Japanese names and gender?

Are most Japanese names unisex?

The reason why I am asking is because I have seen names that are usually feminine (i.e. 正美, Masami) used for men as well. And some names, such as Yuuki (佑希) seem to be used for both males and females. Just wondering.

Are most Japanese names unisex?

No, there are some of them which are unisex, but majorities are either male or female.

Extremely few names in Japanese are used for both gneders (and the kanji is also different, which also gives a clue if it's a man or a woman).

There are a few, such as Kaoru, which could be used for either. But there are also names in English used for both as well, such as Robin.

Do Japanese people ever give (non-unisex) male names to a female? Or female names to a male?

meL

I have come across a brother and sister whose names were Mei and Jun (their parents obviously naming them after the English months). Usually Mei would be a girl's name but in this case the older brother was Mei, and his sister was Jun- not Junko but just Jun.

That kind of thing is pretty rare though, and those names are somewhat neutral. You won't find a girl called Masahiro or a guy called Sachiko for example as those are overtly gender-specific names.

meL,

Not very often, but people do apply mannish names on females. A good example is Akira Matsu, a female polititian and former Takarazuka actress who played male roles only. Although Akira is not her real name, I often see fictional female characters named Akira or Makoto to imply that the parents wished for a boyish girl. Male-ish names on females do imply a handsome image.

Btw, Jun is a very uni-sex name. It is used commonly both for males and females. My favorite client's name is Jun and for quite a while I kept wondering whether this person who writes interesting messages is a man or a woman.