400+ Japanese Dog Names
Japanese dog names are trending — Japanese names like Remi, Kona, Koda, Kai, and Mochi are among the most popular names for dogs right now. Of course, some of these also have origins in other countries, but we're noticing more and more dogs with distinctly Japanese names like Kenzo and Kenji, Yoko and Yoshi.
Along with Remi and Yoko, other Japanese female dog names include Hachi, Kiko, Momo, Nemi, and Tazu. In addition to Kai and Kenzo, other Japanese male dog names include Hiro, Kiba, Mori, Oto, and Yuto.
Japanese food names for dogs are currently a microtrend. Besides Mochi, others we recommend include Maki, Tamari, Soba, Nori, and Yuzu.
Japanese dog names are especially appropriate for Japanese breeds, like the Shiba Inu, Akita Inu, and Japanese Spitz. But you may also choose to use Japanese names for dogs if you have Japanese heritage yourself.
There are many cute Japanese dog names worth considering for your pup. Browse our full collection below.
RELATED:
- Kai
Origin:
HawaiianMeaning:
"sea"Description:
Kai is an internationally flexible name with many possible origins and meanings, growing in popularity in the US and a diverse range of European countries.
- Nora
Origin:
Irish, diminutive of Honora, or GreekMeaning:
"light"Description:
Nora is a lovely, refined name that conjures up images of Belle Epoch ladies in fur-trimmed coats skating in Central Park. Long seen as a quintessentially Irish name, Nora is a quietly stylish favorite tiptoeing up the popularity ladder.
- Maya
Origin:
Greek; Central American Indian empire name; Latinate variation of May; Spanish, diminutive of Amalia; variation of Maia; HebrewMeaning:
"water"Description:
In addition to being the name of a Central American culture, Maya was the legendary Greek mother of Hermes by Zeus, and means "illusion" in Sanskrit and Eastern Pantheism. It can also be spelled Maia, though both names have so many possible origins and meanings that not all of them are related. To the Romans, Maia/Maya was the incarnation of the earth mother and goddess of spring, after whom they named the month of May.
- Mira
Origin:
Latin, Slavic, Arabic, SanskritMeaning:
"admirable; peace; female ruler; ocean"Description:
This name owes its present life to actress Sorvino. Mira and Mirra have an arty aura.
- Naomi
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"pleasantness"Description:
Naomi was once a primarily Jewish name from the Old Testament that referenced the mother-in-law of Ruth. Because of this, it is a symbolic name given to girls on Shavuot when the story of Ruth is read in the synagogue. The French version is Noemie, in Italian Noemi. Naomi also has separate Japanese origins as a unisex name meaning “straight and beautiful.”
- Amaya
Origin:
Spanish version of Amaia or JapaneseMeaning:
"mother city; the end; night rain"Description:
The Spanish form of Amaya is both a given name and a surname, originating from the Spanish mountain and village of Amaya. In this context it means "mother city" or "the capital." Amaya can also be considered a derivation of Amaia, a Basque name meaning "the end." In Japan, Amaya is a surname.
- Nina
Origin:
Short form of names that end in -ninaDescription:
Nina is as multiethnic as you can get: Nina is a common nickname name in Spain and Russia, a Babylonian goddess of the oceans, and an Incan goddess of fire. Here and now, it's a stylish possibility that's been underused. "Weird Al" Yankovic chose this decidedly nonweird name for his daughter.
- Noa
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"motion"Description:
This Old Testament female name has been one of the most popular girls’ names in Israel over the last decade. Also highly popular in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, and a new entrant to the US Top 1000, it may be misunderstood here as an attempt to streamline and feminize the more familiar Noah – although it's a separate name with a separate derivation.
- Maren
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"sea"Description:
Maren is one of the many twenty-first-century takes on Mary--but we find the more classic Marin spelling preferable. When spelled Maren, the pronunciation seems more clearly to resemble Mary, with the emphasis on the first syllable. Marin, the spelling also used for the beautiful coastal county north of San Francisco, is often pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, as in Marie.
- Kane
Origin:
CelticMeaning:
"warrior"Description:
A name of multiple identities: a somewhat soap-operatic single-syllable surname, a homonym for the biblical bad boy Cain, and, when found in Japan and Hawaii, it transforms into the two syllable KA-neh. Kane also has multiple meanings: in Welsh, it's "beautiful"; in Japanese, "golden"; and in Hawaiian, "man of the Eastern sky."
- Remi
Origin:
French, variation of RemyMeaning:
"oarsman"Description:
Adorable name that's fashionable and keeps gaining momentum. Remi entered the US Top 1000 in 2013 and is now approaching the Top 100. The Remi spelling is more popular for girls, while Remy is more popular for boys, both both spellings are in the Top 1000 for both genders. That's a remarkable success story for a name that, in the late 1900s, was given to only a handful of babies in the US.
- Ren
Origin:
Diminutive of Rene or JapaneseMeaning:
"water lily; lotus"Description:
A very popular name for boys, also used for girls, in Japan, most familiar in the West as half of cartoon's "Ren and Stimpy," and as the hero in both the original and updated versions of "Footloose."
- Kenzo
Origin:
JapaneseMeaning:
"strong and healthy"Description:
Kenzo is a common Japanese name with several creative bearers: the single-named fashion designer, prizewinning architect Kenzo Takada, and painter Kenzo Okada, which makes it internationally recognizable.
- Mika
Origin:
JapaneseMeaning:
"beautiful fragrance"Description:
Mika is a Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. As a male name, it's a short form of Mikael, the Scandinavian and Finnish form of Michael. Both are spelled and pronounced the same.
- Aya
Origin:
Japanese, Hebrew, ArabicMeaning:
"colorful, bird, sign"Description:
Aya, barely more than a breath, is an international favorite, with origins in several languages and cultures. Popular throughout Europe, It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2012.
- Juno
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"queen of the heavens"Description:
Juno is an ancient name that feels as fresh as if it had been minted — well, not yesterday, but in 2007. Since the release of the popular indie film Juno, this lively but strong o-ending Roman goddess name has become more and more prominent as a potential baby name — Coldplay's Will Champion chose Juno for one of his twins (whose brother is the kingly Rex).
- Koda
Origin:
Japanese, SiouxMeaning:
"friend"Description:
A word in the Yankton-Yanktonai and Santee dialects of the Lakota Sioux language, meaning "friend" or "ally", used for one of the main characters in the movie Brother Bear. Also a common Japanese surname or a respelling of the musical name Coda.
- Suki
Origin:
JapaneseMeaning:
"loved one"Description:
One of the most familiar and usable Asian names.
- Neo
Origin:
Latin or TswanaMeaning:
"new or gift"Description:
This nouveau name of Keanu Reeves's character in The Matrix has not enjoyed the same burst of popularity as its female counterpart, Trinity, but it definitely sounds, well, newer. Neo Rauch is an interesting contemporary German artist.
- Kara
Origin:
Spelling variation of Cara or Norse mythology nameMeaning:
"wild stormy one"Description:
Kara and the soundalike (though not necessarily related) Cara are among the most multi-cultural names around. Cara has roots in Latin, Italian, Irish, Spanish, and Portuguese, and Kara can be viewed as simply as K-starting version of Cara. But Kara is also uniquely a Norse mythology name, drawn from the name of a valkyrie meaning "wild stormy one".. Kara was a Valkyrie, lover of Helgi, who charmed his enemies in battle by enchanting them with song. Both Cara and Kara peaked in the 1980s but Kara remains more popular than the Cara variant.