“Hiroto,” “Misaki” most popular names for boys, girls in Heisei

March 29, 2019

Tokyo--"Hiroto" using kanji characters meaning "big" and "fly high," and "Misaki" comprising characters for "beautiful" and "bloom" were the most popular names given to boys and girls, respectively, who were born in Japan during the 30 years of the country's Heisei era, an insurance firm survey showed on Friday.

Both given names have topped Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co.'s annual rankings eight times during the period, which started in January 1989.

For boys, "Shota," also using the character for "fly high," came second, ranking top six times. Names using the character were popular throughout the era. "Ren" placed third, topping the rankings five times.

Names using kanji related to plants, like Misaki, were popular for girls, according to the company. "Hina" using characters meaning "the sun" and "vegetable" came second, with seven times at the top of the annual rankings. "Sakura" and "Aoi" tied in third place, with four times each.

Meiji Yasuda compiles the annual rankings based on a survey on the names of babies born to people who are customers of the life insurer.

Heisei is set to end on April 30 this year, when Emperor Akihito abdicates. The country's next era is scheduled to begin on May 1, in line with the enthronement of the current Emperor's eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, on the day. Jiji Press