According to recent news from Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, the baby name rankings for 2009 are in. For boys, the most popular name in 2009 was "大翔" while for girls it was "陽菜". Normally, the names would not be much of an issue, however with the kanji being used, most adults cannot read them.
Let's take a closer look at these names, first up: 大翔. This name starts with 大 (oo, dai) meaning big. The second kanji is 翔 (shou, kakeru, tobu) meaning to soar or fly. Together these kanji can be read as 2009's most popular name for boys: Haruto. From this kanji compound, the meaning can be conveyed as, "one who soars high in the heavens." (大空高く翔るような活躍). For girls, 陽菜 comes from the kanji: 陽 (you, hi) meaning sunshine, and 菜 (sai, na) meaning vegetable greens or leaves. Together they are transformed into Yuna, meaning "one who grows cheerful and carefree." (明るくのびのびとした成長).
With the world economy in shambles, new parents want to bestow names that convey happiness and a bright future. At the same time, I feel they want to make their children unique by using kanji readings that are not normal, which possibly shows the rebelious side of today's generation.
If you've studied Japanese for a while, you've probably created a Japanese name for yourself. Maybe it was a real name or produced using ateji, using the kanji sounds to create meaning for your name. What kanji did you choose?
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment