indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Gender Masculine & Feminine
Scripts 自来也, 児雷也(Japanese Kanji) じらいや(Japanese Hiragana) ジライヤ(Japanese Katakana)
Meaning & History
First used in the 1806 yomi-hon Jiraiya Monogatari (自来也説話) and then subsequently in the folklore Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari (児雷也豪傑譚), published as a series from 1839 to 1868, belonging to the main character who uses shape-shifting magic to morph into a gigantic toad. The original folklore was seemingly inspired by a Song-era Chinese legend of an unnamed robber who wrote 我来也 (ŋɑˣ lʌi jiaˣ), implying that he was in particular places that he robbed, the basis for 自来也.
Individually, they are written as 自 (ji) meaning "oneself" or 児 (ji) meaning "child, boy," 来 (rai) meaning "arrival" or 雷 (rai) meaning "lightning, thunder" and 也 (ya), a phonetic kanji that can refer to archaic auxiliary verb なり (nari) meaning "to be."Given name usage is restricted to English-speaking countries, in use since 2007 particularly in the United States (where it is occasionally given to girls). Its rise is influenced by hit manga and anime Naruto with the character Jiraiya (自来也), whose first appearance in the anime first aired in the United States in September 2006, nearly three years after the original airing in Japan.
Individually, they are written as 自 (ji) meaning "oneself" or 児 (ji) meaning "child, boy," 来 (rai) meaning "arrival" or 雷 (rai) meaning "lightning, thunder" and 也 (ya), a phonetic kanji that can refer to archaic auxiliary verb なり (nari) meaning "to be."Given name usage is restricted to English-speaking countries, in use since 2007 particularly in the United States (where it is occasionally given to girls). Its rise is influenced by hit manga and anime Naruto with the character Jiraiya (自来也), whose first appearance in the anime first aired in the United States in September 2006, nearly three years after the original airing in Japan.