Ways to use this list
- Stories set in Japan: match names to ages. Chiyo and Kiku feel like a grandmother's generation, while Himari and Minato are names of today's children.
- Japanese lessons: spin a family name and a given name, then practise a self-introduction in the Japanese order: "Tanaka Hana desu."
- Learning kanji: spin, find the character beside the name in the list, and try writing it, such as 空 for Sora or 森 for Mori.
- Art and craft: paint a spun name in large brush strokes on a homemade bookmark. Shiori, which means bookmark, is a lovely one to start with.
Press Spin the wheel, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you
like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the
chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a duck race, hat, claw machine and more.
The full list (73 entries)
- Sakura – girl, 桜, cherry blossom
- Hana – girl, 花, flower
- Yui – girl
- Himari – girl
- Mio – girl
- Rin – girl
- Akari – girl, 灯, light
- Nanami – girl, 七海, seven seas
- Kaori – girl, 香, fragrance
- Misaki – girl
- Ayaka – girl
- Mei – girl
- Koharu – girl
- Sumire – girl, 菫, violet
- Tsubaki – girl, 椿, camellia
- Midori – girl, 緑, green
- Chiyo – girl, 千代, a thousand generations
- Aiko – girl, 愛子, child of love
- Momoko – girl, 桃子, peach child
- Hotaru – girl, 蛍, firefly
- Shiori – girl, 栞, bookmark
- Kiku – girl, 菊, chrysanthemum
- Ume – girl, 梅, plum blossom
- Haruka – girl
- Haruto – boy
- Sota – boy, Sōta, with a long o
- Yuto – boy, Yūto, with a long u
- Riku – boy, 陸, land
- Ren – boy, 蓮, lotus
- Minato – boy, 湊, harbour
- Itsuki – boy, 樹, tree
- Arata – boy, 新, new
- Takumi – boy, 匠, craftsman
- Hayato – boy
- Daichi – boy, 大地, great earth
- Taiga – boy, 大河, great river
- Tsubasa – boy, 翼, wings
- Akira – boy, 明, bright
- Makoto – boy, 誠, sincerity
- Isamu – boy, 勇, courage
- Kenta – boy
- Ryota – boy, Ryōta, with a long o
- Shota – boy, Shōta, with a long o
- Kaito – boy
- Hiroshi – boy
- Takeshi – boy
- Kazuki – boy
- Yamato – boy
- Sora – girl or boy, 空, sky
- Yuki – girl or boy, 雪, snow (other kanji give other meanings)
- Kaede – girl or boy, 楓, maple
- Haru – girl or boy, 春, spring
- Hinata – girl or boy, 日向, sunny place
- Hikaru – girl or boy, 光, light
- Aoi – girl or boy
- Sato – family name, Satō, the most common family name in Japan
- Saito – family name, Saitō
- Takahashi – family name, 高橋, high bridge
- Tanaka – family name, 田中, middle of the rice field
- Watanabe – family name
- Ito – family name, Itō
- Yamamoto – family name, 山本, base of the mountain
- Nakamura – family name, 中村, middle village
- Kobayashi – family name, 小林, small forest
- Kato – family name, Katō
- Yamada – family name, 山田, mountain rice field
- Matsumoto – family name, 松本, base of the pine
- Inoue – family name, 井上, above the well
- Kimura – family name, 木村, tree village
- Hayashi – family name, 林, woods
- Mori – family name, 森, forest
- Shimizu – family name, 清水, pure water
- Yamaguchi – family name, 山口, mountain entrance
Questions people ask
Why can one Japanese name have several meanings?
Names are usually written in kanji, and parents choose the characters, so the same sound can carry different meanings. Yuki can be written 雪 (snow) or 幸 (happiness), among others. We list a meaning only where one writing is the usual one.
Which comes first in Japanese, the given name or the family name?
In Japan the family name comes first, so Tanaka Hana is Hana of the Tanaka family. In English many people swap the order, though the Japanese government now prefers family name first in English too.
Why do some names have a line over a vowel, like Sōta?
Hepburn romaji marks long vowels with a macron: Sōta, Yūto, Satō. Passports and street signs usually leave it out, so Sota and Sato are the forms you will meet most, and the ones used on the wheel.
Which Japanese names are popular for babies today?
Haruto, Minato, Ren and Riku have been among the most popular boys' names in recent years, and Himari, Rin, Mei and Mio among the girls'. Older names like Hiroshi and Chiyo are much rarer for babies now.