How popular is the baby name Yuna in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Yuna.

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Popularity of the baby name Yuna


Posts that mention the name Yuna

Popular baby names in Switzerland, 2023

Flag of Switzerland
Flag of Switzerland

Last year, the European country of Switzerland welcomed 80,024 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Mia and Noah.

Here are Switzerland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Mia, 380 baby girls
  2. Emma, 376
  3. Sofia, 358
  4. Emilia, 313
  5. Elena, 286
  6. Lia, 260 (tie)
  7. Olivia, 260 (tie)
  8. Lina, 259
  9. Nora, 240
  10. Mila, 239
  11. Ella, 208
  12. Lara, 207
  13. Lena, 202
  14. Luna, 200
  15. Lea, 196
  16. Malea, 194
  17. Anna, 192
  18. Alice, 191 (3-way tie)
  19. Sophia, 191 (3-way tie)
  20. Valentina, 191 (3-way tie)
  21. Yara, 188
  22. Elina, 183
  23. Nina, 182
  24. Alina, 181
  25. Leonie, 178
  26. Aurora, 176
  27. Giulia, 172
  28. Chiara, 170
  29. Eva, 164
  30. Elin, 162 (3-way tie)
  31. Julia, 162 (3-way tie)
  32. Laura, 162 (3-way tie)
  33. Amelia, 156 (tie)
  34. Emily, 156 (tie)
  35. Livia, 155
  36. Luana, 154
  37. Sophie, 147
  38. Alma, 145
  39. Maria, 133
  40. Elisa, 131
  41. Juna, 130
  42. Sara, 126
  43. Yuna, 125
  44. Zoé, 124
  45. Dua, 120
  46. Ayla, 118 (tie)
  47. Clara, 118 (tie)
  48. Malia, 117 (tie)
  49. Mara, 117 (tie)
  50. Inaya, 114 (4-way tie)
  51. Jana, 114 (4-way tie)
  52. Lou, 114 (4-way tie)
  53. Victoria, 114 (4-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 495 baby boys
  2. Liam, 442
  3. Matteo, 362
  4. Gabriel, 284
  5. Leano, 282
  6. Leo, 273
  7. Luca, 271
  8. Leon, 255
  9. Elias, 246
  10. Lio, 245
  11. Louis, 241
  12. Nino, 201
  13. Leonardo, 196
  14. Aaron, 193
  15. Ben, 189
  16. Elio, 187
  17. Elia, 186
  18. Theo, 182
  19. Luan, 180 (tie)
  20. Samuel, 180 (tie)
  21. David, 173 (tie)
  22. Levi, 173 (tie)
  23. Livio, 172
  24. Malik, 168
  25. Mateo, 166
  26. Nico, 161
  27. Arthur, 160
  28. Adam, 158 (tie)
  29. Lian, 158 (tie)
  30. Leandro, 157
  31. Diego, 155
  32. Julian, 151
  33. Finn, 150 (tie)
  34. Mattia, 150 (tie)
  35. Noé, 146
  36. Emil, 143 (tie)
  37. Enea, 143 (tie)
  38. Nael, 141
  39. Mael, 140
  40. Levin, 138
  41. Oliver, 137
  42. Milo, 133
  43. Kian, 132
  44. Rayan, 131
  45. Enzo, 130
  46. Daniel, 129 (tie)
  47. Robin, 129 (tie)
  48. Emilio, 126 (tie)
  49. Lino, 126 (tie)
  50. Lucas, 124

The girls’ top 100 included Lynn (65th), Amira (76th), Kiara (89th), and Aurelia (94th).

The boys’ top 100 included Laurin (58th), Nevio (72nd), Andrin (88th), and Nils (93rd).

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Here are the top baby names among the speakers of each of these languages:

Girl namesBoy names
German speakers
(62.3% of the population)		1. Mia, 289
2. Emilia, 287
3. Sofia, 249		1. Noah, 323
2. Matteo, 282
3. Liam, 279
French speakers
(22.8% of pop.)		1. Emma, 125
2. Olivia, 103
3. Alice, 94		1. Noah, 143
2. Gabriel, 140
3. Liam, 139
Italian speakers
(8.0% of pop.)		1. Emma, 25
2. Aurora, 24
3. Ginevra/Sofia, 21 each		1. Leonardo, 38
2. Noah, 28
3. Enea, 26
Romansh speakers
(0.5% of pop.)		1. Amalia/Gianna/Hannah, 2 each1. Mauro, 4
2. Luca/Nino, 3 each

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just two babies each in Switzerland in 2023:

Rare girl names Rare boy names
Aulona, Binja, Colombe, Dorela, Elsi, Flutra, Geraldine, Helbest, Ikonija, Joanna, Katia, Lorenza, Monika, Nephele, Orlane, Palmyre, Rivka, Sira, Théodora, Ursina, Vinia, Winnie, Yma, ZerinAlerio, Brusk, Clovis, Décio, Elimelech, Fiete, Glen, Hanno, Ishan, Jigdel, Kenneth, Lulzim, Matty, Nordhen, Ousmane, Pieter, Rolf, Sherwin, Tristán, Urs, Vinzent, Waylon, Yonah, Zayon

Helbest is a Kurdish word meaning “poem,” while Lulzim is based on an Albanian verb meaning “to bloom,” “to flourish.”

Finally, here are Switzerland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: First names of newborns – Federal Statistical Office, Languages of Switzerland – Wikipedia, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Switzerland (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Zurich, 2023

Flag of Switzerland
Flag of Switzerland

Last year, the Swiss city of Zurich welcomed 4,475 babies — 2,202 girls and 2,273 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Sofia and Leo.

Here are Zurich’s top 50+ girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Sofia, 26 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 21
  3. Ella, 20
  4. Emma, 17 (tie)
  5. Mila, 17 (tie)
  6. Sophia, 16
  7. Elena, 15 (tie)
  8. Mia, 15 (tie)
  9. Lea, 14 (tie)
  10. Lia, 14 (tie)
  11. Clara, 13 (3-way tie)
  12. Emilia, 13 (3-way tie)
  13. Leonie, 13 (3-way tie)
  14. Hanna, 12 (6-way tie)
  15. Lou, 12 (6-way tie)
  16. Nina, 12 (6-way tie)
  17. Nora, 12 (6-way tie)
  18. Sophie, 12 (6-way tie)
  19. Valentina, 12 (6-way tie)
  20. Ida, 11
  21. Anna, 10 (6-way tie)
  22. Emily, 10 (6-way tie)
  23. Lara, 10 (6-way tie)
  24. Laura, 10 (6-way tie)
  25. Lina, 10 (6-way tie)
  26. Zoe, 10 (6-way tie)
  27. Amélie, 9 (8-way tie)
  28. Ava, 9 (8-way tie)
  29. Malea, 9 (8-way tie)
  30. Maria, 9 (8-way tie)
  31. Maya, 9 (8-way tie)
  32. Mira, 9 (8-way tie)
  33. Romy, 9 (8-way tie)
  34. Yuna, 9 (8-way tie)
  35. Alice, 8 (9-way tie)
  36. Elea, 8 (9-way tie)
  37. Isabella, 8 (9-way tie)
  38. Lily, 8 (9-way tie)
  39. Louise, 8 (9-way tie)
  40. Luana, 8 (9-way tie)
  41. Luna, 8 (9-way tie)
  42. Sara, 8 (9-way tie)
  43. Zoé, 8 (9-way tie)
  44. Ada, 7 (12-way tie)
  45. Alma, 7 (12-way tie)
  46. Carla, 7 (12-way tie)
  47. Eliana, 7 (12-way tie)
  48. Elin, 7 (12-way tie)
  49. Elina, 7 (12-way tie)
  50. Giulia, 7 (12-way tie)
  51. Isabel, 7 (12-way tie)
  52. Julia, 7 (12-way tie)
  53. Mara, 7 (12-way tie)
  54. Paula, 7 (12-way tie)
  55. Stella, 7 (12-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Leo, 28 baby boys
  2. Louis, 19
  3. Emil, 16 (3-way tie)
  4. Leonardo, 16 (3-way tie)
  5. Theo, 16 (3-way tie)
  6. Gabriel, 15
  7. Leon, 14
  8. Julian, 13 (7-way tie)
  9. Luca, 13 (7-way tie)
  10. Luka, 13 (7-way tie)
  11. Matteo, 13 (7-way tie)
  12. Max, 13 (7-way tie)
  13. Noah, 13 (7-way tie)
  14. Oliver, 13 (7-way tie)
  15. Alexander, 12 (6-way tie)
  16. Daniel, 12 (6-way tie)
  17. Felix, 12 (6-way tie)
  18. Jakob, 12 (6-way tie)
  19. Levi, 12 (6-way tie)
  20. Nicolas, 12 (6-way tie)
  21. Arthur, 11 (3-way tie)
  22. Henry, 11 (3-way tie)
  23. Maximilian, 11 (3-way tie)
  24. Elio, 10 (4-way tie)
  25. Mael, 10 (4-way tie)
  26. Milo, 10 (4-way tie)
  27. Vincent, 10 (4-way tie)
  28. Benjamin, 9 (8-way tie)
  29. Elia, 9 (8-way tie)
  30. Kian, 9 (8-way tie)
  31. Laurin, 9 (8-way tie)
  32. Leano, 9 (8-way tie)
  33. Malik, 9 (8-way tie)
  34. Noé, 9 (8-way tie)
  35. Oskar, 9 (8-way tie)
  36. Aaron, 8 (11-way tie)
  37. Anton, 8 (11-way tie)
  38. David, 8 (11-way tie)
  39. Diego, 8 (11-way tie)
  40. Elias, 8 (11-way tie)
  41. Luan, 8 (11-way tie)
  42. Mateo, 8 (11-way tie)
  43. Oscar, 8 (11-way tie)
  44. Paul, 8 (11-way tie)
  45. Samuel, 8 (11-way tie)
  46. Valentin, 8 (11-way tie)
  47. Adam, 7 (11-way tie)
  48. Adrian, 7 (11-way tie)
  49. Dario, 7 (11-way tie)
  50. Emilio, 7 (11-way tie)
  51. Henri, 7 (11-way tie)
  52. Hugo, 7 (11-way tie)
  53. Jonathan, 7 (11-way tie)
  54. Karl, 7 (11-way tie)
  55. Liam, 7 (11-way tie)
  56. Mattia 7 (11-way tie)
  57. Vito, 7 (11-way tie)

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Zurich last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Audelia, Barla, Colombine, Dora, Emmeline, Franka, Georgia, Hera, Inga, Janna, Karlotta, Lielle, Malva, Nele, Ornella, Pelin, Ronela, Soline, Thekla, Urmi, Viktoria, Wanda, Xiomara, Yuliana, ZoriAlain, Benedikt, Corsin, Duri, Egon, Fiete, Golden, Hendrik, Ilya, Jannik, Klaus, Lars, Markus, Nayan, Ognjen, Piem, Rentaro, Simeon, Taavi, Ulysse, Vidan, Wilhelm, Xhonson, Yaris, Ziko

Barla and Corsin are both Romansh names, interestingly.

I didn’t post about Zurich’s top baby names of 2022, but here are Zurich’s 2021 rankings, as well as Switzerland’s 2022 rankings.

Sources: Vornamen in der Stadt Zürich – Stadt Zürich, Stadt Zürich 2023: Zunahme der Bevölkerungszahl, Rückgang der Geburten, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Switzerland (public domain)

Most popular baby girl names (letter by letter) in the U.S. in 2023

First letter usage for baby girl names in the U.S. in 2023

Going letter by letter, what were last year’s most popular baby girl names?

Before we get to the lists, a few quick facts:

  • The most common first letter for girl names in 2023 was A (used 16.48% of the time), followed by E (9.49%) and M (9.17%).
  • The least common first letter for girl names in 2023 was U (used 0.04% of the time), followed by Q (0.24%) and X (0.32%).
  • The first letter that increased the most in usage for girl names (from 2022 to 2023) was D.
  • The first letter that decreased the most in usage for girl names (from 2022 to 2023) was A.

Top girl names starting with A:

  1. Amelia, 12,311 baby girls
  2. Ava, 9,682
  3. Aurora, 6,054
  4. Aria, 5,996
  5. Avery, 5,859
  6. Abigail, 5,661
  7. Addison, 3,520
  8. Alice, 3,336
  9. Adeline, 3,074
  10. Audrey, 3,032

Top girl names starting with B:

  1. Brooklyn, 2,850 baby girls
  2. Bella, 2,540
  3. Brielle, 2,064
  4. Brianna, 1,875
  5. Blakely, 1,854
  6. Bailey, 1,678
  7. Blake, 1,346
  8. Blair, 1,263
  9. Brynlee, 1,210
  10. Brooke, 1,032

Top girl names starting with C:

  1. Charlotte, 12,596 baby girls
  2. Camila, 7,565
  3. Chloe, 5,960
  4. Claire, 3,195
  5. Caroline, 2,859
  6. Cora, 2,738
  7. Clara, 2,648
  8. Charlie, 2,235
  9. Cecilia, 2,050
  10. Catalina, 1,928

Top girl names starting with D:

  1. Delilah, 4,031 baby girls
  2. Daisy, 2,412
  3. Diana, 1,307
  4. Delaney, 1,283
  5. Daphne, 1,257
  6. Daniela, 1,230
  7. Dahlia, 1,219
  8. Dakota, 1,183
  9. Danna, 1,052
  10. Dream, 920

Top girl names starting with E:

  1. Emma, 13,527 baby girls
  2. Evelyn, 9,082
  3. Eleanor, 6,739
  4. Elizabeth, 6,566
  5. Emily, 6,154
  6. Ellie, 5,951
  7. Ella, 5,643
  8. Eliana, 5,329
  9. Emilia, 4,670
  10. Elena, 4,261

Top girl names starting with F:

  1. Freya, 2,061 baby girls
  2. Faith, 1,256
  3. Finley, 1,106
  4. Fatima, 893
  5. Francesca, 820
  6. Fiona, 764
  7. Frances, 755
  8. Felicity, 676
  9. Fernanda, 653
  10. Faye, 610

Top girl names starting with G:

  1. Gianna, 6,129 baby girls
  2. Grace, 4,886
  3. Genesis, 3,651
  4. Gabriella, 2,782
  5. Georgia, 2,157
  6. Genevieve, 1,734
  7. Gemma, 1,649
  8. Gracie, 1,237
  9. Gia, 1,155
  10. Gabriela, 1,041

Top girl names starting with H:

  1. Harper, 7,769 baby girls
  2. Hazel, 6,154
  3. Hannah, 4,102
  4. Hailey, 2,776
  5. Hadley, 2,304
  6. Hallie, 1,553
  7. Haven, 1,353
  8. Harmony, 1,297
  9. Harlow, 1,266
  10. Hope, 1,011

Top girl names starting with I:

  1. Isabella, 10,808 baby girls
  2. Isla, 5,357
  3. Ivy, 5,036
  4. Iris, 2,921
  5. Isabelle, 1,785
  6. Isabel, 1,743
  7. Itzel, 839
  8. Imani, 645
  9. Izabella, 630
  10. Ivory, 581

Top girl names starting with J:

  1. Josephine, 3,347 baby girls
  2. Jade, 2,908
  3. Josie, 2,504
  4. Juniper, 2,382
  5. Julia, 2,290
  6. Juliette, 1,785
  7. June, 1,694
  8. Jasmine, 1,585
  9. Journee, 1,423
  10. Juliana, 1,240

Top girl names starting with K:

  1. Kinsley, 3,188 baby girls
  2. Kennedy, 3,069
  3. Kehlani, 1,854
  4. Katherine, 1,697
  5. Kaylee, 1,641
  6. Kaia, 1,608
  7. Kylie, 1,439
  8. Khloe, 1,381
  9. Kimberly, 1,329
  10. Kailani, 1,315

Top girl names starting with L:

  1. Luna, 7,811 baby girls
  2. Lily, 6,146
  3. Layla, 5,678
  4. Lucy, 4,858
  5. Leah, 3,953
  6. Lainey, 3,928
  7. Lillian, 3,927
  8. Leilani, 3,543
  9. Liliana, 2,787
  10. Lydia, 2,716

Top girl names starting with M:

  1. Mia, 11,359 baby girls
  2. Mila, 5,895
  3. Madison, 5,160
  4. Maya, 4,067
  5. Madelyn, 3,632
  6. Maeve, 3,046
  7. Maria, 2,893
  8. Madeline, 2,726
  9. Millie, 2,559
  10. Melody, 2,557

Top girl names starting with N:

  1. Nora, 5,994 baby girls
  2. Nova, 5,248
  3. Naomi, 4,456
  4. Natalie, 3,418
  5. Natalia, 2,717
  6. Nevaeh, 2,326
  7. Norah, 1,479
  8. Noelle, 1,451
  9. Nyla, 1,236
  10. Noa, 1,041

Top girl names starting with O:

  1. Olivia, 15,270 baby girls
  2. Oakley, 1,874
  3. Oaklynn, 1,815
  4. Olive, 1,640
  5. Ophelia, 1,166
  6. Octavia, 1,123
  7. Oaklee, 685
  8. Opal, 624
  9. Oakleigh, 596
  10. Oaklyn, 514

Top girl names starting with P:

  1. Penelope, 6,041 baby girls
  2. Paisley, 3,727
  3. Parker, 2,293
  4. Piper, 2,066
  5. Peyton, 1,953
  6. Phoebe, 1,580
  7. Presley, 1,517
  8. Palmer, 1,129
  9. Poppy, 1,072
  10. Payton, 990

Top girl names starting with Q:

  1. Quinn, 2,846 baby girls
  2. Quincy, 263
  3. Queen, 128
  4. Quetzaly, 72
  5. Quinley, 50
  6. Quetzalli, 44
  7. Qamar, 40
  8. Quetzali, 37
  9. Quinnley, 28
  10. Quincey, 27

Top girl names starting with R:

  1. Riley, 4,617 baby girls
  2. Ruby, 3,333
  3. Raelynn, 2,406
  4. Rylee, 2,328
  5. Rose, 2,237
  6. Remi, 2,170
  7. Reagan, 1,721
  8. Reese, 1,663
  9. Rosalie, 1,640
  10. Ruth, 1,594

Top girl names starting with S:

  1. Sophia, 11,944 baby girls
  2. Sofia, 7,641
  3. Scarlett, 6,288
  4. Stella, 4,357
  5. Sadie, 3,586
  6. Sophie, 3,578
  7. Sarah, 2,749
  8. Savannah, 2,739
  9. Serenity, 2,548
  10. Skylar, 2,522

Top girl names starting with T:

  1. Tatum, 1,314 baby girls
  2. Taylor, 1,185
  3. Talia, 1,181
  4. Teagan, 996
  5. Thea, 970
  6. Tessa, 960
  7. Trinity, 866
  8. Thalia, 520
  9. Tiana, 488
  10. Taytum, 430

Top girl names starting with U:

  1. Unique, 103 baby girls
  2. Ulani, 80
  3. Uma, 72
  4. Una, 48
  5. Unity, 46
  6. Unknown, 41
  7. Ursula, 39
  8. Uriyah, 22
  9. Uriah, 21
  10. Urvi, 19

Top girl names starting with V:

  1. Violet, 6,342 baby girls
  2. Victoria, 4,434
  3. Valentina, 4,075
  4. Vivian, 2,801
  5. Valerie, 1,944
  6. Valeria, 1,860
  7. Vera, 1,328
  8. Vivienne, 1,283
  9. Vanessa, 1,010
  10. Viviana, 844

Top girl names starting with W:

  1. Willow, 4,727 baby girls
  2. Wrenley, 1,654
  3. Wren, 1,537
  4. Winter, 826
  5. Wynter, 801
  6. Willa, 717
  7. Wrenlee, 512
  8. Winnie, 485
  9. Whitley, 383
  10. Waverly, 305 (tie)
  11. Winona, 305 (tie)

Top girl names starting with X:

  1. Ximena, 1,809 baby girls
  2. Xiomara, 761
  3. Xyla, 275
  4. Xena, 233
  5. Xochitl, 214
  6. Xolani, 176
  7. Xitlali, 135
  8. Xylah, 96
  9. Xenia, 75
  10. Xareni, 69

Top girl names starting with Y:

  1. Yaretzi, 547 baby girls
  2. Yara, 485
  3. Yareli, 388
  4. Yasmin, 309
  5. Yamileth, 292
  6. Yusra, 201
  7. Yuna, 198
  8. Yaritza, 183
  9. Yaneli, 162
  10. Yasmine, 158

Top girl names starting with Z:

  1. Zoe, 5,160 baby girls
  2. Zoey, 4,040
  3. Zuri, 1,471
  4. Zara, 1,282
  5. Zariah, 740
  6. Zahra, 543
  7. Zariyah, 457
  8. Zelda, 401
  9. Zaniyah, 382
  10. Zaria, 371

Source: SSA

Top baby names in Japan, 2023

Flag of Japan
Flag of Japan

The East Asian island nation of Japan, the 11th most populous country in the world, is currently experiencing population decline due to a low birth rate. Last year, Japan welcomed just 770,747 babies. This year, the count will likely be even lower.

Japan doesn’t release official baby name rankings, but the most popular names in the country right now include Himari and Ema for girls, and Ao and Haruto for boys.

How do we know this?

Because, every year, two Japanese companies — Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company and Benesse Corporation — come up with unofficial baby name rankings for Japan using their own data (i.e., the names of the newborns of their own customers/clients).

  • Meiji Yasuda Life’s 2023 rankings account for 6,951 baby girls and 6,957 baby boys born in Japan from January to September, 2023.
  • Benesse’s 2023 rankings account for 141,857 baby girls and 143,259 baby boys born in Japan from January 1 to September 27, 2023.

Each company releases two sets of rankings, in fact.

Why two? Because Japanese names, written using kanji (Chinese characters), are notoriously difficult to read; many have multiple potential pronunciations. So the companies rank baby names both as they’re written and as they’re said aloud (“readings”).

Below you’ll find a whopping eight sets of rankings. They account for two genders, two sources, and two ways of judging popularity: written vs. readings. (I had to turn the rankings into images because my blogging software can’t handle Chinese and Japanese characters.)

Girl names (written)

According to Meiji Yasuda Life, these are Japan’s top girl names. Common readings are in parentheses.

Japan's top baby girl names of 2023, according to Meiji Yasuda Life

[The readings are: Himari, Hinata, Hina; Rin; Tsumugi; Yua, Yuna; Yuina, Yuna; Mio; Mei; Koharu; Hina, Haruna; Ema; Sui, Midori; Yuzuki; Ai, Mana; and Iroha.]

According to Benesse, these are Japan’s top girl names. Benesse also offered each name’s most common reading (transcription in parentheses).

Japan's top baby girl names of 2023, according to Benesse

[The readings are: Himari, Rin, Sui, Tsumugi, Yuina, Hina, Mei, Aoi, Yua, and Riko.]

Girl names (readings)

According to Meiji Yasuda Life, these are Japan’s top girl-name readings:

Japan's top baby girl name readings of 2023, according to Meiji Yasuda Life

[The readings are: Ema, Tsumugi, Mio, Sana, Mei, Koharu, Rio, Ichika, Himari, and Rin.]

According to Benesse, these are Japan’s top girl-name readings:

Japan's top baby girl name readings of 2023, according to Benesse

[The readings are: Ema, Tsumugi, Sana, Mio, Mei, Koharu, Rio, Yui, Aoi, and Himari.]

Boy names (written)

According to Meiji Yasuda Life, these are Japan’s top boy names. Common readings are in parentheses.

Japan's top baby boy names of 2023, according to Meiji Yasuda Life

[The readings are: Ao, Aoi; Haruto, Hinato; Dan, Haru; Ritsu; Aoi, So, Ao; Soma, Fuma; Ren; Nagi, Nagisa; Minato; and Minato.]

According to Benesse, these are Japan’s top boy names. Benesse also offered each name’s most common reading (transcription in parentheses).

Japan's top baby boy names of 2023, according to Benesse

[The readings are: Ren, Ao, Haruto, Minato, Aoi, Asahi, Nagi, Minato, Dan, and Ritsu.]

Boy names (readings)

According to Meiji Yasuda Life, these are Japan’s top boy-name readings:

Japan's top baby boy name readings of 2023, according to Meiji Yasuda Life

[The readings are: Haruto, Minato, Yuito, Aoto, Riku, Sota, Sora, Aoi, So, and Haruki.]

According to Benesse, these are Japan’s top boy-name readings:

Japan's top baby boy name readings of 2023, according to Benesse

[The readings are: Haruto, Minato, Aoto, Riku, Yuito, Sota, Haruki, Sora, Hinata, and Aoi.]

The boy names Ao and Ritsu were given a boost in 2023 by soccer players Ao Tanaka and Ritsu Doan, both of whom helped Japan’s national football team advance during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The names Tsumugi (female), Minato (male), and So/Sou (male) also rose in the rankings. They correspond to the names of characters on the popular drama/romance series Silent, which aired in Japan from October to December, 2022.

Finally, here’s a link to Japan’s unofficial 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare this year to last year.

P.S. Though none of the names above would be considered kira-kira names — that is, names with highly unorthodox readings — an increasing number of Japanese babies have been given kira-kira names over the last few decades. (Two examples are Girisha and Torino, bestowed by Japanese athlete/politician Seiko Hashimoto in the early 2000s.) Japan recently decided to crack down on the usage of kira-kira names: a law change “will limit readings of the kanji in children’s names to those ‘generally recognizable by society.'”

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Image: Adapted from Flag of Japan (public domain)