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I like it, and I'm familiar with it. There's a character named Keiko in the anime Yu Yu Hakusho. I've also met a few Brazilians of Japanese descent with the name. This seems to be one of the Japanese names that's familiar to non-Japanese people in general, including ones that don't watch anime. (In fact, I think I've seen the name Keiko more in non-Japanese media than in anime. My guess is because the name Keiko, like most names ending in -ko, is considered dated in Japan. Anime seems to realize this since female characters with -ko names tend to appear more in older anime series than more recent ones.)

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Shiraha sounds like a name you'd see on a anime or manga character rather than one on a real-life Japanese person.

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I'm pretty familiar with Japanese names in general since I watch a lot of anime and play a lot of Japanese video games. However, I try to be aware that many Japanese names that appear in their pop culture aren't common IRL, or sometimes not used at all. It seems like a lot of people (usually those under 30) tend to confuse anime and manga names with real Japanese names. Some names commonly used in Japanese pop culture, like Ichigo (Japanese for strawberry) are hardly ever heard in the real world. A real-life child named Goku or Usagi would probably be made fun of.

This message was edited 7/8/2018, 9:05 AM

I loathe it. It sounds ugly and cutesy and dumb. It's been commandeered enough by American/English speaking TV/film for me to have associations with it.

It's dated and sounds like cake-o, but I like it anyway.
Agree with Dracotorix on the pronunciation of Shiraha. It's not very common: is it a last name on the character in the book? I can't tell without seeing the kanji, but a possible meaning is 'white feather' (白羽)

This message was edited 7/7/2018, 8:57 AM

Well, it sounds alright and has a nice meaning, but I can't evaluate it in the context of Japanese culture.

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My first thought is that it sounds like Kinko's. Second thought is that it seems like it'd be a great compromise if I was deliberating over whether to choose Kiki or Coco.

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ETA:
I think this is a pretty good site for finding kanji (You can look them up by sound: shi / ra / shira / ha)...
http://redfinchjapanese.com/?action=kanji_dictionary

This message was edited 7/7/2018, 5:45 AM

Keiko sounds like a good name for a cat. I would pronounce Shiraha as “she-raw-ha” but I don’t speak Japanese.

It seems middle aged to me, like most -ko names. It’s like the Japanese equivalent of Karen or Linda. It’s just okay, not bad or good to me.

I won’t be able to help with Shiraha, but there’s a Keiko in Star Trek,, so I’m more familiar with her and see her in a positive light. I think it’s quite accessible and I like the -o ending, and it just looks and sounds nice

I like Keiko a lot. I'm usually a fan of Japanese names in general.

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Never heard of Shiraha, and I've no idea how to pronounce it, but it's pretty cool too. Although it does kinda make me think of sriracha, haha.

Nah, I just think of the whale. I loved the movie as a kid, but now I just think the whole story is tragic.

I like it. I've met a few Keikos.

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Japanese is basically just phonetic (shi-ra-ha) and doesn't really have emphasized syllables. (And the Japanese r is very hard, like an r/l/d hybrid)

Keiko was a character on DS9 and TNG (Star Trek Deep Space Nine/The Next Generation). I think of the character first and foremost. There was a discussion a while back about how Keiko is a bit dated in Japan. I like the name, though.

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No idea on Shiraha.

It will always and forever make me think of the whale. I know that it used to be insanely common in Japan but that it is now very dated. There are many women in their 50s and older named Keiko. It's fine but there are so many beautiful Japanese names that I like much better.