Date
Name Kaname
Gender Masculine & Feminine
Usage Japanese
Scripts 要, 枢, 要芽, 叶芽, 叶夢, 奏芽, 哉芽, 哉萌, etc. (kanji), かなめ (hiragana), カナメ (katakana)
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Meaning & History
From 要 (kaname) meaning "pivot; vital point, cornerstone, keystone," likely sound shifted from 蟹の目 (kani no me) meaning "crab's eye," likely by influence from 金目, which looks as if it's read as kaname, literally meaning "golden eye." The derivation refers to a metal fitting (resembling a crab's eye) used for fastening the frame at the end of the fan, which would fall apart if no metal fitting is inserted.
It can also be used as 枢, which refers to a pivot hinge (read as kururu). 要 can be suffixed with a kanji that can (partially) read as me, like 芽/萌 meaning "bud, sprout" or 夢 (yume) meaning "dream." In that case, substitutes for the first kanji include 叶 (kana) meaning "grant, answer," 奏 (kanade) meaning "playing of music" or 哉 (kana), a phonetic kanji that is otherwise referring to a particle expressing wonder on the part of the speaker.
It can also be used as 枢, which refers to a pivot hinge (read as kururu). 要 can be suffixed with a kanji that can (partially) read as me, like 芽/萌 meaning "bud, sprout" or 夢 (yume) meaning "dream." In that case, substitutes for the first kanji include 叶 (kana) meaning "grant, answer," 奏 (kanade) meaning "playing of music" or 哉 (kana), a phonetic kanji that is otherwise referring to a particle expressing wonder on the part of the speaker.