Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 14 pages
of 14
Japanese
"fragrant ocean child"
Popular choice for female anime characters.
Norwegian diminutive of Elisabet, English and Spanish diminutive of names ending in -lita, or Romanian variation of Leta, Latin
"pledged to God; little; glad, joyful"
Vivacious but lightweight.
English word name
"joyful"
Many emotional, virtuous word names are coming back into style, but Happy feels unlikely to be revived. This could be because it doesn't have a solid history of being popularly used (in comparison to…
"generous"
Several artistic Hiroshis make this one of the more plausible Japanese imports.
"bluish"
A very popular girls' name in Japan with an unfortunate English pronunciation: picture a toddler with a hurt knee saying "owee."
"good luck, auspicious, hope; water, mist"
A zippy and upbeat Japanese name with both a cheerful and hopeful meaning, and one relating to nature, depending on which kanji elements are used. It appears on a character in the game AI: THE…
"light"
Light, bright unisex name. Hikari is more popular for girls in Japan these days.
"beautiful flower"
Lovely Japanese choice that would translate well cross-culturally.
Japanese variation of l'Ollonais, French surname
"from Les Sables-d'Olonne"
Roronoa was created for the pirate-themed anime series One Piece . Roronoa is the Japanese pronunciation of l'Ollonais, the name of notable pirate Francois l'Ollonais. The historical pirate was born…
"fireworks"
Hanabi is the Japanese word for fireworks and is rarely given as a name to babies. The most famous Hanabi is Koko the Gorilla — "birth" name Hanabi-ko, or "fireworks child." Koko, known for her use…
"white; chief; soul"
Notably used for characters in Spirited Away and Naruto .
"blessing"
An Asian name not widely known in the West.
"weasel"
The Japanese word for "weasel" was chosen as the name of Itachi Uchiha, a character in Naruto . In anime, name meanings often relate to a character's story. Weasels are bad luck in Japanese culture…
"scarecrow"
Japanese word for "scarecrow" that is used as a name in Howl's Moving Castle and Naruto .
"beautiful love"
Despite being etymologically unrelated, Aimi has a similar meaning to the name Amy, "beloved."
"born in the summer"
Used for summer-born babies in Japan.
"coal + calm son; highly valued second son"
Protagonist of the manga and anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba . The kanji used to spell his name give it the meaning of "coal + calm son," which describe his former profession as a coal…
Irish
"descendant of Flannghal"
Long before the vogue of using Irish surnames for girls, writer Flannery O'Connor gave this one some visibility. It has a warm (flannelly) feel and the currently popular three-syllable ee-ending…
"to shine"
Pronunciation would not be obvious to Americans.
"maple tree"
No - not a creative spelling of Katy. This name, which can be used for boys or girls, means maple tree. Kaede is unusual in Japan although it has been gaining more popularity after it has been used…
