Japanese Girl Names

This adorable cross cultural name updates Naomi and offers an accessible Japanese option. Strikes the right balance by being distinctive without seeming strange.

A popular Japanese name for both sexes that's migrated to the West because of its appearance in manga and video games.

A male Biblical name meaning healer, Asa is also an international gem. In Japanese, it means "(born in the) morning". And in Scandinavia, where it's generally spelled Åsa or Ása and pronounced O-sa, it's a popular diminutive form of Old Norse names beginning with the element áss "god".

Japanese classic with optimistic meaning.

A funkier version of Coco that may be more appealing if you have Japanese or Native American heritage. Koko comes from the Blackfoot tribe, native to what is now Montana and Alberta, Canada.

In Japan, color names symbolize human qualities (in this case, fame); name of gifted violist Midori, but also a Japanese melon liqueur.

Naming babies after precious gems as a protection against evil spirits is an ancient Japanese tradition.

Simple and, yes, elegant -- until you think of the wrestlers.

Lovely Japanese name that would certainly be appreciated in Europe and the U.S. It was rarely used in Japan until the 1990s, and draws its current popularity from the fact that it is deeply connected to Japanese traditional culture without sounding frumpy and old-fashioned.

Ino was one of the Queens of Thebes who, after her death, became an immortal. Ino raised her nephew, Dionysus (son of Semele and Zeus), provoking the wrath of Hera. In desperation Ino threw herself into the sea and was thereafter venerated as Leucothea (The White Goddess).

A simple, importable Japanese name that is used for both males and females and carries a multitude of meanings depending on which character is used to denote it. While most westerners pronounced it rye-oh, its real pronunciation is closer to ree-uh. A similar male name, Ryu, means "dragon."

A very popular girls' name in Japan with an unfortunate English pronunciation: picture a toddler with a hurt knee saying "owee."

There are many in Japan, but for most Americans there's only one Yoko.

Katana is a male name in Old Persian and a well-used word in Japanese, but as a girls' name is these days found more often as Kitana, the name of a princess in the video game Mortal Kombat II.

Similarity to the English name Jean could be a plus in a Japanese-American or Chinese-American family.

Distinctive and intriguing relative of Rae.

Unfamiliar Asian choice that can work for a parent in search of something really different.

Short and catchy form of traditional Asian name.

One of the most familiar and attractive Japanese names, though rarely heard outside that culture.

An Asian name not widely known in the West.