​
​
Advanced Search

Japanese Names

Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Tue Jul 09 2024
Japanese Names

Japanese names are Romanized translations of kanji — the characters used in the Japanese language. Japanese names can be written in multiple combinations of kanji —sometimes hundreds — and the meaning of a name changes depending on which characters are used.

The name Kenzo, for example, has meanings related to wisdom, health, or humility when written in different kanji permutations.

Along with Kenzo, other Japanese names popular internationally include Amaya, Kane, Raiden, Asa, Kairi, Koda, Hana, Tori, and Kai.

Uncommon Japanese names you may want to consider include Hiro, Naoko, Suki, and Ren — a popular name for boys in Japan.

Japanese baby names are only beginning to be used in the West, as the world becomes smaller and international names become more accepted in most countries. Some Japanese names that translate easily to Western culture and language include the following, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

RELATED:

Japanese Girl Names

Japanese Boy Names

  1. Kai

    • Origin:

      Hawaiian, Frisian, Chinese

    • Meaning:

      "sea; warrior; triumph"

    • 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.
  2. Asa

    • Origin:

      Hebrew; Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "healer; born in the morning"

    • Description:

      A short but strong biblical name with multicultural appeal, Asa is enjoying new visibility thanks to hot young actor Asa Butterfield of Hugo fame.
  3. Rumi

    • Origin:

      Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "beauty, flow, lapis lazuli"

    • Description:

      Rumi is a Japanese girl name, with a sweet yet substantial sound. Reminiscent of other popular choices in the West — think Ruby, Remy, and Romy — it is currently achieving more notice thanks to Beyonce and Jay-Z, who chose it for one of their daughters.
  4. Amaya

    • Origin:

      Spanish version of Amaia or Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "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.
  5. Mika

    • Origin:

      Japanese, Slovene, Hebrew, English, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "beautiful fragrance; who is like God?; follower of Demeter"

    • Description:

      Mika is a sparky and stylish Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. Also used as a Slovene and Hebrew diminutive for Mihaela and Michaela, as an alternative spelling to the Biblical Micah, and as a Greek diminutive of Dimitra (via Mimika), it is a truly multi-cultural choice.
  6. Koda

    • Origin:

      Japanese, Sioux

    • Meaning:

      "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.
  7. Kane

    • Origin:

      Celtic

    • Meaning:

      "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."
  8. Rio

    • Origin:

      Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "river; place of the cherry blossoms"

    • Description:

      Rio is a reductive ranchero place-name with an attractive Tex-Mex lilt. No Doubt's Tom Dumont has a son named Rio Atticus.
  9. Aya

    • Origin:

      Japanese, Hebrew, Danish, Arabic

    • Meaning:

      "colorful, design; honey buzzard, bird; rock, lull, happiness; sign, verse"

    • 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.
  10. Kiki

    • Origin:

      French nickname and Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "double happiness"

    • Description:

      Kiki is one of the Coco-Gigi-Fifi-Lulu bohemian-type French nickname names from the turn of the last century, which have endless energy and sparkle. Artist Kiki Smith is its most well-known contemporary representative, and Kiki was the inspiring heroine of Zadie Smith's On Beauty. Kiki can be a nickname for any name beginning with the K sound, from Katherine to Christina to Kayla.
  11. Suki

    • Origin:

      Japanese or English

    • Meaning:

      "loved one; lily"

    • Description:

      As a Japanese name, Suki has the sweet meaning "loved one". It's also an English diminutive of Susanna, making it a creative and modern way to honor a Susan in your life.
  12. Xion

    • Origin:

      Variation of Shion or Zion, Japanese, Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "tide, aster + remembrance; highest point"

    • Description:

      With its distinctive X initial, Xion is a name that stands out, and more parents have been drawn to it in recent years. Currently given to around 90 babies each year, Xion is nearly four times as popular as it was a decade ago.
  13. Kenzo

    • Origin:

      Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "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.
  14. Nori

    • Origin:

      Japanese, English short form or Eleanor, Leonora, Nora, Honora, or North, form of Nor or Nuri, Arabic, Turkish

    • Meaning:

      "ceremonial rites, doctrine, seaweed; unknown, honor, north; my light"

    • Description:

      Nori is one of those names with several origins that would have no trouble assimilating into a variety of cultures. It might also be associated with the dried seaweed used to wrap sushi or with the nickname Kim Kardashian and Kanye West use for their daughter North.
  15. Kenji

    • Origin:

      Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "second son; healthy + second; wise + second; modest second"

    • Description:

      A international feeling name of Japanese origin that could be used to refer to a child's place in the family, Kenji has attracted notice in the US as the name of The Food Lab chef, James Kenji López-Alt, know simply as Kenji. It appeared in the latter end of the US Top 1000 in 2023.
  16. Ronin

    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of Ronan

    • Meaning:

      "little seal"

    • Description:

      In the USA, both spellings of this old Celtic name have risen significantly in recent years, however, Ronan outpaced this version in the lasts, and we, too, prefer the slightly more rounded and gentle look of the original. History and movie buffs may appreciate this version though, due to its association with renegade samurai in Feudal Japan - and provides it with a second possible meaning: "drifter, wanderer, and masterless samurai". Ronin is also used within the Marvel Universe.
  17. Kasai

    • Origin:

      Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "fire, flame"

    • Description:

      A Japanese name with real firepower, Kasai could be a name that's going places. It's a well-kept secret — for now — but it is nevertheless on the rise as parents search for alternatives to names like Kai and co. Given to just 8 boys in 2013, in a more recent count, it was given to 63, reflecting the interest in international gems.
  18. Raiden

    • Origin:

      Japanese, English invented name

    • Description:

      The name of the Japanese god of thunder makes an assertive choice, very much at home in the Western world. Because of the name's similarity to popular baby names Aiden and Jayden, most people will pronounce it RAY-den, but it's more properly RYE-den.
  19. Tori

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Victoria, English, Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "victory; bird"

    • Description:

      A more modern nickname for Victoria than Vicky, Tori is used fairly frequently on its own, kept in the public eye by singer Tori Amos and actress Tori Spelling. Still, it's far from fashionable, sinking in the polls significantly since reaching a peak of Number 142 in 1994. It dropped out of the US popularity charts in 2021, and even earlier in the UK, perhaps owing to the sound-alike political party nickname.
  20. Kaori

    • Origin:

      Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "smell, fragrance"

    • Description:

      Kaori is a Japanese girls' name once largely unknown but brought into the spotlight by celebrity couple Eniko and Kevin Hart, who gave it to their daughter in 2020. Kaori is easily translated in the Western World; it's got a rhythmic sound and a familiar feel, maybe since it's similar to Maori, the name of the people and language of New Zealand. In English, it's likely said as KOW-ree, though in Japanese it's said more like KA-O-REE, with the first two syllables almost blending together.