Sasuke & Mikoto: An Analysis

2. Beginnings

After Mikoto learns she is pregnant with her second child, Itachi seems keen on the possibility that the baby will be a boy. From Mikoto's response, I garner that Mikoto would have preferred that her second child be a girl, since with a household with two guys, it doesn't seem surprising that Mikoto might want another girl in the house, a child who might take a bit after her. Not that Mikoto was bothered by or disappointed with another son of course; she was joyous with her child regardless of whether it was a boy or girl, but I do think this scene seems to lightly imply that Mikoto wished for a daughter. Regardless, despite this personal preference, it is evident that Mikoto is excited by her second child and not at all upset that the baby is a son, so Mikoto didn't feel that strongly about it and was more than happy to accept her child either way.

Then again, alternatively perhaps Mikoto's correction that her second child might be a girl could be merely her making sure Itachi doesn't get too excited about having a little brother only for it to turn out that he will have a little sister instead, so Mikoto doesn't want Itachi's hopes to be dashed later on. So perhaps Mikoto merely means to encourage the sentiment that she and Itachi will be excited for the baby's arrival either way, regardless of whether the baby is a boy or a girl.

Mikoto asking Fugaku what name he picked for their second son implies it was solely Fugaku's choice to name their second kid Sasuke. This may indicate that culturally in Naruto, it is the father who typically picks his children's name, since likewise Minato was the one who announced the choice of naming his son in honor of the protagonist in his sensei's book. I believe I've heard somewhere that it's traditionally the father who names his children in Japanese culture, so it seems safe to assume that the world of Naruto might have a culture where it's traditional for the father to name the child, not the mother.

But it's never explicitly clarified, so it's open for interpretation, such as Fugaku and Mikoto taking turns in choosing what to name their children. Perhaps Mikoto chose Itachi's name so now it's Fugaku's turn to choose Sasuke's name. But personally, I would make the assumption that Fugaku chose both Itachi and Sasuke's names.

Also of note is that it's common practice in the Naruto-verse for the child to be named after their parents. Not always, but it does happen a lot. Yet interestingly enough, Fugaku and Mikoto's children don't have names reminiscent of their parents.

At least in the English dub, Mikoto's tone of voice has always given me the impression that Mikoto doesn't sound particularly pleased with naming her son after the Third Hokage's grandfather. Perhaps her hesitancy is because she is concerned about whether such a name is appropriate without permission, seeing as how Fugaku immediately clarifies that he has already asked for Hiruzen's permission to name their son after the renowned Sasuke Sarutobi.

Or perhaps Mikoto's displeasure is because she isn't fond of the current Hokage and so she's not particularly fond of naming her son after Hiruzen's grandfather, particularly since her husband was ignored as a potential candidate for Hokage by Hiruzen (despite Fugaku having the power, skill, and leadership experience that would make him a good candidate for the position) in favor of Minato, someone who is very young and inexperienced, which probably doesn't put Hiruzen and the Uchiha clan on the best of terms. It would be understandable if Mikoto was miffed that her husband's hard work and contributions to the war and towards protecting the village had been ignored without him even being so much as considered or the village leadership position by the Leaf's politicians. Even if she didn't particularly hate Hiruzen Sarutobi, it seems probable that Hiruzen isn't someone she'd like enough to name her son after one of his relatives, since Konoha's leaders and the Uchiha clan are basically rivals who don't particularly like each other at this point in time.

Though all that said, Mikoto doesn't seem overly bothered by the name either, just not especially pleased with the name choice.

That said, in her later encounter with Kushina, Mikoto seems perfectly fine with the name Sasuke, perhaps having come to terms with the name. Or perhaps I'm just reading too deeply into the voice acting and she was never bothered by the name choice to begin with.

In any case, Mikoto decides she is fine with naming their son after a strong shinobi in the hopes that Sasuke will become a fine shinobi himself one day. While the name may not be her top choice, she doesn't object to it, so if she did dislike naming her son after a Sarutobi or after a relative of the current Hokage, it was always a mild objection, one that was for her not even worth voicing.