Naming my baby Nagisa?
 

Hey guys, We're a north american couple thinking about baby names, and if it's a girl, I've always had my heart set on calling her Nagisa. Nagisa from the anime Clannad has always been my favourite fictional character, as she is strong, beautiful, and reminds me of the beauty of the world. We would love to name our baby after her, and was wondering what you guys thought? I have my heart set on this name, but do you think it's too strange in a north american culture? Thanks for your opinions :)

Not really. It sounds similar to the Japanese-like Western names such as Naomi, Karen, etc. I would say you can go with it.

For your information, Nagisa (渚) means "shore", "beach", or "islet".

You might want to really think about it. One day your daughter would ask "How did I get my name" and you'd tell her it is from an anime, and then she would tell her friends "My parents are obsessed with anime and they named me after an anime character -_-;" and her friends would poke fun at her...if she were to even share that with them!

Are you or your spouse of Japanese decent? It might also be strange to some that non-Japanese people named their child with a Japanese name.

Just some things to think about. Naming her Nagisa might turn out great, for all we know. Maybe she would just want to keep it a secret that she was named after an anime character. :heh:

Maybe you can make Nagisa her middle name. John Lennon actually named his second son Sean Taro Ono Lennon.

Another thing you might find interesting is that Nagisa is a gender-neutral name. Film director and screenwriter Oshima Nagisa happens to use the same kanji for his personal name.

Kobe Bryant' parent named him after a type of beef (though pronounced kobe unlike Kobe's kobi), so you could do lot worse than Nagisa man.

Hey guys, thanks so much for your opinions they're all helpful! Anyone else with an opinion is more than welcome to post as the more thoughts on this the merrier :)

The middle name option seems the best to me.

From what I've heard, exotic first names often seem fun at the time, but result in all kinds of pain and annoyance as time goes on. For instance she'll probably continuously have teachers mispronounce her name, or whenever she goes for a job interview she's always assumed to be asian, and then she has to continuously explain it etc. I've managed to acquire an American accent from my mom, that's annoying enough to explain. Having to explain something over and over again to people is quite dull.

So I'd take a typical first name, and use Nagisa as a middle name. For a bonus you can use it as a nickname for her, you can have your cake and eat it.

@Sumeragi: Naomi sounds Japanese?

奈緒美, 直美, 尚美, 直見, 直実, 直海, なおみ. All different versions of Naomi.

Umm, did you watch all of Clannad? I think you may want to reconsider. :heh:

Sumeragi: I found out a few days ago actually that Nagisa is a gender-netural name. And I agree that it sounds close to a western name, at least it's not something very long and unpronouncable lol. Urzu 7 and andjajy, i'll think about what you guys have said too lol.

Lol yes I have archon_wing, but it doesn't make the name less beautiful to me lol

you make a good point DonQuigleone

One more suggestion beside making ‘Nagisa’ as a middle name is that you can ‘Americanize’ it if you had to put it as first name. For example, in Robotech, they changed Misa Hayase into Lisa Hayes that’s still sounds similar without it being too exotic or ‘Asian’ (not that Asian or exotic names are bad, but just like what DonQuigleone said), right? Then again, it’s your choice. It’s just that you have to make it easy for the future of your child. ;)

That's true. How would you Americanize Nagisa? :)

Well, since I'm not an American and not well-versed into American or any English-speaking culture, I have no Idea :confused:. Maybe I'll come up with something later. Any other members who can help?

Edit:
maybe some names with the same vocals: Nadissa, Marissa, Clarissa, Clannadia, etc?

It depends what part of the name you like the most. A lot of english names end in "-issa", for example Melissa.

Alternatively you could aim at the "Na" part, eg Nadia, Natasha.

In English Nagisa sounds a bit awkward, and there's 3 or 4 ways to say it, you could go for the original Japanese Nah-Gee-Sa, more likely people will pronounce it as Na-gi-sa, rhyming with melissa, or even Na-ji-sa.

I'd say a name from the "issa" class of names is probably best, particularly considering people will likely pronounce Nagisa similiarly.

Examples of issa names: Melissa, Clarrisa, Marissa, Calista, Allisa, Elissa...

How's about change it a bit to Nagissa, Nagisa does give an impression of having Japanese descend... The idea about middle name or name called at home is fine too...

Little "Nagisa"... definitely sounds adorable to address

Does Noemi's better? I got a friend that's is Noemi. It's not Japanese right?

In my opinion, Nagisa would be find but it would be safer to tell her that you named her that way because you love going to the beach... An Nagisa is purely coinsidental.... hehehe.:heh:

Can't be any stranger than a Chinese guy I know named Winston.