what is popular japanese girl name?

Ok so i'm writing this book and the setting is in japan. And the character is also Japanese (go figure) I need some help to pick the perfect one something that would go with the name Takuto.

How old is your character?

Aya is a popular girl's name.

Akiko, Tomoko, Hiroko.

Akiko, Tomoko, Hiroko used to be popular names 30+ years ago.

That is why I asked about the age of the character. Very few girls these days are given names like Akiko and Tomoko- women with those names would mostly be in their 30s or older. Popular names for girls under 20 now would include Yui, Moe, Miyu, Ai etc. Nothing with the suffix -ko as that has gone out of fashion.

So Uji, why do I know so many girls in their 20's and younger with these names if they were popular 30 years ago?

Maybe they tell you they are in their 20s, but in fact are over 30.

More likely, however, my estimation of 30+ years was inaccurate. 20+ years might have been more accurate.

The names ending on -ko started to dominate female Japanese first names from the Taisho Period (1912-1926). From the 1920s through the 1950s all top ten female names ended on -ko. In the 1960s the -ko names' absolute dominance started to crumble with names on -mi becoming popular as well. But the -ko names still dominated the 70s, as well.

The final fall started in the 80s. In 1986, for the first time in ages, no -ko name was listed under the top ten. Since then, no name ending on -ko has made the top ten, except for Momoko in the mid 1990s, Nanako in 1999 and Riko in 2002.

The main message being: -ko names are extremely rare among Japanese girls these days.

I wouldn't say "extremely rare"; some of my friends are named Ayako, Akiko, Masako, Machiko. They are, however, much less popular than they used to be (like, all of my female teachers have -ko names...)
I'd say a good, popular one was Ayumi, I know like 3 people with that name.

I think Uji means girls literally, as in small children, not people the age of your friends, nagareboshi (late teens? Early 20s?)

Names like Akiko and Masako are very rare among girls born in the last 10 years.

There will still be women in their 20s with names ending in -ko, because the use of -ko didn't just stop suddenly, it just started to slowly dwindle. Sure there are 25-year-olds called Keiko, but not nearly as many are there are 45-year-old Keikos.

I grade exams as one of my part-time jobs, and recently was checking tests written mostly by people in their mid to late teens. Names ending in -ko were very rare, I noticed.

For those of you who can read kanji, here's a list of popular names given to babies born in the year 2008, as surveyed by an insurance company - so of course the sample size is limited, but you will see that the girls names nowadays do not come with the "-ko" ending.

Actually I am having difficulty even "deciphering" the sounds for the names, though I am Japanese lol names have become so exotic in a way.

Here's the list:

http://www.meijiyasuda.co.jp/profile/etc/ranking/best10...

1st is Haruna& 2nd is Sakura

You're right about the exotic names these days. The pronunciations in some are so unique.

Can anyone suggest a name that would bring to mind ocean and nice beach? I was thinking Minami (beautiful wave) for girl but any others? How about for boys?

I named my Japanese Character Aika Kurosu, in a YA novel I'm writing. Her fist name means love song, while her last means Cross. I liked the meaning of Aika and I also liked that it was short and cute. I usually go for what the name means when I name a character, not always on how cute it sounds. I mean, you can't have a character that is brave, cool, and a bit sarcastic and very charismatic with a cheesy name like, Hana- it means flower but this name is mostly associated with cows and country girls. A definite no-no. -_-u

Aya,Mika,Saori,Siori,Natuki,Megumi,Miki.

I would say unusual names become popular.
No one uses a name Masuko (not to be confused with Masako) very often.

I like names like Yuuki(Gentle princess),Hikari(light),Orihime(woven princess),Yuri(Lily),Yori(Thrust),
kana(One that is powerfull,kanan(fire calamity),Hime(Princess)....Maybe you could use them for your book.

I have more names for you.Ai(love),Airi(beloved jasmine),Rin(cold),Tori(bird),Kuroi (black),Mashiro(pure white),Benihime(crimson princess),Hanatsuki(flower moon),Tsukiko(moon child),Aiko(love child),Sayuri(small lily),Yuki(snow).....

Well, many things have been said, so I am going to say additional infomation about it. As far as I know, the most popular names in Japan are the ones from the 50-60s. This means Keiko, Yoko and Yoshiko.

Also, staying on topic and reading the posts, I must say that Masuko, Orihime, Yori, Kanan, Hime, Tori, Kuroi, Mashiro, Benihime, Hanatsuki and Tsukiko are not popular names at all. Infact, they are quite rare and strange.