You have to see how a good ‘Akira’ sounds, in addition to the fact that a ‘Sora’ also has a very placid timbre for the ear; I’m not saying that Alberto, Julián or Encarni aren’t pretty names, but some well-rooted names in anime and the adjacent culture have a truly special ‘I don’t know what’. In fact, to the point that some parents rely on them to name their children.
This is precisely what I am here to discuss today: some of the anime names that have become most popular in the last decade in Japan to name sons and daughters. I will clarify that this article has two parts: a first part based on a document from 2010, with real names that Japanese fathers and mothers had given their children, and a second part with a series of names that it seems could soon gain a lot of popularity.
Popular anime names for sons and daughters
According to a survey by Dengeki (via Siliconera) that took place about 10 years ago, these were some of the anime names that most inspired the names of Japanese sons and daughters (the order refers to the popularity of each one):
Names For girls:
Mikoto (Toaru Majustu no Index)
Yuna (Final Fantasy)
Nanoha (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha)
Yui (K-ON!)
Sakura (Card Captor Sakura)
Mio (K-ON!)
Yuri (Angel Beats!)
Nagisa (Clannad)
Rin (Fate/Stay Night)
Shiki (Kara no Kyoukai)
Names For boys:
Touma (Toaru Majutsu no Index)
Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Cloud (Final Fantasy)
Hayate (Hayate the Combat Butler)
Sousuke (Full Metal Panic!)
Tomoya (Clannad)
Koyomi (Bakemonogtari)
Yuri (Tales of Vesperia)
Kyousuke (Little Bustlers!)
Kyo (The King of Fighters)
Anime Names Whose Popularity Could Skyrocket for Boys and Kids
These names refer to some of the most emblematic anime characters, whose popularity could imply an increase in their use for boys and girls in real life (the order in this case has no real value):
For girls:
Asuna (Sword Art Online)
Bulma (Dragon Ball)
Hinata (Naruto)
Keimi (One Piece)
Mikasa (Shingeki no Kyojin)
Mass (Death Note)
Yuki (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
Ai (Amagami SS)
Aya (Kiniro Mosaic)
Megumi (Shokugeki no Souma)
Saki (Saki)
Names For Boys:
Ash (Pokemon)
Eren (Shingeki no Kyojin)
Goku (Dragon Ball)
Itachi (Naruto)
Kirito (Sword Art Online)
Luffy (One Piece)
Light (Death Note)
Seiya (The Knights of the Zodiac)
Yagami (Death Note)
Touya (Card Captor Sakura)
Yuu (Owari no Seraph)
Kaoru (Ouran Koukou Host Club)
Jun (Shaman King)
Takashi (Highschool of the Dead)
Names that work for both
Akira
haruka
Makoto
aoit
Akane
Rhine
Kei.
