of these things.
BackpackingNepal
Nowadays Japanese have started to name like Cantonese. English name first and Japanese as surname. Japanese reason usually is it sounds cool and easier to call.
But i'd go with Japanese names like Bashira or Daiko.