Tokyo
CNN
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When you go to Japan, you may meet people with unusual names such as “Nike”, “Pikachu”, and “Pudding”.
Although still in the minority, these names have become more popular in recent decades as parents reject traditional Japanese names for something more unique.
However, this practice has attracted criticism. It’s mainly confusing for the authorities who don’t know how hospitals, schools and authorities can pronounce them.
Now, the government is cracking down on these so-called “slick” names. The new rules come into effect Monday, restricting parents from giving baby names pronounced in unconventional ways.
This news was filled with mixed reactions. Some social media users argued that the sparkly name is an expression of individualism, is rather harmless and does not justify government regulations.
“They are not children of the country, right? They are children of their parents,” one person wrote in X after the announcement.
But more people welcomed the change. They lament the possibility that children with unusual names can face harassment and at least complicate the complexity of administrative tasks such as registration and banking.
“Why did certain people give their children sparkly names? It just makes them bully those kids,” wrote one X user. Another joke quipped sarcastically: “Stop limiting sparkly names. Looking at the names of children reveals the intelligence of their parents.
Japan uses three writing systems, Kanji, based on Kanji and two other voice systems. The name is usually written in kanji, and this is where the trouble arises.
These kanji were mixed with existing Japanese, so each kanji can be pronounced in multiple ways. Deciphering the “correct” pronunciation based on the contextual cues and other characters in the sentence.
With sparkling names that have become popular since the 1980s, parents choose their names based on the sound of the sound. For example, you want your child’s name to sound like “Pikachu.”
The problem is that these characters may not normally be that prominent. It is about deciphering how teachers and nurses can properly say a child’s name simply by looking at the written kanji shape.
Over the past decade, some have drawn more similarities to how American parents have chosen unusual spellings of ordinary names, such as Ashley and Caitlin, instead of Ashley.
The new Japanese government rules aim to limit this by requiring that only widely accepted pronunciation of Kanji characters are permitted.
Parents should include audio measurements for the baby’s name in their registry. If a local official confirms that the name’s voice sounds do not match how the character is normally pronounced, they may reject the name or request additional documentation.
This is not the first time that strict naming rules have sparked debate in Japan.
Unlike most other major economies that have abolished tradition, Japan legally requires married couples to share the same surname. Usually, a wife takes the husband’s name. This is because same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan.
The move to change the rules regarding surnames was a brewery led by women’s rights advocates and those seeking to maintain diversity in Japanese surnames in a country where only a handful of names are becoming more and more common.
The first name gave more room for experimentation, at least until the latest rules came into play.
A 2022 survey analysing baby names published in local newsletters over the past decades shows that more and more people have been given extraordinary names over the past 40 years.
This trend suggests a shift towards seeking “originality and independence” in Japan, according to the study, which also shows changes in other parts of Japanese life at the time, such as family structure and social values.
In particular, girls saw the glittering names on the rise. Perhaps it suggests that parents “want their daughters to be unique and independent than their sons.”
It’s not just the country that has seen an upward trend with rare baby names. A 2016 survey found that American parents chose more unusual names between 2004 and 2015, pointing to a “increasing individualism” in culture.
Even in China, rapid economic growth and upward mobility means that people today value individualism and autonomy more than their previous generations, according to a 2018 survey.
Like in Japan, this study found that Chinese girls were more likely to have unusual names than boys. It probably reflects a different “parent expectations.”
However, it is also common to introduce rules of names that are acceptable to the state. In the US, this is often statewide. California names can only be used with 26 English alphabetical characters. This easily caused problems when Elon Musk and Grimes named the baby “XæA-12.” They eventually changed their name to “very slightly – “xæa-xii”.
In Germany, authorities can overthrow the baby’s name if they determine that it is offensive or potentially harmful to the child’s best interests. For example, they have previously banned references to “Borusia,” or “gastritis,” which are references to soccer teams, and have claimed that the name “puts child welfare at risk,” according to the official Frankfurt city administration.
New Zealand, meanwhile, also maintains strict rules that prohibit mention of titles, meaning names such as “king” and “prince” are routinely rejected.
