News Ao and Rin Japan's favourite baby names in 2024

An annual survey by an education service provider showed that Ao (碧) and Rin (凛) were the most popular names given to boys and girls in Japan between January and September this year. The two names moved up from second place last year amid a growing trend in parents choosing gender-neutral names. Benesse Holdings Inc. said the reading of the name's Chinese character or characters and how they sound continues to be the most important factor.

The kanji Chinese character, which means "blue-green," is most often read as "Ao" but also as "Aoi" and is ranked first among boys' names. It was followed by Ren, meaning "lotus," and Nagi, meaning "calm," which also reflects the trend of using one character. For girls, the kanji that means "crisp" or "cool" and which is read as "Rin" topped the ranking for the first time in 15 years. It was followed by Himari, a combination of two kanji characters meaning "sun" and "hollyhock", also pronounced Hinata, and Sui, meaning "verdant."

The survey ranked the Chinese characters most commonly used to name around 260,000 babies born to users of its services. Following many natural disasters at the start of the year, the company said, "It appears many parents are choosing names that convey a wish for calm or a dignified strength to help carry them through life with resilience. "The latest survey also saw a significant climb in the name Ran, meaning "indigo." It ranked below the top 100 last year but jumped to 39th place for boys and 71st for girls. Its sudden popularity is believed to be influenced by the success of Japanese national volleyball player Ran Takahashi, particularly in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics this summer.

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