Name post #9: Tsukishima Kei and Akiteru

Off my self-imposed schedule this week, but oh well. Hope people are still interested in this. I planned it for Monday as it was Akiteru's birthday, but Friday will do.

Family name: Tsukishima 月島 /tsu'kishima/

月 (/tsuki/) - "moon", "month"; used independently, it is read as /tsuki/ and means "moon"; the same kanji is used in month names (一月 /ichigatsu/ "January", 十一月 /juuichigatsu/ "November"); my favorite moon related word is "lunar eclipse" (月食 /gesshoku/, literally "moon eating"); appears relatively often in surnames, but none are too common

島 (/shima/) - "island"; found in many Japanese family names, far more common than 月

Translation: "moon island"

Note: when used as a nickname, the /k/ in Tsuki doubles, making the nickname Tsukki; I'm not quite sure how to explain why this happens, but it's quite common (another Haikyuu example would be Makki from Hanamaki)

Tsukishima is an existing, but very uncommon family name, with only 19 households in Japan having that name (source), which kind of goes against most Karasuno members' family names, which are generally fairly common. The common interpretation is that Tsukishima was chosen to stand in opposition to both Hinata ("sunny place") and Kageyama ("shadow mountain").

Given name: Kei 蛍 /'kei/

蛍 (/kei/) - "firefly"; as a common word, it is read as /hotaru/, which also works as a unisex name; with the /kei/ reading, it appears in words related to fluorescence (蛍光 /keikou/, note the same kanji from Bokuto's first name, which I doubt was done intentionally when the characters were named, but it's fun to think about in context of Bokuto's connection to Tsukishima), there is also "fluorescent lamp" (蛍光灯 /keikoutou/), which also means "person who is slow to react" (it also has the connotation of being a slow thinker, which is the opposite of what Tsukishima is)

Translation: "firefly"

Kanji meaning and associations with the name (source):

ホタル科の昆虫。澄んだ水辺に住み、夏の夜美光を放つ。(Hotaruka no konchuu. Sundamizuhen ni sumi, natsu no yoru utsukushii hikari wo hanatsu.)A bug from the firefly family. Living around limpid waters, casts beautiful lights during summer nights.

There aren't any particular personal qualities that are connected to the kanji. The kanji has a connection to summer, but oddly enough, Tsukishima was born in fall. However, there is the image of a firefly creating its own light, which can be interpreted as Tsukishima developing his relationship to volleyball on his own, rather than with others.

蛍 read both as Kei and Hotaru is a unisex name and is used in combination with many other kanji, in that case, it's usually used with the /kei/ reading. Kei is a very lucky name based on the number of strokes and gets luckier in combination with the family name Tsukishima (source).

Given name: Akiteru 明光 /'akiteru/

明 (/aki/) - "bright", "light"; the reading /aki/ appears in words such as "clear"/"bright" (明らか /akiraka/); also found in the words for "light"/"cheerful" (明るい /akarui/); with its on-yomi (adopted Chinese reading) /mei/, it is found in words such as "explanation" (説明 /setsumei/) and "illumination" (照明 /shoumei/)

光 (/teru/) - "light"; its usual reading is /hikari/ (which is also a name), which is its kun-yomi (native Japanese reading); the reading /teru/ is nanori (reading used specifically in names), which comes from association with other kanji related to light; it's quite common in names, in Haikyuu we see it in Bokuto's and Hoshiumi's given names, where it is read as /kou/

Translation: "bright light"

Kanji meaning and wishes (source):

For 明: 光があってあかるい。はっきり見える。(Hikari ga atte akarui. Hakkiri mieru.)Bright because there is light. To see clearly.

For 光: 周囲を明るく照らすことのできる活力にあふれた人に。どんなときでも向上心を持ち、輝きを失わない人に育って欲しいと願って。(Shuui wo akaruku terasu koto no dekiru katsuryoku ni afureta hito ni. Donna toki de mo koujoushin wo mochi, kagayaki wo ushinawanai hito ni sodatte hoshii to negatte.)To be a person overflowing with the energy to brighten their surroundings. Wishing to be someone raised to always have ambition and never lose their brilliance.

Akiteru is a strictly male name. It's not a very lucky name on its own nor in combination with Tsukishima as a family name (source).

Bonus stuff: Kei and Akiteru are also an example of thematic naming, but a bit less obviously so. Both names have something to do with light, but one is read with the on-yomi, while the other with a combination of nanori that come from kun-yomi. As I mentioned before, fireflies have the connotation of summer, but Kei was born in fall. Aki with a different kanji means "fall", but Akiteru was born in spring.

And that's it for today! Japanese names overview as usual.

Thanks for reading!