Gender-Neutral Names in the Youngest Japanese Generation

Characteristics of Their Phonological and Graphic Forms

Bibliographic Data

ID6452936
AuthorsIvona Baresova (0000-0002-4664-013X, Palacký University Olomouc), Tereza Nakaya (0000-0002-0817-7690, Palacký University Olomouc)
Year2025
Volume19
Issue1-2
Pages86-106
Publication date2025-04-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociolinguistic Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1750-8657 • E-ISSN: 1750-8649
PublisherEquinox Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3138/ss-2024-0017
OpenAlexW4410991083
LanguageEN
References cited12

Gender-neutral names have received increasing attention in recent Japanese public discourse regarding names and naming practices. Names referred to as gender-neutral ( chūseiteki or jendāresu in Japanese) are commonly considered to be names that can be given to both boys and girls, and their gender-neutral character is discussed explicitly in relation to the phonological and/or graphic form of the name. Although gender-neutral names represent a minority compared to gender-specific names, they are clearly growing in popularity. This study explores gender-neutral names in contemporary Japanese naming practices, their linguistic characteristics, and the mechanisms behind their evolution. The analysis is based on 39 phonological and 57 graphic forms classified as gender-neutral among 256 distinct phonological and 333 distinct graphic forms of names given to children of both sexes. These names were identified from a dataset of 15,058 names collected from the parenting website Baby Calendar between 2008 and 2022. The study also highlights the specifics of gender-neutral naming in Japan that are related to the use of kanji, allowing for names to be gender-neutral only in their phonological or graphic form

Linguistics · Sociology · Gender Studies in Language · History · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Philosophy · Psychology · Social and Cultural Studies

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