first name in katakana last name in hiragana?

Question

I was looking up an anime character and I saw that his name was written like this: "はたけカカシ".
His last name, "Hatake", is written in hiragana; but his first name, "Kakashi", seems to be written in katakana...
Why is this? I thought that hiragana or kanji is used for Japanese names whereas katakana is used for foreign names.

Could someone please explain?

Answer 1

"I thought that hiragana or kanji is used for Japanese names whereas katakana is used for foreign names."



Yes, that's true in the common case, but it's not like it's an iron-clad rule that everyone has to follow. Writing a non-foreign name in katakana can sometimes make the name more unique or memorable, since it's not usually how it would be written.



It's kind of like meeting a guy whose name sounds like "Christopher", but is actually spelled "Kristofer". "Kristofer" is a very unusual spelling to an otherwise common name, and chances are you'll remember it better.



Since we're talking about an anime character here, his name is really up to the author. Moreover, since Naruto doesn't actually take place in Japan, one could make the excuse that "kakashi" would seem like a foreign name. But that's just speculation; I'd suggest not to think about it too much.



As a side note, Naruto's name is also written in katakana.

Answer 2

Years ago, writing your name in katakana was the cool thing. You'll see women in their 60s, 70s, and 80s and their name will be something like 田中カナコ.





Katakana isn't only used for foreign words. It's used for emphasis and for scientific names.

Maple tree is Kaede, but written カエデ rather than 槭.

Tiger is written tora トラ verses 虎.



Also, many marketers use it to get attention.



As you see on streets from where I live, they use katakana on signs all the time!

Answer 3

It can sometimes be a matter of personal preference. There are actually many Japanese people who use only hiragana for their first names in their day to day lives. Never heard of katakana but sure it goes on as well. Japanese people have a weird sense of what they think is 'cool' or 'unique,' so I wouldn't place too much meaning on it in this case.