<p>I noticed Sotoka's name is usually spelled with a dot in the middle, like so: ソトカ・ラキター</p>
<p>So I started by checking Tom Cruise's Wikipedia page: <a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%88%E3%83%A0%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%88%E3%83%A0%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA</a></p>
<p>Sure enough, the dot was present in this name too, as well as all the names on the page. And further research led me to this Stackexchange question: <a href="https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/18069/middle-dot-%E4%B8%AD%E9%BB%92-in-non-japanese-names">https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/18069/middle-dot-%E4%B8%AD%E9%BB%92-in-non-japanese-names</a></p>
<p>It would seem this dot is used to denote a foreign name, and it would seem western name order is usually preserved for western names (as <a href="https://anime.stackexchange.com/users/102/makoto">Makoto</a> says in the comments). Which means Rakita is Sotoka's surname, and it was possibly easily inferred by anyone who understood the Japanese.</p>
<p>One caveat. The site <a href="https://jisho.org/search/%E4%B8%AD%E9%BB%92" rel="nofollow noreferrer">jisho.org</a> states the symbol is used to separate names spelled in Katakana, and Sotoka's name is spelled entirely in Katakana (which one would expect from a foreign name). But when we consider that it is Rakita on both her gym clothes and school swimsuit, and everyone else has their surname written on those, and all the other info, I believe it is still reasonable to conclude that her surname is Rakita.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-10T19:36:52.960Z
2023-05-10T19:36:52.960Z
Shaymin Gratitude
<p>I noticed in one of the episodes that their homeroom teacher called her Rakita-san (or it might have been -chan), whereas Bocchi and everyone else calls her Sotoka-san (or Sotoka-chan or just Sotoka).　It would seem to be odd that the teacher is on more familiar terms with Sotoka than Bocchi and the others to be calling her by her first name. On the other hand, all her students are calling her Teru-chan, so it could be the case.</p>
<p>And in the episode where they go to the school, Bocchi's school issued swimsuit had 一里(Hitori) written on it, while Sotoka's had ラキター(Rakita).</p>
<p>On page 80 of the first volume of the manga, Sotoka's name is listed as ソトカラキター and on page 1 Hitori Bocchi's name is listed as 一里ぼっち.</p>
<p>Is it then the case that Sotoka's surname is actually Rakita and the manga and anime are changing the order of names to reflect what is more typical in western countries?</p>
<h2>Additional Info</h2>
<ul>
<li>The swimming part can be found starting at page 20 of volume 2 of the manga and shows the same names on their swimsuits as the anime.</li>
<li>The incident of the teacher calling her Rakita-san can be found on page 105 of volume 2.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-10T17:58:07.283Z
In inference - and this isn't a hand-wavy attempt at an answer - it would make some sense if the name of Sotoka was preserved as it was if she had come from another country.  Western names are very, very rarely reversed unless the person is also part-Japanese in canon (thoughts go to Saekano on this one).
Makoto
<hitori-bocchi-no-marumaru-seikatsu>
Is Sotoka Rakita's name order reversed because she's a foreigner?
# Is Sotoka Rakita's name order reversed because she's a foreigner?
Posted by: username_0 on 2023-05-09
I noticed in one of the episodes that their homeroom teacher called her Rakita-san (or it might have been -chan), whereas Bocchi and everyone else calls her Sotoka-san (or Sotoka-chan or just Sotoka).　It would seem to be odd that the teacher is on more familiar terms with Sotoka than Bocchi and the others to be calling her by her first name. On the other hand, all her students are calling her Teru-chan, so it could be the case.

And in the episode where they go to the school, Bocchi's school issued swimsuit had 一里(Hitori) written on it, while Sotoka's had ラキター(Rakita).

On page 80 of the first volume of the manga, Sotoka's name is listed as ソトカラキター and on page 1 Hitori Bocchi's name is listed as 一里ぼっち.

Is it then the case that Sotoka's surname is actually Rakita and the manga and anime are changing the order of names to reflect what is more typical in western countries?

## Additional Info

* The swimming part can be found starting at page 20 of volume 2 of the manga and shows the same names on their swimsuits as the anime.
* The incident of the teacher calling her Rakita-san can be found on page 105 of volume 2.
**Tags:** hitori-bocchi-no-marumaru-seikatsu
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: In inference - and this isn't a hand-wavy attempt at an answer - it would make some sense if the name of Sotoka was preserved as it was if she had come from another country.  Western names are very, very rarely reversed unless the person is also part-Japanese in canon (thoughts go to Saekano on this one).  
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_0 on 2023-05-10. Score: 1 | Accepted answer
I noticed Sotoka's name is usually spelled with a dot in the middle, like so: ソトカ・ラキター

So I started by checking Tom Cruise's Wikipedia page: <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%88%E3%83%A0%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA>

Sure enough, the dot was present in this name too, as well as all the names on the page. And further research led me to this Stackexchange question: <https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/18069/middle-dot-%E4%B8%AD%E9%BB%92-in-non-japanese-names>

It would seem this dot is used to denote a foreign name, and it would seem western name order is usually preserved for western names (as [Makoto](https://anime.stackexchange.com/users/102/makoto) says in the comments). Which means Rakita is Sotoka's surname, and it was possibly easily inferred by anyone who understood the Japanese.

One caveat. The site [jisho.org](https://jisho.org/search/%E4%B8%AD%E9%BB%92) states the symbol is used to separate names spelled in Katakana, and Sotoka's name is spelled entirely in Katakana (which one would expect from a foreign name). But when we consider that it is Rakita on both her gym clothes and school swimsuit, and everyone else has their surname written on those, and all the other info, I believe it is still reasonable to conclude that her surname is Rakita.
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