Cute Japanese Names - Female and Male Kawaii Options

In this article, we are going to share a list of Japanese names that are cute or Kawaii (Japanese word for cute). We're going to use a variety of cuteness criteria, including Japanese criteria. The name list below will have cute female and male names.

This article was not easy at all, as when searching for cute Japanese names, we only found random lists of common names. I don't want to do more of the same, so I had to do a lot of research in limbo. Thank you for sharing!

We have already written several articles and lists about names that can be read in our Japanese Names Guide. If this list is not enough, perhaps this guide will be of great help to the reader. Hope you like it!

How to choose a Kawaii Name?

Choosing a Kawaii or Cute name is not an easy task. We recommend that first of all, you have a basic understanding of the meaning from the word kawaii. After that, we can really understand how to choose a cute name.

Usually a cute name is composed of ideograms that resemble cute and beautiful things, such as flowers, fruits, animals, repetition of syllables, onomatopoeia and others. You might want to use these requirements to choose a cute Japanese name.

Usually female names are cute by themselves, since most of them have ideograms of love, child, flower, beauty and others. Of course, these are common names that don't stand out as much in their cuteness. In this article you will find out much more.

Other ways to make a cute name can be by:

  • Sound names are cuter;
  • Mention the month or season of birth in the name;
  • Use an unusual and old-fashioned name;
  • Names written in Hiragana are popular and cute;
  • Foreign names can also sound cute;
  • Two-syllable names are most popular;
  • Names with three syllables can sound pretty;

Another beautiful thing about Japanese names are nicknames. There are several secrets surrounding Japanese nicknames and their ways of choosing. We recommend reading: All about Japanese Nicknames.

Japanese Names Cute Kawaii - Female and Male
Will you choose a cute name for your child?

Cute Japanese Names

A survey was carried out in high school to understand which names the Japanese find the cutest and which criteria were used. The survey starts by saying which names sounded cute to students, see what young people said:

16-year-old boys said the names Mei [芽郁] and Kotoha [琴葉] are cute and elegant. Another 17 year old boy found the name Ichika [一花] cute, simple and elegant, just a flower. The 17 and 16 year old girls chose Yume [結愛] and Kanon [花音].

According to research, another thing that makes Japanese names cute and beautiful is the junction of the ideograms of beauty [美] in names like Mio, Mika, Mirei and Kotomi. Flower names were also mentioned in the survey.

Old-fashioned names that are familiar to the Japanese are popular. Names that directly transmit three phonemes into a single ideogram are considered cute. We have cases of Miyabi [雅], Tsumugi [紬] and Aoi [葵].

Popular names associated with nature that have a warm and gentle image like Shizuku, Kaede and Miku. Names with glowing images that use glowing ideograms like Ayumi, Miyuu, Asahi and Kana.

Girl Power names were also mentioned in the survey, ones that make a woman look strong and sparkling like Airi, Reindeer and Karen. strong names like Hiyori, Tsubaki and Nanase. Also nice names like Hina and Manaka.

Cute Japanese names kawaii - feminine and masculine
Cute kids deserve cute names

Japanese flower names

It is common for the Japanese to name flowers for their babies and pets. Names related to flowers are also popular due to the idea of “being bright and splendid like a flower”.

Some of these names have only one ideogram, others try to make the flower phoneme with different ideograms. Usually flower names are mostly feminine. Here are some Japanese flower names:

  • Hana [花] - Means Flower;
  • Sakura [桜] - Cherry tree;
  • Tsubaki [椿] - Camellia;
  • Saki [咲] - Bloom;
  • Yuzu - [柚] - Type of Lemon;
  • Momo [桃] - Peach;
  • Iris - Ayame [菖]
  • Anzu [杏] - Apricot;
  • Sumire [菫] - Violet;
  • Minori [実] - Seed, Fruit, Nut;
  • Tsubomi [蕾] - Button (from plants);
  • Shizuku [雫] - Drip;
  • Momiji [椛] - Autumn Foliage, Birch, Maple;
  • Kiri [桐] - Paulownia;
  • Nazuna [薺] - Shepherd's purse;

Don't think that just because there's a lemon on the list, that name is masculine. Flower names are usually feminine and for women. There are many other flower names and their meanings that you can see in our article on Hanakotoba.

Other cute Japanese female flower names are: Karin, Ayame, Shion, Momiji, Momoka, Anna and Serika. Now the most popular kanji used to indicate cute girls is laughs []. The name Riko, for example, ranked 4th in the cute names category in 2017.

These are jasmine flower names which in Japanese is called Matsurika [茉莉花], we have several options like Mari, Marikan, Risa, Yuri, Rio, Marino, Karina and others. The same can be used with other ideograms in this article.

Cute Japanese names kawaii - feminine and masculine
Flowers are pure cuteness!

The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:

Japanese names associated with Sound and Music

Many of the beautiful words that have been passed down in Japan since ancient times are associated with sound and music, so they are a good choice for cute and kawaii girl names.

For example, the koto [琴], a traditional Japanese musical instrument shows all the delicacy and skill of the Japanese with music. Other ideograms that fit a cute name include the sound ideogram oto [音] or song [歌]. See some:

  • 美琴(Mikoto)
  • 琴音(Kotone)
  • 朱音(Akane)
  • 歌子・詩子(Utako)
  • 響子(Kyouko)
  • 律子(Ritsuko)
  • 琴都音(Kotone)
  • 天舞音(Amane)
  • 由歌里(Yukari)
  • 詩津歌(Shizuka)
  • 帆乃歌(Honoka)
Japanese Names Cute Kawaii - Female and Male
Even Japanese sweets are cute

Short and easy cute Japanese names

The Japanese names below are short and easy. Some names in the list below may be unisex or sound better like male names. These are unusual names that refer to a particular Japanese word or ideogram.

  • 安 (An)
  • 純(Juun)
  • 優(Yuu)
  • 恵(Kei)
  • 塁(King)
  • 聖(I know)
  • 怜(King)
  • 晴(Haru)
  • 茗 (Mei)
  • 尚 (Shou)
  • 藍(Ran)

Something that makes the name cute and beautiful is its writing, so today many write their names using Hiragana or Katakana, because they are more beautiful and less complicated. Simplicity is all about cuteness. So, here are some Kanji names with few easy-to-write strokes:

  • 司(Tsukasa)
  • 央 (Hiro)
  • 永(Hey)
  • 夕 (Yuu)
  • 才 (Mitsu)
  • 光 (Hikari)
  • 七 (Nana)
Japanese Names Cute Kawaii - Female and Male
Speaking of cute anime, we have Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Cute Japanese names using parents' names

The Japanese syllabary allows us to take the initials or final parts of the parents' names and put them together to form a new name that can sound cute and pretty. Here are some examples of parents who named their daughters using their initials:

  • "A" from Akira + "Eu" from May → Ai
  • "Ka" from Kazuki + "Na" from Naho → Kana
  • "Untranslatable" from Tatsuya + "I'm" by Miiko → Miya
  • "Ki" from Taiki + "Natsu" (hand name) → Natsuki

You can also take the initial or final characters of a parent's name to create the children's name, but you don't necessarily have to use the same phonemes. In case the name doesn't make any sense, there are thousands of ways to read an ideogram.

Japanese names are endless, which adds to the cuteness. Perhaps the article about meaning of japanese names can help you decide ideograms and names for your child. We also recommend the video below:

cute Japanese male names

The criteria for Japanese male names that are cute may differ from female ones. No man is going to want to be named after a flower or something feminine, but there are plenty of masculine names that can sound cute, especially to girls.

  • Akira - clear and bright;
  • Daiki – This name in Japanese means born for great glory;
  • Eiji – A popular name for the second son, it means prosperity, peace and eternity;
  • Eriko - Child;
  • Ren (蓮) - Lotus;
  • Hiroto (大翔) - Great flight;
  • Haruto (陽翔) - Good flight;
  • Minato (湊) - Protected Harbor
  • Yuma (悠真) - Calm Truth
  • Riku (俐空) - Sky Sage
  • Kaito - Among Pear Trees
  • Asahi - Morning sun

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