Can I use Miyabi as my nickname?

I am a b-boy (breakdancer), and I've been thinking about the nickname I'd like to use in competition.

I would like to use "Miyabi" - after doing a little reading on it, I felt the term suited my style of dance. I read that it means the "polishing of manners, diction, and feelings to eliminate all roughness and crudity so as to achieve the highest grace."

However, I also read that it is used as a female name... I am, of course, a male.

So I'm wondering if the first definition of "Miyabi" as an aesthetic is correct? And, would it be stupid for a male to use as a B-boy nickname?


Thank you for your time and answers!

There are men with the name Miyabi in Japan so I see no problem with it.

I've never heard "Miyabi" as a boy's name, however, there is a sumo wrestler called "Miyabi-Yama", so it shoudn't be strange for a male.
The word is not commonly used for a name.

There is also a visual kei singer who uses the name as a stage name. (though he modified the spelling and writes it "Miyavi" now)

So, no I don't think it would be weird to have it as a nickname for a boy.

"Miyabi" can go well as a male dancer's stage name, I think.
"Miyabi" is used not often in spoken Japanese, I suppose, especially seldom or never among young people; but I believe a judge in a dance competition who is well up in Japanese cultures knows this word.

I also read that it is used as a female name...

"Miyabi" would not match a dance which is full of aspects totally masculine in a Western way, but your dance seems not of that kind, judging from your description for "miyabi."
I guess your dance can prevent or overcome extra feminine images about romance, fascination, etc., which "miyabi" may cause if a dancer is a female; in other words, the fact you are a male can be a merit.

"Miyabi" is not a kanji word but a word originating in old Japanese language. This word reminds me of palaces in Japan (such as Kyoto Palace), rather than palaces of Buckingham and Versailles.

I'm wondering if the first definition of "Miyabi" as an aesthetic is correct

"Miyabi" can imply what you have described, though this word does not always mean explicitly the best of it.
Compared to a kanji word "yuuga" and an English word "elegance," I feel "miyabi" more indirect and implicative, and leaving rooms for senses both of dancers and of judges.

Good luck!

So I'm wondering if the first definition of "Miyabi" as an aesthetic is correct? And, would it be stupid for a male to use as a B-boy nickname?

Miyabi is a not too uncommon name used to mean a sense of "refining an art" in the way you mean. While it is often a girls name, it is also in use as the stage name of male performers such as this hip hop artist:

http://ameblo.jp/miyabi-mito/

I'm pretty sure there was a boy called Miyabi in my HS.. It could have been family name or nickname too. I'll have to check from my yearbook.