What kind of names are considered nerdy/geeky/old-fashioned in Japanese?

Question

What sort of equivalents in Japanese are there to, for example:

Wilber, Eugene, Marvin, Geraldine, Henrietta, Edna, etc.?

Really? Hana's that bad? I wouldn't think of it because it means "flower", and so that seems quite feminine. Also, it's easily interchangable with the Western name "Hannah". Interesting.

Answer 1

" Hana" is one of them.

Hana means flower in English and is a girl's name. This name was used more in the past. But these days, this name is used more for animals like cows, pigs and so on, and used for girl characters in some comedy TV shows and movies, comic books, and period plays.

The typical image of the name is that a country girl who has red cheeks, runny nose and pigtails and wears an outfit that farmers wear. So I don't think I want to use the name if I have a daughter.

But of course some people like this name because it's a traditional name in a way. And they think it's a cute name. But if you love your daughter, it's better to avoid to use the name for her because she might be picked on if she is going to live in Japan.

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I just read your response. And it is true that naming kids " Hana" is not that great. My husband who is American thinks that " Hana" is such a beautiful name because the meaning of the word is " flower" in English. But actually many of us don't think so. It's just that " Hana" is associated with country girls and somehow cows. And we don't like the image so much. So naming a girl " Hana" is not a great choice and " Hanako" is also not a great choice, either.

In comedy or comic books, people would see a girl named " Hana-chan." But you must remember the hidden meaning of the name. And also if you know Japanese people, ask the image of " Hana-chan."

And for men, old fasioned names are:

" Genpachirou"
"Genuemon"

These names sound like the names used in Edo era or something. Actually the first name is my old friend's name and yes, he was picked on a little. And the second name is my uncle's name. And everybody thinks that the name is for really old people. But anyways, don't pick a name that you hear in period plays. It's just weird.

Answer 2

Old Fashioned Japanese Names

Answer 3

Arlo Phineas Gustav Conrad Landau Truett Roland Ianto Abram Otto Tavian Zephyr Dorian Ulric Bertram

Answer 4

An old fashioned name nowadays would be any that indicates a large family since large families are now rare in Japan. A good example would be the former Iron Chef Roksaburo. His name means that he is boy #6 in the family and that his folks perhaps had run out of name choosing energy by the time he came around. However there's nothing inherently geeky about being Roksaburo. To a lot of Japanese it evokes fond memories of pre nuclear family large and lively households.

You can't be totally cruel when naming your child in Japan because if the name is totally stupid the city office can just refuse to register that child on the koseki under the stupid name. This happened to parents who wanted to call their kid Akuma so they took it to court, but the judges agreed with the city office that Devil was just too stupid a name.

Answer 5

yamamoto.