World War II-Era Names

3 Replies to “World War II-Era Names”

1. maybeitisdaijirou says: Reply

   February 25, 2020 at 2:34 pm

   Hmm…Well, this is going to be quite a long comment, so please forgive me, but I do have some quips about some of the Japanese names you have listed out (+ some general mistakes you made – JanIgnazy, Kiyokshi, adding anglicised forms of Russian names – Constantine, Nicholas etc.).
   It feels like a mixture of commonly used names from the era (and probably for the population as a whole) and names which were (very) rarely used until the latter half of the 20th century and through the 21st century, though I’m not sure if that is what you are going for. If it’s more generally common names you’re trying to aim for, then I suggest removing names like Akari, Himari (ESPECIALLY Himari), Mei, Miyu, Riko, Sakura, Shion and Yuna. Those I’m definite about, searching from passenger lists and census records in FamilySearch(Saichirō and Yōsuke – they are kind of uncommon/rare but they do sort of fit in for someone born in the time period in question).
   What’s worth noting is that naming in late 19th century Japan can sometimes be different from naming in the early 20th century. Some males in the late 19th century (and some in the early 20th century as well, but in decreasing amounts) were still being given names that end in such suffixes as -kichi, -matsu, -hei, -bee, -(sa)emon, so on and so forth. For females, I would say that -ko usage is the biggest difference as it didn’t start spreading until the 1890s and only started becoming popular in the 1900s, so, say, a Yoshiko born in 1920 would probably equal a Yoshi born in 1880.

   Speaking of WWII, there is one Japanese name that did peak in popularity during that time which I have covered on Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi over a fornight ago, that name being Katsutoshi. The writing 勝利 in particular, which would normally be read as shōri meaning “victory, triumph, conquest,” seemingly had its greatest usage from 1943 to 1945.

   1. Ava to Zeke says: Reply

      February 27, 2020 at 7:34 pm

      Thank you for your comment! Yes, we included a mix of names that were more common for the era and those that were unusual in the era but that we thought would work well in fiction. We love the suggestion of Katsutoshi! Great addition.

2. gotmeghan says: Reply

   April 25, 2020 at 2:58 pm

   I love long lists of names! 🙂

   American: Aaron, Alice, Alma, Andrew. Anna, Benjamin, Clara, Cora, Curtis, David, Dean, Doris, Dorothy, Earl, Eileen, Ella, Elizabeth, Ethel, Evelyn, Flora, Florence, Frances, Gene, Gerald, George, Georgia, Gladys, Gloria, Grace, Harold, Hazel, Helene, Howard, Irene, Irving, Jack, Jacob, James, Jean, John, Julian, June, Lawrence, Leland, Lena, Leo, Lester, Lillian, Lorraine, Louis, Louise, Lucy, Mabel, Mae, Marion, Mary, Martha, Marshall, Michael, Nick, Nora, Norma, Paul, Pauline, Pete, Robert, Roland, Rose, Ruth, Sadie, Sarah, Shirley, Sidney, Stanley, Susie, Thomas, Trevor, Vera, Victor, Virginia, Vivian, Walter, & William.

   English: Alan, Albert, Alec, Alfred, Agnes, Amelia, Anthony, Baden, Basil, Bernard, Bertie, Catherine, Cecil, Charlotte, Charles, Christopher, Claude, Clifford, Constance, Denis, Dora, Douglas, Edgar, Edward, Eleanor, Ellen, Elsie, Emily, Ernest, Fanny, Frederick, Gertrude, Gilbert, Gwendoline, Hannah, Herbert, Ida, Isabella, Isaac, Jane, Josephine, Joyce, Julia, Kathleen, Lewis, Lionel, Lily, Margaret, Martin, Mary, Matthew. Nancy, Norman. Oswald, Philip, Rachel, Reginald, Richard, Rose, Roy, Ruby, Selina, Stephan, Thomas, Victoria, & Violet.

   French: Adèle, Adrian, Aimée, Alexandre, Alban, Aline, Amélie, André, Auguste, Baptiste, Camille, Casimir, Claudette, Celine, Clement, Emile, Etienne, Eugène, François, Gabrielle, Genevieve, Georgette, Gérard, Gilles, Guy, Hélène, Henri, Honore, Jacqueline, Jacques, Jean, Jermaine, Jules, Lea, Lisette, Louis, Luc, Lucie, Marcelle, Marie, Marguerite, Madeleine, Micheline, Nadine, Noel, Pierre, Marcel, Marius, Odette, Pascal, Rémi, Sabine, Salome, Simone, Solange, Suzanne, Therese, Toussaint, Xavier, Yves, & Yvonne,

   German: Anna, Anni, Bernhard, Brigette, Bruno, Catarina, Conrad, Dorothea, Elisabeth, Elke, Else, Emil, Emmy, Erika, Ernst, Felix, Franz, Frieda, Fritz, Georg, Gerda, Gertrud, Gisela, Gustav, Hans, Horst, Hugo, Ilse, Inge, Irma, Jakob, Johanna, Johannes, Josef, Klara, Kurt, Leopold, Liesel, Lotte, Ludwig, Magda, Margarethe, Margit, Marta, Ottilie, Otto, Peter, Reinhold, Rolf, Rudolph, Siegfried, Thea, Ursula, Waither, Werner, & Wilhelm

   Italian: Alessandro, Angela, Angelo, Aurora, Dario, Dino, Edda, Giorgio, Giovanni, Leonardo, Lina, Livio, Luca, Luciana, Luigi, Marco, Mario, Orlando, Paolo, Pietro, Roberto, Rosa, Salvatore, Silvano, Silvia, Simona, Sofia, Stefano, Teresa, Tomasso, Valentina, & Vito

   Japanese: Aiko, Chiyoko, Fumiko, Hana, Hideki, Kiyo, Masao, Mei, Miyoko, Rei, Ren, Riko, Sachiko, Shion, Tadashi, Yukio, Yoshiko, & Yuna

   Jewish: Abraham, Bertha, Edna, Esther, Fishel, Hyman, Ira, Izak, Judith, Julius, Lili, Matya, Max, Miriam, Morris, Moses, Pearl, Rose, Rutka, Samuel, Sarah, Solomon, Tillie, Yetta, & Zelda.

   Polish: Adam, Aleksander, Aniela, Henryk, Jan, Jerzy, Karol, Krystyna, Ludwik, Marek, Piotr, Stanislaw, Stefan, Wanda, Wladyslaw, Zofia, & Zygmut.

   Russian: Aleksei, Alexander, Anastasia, Anatolly, Andrei, Dmitry, Filipp, Georgy, Ivan, Joseph, Kliment, Konstantin, Lydia, Maksim, Maria, Mikhail, Nikolai, Nina, Olga, Pavel, Petr, Roza, Sergei, Tatyana, Vasily, Viktor, Vladimir, Yekaterina, Yelena & Ziovy.