{{Infobox given name | name = Hiro | image = | image_size = | caption = | pronunciation = Hi-ro, Hee-ro, multiple pronunciations | gender = Male / Female | meaning = Multiple meanings depending on the kanji, language and culture, diamond (Sindhi), hero (paronym) | region = | language = Japanese, Sindhi, Tahitian, Rapa Nui, Spanish | origin = Japan, Polynesia, India, Pakistan, South Asia, Latin America | alternative spelling = | nickname = | variant forms = Hiroo, Hiiro, Heero, Hira | related names = Hiroshi, Hiroaki, Hiroki, Hirooki, Hiroko, Hiroka, Hiromi, Hirok (Hirock), Hero, Iro, Hiero, Hieron, Chairo, Hiroburrato, Chiro, Hairo, Herodotus | name day = | derived = | popularity = | footnotes = | wikt = }}
'''Hiro''' is a given name with various origins. It is of Japanese, Polynesian, Indian, Pakistani and Spanish origin.<ref name="thebump" /><ref name="sindhi1" /><ref name="harjani" /> It has multiple meanings depending on the cultures.
== Background == The Japanese given name {{Nihongo|''Hiro''|ひろ, ヒロ}} has multiple meanings, dependent on the characters used. The kanji 裕 means "abundant". 寛 means "generous, tolerant" and 浩 means "prosperous".<ref>{{cite web |title=Male Japanese Names |website=20,000 Names |url=http://www.20knames.com/male_japanese_names.htm |date=June 1, 2016 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624031439/http://www.20knames.com/male_japanese_names.htm |archive-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref> It is a unisex name in Japanese, but predominantly used by males.
The Polynesian masculine given name Hiro originates from Tahitian and Polynesian mythology.<ref name="tahiti" /><ref name="jps" /> Hiro is a rain deity in Rapa Nui mythology.<ref name="RapaNui" /> It also means hero and trickster.<ref name="thebump" /> The highest mountain on Raivavae island is named Mont Hiro.
Hiro is also an Indian and Pakistani masculine given name.<ref name="sindhi1">{{cite web |title=Structure of Sindhi Language |location=India Mysore |website=Central Institute of Indian Languages |date=April 21, 2024 |url=http://lisindia.ciil.org/Sindhi/sindhi_struct.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241028182548/http://lisindia.ciil.org/Sindhi/sindhi_struct.html |archive-date=28 October 2024}}</ref><ref name="harjani" /> Its originally from the Sindhi language and means ''diamond''.<ref name="sindhi1" /><ref name="harjani">{{cite book|title=Sindhi Roots & Rituals - Part 2|last1=Harjani|first1=Dayal N.|year=2018|edition=1st|publisher=Lightning Source Inc|location=La Vergne, Tennessee|isbn=978-1642494792|page=258}}</ref> It came from the province of Sindh along the Indus River Delta. It is generally in the South Asian countries of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.<ref name="thebump" /> A related feminine given name is Hira in Sanskrit.
The Spanish masculine name Hiro is a variant form of Chairo, Chiro and Hairo.<ref name="bumpchiro">{{cite web |title= Hiro baby name |website=The Bump |date=October 16, 2023 |url=https://www.thebump.com/b/hiro-baby-name |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016132006/https://www.thebump.com/b/hiro-baby-name |archive-date=October 16, 2023}}</ref><ref name="chairo">{{cite web |date=10 October 2022 |title=Hiro |url=http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Hiro |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203073910/http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Hiro |archive-date=December 3, 2021 |website=Think Baby Names}}</ref> It means "sacred name".<ref name="chairo" /> It comes from a habitational place name in La Rioja from the root ''faro'' which means “beacon.”<ref name="thebump">{{Cite web |last=McNamara |first=Emily |date=8 November 2024 |title=Hiro |url=https://www.thebump.com/b/hiro-baby-name |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241114183400/https://www.thebump.com/b/hiro-baby-name#selection-3969.403-3969.412 |archive-date=14 November 2024 |access-date=14 Nov 2024 |website=The Bump}}</ref>
Related given names are Hero, Iro and Hiero (Hieron) which have Ancient Greek origin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.behindthename.com/name/iro |title = Meaning, origin and history of the name Iro |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213081342/http://www.behindthename.com/name/iro |archive-date=February 13, 2023}}</ref><ref name="tufts12">{{Cite web |date=1962 |title=The Rise of Hiero II |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plb.+1.8 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241028191043/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plb.+1.8 |archive-date=28 October 2024 |website=Perseus (from: Histories. Polybius. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh. translator. London, New York. Macmillan. 1889. Reprint Bloomington 1962.)}}</ref> Hiro is a wordplay and paronym of hero.<ref name="wordplay">{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/hiro-versus-hero-big-hero-6-and-the-trouble-with-translation |title=Hiro versus Hero: "Big Hero 6" and the trouble with translation |website=Roger Ebert |author=Jana Monji |date=November 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602051842/https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/hiro-versus-hero-big-hero-6-and-the-trouble-with-translation |archive-date=June 2, 2023}}</ref>
==People with the name== Notable people with the name include:
* {{Nihongo|Hiro Arikawa|有川 浩||born 1972}}, a female Japanese light novelist * {{Nihongo|Hiro Yamagata (artist)|山形 博導||born 1948}}, Japanese painter/artist * {{Nihongo|Hiro (music producer) |ヒロ||born 1985}}, Japanese music producer (writer of Kumi Koda's "Taboo") * Hiro (photographer) (1930–2021), American fashion photographer * {{Nihongo|Hiroko Shimabukuro |島袋 寛子||born 1984}}, Japanese musician with the stage name Hiro * {{Nihongo|Hiro Mashima|真島 ヒロ||born 1977}}, Japanese manga artist and the creator of ''Rave Master'' and "Fairy Tail", among other manga * {{Nihongo|Hiro Matsushita|松下弘幸||born 1961}}, Japanese businessman and former racing driver * Hiro Murai (born 1983), American filmmaker * {{Nihongo|Hiro Muramoto|村本 博之||born 1977–2010}}, Japanese cameraman and journalist slain during the 2010 Thai political protests * {{Nihongo|Hiro Narita|ヒロ・ナリタ||1941}}, American cinematographer * {{Nihongo|Hiro Fujiwara|藤原 ヒロ||born 1981}}, Japanese manga artist, once active under her previous pen name, Izumi Hiro * {{Nihongo|Hiro Mizushima|水嶋 ヒロ||born 1984}}, Japanese model and actor * {{Nihongo|Hiro Saga|嵯峨 浩||born 1914–1987}}, a Japanese noblewoman and memoir writer * {{Nihongo|Hiro Sasaki|ひろ ささき||born 1950}}, a professional wrestler * {{Nihongo|Hiro Saito|ヒロ 斉藤|born 1961}}, a Japanese professional wrestler * {{Nihongo|Hiro Suzuhira|鈴平ひろ|born 1978}}, Japanese manga artist, character designer and illustrator * {{Nihongo|Hiro Shimono|下野 紘||born 1980}}, Japanese voice actor and singer * {{Nihongo|Hiro Kanagawa|金川 弘敦||born 1963}}, Japanese-Canadian actor and playwright * {{Nihongo|Hiroki Moriuchi|森内 寛樹||born 1994}}, Japanese singer and vocalist from MY FIRST STORY with the stage name Hiro * {{Nihongo|Hiroshi Kawaguchi|川口 博史||born 1965}}, Japanese video game composer and keyboardist, aka Master Hiro * {{Nihongo|Hiro Takahashi|高橋 ひろ||1964–2005}}, Japanese singer, lyricist, and composer, best known for Yu Yu Hakusho ending themes, "Unbalance na Kiss o Shite" and "Taiyō ga Mata Kagayaku Toki" * {{Nihongo|Hiro Yamamoto|山本 紘||born 1961}}, American musician and co-founder of the Grammy Award-winning rock band Soundgarden * Hiro Poroiae (born 1986), Tahitian footballer * {{Nihongo|Hiro Sachiya|ひろさちや||1936–2022}}, a Japanese religious scholar and writer of Buddhism * {{Nihongo|Hiro Ohashi|大橋 廣||1882–1973}}, a Japanese botanist * {{Nihongo|Hiro Yūki|優希 比呂|born 1965}}, Japanese voice actor * Hiro Peralta (born 1994), is a Filipino actor * {{Nihongo|Hiro Matsuda|小島 泰弘|1937–1999}}, a Japanese wrestler and trainer * {{Nihongo|Hiro Fujikake|藤掛 廣幸|born 1949}}, a Japanese composer, conductor and synthesizer player. * Hiro Ando (born 1973), a Japanese contemporary artist * {{Nihongo|Hiroyuki Igarashi|五十嵐 広行||born 1969}}, Japanese dancer and producer known as Hiro, leader of Exile * {{Nihongo|Hiromitsu-Aoki|青木 裕光|Born 1980|}}, popularly known by his stage name Hiro-X * Hiro Badlani (born 1934), Indian ophthalmologist and Hindu author<ref>{{Cite web |last=Badlani |first=Hiro |date=29 May 2009 |title=Dr. Hiro G. Badlani’s mini-encyclopedia on Hinduism |url=http://hinduismpath.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003145104/http://hinduismpath.com/ |archive-date=3 October 2023 |website=Hinduism Path}}</ref> * Hiro Thakur (born 1943), Indian journalist, research scholar and poet<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 April 2021 |title=Hiro Thakur |url=https://thesindhuworld.com/hiro-thakur/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241023181556/https://thesindhuworld.com/hiro-thakur/ |archive-date=23 October 2024 |access-date=23 October 2024 |website=The Sindhu World}}</ref>
==Fictional characters== * Hiro Nakamura, a character in the American television series ''Heroes'' with the ability to time-travel * Hiro Hiyorimi, main protagonist of the series ''Princess Resurrection'' * Hiro Granger, a character in the ''Beyblade'' series * Hiro, a Hero Templates DS Version Marionette/Wooden mannequin Character in Isaac the Nintendo title, similar to the Golden Sun from ''Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter''. * Hiro Protagonist, a character in the science fiction novel ''Snow Crash'' * Hiro Sohma, a character in the ''Fruits Basket'' anime and manga series * Hiro, a character from the video game ''Bust a Groove'' * Hiro, a character from the ''Hidamari Sketch'' comic strip * Hiro, the main character in ''Lunar: Eternal Blue'' video game * Hiro, a character in ''Ginga Densetsu Weed'' series * Hiiro, also known as Nora, a major supporting character in the manga/anime series Noragami. * Hiro Sakurai, a main character in the Original English-language manga ''Miki Falls'' * Hiro, a Japanese steam engine character from the ''Thomas and Friends'' special ''"Hero of the Rails"'' * Hiro Fuse, a character from Scott Westerfeld's book, "Extras", of the Uglies series * Hiro the Mini Ninja, a player character in ''Mini Ninjas'' video game * Hiro Miyamoto, a swordmaster and protagonist in the game ''Daikatana'' * Heero Yuy (ヒロ・ユイ, Hiro Yui), Pilot of the Zero suit and a main character in ''Mobile Suit Gundam Wing'' * Hiro Oozora, a character from ''Little Battlers Experience W'', one of the three protagonists. * Hiro, one of the giant ninja toads from Mount Myoboku from the anime and manga series, ''Naruto''. * Hiro Takachiho, Marvel character from the superhero team ''Big Hero 6''. He was renamed Hiro Hamada in the 2014 Disney film adaptation. * Hiro, a character from the anime ''Darling in the Franxx''. * Hiro, one of the instructors in the video game ''Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm and Exercise''. * Hiro Amanokawa, the main character of ''Digimon Ghost Game'' * Hiro-Kala, a supervillain from Marvel Comics * Hiro Okamura, a teenage mechanical genius from Japan first appeared as the Toyman in Superman (vol. 2) #177 * Hiro Okuiri, a character from the anime ''Inazuma Eleven: Ares'' * Hiro Segawa, a character from the manga ''A Couple of Cuckoos'' * Hiro Shinosawa, a character from the game ''Gakuen Idolmaster'' * Hiiro Kagami, a character in the ''tokusatsu'' series ''Kamen Rider Ex-Aid'' * Hiiro Amagi, a character from the rhythm game ''Ensemble Stars!!''
==Mythology== * Hiro is the god of thieves in Tahiti mythology,<ref name="tahiti"/> and a demigod in Polynesian mythology.<ref name="jps"> {{cite web |title=Documentary Research in Polynesian Mythology |author=Katharine Luomala, Ph.D. |url=https://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Volume_49_1940/Volume_49%2C_No._194/Research_in_Polynesian_mythology_by_Katharine_Luomala%2C_p_175-196/p1 |date=1940-01-01 |publisher=Journal of the Polynesian Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210082141/https://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Volume_49_1940/Volume_49%2C_No._194/Research_in_Polynesian_mythology_by_Katharine_Luomala%2C_p_175-196/p1 |archive-date=February 10, 2018}}</ref> He was the first builder of large canoes with planks sewn together called pahi.<ref name="tahiti">{{cite web |website=University of Hawaiʻi |title=Hiro, Teuira Henry |date=October 26, 2011 |url=http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dennisk/voyaging_chiefs/hiro.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104191216/http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dennisk/voyaging_chiefs/hiro.html |archive-date=November 4, 2021}}</ref> * In Rapa Nui mythology, Hiro is an ancient rain deity.<ref name="RapaNui"/> There is a stone aerophone on Easter Island called Pu o Hiro.<ref name="RapaNui">{{cite web |title=Pu o Hiro, the trumpet of Hiro |website=Imagina Rapa Nui Easter Island |url=https://imaginarapanui.com/en/easter-island-sightseeing/easter-island-archaeology/pu-o-hiro/ |date=October 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402034320/https://imaginarapanui.com/en/easter-island-sightseeing/easter-island-archaeology/pu-o-hiro/ |archive-date=April 2, 2023}}</ref> It was used for fertility rituals and to call the rain deity during drought.<ref name="RapaNui" />
==See also== *List of names derived from gemstones *Hiroo (given name) *Hiro
== References == {{reflist}}
{{given name}}
Category:Japanese masculine given names Category:Masculine given names Category:Japanese unisex given names Category:Polynesian masculine given names Category:Indian masculine given names Category:Pakistani masculine given names Category:Given names derived from gemstones Category:Spanish masculine given names Category:Sindhi names