Guide to Japanese Female and Male Names

Over the years Suki Desu has written several articles about Japanese names. These articles generated the most visits to the site. In order to simplify the search for names, I decided to make a complete guide to Japanese male and female names.

This Japanese Names Guide will be constantly updated with new curiosities, information and articles related to Japanese Names. Thank you and ask in advance for your sharing and comment.

The article is quite extensive and explains in detail everything about Japanese names. If you are only interested in seeing a list of meaningful names, the summary below will help you jump straight to that part:

How do Japanese names work?

A Japanese name is usually made up of the first and last name. Both are written using Kanji, Japanese ideograms of Chinese origin. Each ideogram has a meaning, which enriches the meanings of Japanese names.

The Japanese usually refer to the unknown by the surname, followed by a suffix of respect. Only when there is a certain intimacy, do people call themselves by their first name, or personal name. The full name can be used in certain situations.

The Japanese name can also be written using Hiragana. The full name is called jinmei [人名]. In formal and document writing, it is common to write family surnames first and second personal or first names.

Japanese names usually have more than one meaning thanks to the homonyms that are common in Japanese words. Some may have the meaning of fruits, colors, numbers, but their writing has a different meaning.

There is a pattern in the choice of Japanese names. There is even a proper reading to be used in the ideograms that make up the name. You cannot go out taking any ideogram and use your reading ON and KUN to form a name.

If you want to know more about how Japanese names work and how they are chosen, see the article below:

• How Japanese Names are chosen

The Writing of Japanese Names

As already mentioned, the names are written in Ideograms of Chinese origin, but they can also be written in Hiragana depending on the situation. For those who are unaware, the Japanese language consists of 3 scripts, Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji.

These 3 writings coexist in the language, are used for different purposes. Hiragana is the standard script, the kanji is the writing to distinguish homonymous words, like a written sign language, already the katakana is used to write Japanese words.

A single word can mix the Kanji and Hiragana ideograms, like the Japanese verbs that are usually written in Kanji and end in Hiragana [verb to eat = 食べる]. Foreign names are written in Katakana.

For example, my name is Kevin, so I have to write something like Kebin [ケビン], but if I wish, I can also choose Japanese characters with similar readings to form my name using characters. A complicated but fun task.

The article below will help you understand more about the writing and speaking of Japanese names:

• How to Speak and Write My Name in Japanese

Transcribe your name to Katakana

The tool below allows you to enter your name and see his writing in Katakana:

The tool is not perfect! If your name ends with a consonant, do not write the consonant. If your name has a letter that has a long vowel, write the vowel twice. Example: If your name is Sarah slave Sahara. If your name has syllables with "C", consider replacing it with "K".

Discover the meaning of a Japanese Name

The first article that we are going to summarize and highlight in this Japanese name guide is How to find out the meaning of Japanese names. We made a video that summarized this whole article, let’s leave it below:

Some are curious to know the meaning of a certain name in Japanese. If he has the ideograms that make up that name, just throw it in the jisho.org. This dictionary shows the meaning of each ideogram that makes up the name in question.

If the person is looking for Japanese names with a certain meaning, they can do the opposite way, using the English word in the jisho.org dictionary; Then you should take the ideogram and search the jisho using the hashtag #names.

I will not go into the subject further because we already have the article and video in question. With these instructions you will be able to decipher meanings, create any name, discover its writing and meaning. Can we proceed with the Guide?

Japanese surnames and their meanings

In ancient times in Japan, people do not have surnames. So, to differentiate some people from others, the Japanese used to refer to the person who lived in a certain place. That was how Japanese surnames came about.

You can see in detail the origin of Japanese surnames in our article. In short, Japanese surnames refer to descriptions of where families lived. As a foot of the mountain, rice field, wide bridge or village.

For example, Nakamura [中村] means in the middle of the village, many people live in villages, which is why it has become such a common surname. The same with Yamamoto that means on the mountain and Yamada which means mountain rice paddies.

The most common surname in Japan is Satou, more than 1,928,000 people bear this surname. Satou is mainly written with the ideograms [佐藤] that together mean wisteria field. Today there are about 200,000 surnames in Japan.

Honors of Treatments in Japanese Names

In addition to saying the name, in Japan we use honorifics or suffixes after the name to show respect. Similar to the terms Lord, Teacher and others. In Japan it is unusual to call a person by name only, these suffixes are always used.

The use of suffixes is necessary in names, because Japanese names have several homonyms. They help us to distinguish common words from the names of people in Japan. Even though the writing is different, the Japanese pronunciation is limited to 109 syllables.

There are hundreds of Japanese honorifics that you can see here. These Honorifics can be used in both the first name and the surname, which is usually used in formal conversations. Fortunately we will summarize the main honors here:

San [さん] – A title of respect commonly used among equals of any age. Although the closest analogue in English is "Mr." or "Miss". San it is universally added to a person’s name, in both formal and informal contexts.

Chan [ちゃん] - Diminutive suffix that expresses trust, affinity or security with the person. Generally, chan it is informal, used for babies, children, grandparents and teenagers. Chan is used most of the time to refer to young women.

Kun [君] - It is an informal suffix used between friends, a colleague, a younger brother or boy. It is widely used in the “superior speaking to an inferior” relationship to refer to the inferior.

Sama [さま] - It is a significantly more respectful and formal version of the san. It is mainly used to refer to people much higher in the hierarchy, and sometimes to a person you idolize or admire a lot.

How do you know if a Japanese name is female or male?

In the West we can differentiate a male and female name by its terminations, but in Japanese it is more complicated, since we constantly see female names ending with "O" and male names ending with "A". How to differentiate sex in Japanese names?

Many Japanese names can be considered Unisex, but some names are considered feminine and masculine by the way they are written, the ideograms used and also by their terminations. See some examples below:

Usually Japanese female names use cute characters such as children, flowers, beauty and others. There may be exceptions and we find male names with such ideograms. If a first name has more than three syllables, it is almost always a male name.

If you are unsure whether a name is female or male, just write the name in google images in romaji or kanji that will appear people. We recommend that you enable secure search so that no indecent images appear. You can check the gender of a name on the jisho.org

Lists of Japanese Names and Their Meanings

Now it's time to share a complete list of all the articles on names that are on the site:

• Japanese Female Name Lists with Meanings
• List of Japanese Male Names with Meanings
• List of Unisex Japanese Names with Meaning
• List of Kawaii Cute Japanese Names

Other Japanese Names

Some articles have slightly different themes, we will list them below:

• Japanese Anime Character Names with Meaning
• Japanese Animal Names
• Brazilian Names Written in Japanese
• Yuki and Yuuki - Meanings of names
• Name of Pokémon in Japanese
• 5 Ways to Create Japanese Nicknames

Chinese Names and Korean Names

Suki Desu is also focused on other Asian countries, so we also write articles about Korean names and Chinese names. In order to help your search, we will leave these articles below:

• Chinese Male and Female Names
• Korean Male and Female Names
• Korean Names for Pets

Learning Words Article Names

We also have another website focused on words, and there we share several lists of names. As a bonus, I will leave some of the articles on this website Learn Words. I hope you enjoyed this Japanese name guide! If you liked it, share it!

• American Female Names and Their Meanings
• Italian Names

Japanese Female Names with Meanings

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Rōmaji	HIRAGANA	KANJI	MEANINGS
THERE	あい	愛	Ai (ai) = Love
Akemi	あけみ	明美 / 朱美	The Kanji 美 (mi) Means Beauty, beautiful / The kanji 明 (Ake) Means resplendent, to illuminate, to shine. The kanji 朱 (Ake) another way of writing this name, means something red, scarlet.
Sawako	さわこ	爽子	爽 (Sawa) It means refreshing, invigorating, clear, happy.子 (Ko) Means Child
Yuuki	ゆうき	優希悠生	優 (Yuu) "kindness, superiority" or 悠 (Yuu) "distant, slow" combined with 希 (Ki) "hope", commerce (Ki) "Radiant" or 生 (Ki) "Life".
Akiko	あきこ	晶,明,秋 + 子	The kanji have the meanings: 晶 (Aki) "spark", 明 (Aki) "bright" or "Autumn" from: 秋 (Aki) combined with 子 (ko) "child".
Aimi	あいみ	愛美	愛 (ai) “love, affection” and 美 (mi) “beautiful”.
Akane	あかね	赤根	Akane means dark red, 赤 (aka, red) "ne" can mean several things kanji 根 means root, perseverance.
Airi	あいり	愛	愛 (ai) “love, affection” combined with 莉 (laughs) “jasmine” or 梨 (laughs) “pear”.
Aki	あき	晶, 明, 秋, 亜希	晶 "spark", 明 "bright" or: 秋 "Autumn". It can also come from 亜 (a) ”second, Asia” combined with 希 (Ki) “hope”.
Akiko	あきこ		Like Aki, + 子 which means child.
Ami	あみ	亜美	亜 (a) “second, Asia” and 美 (mi) “beautiful”.
Ayane	あやね	彩音, 綾音, 絢音	彩 (Aya) “color”, 綾 (Aya) “design” or 絢 (Aya) “kimono project” combined with 音 (ne) “sound”.
Chika [ko]	ちかこ	千香子	Chika or Chikako: 千 (Chi), “thousand”, 智 (Chi) “wisdom, intellect” or 散 (Chi), “dispersion”, 香 (ka) “the smell of perfume” and 子 (ko) “child”
Emi	えみ	恵,絵+美	恵 (e) “blessing, favor” or 絵 (e) “imagine” combined with 美 (mi) “beautiful”.
Hana [ko]	はなこ	花子	花 (Hana) "flower" and 子 (ko) "child".
Haruka	はるか	遥, 春花, 晴香’	遥 “far”. It can also come from 春 (Haru) “Primavera” or 晴 (Haru) “clarify” combined with 花 (ka) “flower” or 香 (ka) “smell, perfume”.
Hitomi	ひとみ		瞳 ”pupil of the eye”. It can also come from 智 (hito) "wisdom, intellect" and 美 (mi) "beautiful". This name is often written in hiragana.
Hoshi	ほし	星	It means star.
Keiko	けいこ	慶子, 敬子, 啓子’	慶 (kei) "celebrate", 敬 (kei) "respect" or "open" to 啓 (kei) combined with 子 (ko) "child".
Misaki	みさき	美咲	美 (mi) “beautiful” and 咲 (Saki) “flower”.
Mizuki	みずき	美月, 瑞希	美 (mi) “handsome” and 月 (zuki) “Moon”. It can also come from 瑞 (mizu) "Congratulations" and 希 (Ki) "hope".
Naoko	なおこ	直子	直 (no) "honest, straight" and 子 (ko) "child".
Satomi	さとみ		里 (sato) "Vila" or "sage" from 聡 (sato) combined with 美 (mi) "beautiful".

List of Japanese female names with Kanji

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Japanese name	Ideograms
THERE	藍;愛
AIKO	愛子
AIMI	愛美
AKANE	茜
AKEMI	明美
AKI	1- 秋, 2- 明, 3- 晶
ASAMI	麻美
ASUKA	明日香
ATSUKO	1- 篤子, 2- 温子
AYA	1- 彩, 2- 綾
AYAKO	1- 彩子, 2- 綾子
AYAME	菖蒲
AYANO	1- 彩乃, 2- 綾乃
CHIE	恵
CHIEKO	恵子
CHIHARU	千春
CHIKA	散花
CHINATSU	千夏
CHIYO	千代
CHIYOKO	千代子
CHOU	蝶
EIKO	栄子
EMI	1- 恵美, 2- 絵美
EMIKO	1- 恵美子, 2- 笑子
ERI	絵理
ETSUKO	悦子
FUJI	富
HANA	花
HARU	1- 晴, 2- 春, 3- 陽
HARUKA	遙, 遥, 悠, 遼
HARUKI	春樹
HARUMI	春美
HIDEKO	秀子
HIKARI	光
HIKARU	輝
HIRO	1- 裕, 2- 寛, 3- 浩
HIROMI	1- 裕美, 2- 浩美, 3- 寛美
HISOKA	密
HITOMI	瞳
HOTARU	蛍
IZUMI	泉
JUN	順
JUNKO	1- 順子, 2- 純子
KAEDE	楓
KAMEKO	上子
KAMIKO	上子
KAORI	香織
KAORU	薫
KASUMI	霞
KATSUMI	勝美
KAZUE	一恵
KAZUKO	1- 和子, 2- 一子
KAZUMI	和美
KEI	1- 恵, 2- 慶, 3- 桂, 4- 敬, 5- 啓, 6- 圭, 7- 景
KIKU	菊
KIMI	君
KIYOKO	清子
KIYOMI	清見
KO	1- 幸, 2- 光, 3- 康
KOHAKU	琥珀
KOTONE	琴音
KOU	1- 幸, 2- 光, 3- 康
KUMIKO	久美子
KYO	1- 杏, 2- 京, 3- 協, 4- 郷
KYOU	1- 杏, 2- 京, 3- 協, 4- 郷
MAI	舞
MAKI	1- 真紀, 2- 真希, 3- 真貴, 4- 真樹
MAKOTO	誠
MANNA	愛
MARIKO	真里子
BUT	1- 正, 2- 雅, 3- 昌, 4- 真, 5- 政, 6- 将
MASAMI	雅美
MASUMI	真澄
MASUYO	益世
MAYUMI	麻弓
MEGUMI	恵
MI	美
MICHI	道
MICHIKO	美智子
MIDORI	緑
MIEKO	美枝子
MIHO	1- 美保, 2- 美帆
MIKI	1- 美紀, 2- 美姫, 3- 美樹, 4- 美貴
MINAKO	美奈子
MINORI	里
MISAKI	美咲
MITSUKO	光子
MITSURU	満
MIWA	1- 美和, 2- 美輪, 3- 三和, 4- 三輪
MIYAKO	美夜子
MIYOKO	美代子
MIYUKI	1- 美幸, 2- 美雪, 3- 深雪
MIZUKI	美月
MOE	萌
MOMO	モモ
MOMOE	百恵
MOMOKO	桃子
MORIKO	森子
NAOKI	直樹
NAOKO	1- 直子, 2- 尚子
NAOMI	直美
NATSUMI	夏美
NOBUKO	信子
NORI	1- 儀, 2- 典, 3- 則, 4- 法
NORIKO	法子 or 典子
KING	1- 鈴, 2- 零, 3- 麗, 4- 霊
REIKO	麗子
REN	蓮
RIE	理恵
RIKA	泉
RIN	凛
RYOKO	1- 亮子, 2- 涼子
SACHIKO	幸子
SAKI	咲
SAKIKO	咲子
SAKURA	桜
SANGO	さんご
SAYURI	小百合
SETSUKO	節子
SHIGEKO	成子
SHIKA	鹿
SHINJU	真珠
SHIORI	詩織
SHIZUKA	静香
SHIZUKO	静子
SORA	空
SUMIKO	澄子
SUSUMU	進
SUZU	鈴
SUZUME	雀
TAKAKO	1- 隆子, 2- 孝子, 3- 貴子, 4- 敬子
TAKARA	宝
TAMIKO	民子
TERUKO	照子
TOMIKO	美子
TOMOKO	1- 友子, 2- 知子, 3- 智子
TOSHIKO	敏子
TSUKIKO	月子
ONE AND	梅
UMEKO	梅子
USAGI	兎
YASU	ヤス
YASUKO	康子
YOKO	1- 洋子, 2- 陽子
YOSHI	1- 義, 2- 吉, 3- 良
YOSHIE	1- 佳江, 2- 由栄, 3- 淑恵, 4- 好恵
YOSHIKO	1- 好子, 2- 芳子, 3- 良子
YUKA	1- 由佳, 2- 佑香
YUKI	1- 幸, 2- 雪
YUKIKO	由希子
YUKO	1- 優子, 2- 裕子, 3- 祐子
YUMI	由美
YUMIKO	由美子
YURIKO	百合子

Japanese Male Names with Meanings

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Rōmaji	HIRAGANA	KANJI	MEANINGS
Ichigo	いちご	一護	Although the word Ichigo literally means strawberry, Kanji 護 means to defend, protect, guard. And of course 一 It means One or First.
Akio	あきお	‘昭夫, 昭男, 昭雄’	昭 (Aki) "brilliant" combined with 夫 (o) "husband, man", 男 (o) "male" or 雄 (o) "hero, manly".
Akira	あきら	昭,明,亮	昭 ”shiny”, 明 ”shiny” or 亮 ”clean”.
Daisuke	だいすけ		大 (Dai) “big” and 輔 (suke) “help”.
Haru	はる	陽,春,晴	陽 ”Sun, 春” Spring ”晴” clarify ”.
Hideki	ひでき	秀,英+樹	秀 (hide) “esteem, excellence” or 英 (hide) “excellent” combined with 樹 (Ki) “tree”.
Kenta	けんた	健太	健 (Ken) “healthy, strong” and 太 (ta) “thick, big”.
Ryuunosuke	りゅうのすけ	龍之介	龍 (Ryuu) “dragon” or 隆 (Ryuu) “noble, prosperous” combined with 之 (no) ”from” and 介 (suke) “precursor, herald”.
Shin	しん		It means real and true, with kanji 新 It means New.
Tsubasa	つばさ	翼	It means Asa.
Yuuki	ゆうき	優希, 悠希, 優輝, 悠生	優 (Yuu) “kindness, superiority” or 悠 (Yuu) “distant, slow” combined with 希 (Ki) “hope”, Comercio (Ki) “radiance” or 生 (Ki) “Life”.
Yuuto	ゆうと	優斗, 悠斗, 悠人, 悠翔, 優翔	優 (Yuu) “kindness, superiority” or 悠 (Yuu) “distant, slow” combined with 斗 (to), which refers to the constellation Ursa major, or 人 (a) “person” or and (a) “sound, fly".
Yuki	ゆき	幸, 雪, 由貴, 由紀	幸 “Happiness” or 雪 “Snow”. It can also come from 由 (Yu) “reason”, combined with 貴 (Ki) “valuable” or 紀 (Ki) “chronic”.
Yamato	やまよ	山よ	It refers to the ancient Yamato period of Japanese history, which lasted until the 8th century. The individual kanji is 大 ”big” and 和 ”Harmony”.

List of Japanese male names with Kanji

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Japanese name	Ideograms
AKI	1- 秋, 2- 明, 3- 晶
AKIHIKO	明彦
AKIHIRO	大畠
AKIO	1- 昭雄, 2- 昭夫
AKIRA	1- 明, 2- 亮
AOI	1- 碧, 2- 葵
ARATA	新
ATSUSHI	敦
SO	大
DAIKI	1- 大輝, 2- 大貴, 3- 大樹
DAISUKE	大輔
EIJI	1- 永次, 2- 英治, 3- 英二, 4- 栄治
SMOKE	文雄
GORO	五郎
GOROU	五郎
HACHIRO	八郎
HAJIME	肇, 元
HARU	1- 晴, 2- 春, 3- 陽
HIDEAKI	秀明
HIDEKI	秀樹
HIDEO	英夫
HIKARU	輝
HIRO	1- 裕, 2- 寛, 3- 浩
HIROAKI	広朗
HIROKI	弘樹
HIROSHI	1- 寛, 2- 浩
HISAO	寿夫
HISASHI	久志
HISOKA	密
HITOSHI	等
HOTAKA	穂高
ICHIROU	一郎
ISAMU	勇
ISAO	功
IWAO	巌
IZANAGI	イザナギ
JIROU	二郎
JUN	順
JUNICHI	順一
SWORN	十郎
KAEDE	楓
KATASHI	堅
KATSU	勝
KATSUMI	克己
KATSUO	勝雄
KATSURO	勝郎
KAZUHIKO	和彦
KAZUHIRO	一浩
KAZUKI	1- 和希, 2- 一輝
KAZUO	1- 和夫, 2- 一男
KEI	1- 恵, 2- 佳, 3- 敬, 4- 圭, 5- 慧
KEIICHI	圭一
KEIJI	敬二
KEN	1- 健, 2- 謙, 3- 研
KENSHIN	謙信
KENTA	健太
KICHIROU	吉郎
KIN	欽
KIOSHI	淳
KIYOSHI	淳
KO	1- 幸, 2- 光, 3- 康
KOHAKU	琥珀
KOICHI	光一
KOJI	光司
KOU	1- 幸, 2- 光, 3- 康
KUNIO	國男
KUROU	九郎
KYO	1- 杏, 2- 京, 3- 協, 4- 郷
MAKOTO	誠
MAMORU	守
MANABU	学
BUT	1- 正, 2- 雅, 3- 昌, 4- 真, 5- 政, 6- 将
MASAHIKO	正彦
MASAHIRO	正洋
MASAKI	昌樹
MASANORI	正則
MASAO	正男
MASARU	勝
MASASHI	雅
MASATO	正人
MASAYOSHI	昌良
MASAYUKI	正幸
MASUMI	真澄
MICHI	道
MICHIO	道夫
MIKIO	美樹夫
MINORI	里
MINORU	里
MITSUO	光子
MITSURU	満
NOT	1- 直, 2- 尚
NAOKI	直樹
NOBORU	翔
NOBU	1- 信, 2- 延
NOBUO	信夫
NOBUYUKI	信行
NORI	1- 儀, 2- 典, 3- 則, 4- 法
IN THE RIVER	法男
OROCHI	大蛇
RAIDEN	雷電
ROKURO	六朗
RYO	1- 亮, 2- 遼, 3- 諒, 4- 涼
RYOTA	亮太
RYUU	竜
SABURO	三郎
SATORU	1- 暁, 2- 悟, 3- 聡, 4- 知, 5- 覚, 6- 諭, 7- 了, 8- 智
SATOSHI	聡
SEIICHI	精一
SEIJI	精二
SHICHIRO	七郎
SHIGEO	重夫
SHIGERU	茂
SHIN	1- 晋, 2- 信, 3- 紳, 4- 心, 5- 慎, 6- 新, 7- 進, 8- 真
SHINJI	真二
SHO	翔
SHOICHI	翔一
SHOJI	翔二
SHOU	翔
SHUICHI	修一
SHUJI	修二
SORA	空
SUSUMU	進
TADAO	忠夫
TADASHI	1- 忠, 2- 正
TAKAHIRO	貴浩
TAKAO	孝雄
TAKASHI	隆
TAKAYUKI	隆行
TAKEHIKO	1- 雄彦, 2- 岳彦
TAKEO	1- 剛雄, 2- 武雄
TAKESHI	武
TAKUMI	1- 巧, 2- 匠, 3- 工
TAMOTSU	保
TARO	太郎
TATSUYA	竜也
TERUO	輝男
TETSUO	1- 哲雄, 2- 哲夫
TETSUYA	哲哉
TORU	徹
TOSHI	慧
TOSHIO	俊夫
TOSHIYUKI	敏幸
TSUNEO	恒雄, 恒夫
TSUTOMU	努
TSUYOSHI	剛
YASUHIRO	1- 泰裕, 2- 泰弘, 3- 恭弘, 4- 泰博
YASUO	康夫
YASUSHI	靖
YOICHI	1- 妖一, 2- 陽一, 3- 洋一, 4- 与一
YOSHI	1- 義, 2- 吉, 3- 良
YOSHIAKI	義明
YOSHIHIRO	義博, 義弘, 義博
YOSHIKAZU	1- 義量, 2- 良和
YOSHIO	1- 誉士夫, 2- 良夫
YOSHIRO	1- 義郎, 2- 良郎, 3- 義博
YOSHITO	1- 義人, 2- 美人, 3- 由人
YOSHIYUKI	1- 義行, 2- 吉行, 3- 由悠季
YUICHI	1- 裕一, 2- 雄一
YUKI	1- 幸, 2- 雪
YUKIO	1- 幸雄, 2- 行雄
YUTAKA	裕
YUU	優
YUUDAI	雄大