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ArchivesDo Japanese people use manga/anime names in real life?
Hi !!!
I was thinking about Japanese names and their usage.
I mean names that have a real meaning (not the ones written in katakana) like Nana, Naruto, Natsu, Shinichi, Shiro, Satoshi, Sana, Usagi...or also Miyazaki characters like Chihiro, Haku, Ashitaka, Kiki, Satsuki... Or whatever name among thousand manga/anime character of every genre.
The anime/manga/film destroy their usage or they become more popular also if the name was previously rare?
My reasoning is that in Japan every name has a meaning not like our fictional names that are only variant spelling or madeup ones so I'd like to know how they are perceived.
We often use names from books or films also the more literarian ones so I'd like to know if characters are seen in a positive way there too.
Personal Name Lists https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/125456
I was thinking about Japanese names and their usage.
I mean names that have a real meaning (not the ones written in katakana) like Nana, Naruto, Natsu, Shinichi, Shiro, Satoshi, Sana, Usagi...or also Miyazaki characters like Chihiro, Haku, Ashitaka, Kiki, Satsuki... Or whatever name among thousand manga/anime character of every genre.
The anime/manga/film destroy their usage or they become more popular also if the name was previously rare?
My reasoning is that in Japan every name has a meaning not like our fictional names that are only variant spelling or madeup ones so I'd like to know how they are perceived.
We often use names from books or films also the more literarian ones so I'd like to know if characters are seen in a positive way there too.
Personal Name Lists https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/125456
This message was edited 12/10/2018, 4:14 AM
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Replies
I imagine, just like with anywhere else, when a name is associated with a well-known character/series it rises on the popularity list. I think I read somewhere that 'Asuna' rose in popularity after the success of Sword Art Online. Of course the name still has to be sensible enough for people to actually want to use it, only the really eccentrics are going to be naming their kid 'Naruto', no matter how popular the series is lol.
I wouldn't say that every name in Japan has a meaning, like you said some parents choose to write their kid's name in katakana, sometimes for the reason that they don't want their children to be judged solely based on that meaning.
I also don't think Japanese people are as critical of made-up character names (with kanji) as in other countries, because they actually do have meaning. That is a common argument that people make against 'made-up' names; that they "don't have any meaning/history". But that is the beauty of kanji, where you can create a new name using the various readings of different kanji and still have that meaning and history attached to it.
I wouldn't say that every name in Japan has a meaning, like you said some parents choose to write their kid's name in katakana, sometimes for the reason that they don't want their children to be judged solely based on that meaning.
I also don't think Japanese people are as critical of made-up character names (with kanji) as in other countries, because they actually do have meaning. That is a common argument that people make against 'made-up' names; that they "don't have any meaning/history". But that is the beauty of kanji, where you can create a new name using the various readings of different kanji and still have that meaning and history attached to it.
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I think you'd enjoy reading about the phenomenon of kira-kira (sparkly) names in Japan; they have been linked to the use of names from anime, manga, etc. There are numerous articles if you google; you might start with this one:
https://cotoacademy.com/japanese-kira-kira-names/ .
https://cotoacademy.com/japanese-kira-kira-names/ .
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Thank you a lot!!
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