Yui was the most popular name for baby girls, while Ren was the most popular boy's name this year, according to a survey conducted by Meiji-Yasuda Seimei, a major insurance company in Japan.
Ren made a comeback for the first time in eight years, Meiji-Yasuda Seimei said. The second most popular name for baby boys was Sota or Futa (same kanji but different pronunciation), which was one rank below last year.
After Yui, the next most popular names for baby girls were Hina and Yuna.
The survey also showed that names of some London Olympic gold medalists were popular, such as Kohei (after gymnast Kohei Uchimura) and Ryota (after boxer Ryota Murata).
© Japan Today
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Serrano
I'm glad Akuma and Pikachu still aren't popular.
Goals0
This is perhaps not the deepest survey ever conducted. 20 boys were named Ren, 22 girls were Yui.
Benesse Corporation have completely different names, Yuuma for boys, Yua for girls.
Here's Meiji-yasuda: http://www.meijiyasuda.co.jp/profile/etc/ranking/best100/
Onniyama
I guess none of these parents have seen the Ren and Stimpy Show. Ha!Ha!
nath
I have never met a Yui or Yua. Am I moving in the wrong circles? what do they mean?
taj
AKBfan, do you hang out with a lot of babies? I know one Yui. She's 5. I know one Hina. I think she's 3. I think that's all the pre-schoolers in my social circle. (not much of a sample size!).
wackness
Whenever I meet a Ren, I always think of that movie "Makin' the Grade" with Judd Nelson.
Every second kid I meet seems to be named Yui these days.
nath
I teach at local elementary schools and I've met all of these names. Quite cute names me thinks. I've known "Ren" to be a boy and girl name so I know a lot of these names go both ways. Same with Hikaru and Hikari. They have some very nice names in Japan but also some strange ones that I've come across. Makes the job very interesting.
supercross1985
Yui,I understand.Ren and Stimpy,ha ha indeed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I28P9jSNmeI
ka_chan
Sorry Ren seems more of a girl's name. Now, i don't under way any would want to call their kid, YUI (Yahoo Users Interface Library) but to each their own. I guess depending on the kanji, it can be tied to clothing. Personally, I prefer Risa or Ana for a girl and Ken for a boy. I do like Horie Yui.
papasmurfinjapan
The only name I haven't come across that is on this list is Futa. People are actually calling their kids Futa???
Jeannie Kathleen P A
I named my lil' girl Yui last 2005, I thought it wasn't much used yet those times...So nice to know that it's been liked by many.