I'm a writer as well, and I'm writing a story which features a Japanese boy living in the states. I've always known that hiroyuki means "wide-spread happiness," but I was curious to see if I could find any additional information. I know the word "Yuki" means snow, and that "Hiro" means "Understanding," but I was curious to see if the kanji that made this name up could be interpreted some other way.

There's a scene in which a girl asks him why he goes by his family name instead of Hiroyuki. I wanted to give the reader something better than, "Oh, well in Japan, we all go by our family names unless we're really close to someone." The thing is, he lived in Hawaii most of his life, and has only been to Japan a few times to visit his grandparents. Furthermore, his mother is an Australian and his father is a lecherous scumbag.

If you can point me in a more profound direction for this character, I would be eternally grateful! ^__^