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Japanese Female and Male Names Guide

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

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

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

How do Japanese names work?

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

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

The Japanese name can also be written using Hiragana. The full name is called jinmei [人名]. In formal writing and documents, it is common to write the family surname first and then the personal name or first name.

Japanese names usually have more than one meaning thanks to homonyms that are common in Japanese words. Some may have 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 specific reading to be used for the ideograms that make up the name. You cannot just pick any ideogram and use its leitura ON e 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:

Guide of Japanese female and male names
What is your name?

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 don't know, the Japanese language is composed of 3 scripts, Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji.

These 3 scripts coexist in the language, used for different purposes. Hiragana is the standard script, kanji is used to distinguish homophones, like a written sign language, while katakana is used to write Japanese words.

A single word can mix kanji and hiragana ideograms, like Japanese verbs that are usually written in kanji and have a hiragana ending [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 ideograms with similar readings to form my name using ideograms. A complicated but fun task.

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

Guide of Japanese female and male names
Stamp and Signature Seal

Transcribe your name to Katakana

The tool below allows you to type your name and see it written in Katakana:

The tool is not perfect! If your name ends with a consonant, do not write the consonant. If your name has any letter that has a long vowel, write the vowel 2 times. Example: If your name is Sarah write Saara. If your name has syllables with "C", think about replacing it with "K".

Guide of Japanese female and male names
Article cover!

Discovering the Meaning of a Japanese Name

The first article we will summarize and highlight in this Japanese names guide is How to discover the meaning of Japanese names. We made a video that summarizes this entire article, we will leave it below:

Some people are curious to know the meaning of a certain name in japonês. If it has the ideograms that make up this name, just throw it into jisho.org. This dictionary shows the meaning of each ideogram that composes the name in question.

If the person is looking for Japanese names with a specific meaning, they can do the reverse process, using the English word on the jisho.org dictionary; Then they should take the ideogram and search on jisho using the hashtag #names.

I won't go into the subject further because we already have the article and the 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

Back in Japan, people didn't have last names. So, to differentiate some people from others, the Japanese used to refer to the person who lived in a certain place. That's how Japanese surnames came about.

You can see in detail the origem dos sobrenomes japoneses em nosso artigo. In summary, Japanese surnames refer to descriptions of where families lived. Such as 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, for this reason it became such a common surname. The same with Yamamoto which means "at the mountain" and Yamada which means "rice paddy of the mountain."

The most common surname in Japan is Satou, with over 1,928,000 people owning this surname. Satou is mainly written with the ideograms [佐藤] which together mean "field of wisteria." Nowadays, there are about 200,000 surnames in Japan.

Guide of Japanese female and male names

Honorific 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 Sir, Professor and others. In Japan it is uncommon to call a person only by name, 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 both with the first name and the surname, which is usually more common in formal conversations. Fortunately, we will summarize the main honorifics here:

San [さん] - A title of respect commonly used among equals of any age. Although the closest equivalent in Portuguese is “Mr.” or “Ms.”. San 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. In general, chan is informal, used for babies, children, grandparents and teenagers. Chan is most often used to refer to young women.

Kun [君] – It is an informal suffix used among friends, a colleague, a brother or a younger boy. It is commonly used in the relationship "superior speaking with an inferior" to refer to the inferior.

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

Guide of Japanese female and male names
A very popular suffix is Senpai and Kouhai!

How to know if a Japanese name is feminine or masculine?

In the West we can differentiate between a masculine and feminine name by their endings, but in Japanese it is more complicated, as we constantly see feminine names ending in “O” and masculine names ending in “A”. How to differentiate gender in Japanese names?

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

Generally feminine names end or have the following ideograms and phonemes:

  • ko [child]
  • beautiful [美]
  • ka [flower]
  • and [江・恵]
  • in 奈・[菜]
  • no [乃]
  • ri [里]
  • love [愛]
  • sa [幸]

Usually masculine names end in or have the following ideograms and phonemes:

  • [郎]
  • ta [太]
  • suke [介・助・祐]
  • the [man・husband・male・life]
  • ya [ya・ye]
  • kichi [吉]
  • hiko [彦]
  • nobu [Faith]

Usually Japanese female names use cute ideograms like child, 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 masculine name.

If you are unsure whether a name is feminine or masculine, just type the name in romaji or kanji into Google Images and you will see people. We recommend enabling safe search to avoid inappropriate images. You can check the gender of a name at jisho.org

Lists of Japanese Names and their Meanings

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

Other Japanese Name Articles

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

Chinese names and Korean names

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

Learn Words Article Names

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

Japanese female names with meanings

Rōmaji HIRAGANA KANJI MEANINGS
AI love 愛(ai) = Love
Akemi Akemi Akemi/Shuumi The Kanji 美(mi) Means Beauty, beautiful / The kanji 明(Ake) Means resplendent, illuminate, shine. The kanji 朱(Ake), another way of writing this name, means something red, scarlet.
Sawako Sawako Sōko 爽 (Sawa) Means refreshing, invigorating, clear, happy.子 (Ko) means Child
Yuuki Yuki Yuki Haruka 優 (Yuu) "gentleness, superiority" or 悠(Yuu) "distant, leisurely" combined with 希(Ki) "hope", trade (Ki) "Radiant" or 生(Ki) "Life".
Akiko Akiko 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 Aimi Aimi 愛 (ai) "love, affection" and 美 (mi) "beautiful".
Akane Akane Akane Akane means dark red, 赤(aka, red) "ne" can mean many things the kanji 根 means root, perseverance.
Airi Airi 愛 (ai) "love, affection" combined with 莉 (ri) "jasmine" or 梨 (ri) "pear".
Aki autumn 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 Akiko Like Aki, + 子 meaning child.
Ami ami Ami 亜 (a) "second, Asia" and 美 (mi) "beautiful".
Ayane Ayane 彩音, 綾音, 絢音 彩 (Aya) "color", 綾 (Aya) "design" or 絢 (Aya) "kimono design" combined with 音 (ne) "sound".
Chika[ko] Chikako Chikako Chika or Chikako: 千 (Chi), "thousand", 智 (Chi) "wisdom, intellect" or 散 (Chi), "dispersion", 香 (ka) "the scent of perfume" and 子 (ko) "child"
Emi Eimi Blessing, painting + beauty 恵(e) "blessing, favor" or 絵(e) "imagine" combined with 美(mi) "beautiful".
Hana[ko] Hanako Hanako 花 (hana) "flower" and 子 (ko) "child".
Haruka Haruka 遥, 春花, 晴香' 遥 "far, distant". It can also come from 春 (Haru) "Spring" or 晴 (Haru) "enlighten" combined with 花(ka) "flower" or 香 (ka) "smell, perfume".
Hitomi Hitomi 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 star star It means star.
Keiko Keiko 慶子, 敬子, 啓子' 慶 (kei) "celebrate", 敬 (kei) "respect" or "open" to 啓 (kei) combined with 子 (ko) "child".
Misaki Misaki Misaki 美 (mi) "beautiful" and 咲 (saki) "flower".
Mizuki Mizuki 美月, 瑞希 美(mi) "beautiful" and 月 (zuki) "moon". It can also come from 瑞 (mizu) "Congratulations" and 希 (Ki) "hope".
Naoko Naoko Naoko 直 (nao) "honest, straight" and 子 (ko) "child".
Satomi Satomi 里 (sato) "Village" or "sage" from 聡 (sato) combined with 美 (mi) "beautiful".

List of Japanese female names with Kanji

Japanese name Ideograms
AI Blue; Love
AIKO Aiko
AIMI Aimi
AKANE Akane
AKEMI Akemi
AKI 1-秋, 2-明, 3-晶
ASAMI Asami
ASUKA Asuka
ATSUKO 1-篤子, 2-温子
AYA 1-彩, 2-綾
AYAKO 1-彩子, 2-綾子
AYAME Iris
AYANO 1-彩乃, 2-綾乃
CHIE Blessing
CHIEKO Keiko
CHIHARU Chiharu
CHIKA scattering flowers
CHINATSU Chinatsu
CHIYO Chiyo
CHIYOKO Chiyoko
CHOU Butterfly
EIKO Eiko
EMI 1-恵美, 2-絵美
EMIKO 1-恵美子, 2-笑子
ERI Eri
ETSUKO Yoshiko
FUJI
HANA flower
SPRING 1-晴, 2-春, 3-陽
HARUKA 遙, 遥, 悠, 遼
HARUKI Haruki
HARUMI Harumi
HIDEKO Hideko
HIKARI
HIKARU The string "輝" translates to "radiance" or "shine" in English.
HIRO 1-裕, 2-寛, 3-浩
HIROMI 1-裕美, 2-浩美, 3-寛美
HISOKA Secret
HITOMI pupil
FIREFLY firefly
IZUMI Spring
JUN Order
JUNKO 1-順子, 2-純子
KAEDE Maple
KAMEKO Ue no ko
KAMIKO Ue no ko
KAORI Kaori
KAORU Kaoru
KASUMI mist
KATSUMI Katsumi
KAZUE Kazue
KAZUKO 1-和子, 2-一子
KAZUMI Wabi-Sabi
KEI 1-恵, 2-慶, 3-桂, 4-敬, 5-啓, 6-圭, 7-景
KIKU Chrysanthemum
KIMI
KIYOKO Kiyoko
KIYOMI Seimi
KO 1-幸, 2-光, 3-康
KOHAKU Amber
KOTONE Kotone
KOU 1-幸, 2-光, 3-康
KUMIKO Kumiko
KYO 1-杏, 2- 京, 3- 協, 4- 郷
KYOU 1-杏, 2- 京, 3- 協, 4- 郷
MAY
MAKI 1-真紀, 2-真希, 3-真貴, 4-真樹
MAKOTO sincerity
MANA
MARIKO Mariko
MASA 1-正, 2-雅, 3-昌, 4-真, 5-政, 6-将
MASAMI Yasumi
MASUMI Masumi
MASUYO Yasusei
MAYUMI Makyū
MEGUMI Blessing
MI
PATH road
MICHIKO Michiko
MIDORI green
MIEKO Mieko
MIHO 1-美保, 2-美帆
MIKI 1-美紀, 2-美姫, 3-美樹, 4-美貴
MINAKO Minako
MINORI Li
MISAKI Misaki
MITSUKO Photon
MITSURU
MIWA 1-美和, 2-美輪, 3-三和, 4-三輪
MIYAKO Miyako
MIYOKO Miyoko
MIYUKI 1-美幸, 2-美雪, 3-深雪
MIZUKI Mizuki
MOE Moe
MOMO Momo
MOMOE Momoe
MOMOKO Peach
MORIKO Moriko
NAOKI Naoki
NAOKO 1-直子, 2-尚子
NAOMI Naomi
NATSUMI Natsumi
NOBUKO Nobuko
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 Reiko
REN Lotus
RIE Rie
RIKA Spring
RIN Rin
RYOKO 1-亮子, 2-涼子
SACHIKO Sachiko
SAKI Saki
SAKIKO Sakiko
SAKURA Cherry blossom
SANGO sango
SAYURI Koyuri
SETSUKO Setsuko
SHIGEKO Naruko
SHIKA Deer
SHINJU pearl
SHIORI Shiori
SHIZUKA Shizuka
SHIZUKO Seiko
SORA sky
SUMIKO Sumiko
SUSUMU
SUZU bell
SPARROW sparrow
TAKAKO 1-隆子, 2-孝子, 3-貴子, 4-敬子
TAKARA treasure
TAMIKO Minako
TERUKO Teruko
TOMIKO Miyoko
TOMOKO 1-友子, 2-知子, 3-智子
TOSHIKO Motoko
TSUKIKO Postpartum care
UME Plum
UMEKO Plum
USAGI Rabbit
YASU Yasu
YASUKO Kyouko
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 Yukiko
YUKO 1-優子, 2-裕子, 3-祐子
YUMI Yumi
YUMIKO Yumiko
YURIKO Yuriko

Japanese male names with meanings

Rōmaji HIRAGANA KANJI MEANINGS
Ichigo strawberry Ichigo Although the word Ichigo literally means strawberry, the Kanji 護 means to defend, protect, guard. And of course 一 Means One or First.
Akio Akiyo 'Akio, Akio, Akio' 昭 (Aki) "bright" combined with 夫 (o) "husband, man", 男 (o) "masculine" or 雄 (o) "hero, virile".
Akira Akira Show, bright, clear 昭"brilhante",明"brilhante" ou亮"limpar".
Daisuke Daisuke 大 (Dai) "big, big" and 輔 (suke) "help".
Spring spring Sun, Spring, Clear 陽"Sun, 春"Spring" 晴"enlighten".
Hideki Hideki Shu, Ei + Ki 秀 (conceal) "esteem, excellence" or 英 (conceal) "excellent" combined with 樹 (Ki) "tree".
Kenta kenta Kenta 健 (Ken) "healthy, strong" and 太 (ta) "thick, big".
Ryuunosuke ryunosuke Ryunosuke 龍 (Ryuu) "dragon" or 隆 (Ryuu) "noble, prosperous" combined with 之 (not) "of" and 介 (suke) "forerunner, herald".
Shin shin It means real and true, with kanji 新 meaning New.
Tsubasa Tsubasa Wings It means Asa.
Yuuki Yuki 優希, 悠希, 優輝, 悠生 優 (Yuu) "gentleness, superiority" or 悠 (Yuu) "distant, leisurely" combined with 希 (Ki) "hope", Comercio (Ki) "radiance" or 生 (Ki) "Life".
Yuuto Yuto 優斗, 悠斗, 悠人, 悠翔, 優翔 優 (Yuu) "gentleness, superiority" or 悠 (Yuu) "distant, leisurely" combined with 斗 (to), which refers to the constellation Ursa Major, or 人 (a) "person" or e (a) "to sound, to 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) "chronicle".
Yamato yamayo Mountain, oh! It refers to the ancient Yamato period of Japanese history, which lasted until the 8th century. The individual kanji are 大 "big, big" and 和 "Harmony".

List of Japanese male names with Kanji

Japanese name Ideograms
AKI 1-秋, 2-明, 3-晶
AKIHIKO Akihiko
AKIHIRO Ōhata
AKIO 1-昭雄, 2-昭夫
AKIRA 1-明, 2- 亮
AOI 1-碧, 2- 葵
ARATA New
ATSUSHI Atsushi
DAI
DAIKI 1-大輝, 2-大貴, 3-大樹
DAISUKE Daisuke
Eiji 1-永次, 2-英治, 3-英二, 4-栄治
FUMIO Fumio
GORO Goro
GOROU Goro
HACHIRO Hachirō
BEGINNING 肇, 元
SPRING 1-晴, 2-春, 3-陽
HIDEAKI Shumei
HIDEKI Hideki
HIDEO 英夫
HIKARU The string "輝" translates to "radiance" or "shine" in English.
HIRO 1-裕, 2-寛, 3-浩
HIROAKI Hiroaki
HIROKI Hiroki
HIROSHI 1-寛, 2-浩
HISAO Juzuo
HISASHI Kushi
HISOKA Secret
HITOSHI
HOTAKA Hodaka
ICHIROU Ichirō
ISAMU Bravery
ISAO Achievement
IWAO Iwa
IZANAGI Izanagi
JIROU Jiro
JUN Order
JUNICHI Junichi
JUROU Jūrō
KAEDE Maple
KATASHI Hard
KATSU
KATSUMI Self-discipline
KATSUO Katsuo
KATSURO Katsu郎
KAZUHIKO Kazuhiko
KAZUHIRO Ichihiro
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 Keiichi
The name "KEIJI" remains the same in English. Keiji
KEN 1-健, 2-謙, 3-研
KENSHIN Kenshin
KENTA Kenta
KICHIROU Kichirō
KIN The string "欽" remains unchanged in English as it is a Japanese character. It translates to "iration" or may refer to "Kin" which can also be seen as a name or title based on context, but as a standalone character, it is retained as is.
KIOSHI Jun
KIYOSHI Jun
KO 1-幸, 2-光, 3-康
KOHAKU Amber
KOICHI Kouichi
KOJI Koji
KOU 1-幸, 2-光, 3-康
KUNIO Kunio
KUROU Kuro
KYO 1-杏, 2- 京, 3- 協, 4- 郷
MAKOTO sincerity
MAMORU
MANABU
MASA 1-正, 2-雅, 3-昌, 4-真, 5-政, 6-将
MASAHIKO Masahiko
MASAHIRO Seiyō
MASAKI Makoto
MASANORI Regular
MASAO Masaru
MASARU
MASASHI Elegance
MASATO Masato
MASAYOSHI Masayoshi
MASAYUKI Masayuki
MASUMI Masumi
PATH road
MICHIO Tachibana
MIKIO Miki-o
MINORI Li
MINORU Li
MITSUO Photon
MITSURU
NO 1-直, 2-尚
NAOKI Naoki
NOBORU Soar
NOBU 1-信, 2-延
NOBUO Shinobu
NOBUYUKI Nobuyuki
NORI 1-儀, 2-典, 3-則, 4-法
NORIO Lawman
Orochi Great Serpent
RAIDEN Raiden
ROKURO Rokurou
RYO 1-亮, 2-遼, 3-諒, 4-涼
RYOTA Ryohta
RYUU Dragon
SABURO Saburo
SATORU 1-暁, 2-悟, 3-聡, 4-知, 5-覚, 6-諭, 7-了, 8-智
SATOSHI
SEIICHI Seiichi
SEIJI Seiji
SHICHIRO Shichirō
SHIGEO Heavy Husband
SHIGERU The string "茂" translates to "abundant" or "lush" in English, depending on the context. However, if it refers to a name or concept, it should be kept as is. Please provide more context if needed.
SHIN 1-晋, 2-信, 3-紳, 4-心, 5-慎, 6-新, 7-進, 8-真
SHINJI Shinji
SHO Soar
SHOICHI Shoichi
SHOJI Shoji
SHOU Soar
SHUICHI Shuichi
SHUJI Shuji
SORA sky
SUSUMU
TADAO Tadao
TADASHI 1-忠, 2-正
TAKAHIRO Takahiro
TAKAO Takao
TAKASHI The string "隆" in English can be translated as "prosperity" or "noble." However, in the context of Japanese, it might refer to a name, such as "Takashi." Since the context isn't clear, I'll keep it as "隆."
TAKAYUKI Takayuki
TAKEHIKO 1-雄彦, 2-岳彦
TAKEO 1-剛雄, 2-武雄
TAKESHI The translation for "武" is "Military" or "Martial."
TAKUMI 1-巧, 2-匠, 3-工
TAMOTSU Preserve
TARO Taro
TATSUYA Tatsuya
TERUO Katsuhiro
TETSUO 1-哲雄, 2-哲夫
TETSUYA Tetsuya
TORU The translation for "徹" from Japanese to English is "Thorough" or "Complete," depending on the context. However, as a standalone ideogram, it may also refer to the concept of "investigation" or "penetration." Please provide more context for a specific translation.
TOSHI The given string "慧" in English translates to "wisdom".
TOSHIO Toshio
TOSHIYUKI Miyuki
TSUNEO 恒雄, 恒夫
TSUTOMU
TSUYOSHI Just
YASUHIRO 1-泰裕, 2-泰弘, 3-恭弘, 4-泰博
YASUO Kōbu
YASUSHI The character "靖" translates to "peaceful" or "calm" in English.
YOICHI 1-妖一, 2-陽一, 3-洋一, 4-与一
YOSHI 1-義, 2-吉, 3-良
YOSHIAKI Yoshimi
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 The provided text is a Japanese ideogram that means "abundant" or "rich." It doesn't require translation as it remains the same.
YUU
YUUDAI magnificent