Japanese given names

Now that we have thoroughly explored the subject of Japanese surnames, it is high time to take a look at Japanese given names.

In season one, when we first broached Japanese surnames, I told you that Japanese given names were a bit of a special case and above all a tad more complex. I preferred to wait until the very end of season two before broaching the subject with you, the time that you acquire a maximum of vocabulary, which means mastering more kanji. In addition, throughout the season, I have occasionally slipped Japanese given names into various courses and exercises in order to already give you some examples. But how do Japanese given names work ? How did they appear ? How were they formed ? What rules do they follow ? How do you tell them apart from Japanese surnames ? We will try to answer all these questions in this course.

You have undoubtedly heard many Japanese names in your life... without really knowing if it was a male or female given name, or if you did not confuse it with the last name ! Some Japanese given names like 智 . さとし, 高夫 . たかお ou 剣心 . ケンシン are fairly easy to guess; these are male names (and if you didn’t know, now you know about it), but for others like 空 . そら, 信行 . のぶゆき, 小夜 . さや, 藍井 . あおい, 明 . あきら... that’s another story. How do you know if a given name is masculine or not without going through a long list of given names for potential parents ? Also, it gets a little weird if you only have one kanji name to go on. Unlike western names which have a fairly fixed spelling, the kanji of a Japanese given name can mean a lot of things. So just putting their name on a site like Google Translate isn’t necessarily going to give you the correct reading of the given name, or make it clearer whether it’s a male given name or not.

If we look at the History of Japanese Names, then how given names work today seems easier to understand, because given names were very fuzzy too ! Everyone had a given name at birth, but sometimes Japanese people would change their given names depending on their status, job and even religion. People could change their given names because of a promotion, a change of job or even simply because they used a given name that they believed to bring them bad luck.

In the 1870s, the government formalized Japanese naming system, and during this time many people took on fixed first and last names. When Japanese families usually had more than one child, it was also more normal to give boys names with a suffix. The best known is undoubtedly 郎 . ロウ which means « young man », so the first son would be 一郎 . イチロウ, the second son 二郎 . ジロウ, the third son 三郎 . サブロウ, the fourth son 四郎 . シロウ, the fifth son 五郎 . ゴロウ and so on.

Of course, it is quite possible to combine the kanji 郎 . ロウ with something other than number kanji. I am thinking in particular of the hero of the Demon Slayer series who is called 炭治郎 . タンジロウ or 栄一郎 . エイイチロウ, the creator of One Piece. But we’ll come back to that a little later.

As the kanji of a given name gives it a special meaning, this has led some given names to have quite unusual meanings ! For example, Michio (道夫) means « traveling man » while Takeo (武雄) means « warrior hero », you also have Yūzō (雄三) which means « three heroes » or « the third hero » (I’m not sure about this one !).

You will also very often have given names with several possible writings such as, for example, Takao (高夫 or 高雄). Because yes, given names can be made up of different kanji and have exactly the same pronunciation... but a different meaning ! Of course, we have seen that surnames could also have different writings, but for the latter, this remains quite rare and does not change the meaning of the name. On the other hand, for given names, there is much more to say and to give you a quick example which is very easy to remember, we have the given name Aoi which can be written with ten different writings in kanji : 青 . あおい, 蒼 . あおい, 碧 . あおい, 藍 . あおい, 葵 . あおい, 青井 . あおい, 蒼井 . あおい, 碧井 . あおい, 藍井 . あおい, 葵井 . あおい. And remember the given name Aoi with all these writings, we will come back to it.

Regarding gender-neutral given names, I will not give you a list of mixed Japanese given names for a good and simple reason. You remember that, since the first season, I explained to you that the Japanese language does not mark the difference between masculine and feminine. However, there are male given names on the one hand, female given names on the other hand, and gender-neutral given names. But there is not even within the Japanese language a very precise way to differentiate these three categories. To better explain, I will make the comparison with languages such as French, Spanish or even Portuguese and Italian.

For example, if I consider the given name « François ». It’s a male given name, we agree. And the given name « Françoise » is a female given name. Another example, if I consider the given name « Louis ». It is a male given name. And the given name « Louise » is a female given name. We know this because there is an element in spelling to distinguish the masculine from the feminine : the letter « e » at the end of the proper name which gives it this feminine side.

In languages like Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, if we consider given names like « Paulo », « Alexandro », « Rafael », « Joan », « Daniello », we know straight away that these are male given names. As for the given names « Paula », « Alexandra », « Raffaella », « Joanna », « Daniella », we know straight away that these are female given names because, once again, we have a spelling element to make the difference.

In addition, since our birth, we have been in contact with different people with very different Western given names. If we take into consideration all our classmates in school from first grade to high school or college, all of our teachers, parents, grandparents, cousins and cousins, siblings, our work colleagues or even the given names of our heroes from TV series, video games, our favorite YouTubers... that’s a lot of people, a lot of given names that we know inside out. So, we end up knowing instinctively, without even having to think about it, which given name is male and which given name is female. Then, for gender-neutral given names, we know that a given name is mixed because we learned it. We have learned by heart that there are gender-neutral given names and what they are. For example, « Alex », « Max » et « Mika » are gender-neutral given names.

The Japanese themselves, in principle, have no difficulty in distinguishing between male and female given names. This is quite understandable. A Japanese, who was born in Japan and lived there all his childhood, all his life or at least most of his life, was surrounded by other Japanese. He’s immersed in the Japanese language, in Japanese first and last names, and therefore he knows perfectly how to distinguish, instinctively, without needing to think. He will never be wrong. As far as you are concerned, you too must reach this level ; so when you see a proper name, you should immediately know straight away whether it is the given name or the last name. It’s all about memorization and training.

As I briefly explained above, the Japanese took different given names depending on various factors, including luck, but with the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the new government formalized the naming system for Japan. This meant that everyone had a fixed last name and given name somewhat similar to Western names – but without a middle name.

It is interesting to note that a consequence of this situation is that for some people it can be very difficult to trace their ancestors through history. In addition, the order of names has remained different, with the last name preceding the given name. Outside of Japan, people will use the western order of names (given name, last name), but in Japan, if you are given a business card, it is more than likely that the family name is written on it. Unlike given names, the kanji for last names is more fixed, making them easy to read.

However, although a Japanese surname may consist of fixed kanji, the given name is another matter. There are literally encyclopedic kanji books for expectant parents. These list each given name and then the kanji that can be used for that given name, but an important aspect is the number of strokes there are in the character(s) of the kanji. This is a complex question as it is affected by different factors, but basically the number of strokes it takes to write a kanji can be seen as lucky or unlucky. In other cases, if the parents like a particular kanji (usually for symbolism), they can look for a given name that contains the liked kanji.

You should also know that the Japanese Ministry of Justice has created a list of kanji characters that can be used in given names. The intention is to ensure that Japanese names can be easily read or written by everyone. However, an unintended consequence has been an increase in the number of names which are not necessarily easy to read. This contradiction arose because parents want to give their child a more original name, to do so they choose a symbolic reading that does not match the purely and Sino-Japanese pronunciations of the combined kanji.

Of course, even the mangakas have fun making puns with the first and last names of their characters (especially with the given names). To give you a quick example, the hero of the « Platinum End » series is called Mirai. However, his given name is written 明日. You will have recognized the word « tomorrow » which is pronounced あした. And yet, in the series, the hero’s given name is indeed written 明日 but is pronounced みらい as in the word 未来 . みらい which means « the future ». Of course, you need to read the manga a little to understand the symbolism behind this choice.

Finally, it is possible to write the given name only in hiragana or katakana, even when the basic given name does not have Sino-Japanese pronunciations.

Well, that already explains a lot and it is high time to move on to some lists of given names. That said, as we go along, I will give you some mnemonic tips in order to remember the greatest number of male Japanese names and the greatest number of female Japanese names. You’ll see, it’s not very difficult.

Here is your first mnemonic trick. Remember the following :

all given names beginning with the kanji 千 and 美 or ending with the kanji 子, 花, 華, 香, 奈, 菜, 葉, 音, 美, 恵, 苗, 江, 乃, 江 and 織 are female.

Here, remember well, it will be useful to you all your life.

The given names all start with the kanji 千. This is the kanji of the number « thousand ». However, if you remember your lessons on Japanese numbers correctly, you will know that the kanji 千 is pronounced in Sino-Japanese セン. Well, here you are dealing with its purely Japanese pronunciation ち. In fact, all of the above Japanese given names are in purely Japanese.

Of course, this does not mean that Japanese given names are necessarily in purely Japanese. No, we have seen some examples of given names with Sino-Japanese pronunciations above.

Personally, I have no idea whether there is a relationship between femininity and the number 1000...

We can now tackle this first list of very easy to remember Japanese given names. Observe below :

千愛 . ちあい . A thousand loves
千秋 . ちあき . A thousand autumns
千朝 . ちあさ . A thousand mornings
千恵子 . ちえこ . Child blessed with wisdom
千葉 . ちば . A thousand leaves
千花 . ちばな . A thousand flowers
千鳥 . ちどり . A thousand birds
千恵美 . ちえみ . A thousand favors and beauty
千文 . ちふみ . A thousand messages
千草 . ちぐさ . A thousand herbs
千尋 . ちひろ . A thousand ghosts (name of the main character of the movie Ghibli: Spirited Away)
千穂 . ちほ . A thousand spikes
千帆 . ちほ . A thousand sails
千苺花 / 千苺華 / 千苺香 . ちいカ. A thousand strawberry flowers
千花 / 千華 / 千夏 . ちいカ. A thousand flowers / A thousand summers
千子 . ちこ . A thousand children
千景 . ちかげ . A thousand landscapes
千夏 . ちなつ . A thousand summers
千年 . ちとせ . A thousand years
千夜 / 千代 . ちよ . A thousand nights / A thousand worlds, a thousand societies
千雪 . ちゆき . A thousand snows
千弓 . ちゆみ . A thousand arcs
千鶴 . ちずる . A thousand cranes

Beauty being often associated with femininity in Japan, the kanji 美 is naturally frequent in many female given names. Its purely Japanese pronunciation is み.

美秋 . みあき .
美智子 . みちこ .
美知 . みち .
美知恵 / 美知江 . みちエ .
美知子 . みちこ .
美恵 . みえ .
美恵子 . みえこ .
美冬 . みふゆ .
美花 / 美華 . みはな .
美春 . みはる .
美穂 . みほ .
美穂子 . みほこ .
美香 / 美佳 . みカ .
美香子 / 美佳子 . みカこ .
美紀子 . みキこ .
美子 . みこ .
美奈 / 美菜 . みな .
美奈子 / 美菜子 . みなこ .
美波 . みなみ .
美央 . みお .
美砂 / 美左 . みサ .
美砂子 / 美左子 . みサこ .
美鈴 . みすず .
美月 . みつき .
美兎 / 美右 . みウ / みう .
美和 . みハ .
美和子 . みわこ . Child of harmony
美弥 . みや .
美弥子 . みやこ .
美代 . みよ .
美代子 . みよこ .

Here, nothing particularly complicated except that we have a few given names mixing purely and Sino-Japanese pronunciations. And we also have given names made up of three kanji.

Like surnames, Japanese given names are usually made up of two kanji but it can happen to find given names made up of three kanji like 可奈子 .かなこ, 真千子 . まちこ and 美和子 . みわこ.

You remember that in the course on the explanatory phrase のか, I explained to you that in Japanese « female » and « childish » are things that are very often linked. I also explained something similar to you in the course on honorific suffixes. Culturally, women in Japan are very fond of approaching a child’s behavior to appear cute when they seek to please.

This cultural trait is also present in the given names. So, if all the names in the list above end with the kanji 子, it is no coincidence. The kanji 子 adds a little cute side to the given name which, in fact, makes the given name very female.

The names on this list are numerous but you will recognize a lot of kanji that we have seen since the beginning of the program.

Note : I tried to find the symbolic meaning of the names below. Most of my interpretations are rather hit and miss.

愛子 / 旭子 . あいこ . Child of love
明子 . あきこ . Child of the morning
明子 . あきこ . Child of the morning
風子 . フウこ . Child of the wind
冬子 . ふゆこ / トウこ . Child of the winter
葉子 . はこ / ヨウこ . Child of the leaf/ves
浜子 . はまこ . Child of the beach
春子 . はるこ . Child of the spring
鳩子 . はとこ . Child of the dove
初子 . はつこ . First child
姫子 . ひめこ . Child of the princess, child-princess
雛子 . ひなこ . Little chick, child-chick
日菜子 . ひなこ . Child of the salad of the day (?)
広子 . ひろこ . Generous child
久子 . ひさこ .
星子 . ほしこ . Child of the stars
百子 . ヒャクこ . One hundred children
一子 . イチこ . First child
稲子 . いねこ . Small rice plant
犬子 . いぬこ . Child (born in the year) of the dog
純子 . ジュンこ . Pure child, innocent child
可奈子 / 可菜子 . かなこ
金子 . かねこ . Child of the fortune
勝子 . かつこ . Child of the victory
伽椰子 . かやこ .
恵子 / 圭子 . ケイこ . Blessed child
北子 . きたこ . Child of the north
清子 . きよこ . Clean child
京子 . キョウこ . Child of the capital
久美子 . くみこ . Eternally beautiful child
真千子 . まちこ .
舞子 . まいこ . Dancing child
繭子 . まゆこ . Child-cocoon; cocoon child (?)
未知子 / 美智子 . みちこ . Beautiful wise child
美佳子 . みかこ . Beautiful and friendly child
美子 . みこ . Beautiful child
美奈子 . みなこ . Beautiful child
峰子 . みねこ . Child of the crest
光子 . ミツこ . Child of light
三子 . ミツこ . Third child
美和子 . みわこ . Child of harmony (seen above)
桃子 . ももこ . Child of peaches (Peach is, in Japan, the symbol of longevity)
森子 . もりこ . Child of the forest
成子 . なりこ .
信子 . のぶこ .
法子 / 則子 /紀子 / 典子 . のりこ . (Irregular pronunciation)
貞子 . さだこ .
桜子 . さくらこ . Child of the cherry tree
小夜子 . さよこ . Child of the little night
鈴子 . すずこ . Bell-child; child of the bell (?)
周子 . シュウこ .
豊子 . とよこ . Child of abundance
月子 . つきこ . Child of the moon
馬子 . うまこ . Child of the horse
梅子 . うめこ . Plum blossom child
歌子 / 唄子 うたこ . Child of a song
和歌子 . わかこ .
夜子 . やこ . Child of the night
陽子 . ヨウこ . Brilliant Child / Child of the Sun / Solar Child (?)
雪子 . ゆきこ . Child of the snow
夢子 . ゆめこ . Child of dreams
侑子 . ユウこ .
夕子 . ユウこ . Evening child
優子 . ユウこ . Brilliant child, charming child
結子 . ユウこ .

Below, the names all end with the kanji 花 in its Sino-Japanese pronunciation カ. Again, these are female names, we have the kanji of « the flower » which is associated with femininity. Also note that there is another script for these same names by replacing the kanji 花 by the kanji 華 which has the same purely and Sino-Japanese pronunciations and which also means « flower » but also means « beauty, shine ». Finally, the kanji 香 has the same Sino-Japanese pronunciation. So once again, all of these given names are female!

Of course, the kanji 花 and 華 alone with their purely Japanese pronunciation can serve as female given names, but this case is rarer.

Once again, Japanese given names are usually made up of two kanji but it can happen to find given names made up of three kanji like 明日花 / 明日華 / 明日香 . あすカ.

Note: the given name 春花 . はるカ, although ending with the kanji 花 in this script, is a gender-neutral given name. And even in his other writings, 遥 . はるか for example, it is always a gender-neutral given name.

花 / 華 . はな . Flower
明日花 / 明日華 / 明日香 . あすカ .
彩花 / 彩華 / 彩香 . アヤカ . Colorful flower
千苺花 / 千苺華 / 千苺香 . ちいカ . A thousand strawberry flowers (already seen above)
風花 / 風華 / 風香 . フウカ . Wind flower
一花 / 一華 / 一香 . イチはな / イチカ . A flower
桃花 / 桃華 / 桃香 . ももはな / ももカ . Peach blossom, peach scent
奈々花 / 奈々華 / 奈々香 / 菜々花 / 菜々華 / 菜々香 . ななカ .
直花 / 直華 / 直香 . なおカ .
野乃花 / 野乃華 / 野乃香 . ののカ .
麗花 / 麗華 / 麗香 . レイカ / うるカ . Beautiful flower, radiant flower
梨花 / 梨華 / 梨香 . リカ . Japanese pear blossom, Japanese pear flower
六花 / 六華 / 六香 . リッカ . Six flowers, sixth flower
綾花 / 綾華 / 涼花 / 涼華 / 綾香 / 涼香 . リョウカ .
冴花 / 冴華 / 冴香 . さえばな / さやカ .
澄花 / 澄華 / 澄香 . すみカ .
雀花 / 雀華 / 雀香 . すずはな / すずカ .
立花 / 立華 / 立香 . たちばな/ リッカ .
月花 / 月華 / 月香 . つきはな / つきカ . Moon flower, moon scent
上花 / 上華 / 上香 . うえばな.
梅花 / 梅華 / 梅香 . うめカ . Plum blossom, plum flower
海花 / 海華 / 海香 . うみカ . Sea flower
唯花 / 唯華 / 唯香 . ユイカ .
優花 / 優華 / 優香 . ユウカ . Charming flower, fascinating flower

We continue with a new list of female given names, this time with the kanji 奈 and 菜. They have the same purely Japanese pronunciation: な.

See the list below :

愛奈 / 愛菜 . あいな . Love of green vegetables
朝比奈 / 朝比菜 . あさひな .
英玲奈 / 英玲菜 / 恵玲菜 / 恵玲奈 えれな .
春奈 / 春菜 . はるな .
陽奈 / 陽菜 . ひな / はるな / ヨウな .
日奈 / 日菜 . ひな .
加奈 / 加菜 . かな .
真奈 / 真菜 . まな .
奈々 / 菜々 / 菜奈 / 奈菜 / 名奈 / 名菜 なな .
仁奈 / 仁菜 / 二奈 / 二菜 . にな .
麗奈 / 麗菜 / 礼奈 / 礼菜 / 零奈 / 零菜 / 玲奈 / 玲菜 . レイな .
鈴奈 / 鈴菜 . すずな .
結奈 / 結菜 . ゆいな .
優奈 / 優菜 /柚奈 / 柚菜 . ユウな .

Everything that has to do with nature, especially flowers, is considered very female in Japan. It goes without saying that the leaf kanji, 葉, is associated with femininity. Its purely Japanese pronunciation is は. The kanji of sound, 音, too. Its purely Japanese pronunciation is ね.

See the list below :

赤音 . あかね . Red noise (?)
青葉 . あおば . Blue leaf
蒼葉 . あおば . Dark blue leaf
朝葉 . あさば . Morning leaf
彩音 . あやね . Colored noise (?)
綾音 . あやね .
千葉 . ちば . Thousand leaves
二葉 . ふたば . Two leaves, second leave
双葉 . ふたば . Twin leaves
冬音 . ふゆね . Sound of winter
林葉 . はやしば . Leaf of the wood, leaf of the forest
一葉 . ひとは . One leaf, first leaf
一音 . イチね . One sound, first sound
方葉 . かずは .
和葉 . かずは .
心音 . ここね . Sound of the heart
琴葉 . ことは . Leaf of koto
琴音 . ことね . Sound of the koto
葛葉 . くずは . Verbena leaf
繭音 . まゆね . Sound of the cocoon
三葉 . みつは . Three leaves, third leaf
瑞葉 . みずは . Abundant leaves
桃葉 . ももは . Peach leaf
桃音 . ももね . Sound of peach
奈々葉 / 菜々葉 . ななは .
音葉 . おとは . Sound of the leaf
凛音 . リンね .
染葉 . そめは .
若葉 . わかば . Young leaf
柳葉 . やなぎば . Willow leaf, wicker leaf
泰葉 . やすは . Calm leaf, peace leaf (Rare first name)
四葉 . よつば . Four leaves, fourth leaf
雪音 . ゆきね . Sound of snow
柚葉 . ゆずは . Japanese lemon leaf

We return to the kanji 美.

Some very rare given names ending in 美 are gender-neutral given names. I did not indicate them in this list. All the given names I give you are female, but if I make a mistake, please know.

See the list below :

愛美 . あいみ .
暁美 / 朱美 / 明美 . あけみ .
千恵美 . ちエみ .
恵美 . エみ .
福美 . フクみ .
冬美 . ふゆみ .
初美 . はつみ .
春美 . はるみ .
晴美 / 晴美 / 治美 . はるみ .
裕美 / 広美 . ひろみ .
久美 . ひさみ .
育美 . いくみ .
好美 . このみ .
真由美 / 麻由美 . まゆみ .
麻由美 . まゆみ .
恵美 . めぐみ .
夏美 . なつみ .
麗美 . レイみ / うるみ .
留美 / 瑠美 . るみ .
里美 . さとみ .
凉美 . すずみ .
心美 . ここみ .
麗美 . うるみ .
雪美 . ゆきみ .
由美 . ゆみ .

The kanji 恵 is the kanji of « the blessing », « the grace », « the favor », « the charity ». Its purely Japanese pronunciation is めぐみ and its Sino-Japanese pronunciations are エ and ケイ. This is the first that interests us here.

The kanji 恵 can also be used alone as a given name. It is then pronounced めぐみ.

The kanji 苗 is that of « the young shoot », « the seedling », « the plant ». Another kanji that has a link with nature. Its purely Japanese pronunciation is なえ.

The kanji 江 is that of « the bay », « the cove ». Its purely Japanese pronunciation is え.

暁恵 / 秋恵 / 昭恵 / 暁江 / 秋江 / 昭江 . あきエ .
知恵 / 知江 . ちエ .
文恵 / 文江 . ふみエ .
花恵 / 花江 . はなエ .
早苗 . はなえ.
久恵 / 久江 . ひさエ .
加苗 / 香苗 . かなえ.
香奈恵 / 香奈江 . かなエ .
恵 . めぐみ.
道恵 / 美知恵 / 道江 / 美知江 . みちエ .
光恵 / 光江 . ミツエ .
桃恵 / 桃江 . ももエ .
森恵 . もりエ .
永恵 / 長恵 / 永江 / 長江 . ながエ .
夏恵 / 夏江 . なつエ .
乙恵 / 乙江 . おとエ .
織恵 / 織江 . おりエ .
幸恵 / 幸江 . さちエ / ゆきエ
紗恵 / 紗江 . さエ .
咲恵 / 咲江 . さきエ .
静恵 / 静江 . しずエ .
澄恵 / 澄江 . すみエ .
紀恵 / 紀江 . ゆきエ .

The kanji 乃. Like the kanji 之 for surnames, the kanji 乃 is very rare in the Japanese language. It is found exclusively in female given names. Its purely Japanese pronunciation is の. There are two gender-neutral given names ending with this kanji. They will be indicated a little further down.

愛乃 . あいの .
秋乃 . あきの .
綾乃 . あやの .
花乃 . はなの .
春乃 . はるの .
早乃 . はやの .
久乃 . ひさの .
道乃 . みちの .
光乃 . ミツの .
桃乃 . ももの .
森乃 . もりの .
夏乃 . なつの / カの
梨乃 . りの .
咲乃 . さきの .
爽乃 . さやの .
雪乃 . ゆきの .
鈴乃 . すずの .
由乃 . ゆの .

Finally, the kanji 夜 and 織. The kanji of the night, 夜, is pronounced よ in purely Japanese and ヤ in Sino-Japanese. The kanji of weaving, 織, is pronounced おり in purely Japanese.

愛夜 . あいよ .
秋夜 . あきよ .
百夜 . ヒャクヤ .
伊織 . いおり .
香織 . かおり .
加夜 /香夜 . かよ .
咲夜 . さくヤ .
沙織 . さおり .
小夜 . さよ .
紫織 . しおり .
月夜 . つきよ .

Of course, there are a slew of other female names and to jog your memory here are a few that you’ve seen throughout this second season and others that you haven’t yet seen but that I also invite you to memorize:

亜衣 / 愛 / 愛衣 / 藍 . あい .
愛羽 . あげは . (Rare first name, irregular pronunciation)
笑里 . えみり .
風夏 . フウカ .
日向 . ひなた .
雛実 / 雛美 / 日南 . ひなみ .
楓 . かえで .
小雪 . こゆき .
真帆 . まほ .
芽衣 . めい .
美帆 . みほ .
沙穂 . さほ .
桜 . さくら .
沙耶 . さや .
小由 . さゆ .
涼風 . すずか .
悠亜 . ゆあ .

It’s time to switch to male given names. This time, things will go a little faster.

Here is your second mnemonic trick. Remember the following:

all given names ending with the kanji 郎, 太, 夫, 彦, 光, 一, 二, 三, 吾, 大 are masculine, all names including the kanji 信, both as a prefix and as a suffix, are also masculine. Finally, all first names beginning with the kanji 達, 辰, 竜 and 龍 except when they end with the kanji 子, then they are female first names.

Here, remember well, it will be useful to you all your life.

There is a little thing to know about these given names. There is a long form, ending in 太郎 . タロウ, and the shortened form ending in 太 . タ.

There are a lot of male Japanese given names including the kanji 郎. Here are the easiest ones to remember at the level you should be at today. Well, it’s easy to guess that all these given names are masculine since the kanji 郎 . ロウ translates to « young man » or « son »:

文太郎 . ブンタロウ .
文太 . ブンタ .
幻太郎 . ゲンタロウ .
幻太 . ゲンタ .
銀太郎 . ギンタロウ .
銀太 . ギンタ .
剛太郎 . ゴタロウ .
剛太 . ゴタ .
平太郎 . ヘイタロウ .
平太 . ヘイタ .
星太郎 / 清太郎 . セイタロウ .
星太 / 清太 . セイタ .
仁太郎 . ジンタロウ .
仁太 . ジンタ .
丈太郎 . ジョウタロウ .
丈太 . ジョウタ .
夏太郎 / 勘太郎 / 寒太郎 . カンタロウ .
夏太 / 勘太 / 寒太 . カンタ .
景太郎 / 敬太郎 / 圭太郎 / 慶太郎 . ケイタロウ .
景太 / 敬太 / 圭太 / 慶太 . ケイタ .
賢太郎 / 健太郎 / 謙太郎 . ケンタロウ .
賢太 / 健太 / 謙太 . ケンタ .
金太郎 . キンタロウ .
金太 . キンタ .
恋太郎 / 鯉太郎 コイタロウ . (Rare given name)
恋太 / 鯉太 コイタ . (Rare given name)
鋼太郎 / 光太郎 コウタロウ .
鋼太 / 光太 コウタ .
桃太郎 . ももタロウ . (given name of a very famous character in Japanese folklore)
桃太 . ももタ .
蓮太郎 / 恋太郎 / 廉太郎 レンタロウ .
蓮太 / 恋太 / 廉太 レンタ .
倫太郎 / 凛太郎 . リンタロウ .
倫太 / 凛太 . リンタ .
六太郎 . ロクタロウ .
六太 . ロクタ .
流太郎 / 隆太郎 / 龍太郎 / 竜太郎 . リュウタロウ .
流太 / 隆太 / 龍太 / 竜太 . リュウタ .
新太郎 / 信太郎 . シンタロウ .
新太 / 信太 . シンタ .
正太郎 / 祥太郎 . ショウタロウ .
正太 / 祥太 . ショウタ .
秀太郎 . シュタロウ .
秀太 . シュタ .
終太郎 . シュウタロウ .
終太 . シュウタ .
爽太郎 / 颯太郎 . ソウタロウ .
爽太 / 颯太 . ソウタ .
葉太郎 / 陽太郎 . ヨウタロウ .
葉太 / 陽太 . ヨウタ .
勇太郎 / 雄太郎 . ユウタロウ .
勇太 / 雄太 . ユウタ .

Note : the first name 恋太郎 can be pronounced こいタロウ ou レンタロウ. The first name 恋太 can be pronounced こいタ ou レンタ.

It is also possible to combine the kanji of the numbers with the kanji 郎 :

一郎 . イチロウ . The first son
二郎 . ジロウ . The second son
三郎 . サブロウ . The third son
四郎 . しロウ . The fourth son
五郎 . ゴロウ . The fifth son
六郎 . ロクロウ . The sixth son
七郎 . シチロウ . The seventh son
八郎 . ハチロウ . The eighth son
九郎 . クウロウ . The ninth son
十郎 . ジュウロウ . The tenth son

And so on... Yes, we can go on to infinity I guess but we’ll end there. Of course, as said above, it is quite possible to combine the kanji 郎 . ロウ with something other than number kanji. See below :

太郎 . タロウ. The big son, the great son
天太郎 . アマタロウ. The son of the great sky, the celestial son
炭治郎 . タンジロウ. The son of charcoal care
愛一郎 . アイイチロウ. The son first love
秋郎 . アキロウ. The son of autumn
栄一郎 . エイイチロウ. The son of glory (the given name of the creator of One Piece)
賢太郎 / 健太郎 . ケンタロウ

Below, the given names all end with the kanji 夫 which you already know because we find it in the word 夫 . おっと which means « My husband ». In all these given names, the kanji 夫 is pronounced お. Here, you can easily guess that a given name that contains the kanji 夫 is bound to be masculine.

Finally, the kanji 彦 which means « boy », so all given names ending with this kanji are necessarily masculine. Its purely Japanese pronunciation is ひこ.

I now give you some other male given names. There are some that you should already know :

晶彦 / 秋彦 . あきひこ .
明夫 / 秋夫 . あきお .
文彦 . ふみひこ .
冬彦 . ふゆひこ .
春彦 / 晴彦 . はるひこ .
秀夫 . ひでお .
裕彦 . ひろひこ .
久彦 . ひさひこ .
郁夫 . いくお .
勝彦 . かつひこ .
和彦 / 一彦 . カズひこ .
和夫 . カズお .
清彦 / 虚彦 . きよひこ .
雅彦 . まさひこ .
道夫 . みちお .
延彦 / 信彦 . のぶひこ .
伸夫 / 信夫 . のぶお .
澄夫 . すみお .
忠夫 . ただお .
高夫 . たかお .
健彦 . たけひこ .
俊夫 . としお .
弥彦 . やひこ .
由紀夫 . ゆきお .
幸彦 / 靫彦 . ゆきひこ .

We then have male given names ending in 光, the kanji of light in its Sino-Japanese pronunciation ミツ. There are some rare mixed male given names ending in 光. We will see them a little further down :

暁光 /昭光 /右光 /明光 . あきミツ .
秀光 . ひでミツ .
博光 . ひろミツ .
久光 . ひさミツ .
出光 . いでミツ .
景光 . かげミツ .
金光 . かねミツ .
清光 / 虚光 . きよミツ .
正光 . まさミツ .
森光 / 護光 / 守光 . もりミツ .
長光 . ながミツ .
竹光 . たけミツ .
龍光 / 竜光 / 辰光 / 達光 . たつミツ .
智光 . ともミツ .
継光 . つぐミツ .
月光 . つきミツ .
経光 / 常光 . つねミツ .
康光 . やすミツ .
吉光 . よしミツ .

We then have the male given names ending in 一, 二, 三 et 吾. All in their respective Sino-Japanese pronunciation :

大吾 . ダイゴ .
大三 / 太三 . ダイゾウ .
英一 . エイイチ .
英二 . エイジ .
英三 . エイゾウ .
源二 . ゲンジ .
吾一 . ゴイチ .
広一 . ひろイチ .
博一 . ひろイチ .
寿一 . ひさイチ / ジュイチ
信二 . シンジ .
信三 . シンゾウ .
純一 . ジュンイチ .
柔一 . ジュウイチ .
慶一 / 圭三 . ケイイチ .
慶三 / 圭三 . ケイゾウ .
健一 / 賢三 . ケンイチ .
健三 / 賢三 . ケンゾウ .
晃二 . コウジ .
恭二 . キョウジ .
理一 . リイチ .
隆一 / 龍一 / 竜一 . リュウイチ .
隆二 / 龍二 / 竜二 . リュウジ .
隆三 / 龍三 / 竜三 . リュウゾウ .
誠一 . セイイチ .
慎吾 . シンゴ .
新一 / 進一 . シンイチ .
省吾 . ショウゴ .
泰三 . タイゾウ .
武三 . たいゾウ .
達三 / 辰三 . たつゾウ .
利三 . としミツ .
弥一 . やイチ .
洋二 . ヨウジ .
祐一 / 優一 . ユウイチ .
雄三 . ユウゾウ .

Now we have the male given names starting with the kanji 大. Its Sino-Japanese pronunciation is ダイ :

大地 . ダイゴ .
大吾 . ダイゾウ .
大阿智 / 大八 . ダイハチ .
大事 . ダイジ .
大志郎 . ダイジロウ .
大樹 . ダイき / ダイジュ .
大輝 . ダイキ .
大作 . ダイサク .
大進 . ダイシン .
大介 / 大輔 / 大祐 / 大助 / 大典 . ダイスケ .

Finally, we have male given names including the kanji 信. Its purely Japanese pronunciation is のぶ and its Sino-Japanese pronunciation is シン :

顕信 / 明信 . あきのぶ .
有信 . ありのぶ .
晴信 . はるのぶ .
博信 . ひろのぶ .
和信 / 一信 . かずのぶ .
政信 . まさのぶ .
元信 . もとのぶ .
成信 . なりのぶ .
信明 / 信秋 . のぶあき .
信親 . のぶちか .
信治 / 信春 . のぶはる .
信秀 . のぶひで .
信彦 . のぶひこ .
信廉 . のぶかど .
信正 . のぶまさ .
信長 . のぶなが .
信夫 . のぶお .
信孝 . のぶたか .
信人 . のぶと .
信哉 . のぶや .
信康 . のぶやす .
信頼 . のぶより .
信義 . のぶよし .
信行 / 信之 . のぶゆき .
定信 . さだのぶ .
重信 . しげのぶ .
信一郎 . シンイチロウ .
信二 . シンジ .
信三 . シンゾウ .
忠信 . ただのぶ .

Finally, we have the male first names beginning with the kanji 達, 辰, 竜 and 龍. The purely Japanese pronunciation is たつ :

達也 / 辰也 / 竜也 / 龍也 / 達哉 / 辰哉 / 竜哉 / 龍哉 . たつや .

Male given names beginning with the kanji 達, 辰, 竜 and 龍 AND ending with the kanji 子 are female given names :

達子 / 辰子 / 竜子 / 龍子 . たつこ . (Female given names)

Of course, there are a slew of other male given names and to jog your memory here are a few that you’ve seen throughout this second season and some that you haven’t yet seen but that I also invite you to memorize :

武雄 . たけお .
瀧 . たき .
獠 . リョ
剣心 . ケンシン .
剣 . ケン .

Hideki (ひでき) is also a masculine given name and can have up to six different writings with kanji : 秀樹, 英樹, 秀機, 英機, 秀基, 英基.

In Japanese, as in all languages, there are given names that can be assigned to both boys and girls. I give you a small list of some mixed given names below :

あき / 亜紀 / 秋 あき .
歩 / 歩夢 . あゆむ .
春 . はる .
春花 / 遥 . はるか .
一二三 . ひふみ .
光 . ひかり / ひかる .
蛍 . ほたる .
伊月 / 樹 . いつき .
泉 . いずみ .
順 . ジュン .
貝 . かい .
邦光 / 国光 . くにミツ .
信 . のぶ .
空 . そら .
紫乃 . しの .
志乃 . しの .
忍 . しのぶ .
照美 . てるみ .
友美 . ともみ .
翼 . つばさ .
連 . レン .

Akira is also a gender-neutral given name and can have up to twelve different writing : あきら, 輝, 暁, 晃, 秋良, 晶, 明, 陽, 亮, 玲, 晄, 旭.

We have seen many Japanese first names written with different kanji combinations but all having the same pronunciation. And if you have been paying attention, you will have noticed that some kanji combinations can have more than one pronunciation. Knowing that most kanji have at least one purely Japanese pronunciation and one Sino-Japanese pronunciation, this is quite obvious.

I give you below the first names seen above and corresponding to this case :

一花 / 一華 / 一香 . イチはな / イチカ . Una flor
桃花 / 桃華 / 桃香 . ももはな / ももカ . Peach blossom, peach scent
冴花 / 冴華 / 冴香 . さえばな / さやカ .
雀花 / 雀華 / 雀香 . すずはな / すずカ .
立花 / 立華 / 立香 . たちばな/ リッカ .
月花 / 月華 / 月香 . つきはな / つきカ . Moon flower, moon scent
陽奈 / 陽菜 . ひな / はるな / ヨウな .
夏乃 . なつの / カの

This case remains extremely rare and I complete with a last example, probably the most revealing :

二木 . ニき / ふたき / ふたぎ / ふたつき / ふたつぎ

Note : below, I give you some explanations on some first names in case you have not paid attention:

The first names 一花 and 一華 can be pronounced イチはな or イチカ. The first name 一香 is pronounced only イチカ.

The first names 桃花 and 桃華 can be pronounced ももはな or ももカ. The first name 桃香 is pronounced only ももカ.

The first names 冴花 and 冴華 can be pronounced さえばな or さやカ. The first name 冴香 is pronounced only さやカ.

The first names 雀花 and 雀華 can be pronounced すずはな or すずカ. The first name 雀香 is pronounced only すずカ.

The first names 立花 and 立華 can be pronounced たちばな or リッカ. El primer nom 立香 is pronounced only リッカ. The pronunciation リッカ comes from リツ, Sino-Japanese pronunciation of the kanji 立 and カ, Sino-Japanese pronunciation of the kanji 香. The ツ disappears to facilitate pronunciation.

The first names 月花 and 月華 can be pronounced つきはな or つきカ. The first name 月香 is pronounced only つきカ.

It is high time to recap everything we have just seen in this course. I give you below the essential of everything there is to remember :

1/ The writing in kanji of many Japanese given names can be very variable. There can sometimes be up to ten different kanji writings, or even more, for the same pronunciation. Depending on the kanji used, the meaning of the given name will be different.

2/ We have seen that surnames can also have different writings, but this remains quite rare and does not change the meaning of the surname.

3/ The Japanese language does not distinguish between gender, so grammatically there is neither masculine nor feminine. This therefore makes the distinction between male and female given names quite difficult. That said, there are a few mnemonic tips to help you.

4/ All given names beginning with the kanji 千 and 美 or ending with the kanji 子, 花, 華, 香, 奈, 菜, 葉, 音, 美, 恵, 苗, 江, 乃, 江 and 織 are female. You will notice that female given names often contain kanji associated with beauty and nature, sound and incense, the number thousand... The kanji of « child » is also very present because it gives a very cute side. and childish, associated with femininity.

5/ All given names ending with the kanji 郎, 太, 夫, 彦, 光, 一, 二, 三, 吾, 大 are masculine, all first names including the kanji 信, both as a prefix and as a suffix, are also masculine. Finally, all first names beginning with the kanji 達, 辰, 竜 and 龍 except when they end with the kanji 子, then they are female first names.

6/ The given names 春 . はる, 空 . そら, 蛍 . ほたる, 連 . レン et 春花 . はるカ among others are gender-neutral given names. There are no mnemonic tricks. Learn them by heart.

7/ For the sake of creating an original given name for their child, it sometimes happens that parents choose a pronunciation for a combination of kanji that does not correspond to the purely Sino-Japanese pronunciations of kanji. Mangakas sometimes do the same for fictional characters.

8/ Many Japanese first names can be written with different kanji combinations and all have the same pronunciation. But some kanji combinations can also have more than one pronunciation.

9/ It is possible to write the given name only in hiragana or katakana, even when the given name initially does not have Sino-Japanese pronunciations.

This is, in general terms, what you must remember in addition to the long lists of given names that I have given you in this course, obviously. This lesson is very important, like all the others besides, and already know that during the third season, in the example sentences and the exercises, I will give you less and less Western names in katakana and more and more Japanese first and last names – including Sino-Japanese last names – to force you to use and memorize kanji.

I suspect there are a lot of kanji that you do not know in most of the surnames and given names that we have seen in this course and the previous one. You will therefore have to come back very regularly to these two courses to refresh your memory. As I have already said several times, it is only by dint of practice that you will be able to memorize them all, and especially to distinguish well between male given names and female given names. And as I told you at the start of the course, it must become instinctive. As soon as you see a given name, you should immediately know that it is a given name, whether it is male or female, and never confuse Japanese first and last names again. Finally, concerning mixed given names, just like other given names, you must learn them by heart.

So, practice repeatedly, try to read manga every now and then even if you do not understand everything, try watching anime and listening to what the characters are saying. Take an interest in the first and last names of your favorite characters…

Just like in Western languages, it is possible in Japanese to make a name look cute by shortening it to show affection for someone. It can be a family member, a particularly close friend… Logically, when a Japanese is called by his nickname, it is often followed by an honorary suffix like ちゃん or 君 . クン.

There is no specific rule for this case, but generally, knowing that a given name is made up of two kanji on average, you simply take the pronunciation of the first kanji. I give you below some easy-to-understand examples:

雄三君 . ユウゾウクン → 雄君 . ユウクン → 雄ちゃん . ユウちゃん

瀧君 . たきクン → たっクン

武雄君 . たけおクン → (武君). たけクン → たっクン

太郎ちゃん . タロウちゃん → 太ちゃん → たちゃん o たあちゃん

弥彦ちゃん . やひこちゃん → 弥ちゃん → やちゃん o やあちゃん

花子君 . はなこクン → 花君 . はなクン → 花ちゃん . はなちゃん o はんちゃん o はちゃん

In the first example, the first name 雄三 . ユウゾウ is shortened to 雄 . ユウ. You add a suffix like 君 . クン or ちゃん and it gives 雄君 . ユウクン or 雄ちゃん. ユウちゃん.

In the second example, 瀧君 . たきクン becomes たっクン. We eat the second syllable, we add a pause and we get たっクン. In this case, we’ll always write it like this. If we wrote it in kanji, the nuance would not be perceptible or we would have to add furigana.

In the third example, 武雄君. たけおクン becomes (武君). たけクン, and in this case, we’ll write in hiragana to make it clear that this is a nickname. Otherwise, it can also be nicknamed たっクン. As in the previous example.

In the fourth example, 太郎ちゃん. タロウちゃん becomes 太ちゃん. たちゃん, and in this case, we will write in hiragana to clearly suggest that it is a nickname. Otherwise, it can also be nicknamed たあちゃん. Note the presence of the vowel あ as a lengthening of the syllable た.

The fifth example, 弥彦ちゃん . やひこちゃん follows the same path as the previous one.

In the sixth example, 花子君 . はなこクン becomes 花君 . はなクン, and we can make the nickname cuter by replacing 君 with ちゃん, which gives 花ちゃん . はなちゃん. And we go even further into cuteness, into familiarity with はんちゃん or even はちゃん.

I give you yet another example with the character of どろろ in the eponymous series of Osamu Tezuka. The first name どろろ probably comes from the word 泥棒 . どろボウ which means « thief, burglar » or even « robber ». Osamu Tezuka presumably made a pun by repeating the first kanji 泥, then repeating the last syllable ろ.

It is also possible to do the same with last names. I didn’t mention it in the previous lesson but yes, it is. As an example, I take the surname 三森 . みもり, let’s imagine that in my immediate circle I know a person with this last name and I am very close to this person. Over time, I end up calling him みもクン or みっクン or even みもちゃん out of affection.

In the manga Blue Period by Yamaguchi Tsubasa (山口 つばさ), the character Ryuuji Ayukawa (鮎川 龍二) prefers to go by ユカ, which is derived from the surname 鮎川 . あゆかわ because she doesn’t want to have the same name as the idol Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ) who is a real person by the way. Here, the nickname is made up of the last syllable of the kanji 鮎 . あゆ and the first syllable of the kanji 川 . かわ.

In the manga Amanchu! by Kozue Amano (天野 こずえ), the character Hikari Kohinata (小日向 光) is sometimes nicknamed by his friends Pikari (ぴかり) which means « flashy », « sparkling » or « brightly shining ». One of the characters sometimes calls her Bakari (ばかり) which is a parody of her, combining 光 . ひかり and the Japanese word 馬鹿 . ばか meaning « idiot ».

In the manga Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō (the manga was released in the United States under its original Japanese name) of Hitoshi Ashinano (芦奈野 ひとし), the character Matsuki (真月) is often nicknamed Makki (マッキ).

In the manga Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi (高橋 留美子), the character Ryôga Hibiki (響 良牙) when he transforms into a black piglet is often nicknamed P-chan (Pちゃん).

In the manga Video Girl Ai by Masakazu Katsura (桂 正和), the main character, Youta Moteuchi (弄内 洋太), has no success with girls. To make fun of him, they sometimes call him Motenai. There is a pun on the pronunciation of the family name Moteuchi (弄内) and the verb 持てる . もてる which means « to be successful, to be popular ». The verb is put in the negative form, which gives 持てない. In addition, let’s add that the kanji 弄 is found in several verbs such as :

弄する . ロウする . to joke, to make fun of; play with, have fun with (hair, emotions)

弄る . いじる / まさぐる . to touch, to play with (hair…)

弄ぶ . もてあそぶ . to play with, to have fun with

I will not give you these three verbs in this season’s exercises. We will see them again in season three, I just thought it was interesting to note that.

That said, whether you affectionately call someone in your family, professional or friendly circle by a small name, based on either the given name or the last name, while appending the suffix ちゃん or 君 . クン, it can be a testament of the degree of affection, closeness that you have with this person.

As a general rule, between members of the same family, we start from the given name to create a small affectionate name and it remains in the family environment. Outside of the family, in a friendly or professional environment, we start with the last name to create a cute little name. And at the same time, using the last name rather than the given name politely maintains a respectful distance. Once again, this is one of those incredibly numerous and very often untranslatable nuances in English.

In some cases, it is obtained by other means, notably by using another reading of the kanji used to write the name. For example, a girl named Megumi (恵 . めぐみ) may be nicknamed ケイちゃん or simply ケイ, because the character used to write Megumi (恵 . めぐみ) can also be read ケイ. What I just presented to you is not the most common way to create nicknames in Japanese, but keep in mind that it exists.

In the world of entertainment, show business and in the artistic world in the broad sense, it is very common for Japanese celebrities to create a nickname for themselves as an artist name, often from their first and last name. Thus, actors and actresses, comedians, sumo wrestlers and Western-style professional wrestlers, artisans and poets, musicians, singers, writers and mangakas, among others, often use artist names. Common Japanese practice is to form abbreviations by concatenating the first two mores of the first and last name, and the kanji are replaced with katakana or hiragana. For example, Takuya Kimura (木村 拓哉), a famous Japanese actor and singer, becomes Kimutaku (キムタク). This is sometimes applied even to non-Japanese celebrities: Brad Pitt, whose full name in Japanese is Buraddo Pitto (ブラッド・ピット) is commonly known as Burapi (ブラピ), and Jimi Hendrix is shortened to Jimihen (ジミヘン).

Another slightly less common method is to double one or two syllables of the person’s name, such as using まみまみ for Mamiko Noto (能登 麻美子), a Japanese actress, singer, and voice actress.

Just as the Japanese shorten sentences as much as possible if the context allows, they do the same with first and last names. They shorten them to give a cute side but also to simplify pronunciation. You may well imagine that the « -drix » of Hendrix is difficult to pronounce for the Japanese, hence the abbreviation Jimihen (ジミヘン).

The creation of a professional name is also often motivated by the need to separate private life from the life of an artist, to create a persona behind which the artist or craftsman can hide to protect himself and his family. relatives. Thus, in a profession like that of mangaka which does not require showing one’s face, it is common to publish one’s work under an artist’s name. Only the publishing house knows the real identity of those who strive to draw the thousands of manga published each year. A well-known example is that of Hiromu Arakawa (荒川 弘), the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist and Silver Spoon, real name Hiromi. A mangaka woman, she changed a syllable of her first name so that it sounded more masculine. As for mangaka publishing manga of a pornographic nature, they will invent a much more fanciful artist name, most often without basing themselves on their first or last name to ensure optimal anonymity.

Finally, one last professional environment where anonymity is required is of course the world of prostitution for obvious reasons.

Many ethnic minorities living in Japan, mainly Korean and Chinese, adopt Japanese names. The roots of this custom date back to the colonial-era 創氏改名 . ソウシカイメイ policy, which required Koreans to change their names to Japanese names. Nowadays, ethnic minorities, mainly Koreans, who immigrated to Japan after World War II, take Japanese names, sometimes called « identity names », to facilitate communication and, more importantly, to avoid discrimination. A few of them (for ex: Han Chang-Woo, founder, and chairman of Maruhan Corp., pronounced « Kan Shōyū » in Japanese) still retain their original names. Sometimes, however, Chinese and Koreans in Japan who choose to renounce permanent resident status to apply for Japanese citizenship must change the characters in their name, as not all characters are legally recognized in Japan for naming purposes.

Japanese citizenship formerly required the adoption of a Japanese name. In recent decades, the government has allowed individuals to simply adopt katakana versions of their original names when applying for citizenship, as is already the case for non-native foreigners. East Asia. Thus, Martti Turunen, born in Finland, became Marutei Tsurunen (ツルネン マルテイ or 弦念 丸呈) ; member of the National Diet, he is a famous example. Others transliterated their names into phonetically similar kanji compounds, such as activist Arudou Debito (有道 出人), a Japanese-American known as « David Aldwinckle » before taking Japanese citizenship. Still others abandoned their native names entirely in favor of properly Japanese ones, such as Lafcadio Hearn (who was half Anglo-Irish and half Greek), who used the name Koizumi Yakumo (小泉 八雲). At the time, to obtain Japanese citizenship, one had to be adopted by a Japanese family (in Hearn’s case, it was his wife’s family) and take their name.

People born abroad with Western first names and Japanese last names are usually given a katakana name in Western order ([first name] [last name]) when mentioned in Japanese. Eric Shinseki, for example, is called Erikku Shinseki (エリック シンセキ). However, Japanese parents sometimes decide to use the Japanese order when mentioning the child’s name in Japanese. Additionally, Japanese parents tend to name their children in kanji, hiragana, or katakana, especially if it is a Japanese name. Even people born in Japan, with a Japanese name, may be expected to use katakana if they have established a residence or career abroad. Yōko Ono (小野 洋子), for example, was born in Japan and spent the first twenty years of her life there. However, having lived outside the country for over fifty years and basing her career in the United States, Ono is often referred to in the press as オノ・ヨーコ, preserving the Japanese order of her name (Ono Yōko), but rendering it in katakana. Another example is that of the inventor of Bitcoin, whose name is Satoshi Nakamoto, and which is most likely a pseudonym, perhaps even that of a non-Japanese person; Nakamoto is mentioned in Japanese with katakana in the Western order, サトシ・ナカモト, rather than 中本 聡.

Christians in Japan traditionally have Christian first names in addition to their original Japanese names. These first names are written in katakana and are adapted to Japanese phonology from their Portuguese or Latin forms rather than being borrowed from English. Peter, for example, is Petoro (ペトロ), John is Yohane (ヨハネ), Jacob is Yakobu (ヤコブ), Martin is Maruchino (マルチノ), Dominic is Dominiko (ドミニコ), and so on. In most cases, in real life, Christian names are not used; for example, Tarō Asō (麻生 太郎), 59^th Prime Minister of Japan and Christian, has a first name, Francisco (フランシスコ), which is not as well known.

Before the end, I would like to discuss one last point with you, so read carefully what will follow :

in Japanese, there are proper names that can be both given names for some people and last names for others.

What does that mean ? To explain it to you, I’m going to re-expose a particular given name that we saw at the very beginning :

青 . あおい, 蒼 . あおい, 碧 . あおい, 藍 . あおい, 葵 . あおい, 青井 . あおい, 蒼井 . あおい, 碧井 . あおい, 藍井 . あおい, 葵井 . あおい.

Well. You remember at the start of the course when I summarized the history of Japanese surnames for you, so I told you the following. At one time all Japanese had a given name at birth, but sometimes Japanese people changed their given names according to their status, their job and even their religion, because of a promotion, a change of job or even simply because they used a given name that they believed to bring them bad luck. So much for the given names.

For surnames, as we saw in the previous lesson, they were given in relation to the geographical location of the person in question, the place where they lived. There were also invasions, wars, cultural exchanges which also influenced the names…

In summary, what must be remembered is that before the formalization of the Japanese naming system by the government in the 1870s which forced all Japanese to adopt a fixed first and last name, it was quite a mess ! And in fact, even today, there are Japanese people who have a last name that is exactly the same as another Japanese’s given name. All this because a few centuries ago a descendant decided that his last name would be « So-and-so » while another Japanese decided that his given name this time would also be « So-and-so ». This is why today you have Japanese people who have Aoi as their given name while others have Aoi as their last name.

This is a peculiarity that is unique to the Japanese language and that we will not find so much in other languages. For comparison, if we take as an example the given name « Bryan », you will find a lot of people in the world with given name « Bryan » whether this or that spelling : « Bryan », « Brian », « Bryant », « Briant », « Brayane », « Brayann », « Bryann », « Braian », « Brayan » (that makes a lot !). And if you are looking for all of these given names as a last name, there is really very little chance that you’ll come across many people with one of these given names as a last name.

As a general rule in Western languages, there is rather a strong tendency to separate given names from family names. Very early in their history, much earlier than in the history of Japan, Western countries already had a naming system in place to clearly distinguish each individual based on their first and last name. In addition, the movement of peoples from one country to another in Europe and elsewhere (whether through invasions, wars, trade and cultural exchanges) has led to the creation of a very large number of first and last names. Therefore, it brought a lot of diversity, thus avoiding given names and especially surnames that were too similar from one person to another. Japan, on the other hand, as explained in the previous lesson, has remained for centuries very isolated from the rest of the world and therefore has not been subject to very significant influences. It was not until the arrival of kanji with their Sino-Japanese pronunciations that much more variation emerged in first and last names, as well as the formalization of the Japanese naming system by the government in the 1870s such as said above.

So, you will have to get used to sometimes stumbling upon Japanese people with the given name 青 . あおい (that writing or any other) or as a last name 青 . あおい, which is exactly the same writing, the same pronunciation, the same symbolism, but as a last name.

Of course, there are other proper names that can be both first and last names, 葉月 / 芭月 . はずき another example with two possible writings in kanji.

The kanji 丸 . まる is a feudal suffix for male first names. If I haven’t mentioned it above, it’s simply because its use in Japanese names is rare these days, but I’m telling you about it anyway.

It can happen to come across it in Japanese works, especially video games, manga, very old novels or in stories set in the past, sometimes in the time of feudal Japan or in heroic-fantasy universes. of medieval inspiration.

I give you below some examples :

茶々丸 . チャチャまる . (name of the cat who helps Tamayo in Demon Slayer)
百鬼丸 . ヒャッキまる . (name of one of the protagonists in Dororo)
琵琶丸 . びわまる . (name of one of the protagonists in Dororo)
猫丸 . ねこまる . (name of one of the protagonists in the Danganronpa series)
赤丸 . あかまる . (name of a ninja dog in Naruto)
朱丸 . あけまる . (name of a ninja dog in Naruto)
茶丸 . チャまる . (name of a ninja dog in Naruto)
黒丸 . くろまる . (name of a ninja dog in Naruto)
徳丸 . トクまる . (name of the butler in the Saint Seiya series)
滝丸 . たきまる .
山丸 . やままる .
白丸 . しろまる .

In almost all cases, when you come across a proper noun ending in 丸 . まる, it will be a male first name. But it may happen that some people have them as a last name. Thus, in the series Insomniacs After School by Makoto Ojiro (オジロ マコト), two secondary characters, Yui Shiromaru (白丸 結) and Kai Shiromaru (白丸 甲斐) have the last name Shiromaru (白丸 . しろまる).

In real life, voice actor Jun’ichi Kanemaru (金丸 淳一) is the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in all 3D episodes of the license since Sonic Adventure. And you will have understood, Kanemaru (金丸 . かねまる) is his last name.

For your general knowledge, 丸 did not really represent a circle but a rounded shape. So, we have words like :

丸顔 . まるがお . a rounded face
丸まる . まるまる . to curl up / to curl into a ball

However, the kanji 丸 was gradually associated with the circle with the idea that there is nothing missing, the idea of a whole, the idea of perfection, of wholeness. We find this meaning in words like :

丸ごと . まるごと . whole
丸一日 . まるイチニチ . an entire day
丸一晩 . まるひとバン . a whole night

When a student receives a 丸 from a teacher, it means all the answers are good. For information, in Japan copies are marked with a cross when it is wrong and a circle when it is correct.

Moreover, this kanji is also used as a suffix, in particular for the names of boats. There are traces of this custom as far back as the tenth century, which is nothing new! The most common explanation is that « maru » would derive from « maro » (麿). This was once used by men to refer to themselves (I) but also as an affectionate suffix for the names of people then for katanas and animals. It ended up affecting boats and this practice became almost compulsory during the late 19th century until 2001.

You have almost no chance of encountering the kanji 麿 used as a personal pronoun in video games, mangas or in stories set in the past, sometimes during the days of feudal Japan, etc. It’s really very rare! I will never use it in the exercises, so you are free to memorize it if you want.

A very last sub-part before the conclusion.

For those who ask themselves the following question: is it possible to use absolutely any kanji of the Japanese language to create a first name? Yes, it is completely possible.

To give you a telling example, Japanese parents may call their daughter まどか with the kanji of 円. You already know it, it is the kanji of the yen, the currency of Japan and which is pronounced エン in Sino-Japanese but not only. It has several purely Japanese pronunciations including まどか and other meanings. It can notably mean « the circle » like the kanji 丸.

You also have the feminine given name 姫 . ひめ and all female names beginning with this kanji: 姫菜 . ひめな and 姫奈 . ひめな. I did not indicate them above because they are not the most widespread but now you know them.

Just like in the West where certain first names according to times, languages and cultures are more or less given than others, in Japan, it is the same with kanji. Thus, the rarest kanji and whose pronunciations are less known, therefore, are less likely to be chosen by parents for their child. Conversely, other kanji like that of the yen, 円, are really very common in the language and are sometimes considered unoriginal or not having particularly attractive meanings. Of course, other factors play into the choice of first name: the socio-economic context, the personal history of the family, the social status, a famous personality… And of course, the tastes and colors that are indisputable.

Finally, during the lesson, I gave you examples of male first names, female first names and mixed first names. I gave you some mnemonic tricks to tell the difference between male names and female names. As for mixed first names, there are not really any tricks to memorize them more easily. You really have to learn them by heart. That said, keep in mind that it is quite possible to meet girls and women with names that are considered masculine and vice versa. It is quite rare but it is possible.

Thus, in the manga Blue Period, a female character is named Ayukawa Ryuuji (鮎川 龍二). Ayukawa (鮎川 . あゆかわ) is her surname and Ryuuji is her given name (龍二 . リュウジ).

In the manga Shaman King Flowers from Hiroyuki Takei (武井 宏之), the main character, a 13-year-old boy, is named Asakura Hana (麻倉 花). Asakura (麻倉 . あさくら) is his last name and Hana (花 . はな) is his given name. Above, I indicated that first names ending with the kanji 花 are feminine. Of course, this is not an absolute rule but a mnemonic trick.

The first name Iori (伊織) is often perceived as being feminine, yet boys can very well bear this name. For example, in the Grand Blue manga, the main character is a boy and is called Iori Kitahara (北原 伊織). In the manga Phantom Seer, the main character is a boy and is called Iori Katanagi (片儺木 伊織).

In all human societies, the first names given to children in each generation reflect the mentality of these societies, and in particular the mentality of the generation of the parents. As much in Japan, it is unthinkable to give a boy a first name ending with the kanji 子 because it is considered very feminine, as much as it is unthinkable to give a girl a first name ending in 郎 or 彦 since these two kanji are associated with masculinity. The kanji 郎 means « young man » and the kanji 彦 means « boy ». On the other hand, in other first names considered masculine, a first name like Ryuuji (龍二 . リュウジ) is composed of the kanji of the dragon (龍) and the kanji of two (二). Neither of these two kanji defines a gender. Socially, that a girl or a woman bears this first name is quite normal although rare.

By way of comparison with the West, the first name « Bryan » (B-R-Y-A-N) is worn by less than a hundred women in France compared to tens of thousands of men. The ratio in other countries like England, Canada and the United States is the same.

This time it’s good! In the previous lesson, we went over everything there is to know about Japanese surnames. And today we took a look at everything there is to know about Japanese given names. I spent hours, entire days writing, proofreading and correcting these courses over and over again. And I can say that there is nothing more to add… Well, actually I could also have talked about the names of Japanese emperors and members of the Japanese imperial family. There would also be things to say about it. But quite frankly, these courses are already long enough that you don’t need to add more. You would suffer from indigestion.

I will not come back to the subject again. The circle is complete. These lessons will require you to read many times in order to memorize as many surnames and given names as possible. Remember to use the mnemonic tricks available to you to make your life easier. Proofread, write, and rewrite over and over again until it hits your head. There are no other solutions.

And since we’ve seen quite a bit of vocabulary so far, I’ll give you your exercises, as always theme and version. There is nothing more effective than practice to improve.

Congratulations on all your efforts so far and we’ll see you very soon !

Did you know? 泰葉 . やすは is Yasuha Ebina’s first name (海老名 泰葉), a Japanese singer-songwriter. She began her career in 1979 as a tarento appearing on numerous television shows, such as Japanese variety shows. In 1981, she began a singer career thanks to her song Flyday Chinatown.

The word tarento (from English « talent ») refers to television personalities in Japan. They are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media, especially as panelists on variety shows.

Note : まどか is the first name of the main character of the series Puella Magi Madoka Magica.