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Quick answers
What is a generation name?
In many Chinese lineages a poem or list assigns one character of the given name by generation, so cousins share a written coordinate.
What is 돌림자?
A Korean practice of sharing a hanja/syllable across siblings or a generation. It marks a set. It does not forecast fortunes in this atlas.
Why does Japan have a kanji list for names?
The koseki (family register) and ministry lists (jōyō and jinmeiyō) limit which characters can be filed for a given name.
Do Statistics Korea tables use hanja?
KOSTAT publishes given-name frequencies; families may still think in hanja even when the file is hangul. Read releases as counts, not as luck.
Is a “good” character one with lucky strokes?
Not here. A good character is one the family intends, the registrar accepts, and the bearer can live with — no stroke-count science.
Can I mix a Chinese generation character with an English name?
People do, as stacked identities. Keep the kin logic and the English fashion logic in separate columns.
Trend volatility is moderate for the systems themselves and high for apps that claim to optimise them.
Diaspora romanisation fights are the other live trend.
Cycles
- Hanja vs hangul fashion — Visible in dated KOSTAT mixes.
- Rare-character fashion — Then clerks and phones push back.
- Generation-poem revival in diasporas — Grandchildren ask for the chart again.
- Luck-app rebrands — Same numerology, new UI.
- English-name pairing — A stacked-name cycle in cities.
Signals
- Jinmeiyō updates — Legal inventory news.
- KOSTAT annual tables — Fashion, dated.
- Koseki reform news — Japan household law.
- App-store “name luck” rankings — A signal to ignore for science.
Outlook
- Persistent kin design — Generation names and 돌림자 will remain understandable as genealogy.
- Persistent list friction — Japan will not suddenly allow any glyph.
- Persistent refusal here — No stroke-count future on this atlas.
Outlook: the kin designs will outlast the apps. Cite KOSTAT and ministry lists, not stroke shops.