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ArchivesRe: Aisato
in reply to a message by Virvo
A search through an extensive database of Japanese female names turned up one Aisato, written 愛沙都 ("love" + "100 millionth" [used as a phonetic] + "capital city"). So while there is apparently at least one Japanese person with this name, it is exceedingly rare. (The same source listed 30 different kanji combinations for the name "Aisa.") For Aisato, I feel sure that the previously mentioned West African origin is the correct one in this case.
This message was edited 10/9/2017, 5:49 PM
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Japanese names can be written many different ways by combining the different ideographic and syllabic writing systems. It generally has little bearing on meaning, the idiosyncratic and enigmatic spellings (which often need to be explained to other Japanese speakers) being a traditional means of legal identity control. It also makes it extremely difficult to get an accurate idea of how popular are specific names, as one name can have literally a dozen different ways of being written in the record, and many readings will only be recognized correctly by close friends and family.
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This is basically true, although I think you underestimate the impact of kanji on "meaning" of a name. Many parents select kanji very carefully, although others use them merely for the phonetic value.
Fortunately, the database I have of Japanese girl's names sorts by reading (hiragana), so I know there were no other combinations pronounced Aisato in that extensive list. Also, the annual Meiji Yasuda popularity survey (http://www.meijiyasuda.co.jp/sp/enjoy/ranking/) supplies two lists, one by"most frequent spelling" and the other by "most frequent pronunciation." It's interesting to see how different the two are. For instance, in 2016 the most popular girl's name by spelling was 葵 (Aoi, Ao, Ei or Himari), but the most popular by pronunciation was Hina.
Fortunately, the database I have of Japanese girl's names sorts by reading (hiragana), so I know there were no other combinations pronounced Aisato in that extensive list. Also, the annual Meiji Yasuda popularity survey (http://www.meijiyasuda.co.jp/sp/enjoy/ranking/) supplies two lists, one by"most frequent spelling" and the other by "most frequent pronunciation." It's interesting to see how different the two are. For instance, in 2016 the most popular girl's name by spelling was 葵 (Aoi, Ao, Ei or Himari), but the most popular by pronunciation was Hina.
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