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What’s in a Name?

A new law in Japan will bar parents from making up unusual names for children

Shina Peng/The New York Times

Yuuki Matsumoto, formerly Yuni, sees unconventional names as a burden in Japan.

April 1, 2024
By Hikari Hida

Jim McMahon

Growing up, all Yuni Matsumoto wanted was to fit in. But his name made that hard. It was highly uncommon in Japan and, on top of that, it was essentially unreadable as written. Middle school classmates ridiculed him. The bullying got so bad that he dropped out of school.

Matsumoto, now 24, had what’s known in Japan as a kira-kira name—meaning “shiny” or “glittery.” A growing number of Japanese parents are choosing these unconventional names in the hope of making their children stand out in a nation where pressure to conform is strong.

But to Matsumoto, his name was a shackle. Last spring, he went to family court and had it changed to a common one, Yuuki, written in a way anyone could read.

“I felt like I had finally been freed,” he says.

Japan isn’t the only place where unusual names are on the rise. But Japanese children with unconventional names face societal and practical challenges unique to their country and its written language. Citing those difficulties, the government is moving to rein in the practice. Within the next two years, a new law will bar parents from giving their children very unusual names. And for the first time, official family records will include notes indicating how names should be read.

When Yuni Matsumoto was growing up, all he wanted was to fit in. But his name made that hard because it was highly uncommon in Japan. It was also unreadable as written. Middle school classmates made fun of him. He dropped out of school because the bullying got so bad.

Matsumoto, now 24, had what’s known in Japan as a kira-kira name. Kira-kira means “shiny” or “glittery.” More and more Japanese parents are choosing these unconventional names for their children. They hope this will make their children stand out in a country where these is pressure for everyone to be the same.

But Matsumoto felt his name was holding him back. Last spring, he went to family court. He changed his name to Yuuki, a more common name. It is also written in a way anyone could read it.

“I felt like I had finally been freed,” he says.

Japan isn’t the only place where unusual names are on the rise. But Japanese children with uncommon names face more social pressure and practical challenges. These challenges are unique to their country because of how the language is written. Due to these difficulties, the government is moving to put limits on unconventional names. Within the next two years, a new law will stop parents from giving their children very unusual names. And for the first time, official family records will include notes showing how the names should be read.

Some parents hope an unusual name will help a child stand out.

Those in favor of the changes say they’re necessary to avoid the confusion that creative names can spur in the Japanese language.

“Our names are registered through sound, not sight, in daily life,” says Atsumi Kubota, the legislator who led the subcommittee that considered the issue. “The law has never taken that into consideration.”

Those in favor of the changes say they’re necessary. It will help avoid the confusion that creative names can cause in the Japanese language.

“Our names are registered through sound, not sight, in daily life,” says Atsumi Kubota, the legislator who led the committee that considered the issue. “The law has never taken that into consideration.”

The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images

Fitting in is valued in Japanese society; students at a school in Tokyo, 2021.

A Shift in the Culture

At the root of the matter is an unusual feature of Japanese. In Japan, most traditional names have characters, known as kanji, whose meanings represent what parents hope their child will grow up to become. For instance, the name Hikari is written with a character meaning “light.” Each character has a pronunciation associated with it. The sounds of the characters together make up the reading of the name (see “Reading Japanese Names,” below).

Here’s the catch: Most kanji have additional possible pronunciations. It’s a quirk related to Japan’s adoption of the Chinese writing system, more than 1,500 years ago. That quirk can give parents an opening to derive an unusual pronunciation from the sequence of characters that make up a name. While they would know how to read the name, no one else would if they just looked at the characters.

This practice has increased over the past four decades, says Yuji Ogihara, a psychology professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, in Tokyo. It may reflect a larger shift in Japan’s culture. The nation “is not known as an individualistic society compared to the West,” Ogihara says. But “the increase in the originality in baby names” points to a gradual easing of Japan’s historical collectivism—the idea that the group is more important than the individual.

Japan’s declining birthrate may also be a factor, Ogihara says. Many parents have only one shot at naming their child something distinctive.

Japanese has an unusual feature that makes untraditional names a challenge. In Japan, most traditional names have characters, known as kanji. These usually represent characteristics that parents want for their children. For instance, the name Hikari is written with a character meaning “light.” Each character has a pronunciation associated with it. The sounds of the characters together make up how the name is read (see “Reading Japanese Names,” below).

They problem is most kanji have additional possible pronunciations. This is because more than 1,500 years ago, Japan adopted a Chinese writing system. Some parents choose to use unusual pronunciations for characters that make up their child’s name. They would know how to read the name, but no one else would if they just looked at it.

This practice has increased over the past 40 years, says Yuji Ogihara, a psychology professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, in Tokyo. It represents a  larger shift in Japan’s culture. The nation “is not known as an individualistic society compared to the West,” Ogihara says. Old beliefs hold that the group is more important than the individual. But “the increase in the originality in baby names” points to a gradual change in Japan’s traditions. The culture is becoming more individualistic.

Japan’s declining birthrate may also be a factor, Ogihara says. Many parents have only one chance to name their child something unusual.

‘A Great Conversation Starter’

via @urara.takaseki/Instagram

Not everyone with an unconventional name dislikes it. Urara Takaseki, 25, a founder of multiple startups and a Ph.D. candidate in engineering at the University of Tokyo, says her unique name, which means “spring beauty,” has helped her stand out in business and social settings.

“It’s a great conversation starter,” Takaseki says. It “makes it easy for others to remember you.”

But cases of people unhappy with their unusual names have been rising. According to a survey by NHK, a public-service broadcaster in Japan, 4,000 people a year change their names for reasons other than marriage. In Japan, people can legally change their name without parental permission starting at age 15.

The new law will limit readings of the kanji in children’s names to those “generally recognizable by society.” For example, the name Takashi, written with a character meaning “high,” won’t be permitted to be read as the Japanese word for “low.” Also disallowed: names that would cause confusion because their reading resembles, but is slightly different from, the usual reading.

Not everyone with an unconventional name dislikes it. Urara Takaseki, 25, a founder of multiple startups and a Ph.D. candidate in engineering at the University of Tokyo, likes hers. It means “spring beauty.” She says it has helped her stand out in business and social settings.

“It’s a great conversation starter,” Takaseki says. It “makes it easy for others to remember you.”

But cases of people unhappy with their unusual names have been rising. According to a survey by NHK, a public-service broadcaster in Japan, 4,000 people a year change their names for reasons other than marriage. In Japan, people don’t need their parents’ permission to legally change their name once they turn 15 years old.

The new law will limit readings of children’s names to those “generally recognizable by society.” For example, the name Takashi, written with a character meaning “high,” won’t be permitted to be read as the Japanese word for “low.” The law also will not allow names whose reading resembles, but is slightly different from, the usual reading.

“It makes it easy for people to remember you.”
—Urara Takaseki, who says her unusual name has been an asset in her business and social life

Kubota, the legislator, insists the law leaves room for inventiveness. Ogihara, the professor, isn’t convinced. He worries the changes would “restrict the creativity of parents in naming their children when giving them their very first gift.”

For his part, Matsumoto wants parents to think twice before giving their children unconventional names. Before he changed his to Yuuki, he had wanted to someday give his son that name. It is written with two characters that mean “kindness” and “hope.”

“If you have a kira-kira name, other people will look at you and think that your parents are socially inept or unintelligent,” Matsumoto says. “A name,” he added, “can change the trajectory of a life.”

Kubota, the legislator, says the law leaves room for creativity. Ogihara, the professor, isn’t convinced. He worries the changes would “restrict the creativity of parents in naming their children when giving them their very first gift.”

Matsumoto wants parents to think twice before giving their children uncommon names. Before he changed his to Yuuki, he had wanted to someday give his son that name. It is written with two characters that mean “kindness” and “hope.”

“If you have a kira-kira name, other people will look at you and think that your parents are socially inept or unintelligent,” Matsumoto says. “A name,” he added, “can change the trajectory of a life.”

Hikari Hida is a reporter in the Tokyo bureau of The New York Times.

Hikari Hida is a reporter in the Tokyo bureau of The New York Times.

Reading Japanese Names

The confusion over creative names is rooted in the use of kanji, one of the three writing scripts in Japan. The other scripts, hiragana and katakana, are phonetic: Their characters represent sounds, as in the English alphabet. But in kanji, characters don’t represent sounds; instead, they represent words and ideas. Here are two examples:

月(moon)    光 (light)

By combining characters, more words can be created:

月(moon) + 光 (light) = moonlight

But in naming their children, parents have created unusual pronunciations for these characters. For example, 月(moon) is typically pronounced “tsuki.” But many parents have used the character to spell the name Luna, which is related to “moon.” You’d never know that from just reading it. 

—Brian S. McGrath

The confusion over creative names is rooted in the use of kanji, one of the three writing scripts in Japan. The other scripts, hiragana and katakana, are phonetic: Their characters represent sounds, as in the English alphabet. But in kanji, characters don’t represent sounds; instead, they represent words and ideas. Here are two examples:

月(moon)    光 (light)

By combining characters, more words can be created:

月(moon) + 光 (light) = moonlight

But in naming their children, parents have created unusual pronunciations for these characters. For example, 月(moon) is typically pronounced “tsuki.” But many parents have used the character to spell the name Luna, which is related to “moon.” You’d never know that from just reading it. 

—Brian S. McGrath

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