Japanese female names, unlike male ones, are read quite simply and have a clear meaning. They have interesting traditions and unforgettable translation. Female names they amaze with their sound, and one can only guess what is hidden behind it. But we suggest not to guess, but to find out what Japanese female names actually mean. It will be interesting! Do you have any doubts? Read on and check for yourself!

Female Japanese names

Japanese girl names are very easy to read and easily translated. The translation from Japanese is excellent, as always. The meaning of the name gives its owner something sublime and beautiful. You can see this for yourself, in front of you list of female Japanese names.

Japanese female names are most often read by kun, so there are no difficulties with reading. And they have a simpler structure than male names. There are exceptions when female names are written exclusively in katakana or hiragana, and sometimes names can be read using onic reading. But these are just exceptions to the rule. If you also want to see Japanese male names, click on the link!

Depending on the main component, female Japanese names can be divided into several groups. Yes, it could be main component of abstract meaning. For example, “love” (ai), “mind” (ti), “beauty” (mi). Often such components indicate the desire to possess the necessary qualities in the future. The second type is animal or plant components. Thus, animal components are now practically not consumed; they are considered old-fashioned, but previously this characterized the desired health. Components flora today they are popular and quite common among female Japanese names. For example, momo (peach), hana (flower) and so on.

There are names with numerals. For example, thousand (ti). There are also names that mean seasons or natural phenomena. For example, yuki (snow), natsu (summer).

Do you want to learn how to write names (and more) in hieroglyphs and learn more about hieroglyphs?

Then sign up for a free course on effectively learning Japanese characters

What Japanese female names have you already come across, for example, while watching Japanese films or anime? Which ones do you like best? Share in the comments, please.

Do you dream of mastering the Japanese language, but don't know where to start? Or maybe you just can't find the right teacher? Would you like to begin to understand in 3 months what the Japanese are talking about, and in a year you can calmly communicate with the residents of the Land of the Rising Sun on household topics? Do you think this is impossible? With our Japanese chickens, anything is possible! We present to your attention one-year Japanese language program, after completing which you will be able to achieve your goals! The number of places in the group is limited, so we would advise not to delay the decision.

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Japanese surnames

Japanese surnames

Japanese full name, as a rule, consists of a family name (surname), followed by a personal name. According to tradition in Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. This is a common practice in Eastern and South-East Asia, including for Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and some other cultures.

Modern Japanese often write their names in European order (personal name, and then surname of the clan), if they write in Latin or Cyrillic.

All Japanese people have a single surname and a single given name. no middle name, except for the Japanese imperial family, whose members do not have a surname.

The first law on Japanese names and surnames appeared at the beginning of the Meiji era - in 1870. According to this law, every Japanese was required to choose a surname for himself. Most of the surnames created at that time come from the names of the area of ​​​​residence. And many Japanese surnames represent various rural landscapes.

Japanese surnames (list)

Akiyama

Asano

Asayama

Arai

Araki

Vada

Watanabe

Yoshimura

Ikeda

Imai

Inoe

Isis

Ishikawa

Katsura

Kido

Kimura

Kita

Kitano

Kobayashi

Kojima

Condo

Kubo

Kubota

Kuroki

Maruyama

Machida

Matsuda

Matsui

Maeda

Minami

Miura

Morimoto

Morita

Murakami

Murata

Nagai

Nakai

Nakagawa

Nakada

Nakamura

Nakano

Nakahara

Nakayama

Narazaki

Ogawa

Ozawa

Okada

Oonisi

Oono

Oyama

Sawada

Sakai

Sakamoto

Sano

Shibata

Suzuki

Taguchi

Takano

Tamura

Tanaka

Tanigawa

Takahashi

Tachibana

Takeda

Uchida

Ueda

Uematsu

Fujita

Fuji

Fujimoto

Fukushima

Hara

Hattori

Hayashi

Hirano

Honda

Hoshino

Tsubaki

Enomoto

Yamada

Yamaki

Yamanaka

Yamasaki

Yamamoto

Yamamura

Yamashita

Yamauchi

Yasuda

The most common Japanese surnames

Suzuki (Wooden bell)

Watanabe (Walk around the neighborhood)

Tanaka (Centre)

Yamamoto (Foot of the Mountain)

Takahashi (High Bridge)

Kobayashi (Little Forest)

Murakami (Village Head)

Nakamura (Village Center)

Kuroki (Ebony)

Oonisi (Greater West)

Hashimoto (bridge)

Miura (three bays)

Takano (plain)

Our new book "The Energy of Surnames"

Our book "The Energy of the Name"

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid

Our email address: [email protected]

Japanese surnames

Attention!

Sites and blogs have appeared on the Internet that are not our official sites, but use our name. Be careful. Fraudsters use our name, our email addresses for their mailings, information from our books and our websites. Using our name, they lure people to various magic forums and deceive (they give advice and recommendations that can harm, or lure money for performing magic rituals, making amulets and teaching magic).

On our websites we do not provide links to magic forums or websites of magic healers. We do not participate in any forums. We do not give consultations over the phone, we do not have time for this.

Note! We do not engage in healing or magic, we do not make or sell talismans and amulets. We do not engage in magical and healing practices at all, we have not offered and do not offer such services.

The only direction of our work is correspondence consultations in written form, training through an esoteric club and writing books.

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There are a lot of scammers, pseudo-magicians, charlatans, envious people, people without conscience and honor who are hungry for money. The police and other regulatory authorities have not yet been able to cope with the growing influx of "Deception for profit" madness.

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Women of aristocratic and samurai families also usually did not have surnames, since they did not have the right of inheritance. In those cases where women did have surnames, they did not change them upon marriage.

Surnames were divided into two groups - the surnames of aristocrats and the surnames of samurai.

Unlike the number of samurai surnames, the number of aristocratic surnames has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them went back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most respected and respected clans of aristocrats were: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. All of them belonged to the Fujiwara clan and had a common name - "Gosetsuke". From among the men of this family, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and from among the women, wives for the emperors were chosen.

The next most important clans were the Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Saionji, Sanjo, Imaidegawa, Tokudaji and Kaoin clans. From among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed. Thus, representatives of the Saionji clan served as imperial grooms (meryo no gogen). Next came all the other aristocratic clans.

The hierarchy of nobility of aristocratic families began to take shape in the 6th century and lasted until the end of the 11th century, when power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. A number of their representatives at different times were shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

The personal names of aristocrats and high-ranking samurai were formed from two kanji (hieroglyphs) with a “noble” meaning.

Personal names of samurai servants and peasants were often given according to the principle of "numbering". The first son is Ichiro, the second is Jiro, the third is Saburo, the fourth is Shiro, the fifth is Goro, etc. Also, in addition to “-ro”, the suffixes “-emon”, “-ji”, “-zo”, “-suke”, “-be” were used for this purpose.

Upon entering the period of adolescence, the samurai chose a different name for himself than the one given to him at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adult life, for example, to emphasize the onset of a new period (promotion or moving to another duty station). The master had the right to rename his vassal. In cases of serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to that of Amida Buddha to appeal to his mercy.

According to the rules of samurai duels, before the fight, the samurai had to say his full name so that the enemy could decide whether he was worthy of such an opponent. Of course, in life this rule was observed much less often than in novels and chronicles.

The suffix "-hime" was added to the end of the names of girls from noble families. It is often translated as "princess", but in fact it was used in relation to all noble young ladies.

The suffix "-gozen" was used for the names of samurai wives. They were often called simply by their husband's surname and rank. Personal names married women were practically used only by their close relatives.

For the names of monks and nuns from the noble classes, the suffix "-in" was used.

Nowadays, cartoons from Japan - anime - are very popular. The names and surnames of the characters in these cartoons attract many fans of the specific atmosphere of Japanese animation and the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. What do all these beautiful Japanese surnames and hero names mean? This question is asked by many people who have watched the masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki at least once in their lives.

Japanese names consist of a gender name and own name. They are usually written using hieroglyphs, although since 1985 it has been allowed to use other symbols to write names. Most Japanese names mean rural landscapes, for example, Yamamoto - mountain + base, Matsumoto - pine + base.

Ancient surnames can mean belonging to a place at the emperor's court or speak of services to the country and the ruling dynasty. More recently, until 1867, ordinary Japanese did not have surnames. They could add their place of birth or the name of their trading company to their name.

After 1867, the government, trying to bring Western customs to Japan, ordered everyone to come up with clan names. This circumstance gave rise to many troubles associated with the incorrect spelling of a given name.

Features of surnames in Japan

According to rough estimates, there are more than 100,000 different surnames in the Land of the Rising Sun. The most common: Sato (two characters meaning helper and wisteria), Suzuki (bell + tree) and Takahashi (high bridge).

Cultural differences between Yamato and Okinawa have resulted in specific surnames common only in Okinawa. These include such rare surnames as:

Writing and reading Japanese surnames is not as difficult as first names. Japanese surnames and their meanings often get lost alongside given names, which are often difficult to spell and pronounce due to their variety. This does not apply to classic names, but after 1990, the names of young Japanese began to contain symbols that cannot always be read unambiguously.

Nominal suffixes

In the Japanese tradition, there are nominal suffixes -chan and -kun. With their help, diminutive names are formed. The basis can be the full name or the abbreviated one, depending on the closeness of the relationship between the bearer of the name and the speaker.

In any conversation, one or another nominal suffix is ​​added to the name. Without it, treatment is considered rude. Japanese often use the following suffixes:

Types of surnames

It is known that there is still one family in Japan that does not have a surname. This is the imperial family. Not everything is simple with the name of the emperor either. It is not customary to call the emperor by name. In childhood he had one name, after ascending the throne - another, and after death - a third.

All Japanese surnames are divided into kun, on and mixed. Kunnye are surnames consisting of wago, that is, traditionally Japanese words. Onny - consisting of kango - words borrowed from the Chinese dictionary.

The most common type of surnames is Kunnye, about 80% of them.

Female names in Japan

As in many cultures, names in Japan are often given in the hope that the child will have the qualities that the name indicates. Therefore, women's names often contain hieroglyphs meaning beauty, love, intelligence, calmness, tenderness, truth, and other traits necessary for any girl.

There are names with hieroglyphs meaning animals and plants. If the animals in the name are considered old-fashioned, except for the hieroglyph crane, then the plant theme is very relevant today. In popular female names you can find the characters rice, flower, chrysanthemum, bamboo, willow and peach.

In ancient families there is a tradition of naming a girl by birth order, so noble Japanese women can have numerals in their names. But there is also a tradition of including a hieroglyph in the spelling of the name, indicating the time of year or weather conditions during which the girl was born.

Nowadays it has become fashionable to call girls foreign, often European names., for example, Anna or Maria. Such names are accompanied by beautiful Japanese surnames of girls, for example, Sato or Ito, Watari or Cho.

Until 1868, the character -ko (child) in a girl’s name could only be found in the imperial family. But after the Meiji Restoration, this prefix was very popular until 2006, when simple names came into fashion.

An indicator of belonging to the female gender is also -mi (beauty). It can appear in any part of the name.

Japanese education and publishing company Benesse Corp. conducts a study every year to find out which names were popular among newborns. Popular girl names include Yui (to bind + clothes), Aoi (geranium) and Yua (to connect + love).

Male names in Japan

Some male names after 1990 received a new reading for the old spelling, for example: 大翔 - previously read as Hiroto. Now this name can also be read as Haruto, Yamato and even Daito.

Often male names contain:

Popular male names now are: Hiroto (big + flying), Ren (lotus), and Yuma (calm + honest).

Due to difficulties in spelling and reading, Japanese surnames in English do not always accurately convey their meaning. After all, many names are written in pairs of hieroglyphs, and any Asian language has little in common with English, Russian or any other European language. Sometimes it is almost impossible for Europeans to understand the meaning embedded in the names of the Chinese or Japanese. After all, in Russia a pair of letters is a set of 2-4 sounds, and in Japan it is a whole sentence.

Attention, TODAY only!

Japanese name(Japanese 人名 jinmei?) these days, as a rule, consists of a family name (surname) followed by a personal name. This is a very common practice in East and Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and some other cultures.

Names are usually written using kanji, which different cases can have many different pronunciations.
Modern Japanese names can be compared to names in many other cultures. All Japanese have a single surname and a single given name without a middle name, with the exception of the Japanese imperial family, whose members do not have a surname.
In Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. At the same time, in Western languages ​​(often in Russian) Japanese names are written in the reverse order first name - last name - according to European tradition.
Names in Japan are often created independently from existing characters, so the country has a huge number of unique names. Surnames are more traditional and most often go back to place names. There are significantly more first names in Japanese than surnames. Male and female names differ due to their characteristic components and structure. Reading Japanese proper names is one of the most difficult elements of the Japanese language.

Popular names for boys

Popular names for girls

Popular names in 2009

meaning of names
(most of it has something in common with the previous post (I’ll clean up the repetitions later))
Ai - F - Love
Aiko - F - Favorite child
Akako - F - Red
Akane - F - Sparkling Red
Akemi - F - Dazzlingly beautiful
Akeno - M - Clear morning
Aki - F - Born in autumn
Akiko - F - Autumn child
Akina - F - Spring flower
Akio - M - Handsome
Akira - M - Smart, quick-witted
Akiyama - M - Autumn, mountain
Amaya - F - Night rain
Ami - F - Friend
Amida - M - Name of Buddha
Anda - F - Met in the field
Aneko - F - Older sister
Anzu - F - Apricot
Arata - M - Inexperienced
Arisu - F - Japanese. form of the name Alice
Asuka - F - Scent of Tomorrow
Ayame - F - Iris
Azarni - F - Thistle flower

Botan - M - Peony

Chika - F - Wisdom
Chikako - F - Child of Wisdom
Chinatsu - F - Thousand Years
Chiyo - F - Eternity
Chizu - F - Thousand storks (implies longevity)
Cho - F - Butterfly

Dai - M/F - Great
Daichi - M - Great First Son
Daiki - M - Great Tree
Daisuke - M - Great Help

Etsuko - F - Delightful child

Fujita - M/F - Field, meadow

Gin - F - Silver
Goro - M - Fifth Son

Hana - F - Flower
Hanako - F - Flower Child
Haru - M - Born in Spring
Haruka - F - Distant
Haruko - F - Spring
Hachiro - M - Eighth Son
Hideaki - M - Brilliant, excellent
Hikaru - M/F - Light, shining
Hide - F - Fertile
Hiroko - F - Generous
Hiroshi - M - Generous
Hitomi - F - Doubly beautiful
Hoshi - F - Star
Hotaka - M - Name of a mountain in Japan
Hotaru - F - Firefly

Ichiro - M - First Son

Ima - F - Gift
Isami - M - Courage
Ishi - F - Stone
Izanami - F - Attractive
Izumi - F - Fountain

Jiro - M - Second Son
Joben - M - Loving cleanliness
Jomei - M - Bringing light
Junko - F - Pure child
Juro - M - Tenth Son

Kado - M - Gate
Kaede - F - Maple leaf
Kagami - F - Mirror
Kameko - F - Turtle Child (symbol of longevity)
Kanaye - M - Diligent
Kano - M - God of Water
Kasumi - F - Fog
Katashi - M - Hardness
Katsu - M - Victory
Katsuo - M - Victorious Child
Katsuro - M - Victorious Son
Kazuki - M - Joyful World
Kazuko - F - Cheerful child
Kazuo - M - Dear Son
Kei - F - Respectful
Keiko - F - Adored
Keitaro - M - Blessed One
Ken - M - Big Man
Ken`ichi - M - Strong first son
Kenji - M - Strong second son
Kenshin - M - Heart of the Sword
Kenta - M - Healthy and brave
Kichi - F - Lucky
Kichiro - M - Lucky Son
Kiku - F - Chrysanthemum
Kimiko - F - Child of noble blood
Kin - M - Golden
Kioko - F - Happy child
Kisho - M - Having a head on his shoulders
Kita - F - North
Kiyoko - F - Clean
Kiyoshi - M - Quiet
Kohaku - M/F - Amber
Kohana - F - Small flower
Koko - F - Stork
Koto - F - Japanese. musical instrument "koto"
Kotone - F - Sound of koto
Kumiko - F - Forever beautiful
Kuri - F - Chestnut
Kuro - M - Ninth Son
Kyo - M - Agreement (or redhead)
Kyoko - F - Mirror

Leiko - F - Arrogant

Machi - F - Ten thousand years
Machiko - F - Lucky Child
Maeko - F - Honest child
Maemi - F - Sincere smile
Mai - F - Bright
Makoto - M - Sincere
Mamiko - F - Baby Mami
Mamoru - M - Earth
Manami - F - The beauty of love
Mariko - F - Child of Truth
Marise - M/F - Infinite
Masa - M/F - Straightforward (person)
Masakazu - M - First son of Masa
Mashiro - M - Wide
Matsu - F - Pine
Mayako - F - Child Maya
Mayoko - F - Child Mayo
Mayuko - F - Child Mayu
Michi - F - Fair
Michie - F - Gracefully hanging flower
Michiko - F - Beautiful and wise
Michio - M - A man with the strength of three thousand
Midori - F - Green
Mihoko - F - Child Miho
Mika - F - New Moon
Miki - M/F - Stalk
Mikio - M - Three woven trees
Mina - F - South
Minako - F - Beautiful child

Mine - F - Brave Defender
Minoru - M - Seed
Misaki - F - The Bloom of Beauty
Mitsuko - F - Child of Light
Miya - F - Three arrows
Miyako - F - Beautiful child of March
Mizuki - F - Beautiful Moon
Momoko - F - Child Peach
Montaro - M - Big Guy
Moriko - F - Child of the Forest
Morio - M - Forest Boy
Mura - F - Country
Mutsuko - F - Child Mutsu

Japanese names and their meanings

Nahoko - F - Child Naho
Nami - F - Wave
Namiko - F - Child of the Waves
Nana - F - Apple
Naoko - F - Obedient child
Naomi - F - “First of all, beauty”
Nara - F - Oak
Nariko - F - Sissy
Natsuko - F - Summer child
Natsumi - F - Wonderful Summer
Nayoko - F - Baby Nayo
Nibori - M - Famous
Nikki - M/F - Two trees
Nikko - M - Daylight
Nori - F - Law
Noriko - F - Child of the Law
Nozomi - F - Nadezhda
Nyoko - F - Gemstone

Oki - F - Middle of the Ocean
Orino - F - Peasant meadow
Osamu - M - Firmness of the Law

Rafu - M - Network
Rai - F - Truth
Raidon - M - God of Thunder
Ran - F - Water lily
Rei - F - Gratitude
Reiko - F - Gratitude
Ren - F - Water lily
Renjiro - M - Honest
Renzo - M - Third Son
Riko - F - Child of Jasmine
Rin - F - Unfriendly
Rinji - M - Peaceful Forest
Rini - F - Little bunny
Risako - F - Child Risa
Ritsuko - F - Child Ritsu
Roka - M - White wave crest
Rokuro - M - Sixth Son
Ronin - M - Samurai without a master
Rumiko - F - Child Rumi
Ruri - F - Emerald
Ryo - M - Excellent
Ryoichi - M - First son of Ryo
Ryoko - F - Child Ryo
Ryota - M - Strong (fat)
Ryozo - M - Third son of Ryo
Ryuichi - M - First son of Ryu
Ryuu - M - Dragon

Saburo - M - Third Son
Sachi - F - Happiness
Sachiko - F - Child of Happiness
Sachio - M - Fortunately born
Saeko - F - Child Sae
Saki - F - Cape (geographic)
Sakiko - F - Child Saki
Sakuko - F - Child Saku
Sakura - F - Cherry blossoms
Sanako - F - Child Sana
Sango - F - Coral
Saniiro - M - Wonderful
Satu - F - Sugar
Sayuri - F - Little lily
Seiichi - M - Sei's first son
Sen - M - Spirit of the Tree
Shichiro - M - Seventh Son
Shika - F - Deer
Shima - M - Islander
Shina - F - Decent
Shinichi - M - First son of Shin
Shiro - M - Fourth Son
Shizuka - F - Quiet
Sho - M - Prosperity
Sora - F - Sky
Sorano - F - Heavenly
Suki - F - Favorite
Suma - F - Asking
Sumi - F - Purified (religious)
Susumi - M - Moving forward (successful)
Suzu - F - Bell (bell)
Suzume - F - Sparrow

Tadao - M - Helpful
Taka - F - Noble
Takako - F - Tall child
Takara - F - Treasure
Takashi - M - Famous
Takehiko - M - Bamboo Prince
Takeo - M - Bamboo-like
Takeshi - M - Bamboo tree or brave
Takumi - M - Craftsman
Tama - M/F - Gemstone
Tamiko - F - Child of Abundance
Tani - F - From the Valley (child)
Taro - M - Firstborn
Taura - F - Many lakes; many rivers
Teijo - M - Fair
Tomeo - M - Cautious person
Tomiko - F - Child of Wealth
Tora - F - Tigress
Torio - M - Bird tail
Toru - M - Sea
Toshi - F - Mirror image
Toshiro - M - Talented
Toya - M/F - House door
Tsukiko - F - Moon Child
Tsuyu - F - Morning Dew

Udo - M - Ginseng
Ume - F - Plum blossom
Umeko - F - Plum Blossom Child
Usagi - F - Rabbit
Uyeda - M - From the rice field (child)

Yachi - F - Eight thousand
Yasu - F - Calm
Yasuo - M - Mirny
Yayoi - F - March
Yogi - M - Yoga practitioner
Yoko - F - Child of the Sun
Yori - F - Trustworthy
Yoshi - F - Perfection
Yoshiko - F - Perfect Child
Yoshiro - M - Perfect Son
Yuki - M - Snow
Yukiko - F - Snow Child
Yukio - M - Cherished by God
Yuko - F - Kind child
Yumako - F - Child Yuma
Yumi - F - Bow-like (weapon)
Yumiko - F - Child of the Arrow
Yuri - F - Lily
Yuriko - F - Lily's Child
Yuu - M - Noble Blood
Yuudai - M - Great Hero

Nagisa - "coast"
Kaworu - "to smell"
Ritsuko - "science", "attitude"
Akagi - "mahogany"
Shinji - "death"
Misato - "beautiful city"
Katsuragi - "a fortress with walls entwined with grass"
Asuka - lit. "love-love"
Soryu - "central current"
Ayanami - "strip of fabric", "wave pattern"
Rei - “zero”, “example”, “soul”
KENSHIN name means "Heart of the Sword".

Japanese names and their meanings

Akito - Sparkling Man
Kuramori Reika - "Treasure Protector" and "Cold Summer" Rurouni - Wandering Wanderer
Himura - "Burning Village"
Shishio Makoto - True Hero
Takani Megumi - "Sublime Love"
Shinomori Aoshi - "Green Bamboo Forest"
Makimachi Misao - "Run the City"
Saito Hajime - "The Beginning of Human Life"
Hiko Seijuro - "Justice Prevailed"
Seta Sojiro - “Comprehensive Forgiveness”
Mirai - the future
Hajime - boss
Mamoru - protector
Jibo - earth
Hikari – light
Atarashiki – transformations
Namida - tears
Sora - sky
Jinga - the universe
Eva is alive
Izya is a doctor
Usagi - hare
Tsukino – Lunar
Rey - soul
Hino – fire
Ami - rain
Mitsuno - merman
Kori – ice, icy
Makoto is true
Cinema – aerial, forest
Minako – Venus
Aino – loving
Setsuna - guard
Mayo – castle, palace
Haruka – 1) distant, 2) heavenly
Teno - heavenly
Michiru - the way
Kayo - sea
Hotaru – light
Tomo is a friend.
Kaori - soft, affectionate
Yumi - "Fragrant Beauty"

Hakufu - Noble Sign

Nominal suffixes
In Japanese there is a whole set of so-called nominal suffixes, that is, suffixes added to colloquial speech to first names, last names, nicknames and other words designating an interlocutor or a third party. They are used to indicate social relations between the speaker and the one being spoken about. The choice of suffix is ​​determined by the character of the speaker (normal, rude, very polite), their attitude towards the listener (common politeness, respect, ingratiation, rudeness, arrogance), their position in society and the situation in which the conversation takes place (one-on-one, in a circle of loved ones friends, between colleagues, between strangers, in public). What follows is a list of some of these suffixes (in order of increasing "respectfulness") and their usual meanings.

Tti (cchi) - Children's version of "-chan" (cf. "Tamagotti").

Ue (ue) - “Elder”. A rare and outdated respectful suffix used for older family members. Not used with names - only with designations of position in the family (“father”, “mother”, “brother”).

Japanese names
Modern Japanese names consist of two parts - the surname, which comes first, and the given name, which comes second. True, the Japanese often write their names in “European order” (first name - surname) if they write them in romaji. For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their last name in CAPITAL letters so that it is not confused with their first name (due to the inconsistency described above).
The exception is the emperor and members of his family. They don't have a last name. Girls who marry princes also lose their surnames.

Ancient names and surnames
Before the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames. The rest of the Japanese population was content with personal names and nicknames.
Women of aristocratic and samurai families also usually did not have surnames, since they did not have the right of inheritance. In those cases where women did have surnames, they did not change them upon marriage.

Surnames were divided into two groups - the surnames of aristocrats and the surnames of samurai.
Unlike the number of samurai surnames, the number of aristocratic surnames has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them went back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most respected and respected clans of aristocrats were: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. All of them belonged to the Fujiwara clan and had a common name - “Gosetsuke”. From among the men of this family, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and from among the women, wives for the emperors were chosen.
The next most important clans were the Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Saionji, Sanjo, Imaidegawa, Tokudaji and Kaoin clans. From among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed.

Thus, representatives of the Saionji clan served as imperial grooms (meryo no gogen). Next came all the other aristocratic clans.
The hierarchy of nobility of aristocratic families began to take shape in the 6th century and lasted until the end of the 11th century, when power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. A number of their representatives at different times were shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

Upon entering the period of adolescence, the samurai chose a different name for himself than the one given to him at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adult life, for example, to emphasize the onset of a new period (promotion or moving to another duty station). The master had the right to rename his vassal. In cases of serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to that of Amida Buddha to appeal to his mercy.
According to the rules of samurai duels, before the fight, the samurai had to say his full name so that the enemy could decide whether he was worthy of such an opponent. Of course, in life this rule was observed much less often than in novels and chronicles.

The suffix "-hime" was added to the end of the names of girls from noble families. It is often translated as "princess", but in fact it was used to refer to all noble ladies.
The suffix “-gozen” was used for the names of samurai wives. They were often called simply by their husband's surname and rank. Personal names of married women were practically used only by their close relatives.

Modern names and surnames
During the Meiji Restoration, all Japanese people were given surnames. Naturally, most of them were associated with various signs of peasant life, especially with rice and its processing. These surnames, like the surnames of the upper class, were also usually made up of two kanji.

The most common Japanese surnames now are Suzuki, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Watanabe, Saito, Sato, Sasaki, Kudo, Takahashi, Kobayashi, Kato, Ito, Murakami, Oonishi, Yamaguchi, Nakamura, Kuroki, Higa.

Men's names have changed less. They also often depend on the “serial number” of the son in the family. The suffixes "-ichi" and "-kazu" meaning "first son" are often used, as are the suffixes "-ji" ("second son") and "-zō" ("third son").
Names containing "shin" are usually considered unlucky and unlucky because "shin" means "death" in Japanese.

Most Japanese girl names end in "-ko" ("child") or "-mi" ("beauty"). Girls, as a rule, are given names associated in meaning with everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine. Unlike male names, female names are usually written in hiragana rather than kanji.

According to a law passed during the time of Emperor Meiji, after marriage, husband and wife are legally required to adopt the same surname. In 98% of cases this is the husband's last name. For several years now, parliament has been discussing an amendment to the Civil Code allowing spouses to keep premarital surnames. However, so far she cannot get the required number of votes.
After death, a Japanese person receives a new, posthumous name (kaimyo), which is written on a special wooden tablet (ihai). This tablet is considered to be the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is used in funeral rites. Kaimyo and ihai are purchased from Buddhist monks - sometimes even before the person's death.

The surname in Japanese is called "myoji" (苗字 or 名字), "uji" (氏) or "sei" (姓).

Vocabulary composition of the Japanese language for a long time was divided into two types: wago (Japanese 和語?) - native Japanese words and kango (Japanese 漢語?) - borrowed from China. Names are also divided into these types, although a new type is now actively expanding - gairaigo (Japanese 外来語?) - words borrowed from other languages, but components of this type are rarely used in names.

kunnye (consisting of vago)
onny (consisting of kango)
mixed

Sato (Japanese: 佐藤 Sato:?)
Suzuki (Japanese: 鈴木?)
Takahashi (Japanese: 高橋?)
Tanaka (Japanese: 田中?)
Watanabe (Japanese: 渡辺?)
Ito (Japanese: 伊藤 Ito:?)
Yamamoto (Japanese: 山本?)
Nakamura (Japanese: 中村?)
Ohayashi (Japanese: 小林?)
Kobayashi (Japanese: 小林?) (different surnames, but spelled the same and have approximately the same distribution)
Kato (Japanese: 加藤 Kato:?)

Three-component surnames often contain Japanese roots written phonetically. Examples: 久保田 "Kubota (probably the word 窪 kubo "hole" is written phonetically as 久保), 阿久津 Akutsu (probably the word 明く aku "to open" is written phonetically as 阿久). However, ordinary three-component surnames consisting of three kun readings are also common. Examples: 矢田部 Yatabe, 小野木 Onoki. There are also three-component surnames with Chinese reading.

Four or more component surnames are very rare.

There are surnames with very unusual readings, which look like puzzles. Examples: 十八女 Wakairo - written in hieroglyphs for “eighteen-year-old girl”, and read as 若色 “young + color”; The surname denoted by the hieroglyph 一 “one” is read as Ninomae, which can be translated as 二の前 ni no mae “before two”; and the surname 穂積 Hozue, which can be interpreted as “gathering ears of grain,” is sometimes written as 八月一日 “the first day of the eighth lunar month” - apparently on this day in ancient times the harvest began.

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Japanese surnames

Japanese surnames

Japanese full name, as a rule, consists of a family name (surname), followed by a personal name. According to tradition in Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. This is a common practice in East and Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and some other cultures.

Modern Japanese often write their names in European order (personal name, and then surname of the clan), if they write in Latin or Cyrillic.

All Japanese people have a single surname and a single given name. no middle name, except for the Japanese imperial family, whose members do not have a surname.

The first law on Japanese names and surnames appeared at the beginning of the Meiji era - in 1870. According to this law, every Japanese was required to choose a surname for himself. Most of the surnames created at that time come from the names of the area of ​​​​residence. And many Japanese surnames represent various rural landscapes.

Japanese surnames (list)

Akiyama

Asano

Asayama

Arai

Araki

Vada

Watanabe

Yoshimura

Ikeda

Imai

Inoe

Isis

Ishikawa

Katsura

Kido

Kimura

Kita

Kitano

Kobayashi

Kojima

Condo

Kubo

Kubota

Kuroki

Maruyama

Machida

Matsuda

Matsui

Maeda

Minami

Miura

Morimoto

Morita

Murakami

Murata

Nagai

Nakai

Nakagawa

Nakada

Nakamura

Nakano

Nakahara

Nakayama

Narazaki

Ogawa

Ozawa

Okada

Oonisi

Oono

Oyama

Sawada

Sakai

Sakamoto

Sano

Shibata

Suzuki

Taguchi

Takano

Tamura

Tanaka

Tanigawa

Takahashi

Tachibana

Takeda

Uchida

Ueda

Uematsu

Fujita

Fuji

Fujimoto

Fukushima

Hara

Hattori

Hayashi

Hirano

Honda

Hoshino

Tsubaki

Enomoto

Yamada

Yamaki

Yamanaka

Yamasaki

Yamamoto

Yamamura

Yamashita

Yamauchi

Yasuda

The most common Japanese surnames

Suzuki (Wooden bell)

Watanabe (Walk around the neighborhood)

Tanaka (Centre)

Yamamoto (Foot of the Mountain)

Takahashi (High Bridge)

Kobayashi (Little Forest)

Murakami (Village Head)

Nakamura (Village Center)

Oonisi (Greater West)

Hashimoto (bridge)

Miura (three bays)

Takano (plain)

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Japanese surnames

For the Japanese, a beautiful combination of first and last name is the main thing. They consider it a complex science. It is known that when choosing a name for a child, they trust only people who specialize in this. Because of such a serious attitude to the choice of names, in the same village you can never hear the same names of boys and girls. In Japan, there is no such thing as a “namesake,” and all because the Japanese prefer to use their surnames rather than their given names, of which, by the way, there are many.

First name after last name

Japanese names consist of two adjectives: the family surname and the personal name. In Japan, in turn, the surname is the main one; it is written and spoken first everywhere. Modern Japanese are accustomed to writing their first and last names like Europeans, but in order to designate their last name as the main one, they write it in capital letters. Europeans do not attach importance to this strange and serious attitude of the Japanese towards their surnames, which is why misunderstandings arise regarding the reading, translation and transcription of Japanese names and surnames.

Until the second half of the 19th century, only aristocrats and samurai had surnames in Japan; even their wives did not have the honor of bearing a surname. The rest of the population had only nicknames and personal names. The most notable were the clans of aristocrats - Fuji, which had the general name "Gosetsuke". Today, in the dictionary of Japanese surnames, there are 100,000 family names, of which approximately 70,000 appeared 135 years ago (for comparison: in Europe 50,000, in China a couple of hundred, in Korea about 160, in Russia approximately 85,000, in the USA more than 1 million names). During the Eminence Reign (1868–1911), the reigning Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants to choose any surname for their family. The Japanese were shocked by this idea; many did not know what to come up with. Some wrote the name of their locality, others the name of their store, and creative people

They themselves came up with an unusual surname, consonant with the name.

A surname is a hereditary clan name, which in Japan is passed down from father to children; wives almost always take their husband's surname.

The first legislation on Japanese surnames appeared in 1870, it stated that every Japanese must take a surname. By this time, already 35 million of the population (descendants of aristocrats and samurai) had surnames.

70% of Japanese surnames consist of two characters. It is very rare to find a surname consisting of 3 or more hieroglyphs.

Types of surnames

The first type includes surnames indicating place of residence. The Dictionary of Japanese Surnames considers this type to be the leading one. Often it uses not only the names of settlements, but also the names of trees, rivers, terrain, settlements, reservoirs, etc.

Very often, Japanese surnames are associated with peasant life, rice growing and harvesting (almost 60%), it is rare to find an interesting or simply beautiful (from the point of view of a Russian-speaking person) surname.

The second type includes surnames formed as a result of simple professions. For example, “Inukai” - translated this word means nothing more than “dog breeder”.

The third type includes individual nicknames.

Rare but apt beautiful surnames

• Here is a small list of popular, beautiful and unusual surnames:
• Akiyama - autumn;
• Araki - tree;
• Baba is a horse;
• Wada - rice field;
• Yoshida - happiness;
• Yoshikawa - river;
• Kaneko - gold;
• Mizuno - water;
• Suzuki - bell;
• Takagi - tall tree;
• Fukui - happiness;
• Homma - good luck;

Yano is an arrow.

In Japan, surnames have no ancestral affiliation. One surname suits both men and women.

Previously, Japanese law stipulated that husband and wife must have the same surname. Until 1946, only the husband's surname could be family, but the constitution written in the post-war period abolished this inequality. Modern Japanese can choose a surname if they wish, whether for a husband or a wife, but according to the traditions of the old days, spouses settle on the man’s surname.

Interesting Japanese surnames

For Russian people, all Japanese names and surnames seem interesting and unusual. But there are those whose translation sounds like real music.

This is, for example:

• Igarashi - 50 storms;
• Katayama - wild well;
• Kikuchi - chrysanthemum.

Common surnames in Japan

The most popular Japanese surnames in alphabetical order are, of course, offered by the Japanese surname dictionary. Among the surnames:

• A- Ando, ​​Arai, Araki, Asano, Akiyama, Asayama.
• AND- Imai, Ito, Iwasaki, Iwata, Igarasti, Iida, Inoe, Isis (despite the similarity in sound, she is in no way connected with the ancient Egyptian goddess), Ishihara, Ichikawa.
• TO- Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Kaneko, Kitano.
• M- Maruyama, Masuda, Morimoto, Matila.
• N- Nakahara, Narita, Nakanishi.
• ABOUT- Oyama, Okazaki, Okumura, Ogiva, Ootsuoka.
• WITH- Saida, Sato, Sano, Sakurai, Shibada, Shima.
• T- Tachibana, Takaki, Takeguchi.
• U- Ueda, Uematsu, Ueno, Uchida.
• F- Fujii, Fukushima, Fujimomo, Fujiwra
• X- Hattori, Hattoti, Hirai, Hirata, Hirosa, Homma, Hori.
• C- Tsubaki, Tsuji, Tsuchiya
• I- Yamamura, Yano, Yamanaka, Yamamoto, Yamashita, Yamauchi, Yasuda, Yamashita.

And also Enomoto, Yumake are also on the list of popular and widespread ones, according to the data offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames.

GACKT and a little Yaoi...

Japanese names and their meanings

Japanese names (人名 jinmei?) these days usually consist of a family name (surname) followed by a personal name. This is a very common practice in East and Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and some other cultures.

Names are usually written using kanji, which in different cases can have a variety of various options pronunciation.
Modern Japanese names can be compared to names in many other cultures. All Japanese have a single surname and a single given name without a middle name, with the exception of the Japanese imperial family, whose members do not have a surname.
In Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. At the same time, in Western languages ​​(often in Russian) Japanese names are written in the reverse order first name - last name - according to European tradition.
Names in Japan are often created independently from existing characters, so the country has a huge number of unique names. Surnames are more traditional and most often go back to place names. There are significantly more first names in Japanese than surnames. Male and female names differ due to their characteristic components and structure. Reading Japanese proper names is one of the most difficult elements of the Japanese language.

Using the tables below you can see how preferences have changed when choosing names over the past almost 100 years:

Japanese names

Ai - F - Love
Aiko - F - Favorite child
Akako - F - Red
Akane - F - Sparkling Red
Akemi - F - Dazzlingly beautiful
Akeno - M - Clear morning
Aki - F - Born in autumn
Akiko - F - Autumn child
Akina - F - Spring flower
Akio - M - Handsome
Akira - M - Smart, quick-witted
Akiyama - M - Autumn, mountain
Amaya - F - Night rain
Ami - F - Friend
Amida - M - Name of Buddha
Anda - F - Met in the field
Aneko - F - Older sister
Anzu - F - Apricot
Arata - M - Inexperienced
Arisu - F - Japanese. form of the name Alice
Asuka - F - Scent of Tomorrow
Ayame - F - Iris
Azarni - F - Thistle flower
Benjiro - M - Enjoying the World
Botan - M - Peony
Chika - F - Wisdom
Chikako - F - Child of Wisdom
Chinatsu - F - Thousand Years
Chiyo - F - Eternity
Chizu - F - Thousand storks (implies longevity)
Cho - F - Butterfly
Dai - M/F - Great
Daichi - M - Great First Son
Daiki - M - Great Tree
Daisuke - M - Great Help
Etsu - F - Delightful, charming
Etsuko - F - Delightful child
Fudo - M - God of fire and wisdom
Fujita - M/F - Field, meadow
Gin - F - Silver
Goro - M - Fifth Son
Hana - F - Flower
Hanako - F - Flower Child
Haru - M - Born in Spring
Haruka - F - Distant
Haruko - F - Spring
Hachiro - M - Eighth Son
Hideaki - M - Brilliant, excellent
Hikaru - M/F - Light, shining
Hide - F - Fertile
Hiroko - F - Generous
Hiroshi - M - Generous
Hitomi - F - Doubly beautiful
Hoshi - F - Star
Hotaka - M - Name of a mountain in Japan
Hotaru - F - Firefly
Ichiro - M - First Son
Ima - F - Gift
Isami - M - Courage
Ishi - F - Stone
Izanami - F - Attractive
Izumi - F - Fountain
Jiro - M - Second Son
Joben - M - Loving cleanliness
Jomei - M - Bringing light
Junko - F - Pure child
Juro - M - Tenth Son
Kado - M - Gate
Kaede - F - Maple leaf
Kagami - F - Mirror
Kameko - F - Turtle Child (symbol of longevity)
Kanaye - M - Diligent
Kano - M - God of Water
Kasumi - F - Fog
Katashi - M - Hardness
Katsu - M - Victory
Katsuo - M - Victorious Child
Katsuro - M - Victorious Son
Kazuki - M - Joyful World
Kazuko - F - Cheerful child
Kazuo - M - Dear Son
Kei - F - Respectful
Keiko - F - Adored
Keitaro - M - Blessed One
Ken - M - Big Man
Ken`ichi - M - Strong first son
Kenji - M - Strong second son
Kenshin - M - Heart of the Sword
Kenta - M - Healthy and brave
Kichi - F - Lucky
Kichiro - M - Lucky Son
Kiku - F - Chrysanthemum
Kimiko - F - Child of noble blood
Kin - M - Golden
Kioko - F - Happy child
Kisho - M - Having a head on his shoulders
Kita - F - North
Kiyoko - F - Clean
Kiyoshi - M - Quiet
Kohaku - M/F - Amber
Kohana - F - Small flower
Koko - F - Stork
Koto - F - Japanese. musical instrument "koto"
Kotone - F - Sound of koto
Kumiko - F - Forever beautiful
Kuri - F - Chestnut
Kuro - M - Ninth Son
Kyo - M - Agreement (or redhead)
Kyoko - F - Mirror
Leiko - F - Arrogant
Machi - F - Ten thousand years
Machiko - F - Lucky Child
Maeko - F - Honest child
Maemi - F - Sincere smile
Mai - F - Bright
Makoto - M - Sincere
Mamiko - F - Baby Mami
Mamoru - M - Earth
Manami - F - The beauty of love
Mariko - F - Child of Truth
Marise - M/F - Infinite
Masa - M/F - Straightforward (person)
Masakazu - M - First son of Masa
Mashiro - M - Wide
Matsu - F - Pine
Mayako - F - Child Maya
Mayoko - F - Child Mayo
Mayuko - F - Child Mayu
Michi - F - Fair
Michie - F - Gracefully hanging flower
Michiko - F - Beautiful and wise
Michio - M - A man with the strength of three thousand
Midori - F - Green
Mihoko - F - Child Miho
Mika - F - New Moon
Miki - M/F - Stalk
Mikio - M - Three woven trees
Mina - F - South
Minako - F - Beautiful child
Mine - F - Brave Defender
Minoru - M - Seed
Misaki - F - The Bloom of Beauty
Mitsuko - F - Child of Light
Miya - F - Three arrows
Miyako - F - Beautiful child of March
Mizuki - F - Beautiful Moon
Momoko - F - Child Peach
Montaro - M - Big Guy
Moriko - F - Child of the Forest
Morio - M - Forest Boy
Mura - F - Country
Mutsuko - F - Child Mutsu

Japanese names and their meanings

Nahoko - F - Child Naho
Nami - F - Wave
Namiko - F - Child of the Waves
Nana - F - Apple
Naoko - F - Obedient child
Naomi - F - “First of all, beauty”
Nara - F - Oak
Nariko - F - Sissy
Natsuko - F - Summer child
Natsumi - F - Wonderful Summer
Nayoko - F - Baby Nayo
Nibori - M - Famous
Nikki - M/F - Two trees
Nikko - M - Daylight
Nori - F - Law
Noriko - F - Child of the Law
Nozomi - F - Nadezhda
Nyoko - F - Gemstone
Oki - F - Middle of the Ocean
Orino - F - Peasant meadow
Osamu - M - Firmness of the Law
Rafu - M - Network
Rai - F - Truth
Raidon - M - God of Thunder
Ran - F - Water lily
Rei - F - Gratitude
Reiko - F - Gratitude
Ren - F - Water lily
Renjiro - M - Honest
Renzo - M - Third Son
Riko - F - Child of Jasmine
Rin - F - Unfriendly
Rinji - M - Peaceful Forest
Rini - F - Little bunny
Risako - F - Child Risa
Ritsuko - F - Child Ritsu
Roka - M - White wave crest
Rokuro - M - Sixth Son
Ronin - M - Samurai without a master
Rumiko - F - Child Rumi
Ruri - F - Emerald
Ryo - M - Excellent
Ryoichi - M - First son of Ryo
Ryoko - F - Child Ryo
Ryota - M - Strong (fat)
Ryozo - M - Third son of Ryo
Ryuichi - M - First son of Ryu
Ryuu - M - Dragon
Saburo - M - Third Son
Sachi - F - Happiness
Sachiko - F - Child of Happiness
Sachio - M - Fortunately born
Saeko - F - Child Sae
Saki - F - Cape (geographic)
Sakiko - F - Child Saki
Sakuko - F - Child Saku
Sakura - F - Cherry blossoms
Sanako - F - Child Sana
Sango - F - Coral
Saniiro - M - Wonderful
Satu - F - Sugar
Sayuri - F - Little lily
Seiichi - M - Sei's first son
Sen - M - Spirit of the Tree
Shichiro - M - Seventh Son
Shika - F - Deer
Shima - M - Islander
Shina - F - Decent
Shinichi - M - First son of Shin
Shiro - M - Fourth Son
Shizuka - F - Quiet
Sho - M - Prosperity
Sora - F - Sky
Sorano - F - Heavenly
Suki - F - Favorite
Suma - F - Asking
Sumi - F - Purified (religious)
Susumi - M - Moving forward (successful)
Suzu - F - Bell (bell)
Suzume - F - Sparrow
Tadao - M - Helpful
Taka - F - Noble
Takako - F - Tall child
Takara - F - Treasure
Takashi - M - Famous
Takehiko - M - Bamboo Prince
Takeo - M - Bamboo-like
Takeshi - M - Bamboo tree or brave
Takumi - M - Craftsman
Tama - M/F - Gemstone
Tamiko - F - Child of Abundance
Tani - F - From the Valley (child)
Taro - M - Firstborn
Taura - F - Many lakes; many rivers
Teijo - M - Fair
Tomeo - M - Cautious person
Tomiko - F - Child of Wealth
Tora - F - Tigress
Torio - M - Bird tail
Toru - M - Sea
Toshi - F - Mirror image
Toshiro - M - Talented
Toya - M/F - House door
Tsukiko - F - Moon Child
Tsuyu - F - Morning Dew
Udo - M - Ginseng
Ume - F - Plum blossom
Umeko - F - Plum Blossom Child
Usagi - F - Rabbit
Uyeda - M - From the rice field (child)
Yachi - F - Eight thousand
Yasu - F - Calm
Yasuo - M - Mirny
Yayoi - F - March
Yogi - M - Yoga practitioner
Yoko - F - Child of the Sun
Yori - F - Trustworthy
Yoshi - F - Perfection
Yoshiko - F - Perfect Child
Yoshiro - M - Perfect Son
Yuki - M - Snow
Yukiko - F - Snow Child
Yukio - M - Cherished by God
Yuko - F - Kind child
Yumako - F - Child Yuma
Yumi - F - Bow-like (weapon)
Yumiko - F - Child of the Arrow
Yuri - F - Lily
Yuriko - F - Lily's Child
Yuu - M - Noble Blood
Yuudai - M - Great Hero
Nagisa - "coast"
Kaworu - "to smell"
Ritsuko - "science", "attitude"
Akagi - "mahogany"
Shinji - "death"
Misato - "beautiful city"
Katsuragi - "a fortress with walls entwined with grass"
Asuka - lit. "love-love"
Soryu - "central current"
Ayanami - "strip of fabric", "wave pattern"
Rei - “zero”, “example”, “soul”
KENSHIN name means "Heart of the Sword".

Japanese names and their meanings

Akito - Sparkling Man
Kuramori Reika - "Treasure Protector" and "Cold Summer" Rurouni - Wandering Wanderer
Himura - "Burning Village"
Shishio Makoto - True Hero
Takani Megumi - "Sublime Love"
Shinomori Aoshi - "Green Bamboo Forest"
Makimachi Misao - "Run the City"
Saito Hajime - "The Beginning of Human Life"
Hiko Seijuro - "Justice Prevailed"
Seta Sojiro - “Comprehensive Forgiveness”
Mirai - the future
Hajime - boss
Mamoru - protector
Jibo - earth
Hikari – light
Atarashiki – transformations
Namida - tears
Sora - sky
Jinga - the universe
Eva is alive
Izya is a doctor
Usagi - hare
Tsukino – Lunar
Rey - soul
Hino – fire
Ami - rain
Mitsuno - merman
Kori – ice, icy
Makoto is true
Cinema – aerial, forest
Minako – Venus
Aino – loving
Setsuna - guard
Mayo – castle, palace
Haruka – 1) distant, 2) heavenly
Teno - heavenly
Michiru - the way
Kayo - sea
Hotaru – light
Tomo is a friend.
Kaori - soft, affectionate
Yumi - "Fragrant Beauty"
Hakufu - Noble Sign

Japanese names, last names and their meanings
What to name the child?

For future parents in Japan, special collections of names are published - just like here in general - so that they can choose the most suitable one for their child. In general, the process of choosing (or coming up with) a name comes down to one of the following ways:
1. a keyword can be used in the name - a seasonal phenomenon, a shade of color, a precious stone, etc.
2. the name may contain the parents’ wish to become strong, wise or brave, for which the hieroglyphs of strength, wisdom and courage are used, respectively.
3. You can also go from choosing the hieroglyphs you like most (in different spellings) and combining them with each other.
4. It has recently become popular to name a child based on hearing, i.e. depending on how pleasant the desired name is to the ear. Having chosen the desired pronunciation, they determine the hieroglyphs with which this name will be written.
5. It has always been popular to name a child after celebrities - heroes of historical chronicles, politicians, pop stars, TV series heroes, etc.
6. Some parents rely on various fortune-telling, believing that the number of traits in the hieroglyphs of the first and last names should be combined with each other.
The most common endings for Japanese names are:

Male names: ~aki, ~fumi, ~go, ~haru, ~hei, ~hiko, ~hisa, ~hide, ~hiro, ~ji, ~kazu, ~ki, ~ma, ~masa, ~michi, ~mitsu , ~nari, ~nobu, ~nori, ~o, ~rou, ~shi, ~shige, ~suke, ~ta, ~taka, ~to, ~toshi, ~tomo, ~ya, ~zou

Female names: ~a, ~chi, ~e, ~ho, ~i, ~ka, ~ki, ~ko, ~mi, ~na, ~no, ~o, ~ri, ~sa, ~ya, ~yo
Nominal suffixes

In the Japanese language, there is a whole set of so-called nominal suffixes, that is, suffixes added in colloquial speech to given names, surnames, nicknames and other words denoting an interlocutor or a third party. They are used to indicate the social relationship between the speaker and the one being spoken about. The choice of suffix is ​​determined by the character of the speaker (normal, rude, very polite), their attitude towards the listener (common politeness, respect, ingratiation, rudeness, arrogance), their position in society and the situation in which the conversation takes place (one-on-one, in a circle of loved ones friends, between colleagues, between strangers, in public). The following is a list of some of these suffixes (in order of increasing "respectfulness" Japanese names and their meanings Japanese first name Japan surnames green yaponiya live names and their common meanings.

Tian (chan) - A close analogue of the “diminutive” suffixes of the Russian language. Usually used in relation to junior or inferior in social sense with whom a close relationship develops. There is an element of baby talk in the use of this suffix. Typically used when adults address children, boys address their girlfriends, girlfriends address each other, and small children address each other. The use of this suffix in relation to people who are not very close and equal to the speaker in position is impolite. Let's say, if a guy addresses a girl his age in this way, with whom he is not “having an affair,” then he is being inappropriate. A girl who addresses a guy of her own age in this way, with whom she is not “having an affair,” is, in essence, being rude.

Kun (kun) - An analogue of the address “comrade”. Most often used between men or in relation to guys. Indicates, rather, a certain “officiality” of, nevertheless, close relationships. Let's say, between classmates, partners or friends. It can also be used in relation to juniors or inferior in a social sense, when there is no need to focus on this circumstance.

Yang (yan) - Kansai analogue of "-chan" and "-kun".

Pyon (pyon) - Children's version of "-kun".

Tti (cchi) - Children's version of "-chan" (cf. "Tamagotti" Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live.

Without a suffix - Close relationships, but without “lisping.” The usual address of adults to teenage children, friends to each other, etc. If a person does not use suffixes at all, then this is a clear indicator of rudeness. Calling by last name without a suffix is ​​a sign of familiar, but “detached” relationships ( typical example- relations of schoolchildren or students).

San (san) - An analogue of the Russian “Mr./Madam”. General information for a respectful attitude. Often used to communicate with strangers, or when all other suffixes are inappropriate. Used in relation to elders, including older relatives (brothers, sisters, parents).

Han (han) - Kansai equivalent of "-san".

Si (shi) - “Master”, used exclusively in official documents after the surname.

Fujin - “Lady”, used exclusively in official documents after the surname.

Kouhai - Appeal to the younger. Especially often - at school in relation to those who are younger than the speaker.

Senpai (senpai) - Appeal to an elder. Especially often - at school in relation to those who are older than the speaker.

Dono (dono) - Rare suffix. Respectful address to an equal or superior, but slightly different in position. Currently considered obsolete and practically not found in communication. In ancient times, it was actively used when samurai addressed each other.

Sensei - “Teacher”. Used to refer to teachers and lecturers themselves, as well as doctors and politicians.

Senshu - “Sportsman”. Used to refer to famous athletes.

Zeki - “Sumo wrestler”. Used to refer to famous sumo wrestlers.

Ue (ue) - “Elder”. A rare and outdated respectful suffix used for older family members. Not used with names - only with designations of position in the family (“father”, “mother”, “brother”) Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live.

Sama - Highest degree respect. Appeal to gods and spirits, to spiritual authorities, girls to lovers, servants to noble masters, etc. Roughly translated into Russian as “respected, dear, venerable.”

Jin (jin) - “One of.” "Saya-jin" - "one of Saya."

Tachi (tachi) - “And friends.” "Goku-tachi" - "Goku and his friends."

Gumi (gumi) - “Team, group, party.” "Kenshin-gumi" - "Team Kenshin".

Japanese names and their meanings
Personal pronouns

In addition to nominal suffixes, Japan also uses many different ways to address each other and refer to themselves using personal pronouns. The choice of pronoun is determined by the social laws already mentioned above. The following is a list of some of these pronouns.

Group with the meaning "I"
Watashi - Polite option. Recommended for use by foreigners. Typically used by men. Infrequently used in colloquial speech, as it carries a connotation of "high style".
Atashi - Polite option. Recommended for use by foreigners. Typically used by women. Or gays. ^_^ Not used when communicating with high-ranking individuals.
Watakushi - A very polite female version.
Washi - An outdated polite option. Doesn't depend on gender.
Wai - Kansai equivalent of washi.
Boku (Boku) - Familiar youth male version. Rarely used by women, in this case “unfemininity” is emphasized. Used in poetry.
Ore - Not a very polite option. Purely masculine. Like, cool. ^_^
Ore-sama - "Great Self". A rare form, an extreme degree of boasting.
Daiko or Naiko (Daikou/Naikou) - Analogous to “ore-sama”, but somewhat less boastful.
Sessha - Very polite form. Typically used by samurai when addressing their masters.
Hishou - “Insignificant.” A very polite form, now practically not used.
Gusei - Similar to hisho, but somewhat less derogatory.
Oira - Polite form. Typically used by monks.
Chin - A special form that only the emperor has the right to use.
Ware - Polite (formal) form, translated as [I/you/he] “himself.” Used when the importance of “I” needs to be particularly expressed. Say, in spells (“I conjure” Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live. In modern Japanese it is rarely used in the meaning of “I”. It is more often used to form a reflexive form, for example, “forgetting about yourself” - "ware wo wasurete" [Name or position of the speaker] - Used by children or when communicating with them, usually in a family. Say, a girl named Atsuko might say "Atsuko is thirsty." “Brother will bring you juice.” There is an element of “lisping” in this, but such treatment is quite acceptable.

Group meaning “We”
Watashi-tachi - Polite option.
Ware-ware - Very polite, formal option.
Bokura - Impolite option.
Touhou - Regular option.

Group with the meaning “You/You”:
Anata - General polite option. Also a common way for a wife to address her husband (“dear” Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live.
Anta - Less polite option. Typically used by young people. A slight hint of disrespect.
Otaku - Literally translated as “Your home.” A very polite and rare form. Due to the ironic use by Japanese informals in relation to each other, the second meaning was fixed - “feng, crazy.”
Kimi - Polite option, often between friends. Used in poetry.
Kijo (Kijou) - “Mistress”. A very polite form of addressing a lady.
Onushi - “Insignificant.” An outdated form of polite speech.
Omae - Familiar (when addressing an enemy - offensive) option. Usually used by men in relation to a socially younger person (father to daughter, say).
Temae/Temee - Offensive male version. Usually in relation to the enemy. Something like “bastard” or “bastard.”
Honore (Onore) - Insulting option.
Kisama - A very offensive option. Translated with dots. ^_^ Oddly enough, it literally translates as “noble master.”

Japanese names

Modern Japanese names consist of two parts - the surname, which comes first, and the given name, which comes second. True, the Japanese often write their names in “European order” (first name - surname) if they write them in romaji. For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their last name in CAPITAL letters so that it is not confused with their first name (due to the inconsistency described above).

The exception is the emperor and members of his family. They don't have a last name. Girls who marry princes also lose their surnames.
Ancient names and surnames

Before the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames. The rest of the Japanese population was content with personal names and nicknames. Women of aristocratic and samurai families also usually did not have surnames, since they did not have the right of inheritance. In those cases where women did have surnames, they did not change them upon marriage.

Surnames were divided into two groups - the surnames of aristocrats and the surnames of samurai. Unlike the number of samurai surnames, the number of aristocratic surnames has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them went back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most respected and respected clans of aristocrats were: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. All of them belonged to the Fujiwara clan and had a common name - “Gosetsuke”. From among the men of this family, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and from among the women, wives for the emperors were chosen. The next most important clans were the Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Saionji, Sanjo, Imaidegawa, Tokudaji and Kaoin clans. From among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed.

Thus, representatives of the Saionji clan served as imperial grooms (meryo no gogen). Next came all the other aristocratic clans. The hierarchy of nobility of aristocratic families began to take shape in the 6th century and lasted until the end of the 11th century, when power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. A number of their representatives at different times were shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

The personal names of aristocrats and high-ranking samurai were formed from two kanji (hieroglyphs) with a “noble” meaning.

Personal names of samurai servants and peasants were often given according to the principle of "numbering". The first son is Ichiro, the second is Jiro, the third is Saburo, the fourth is Shiro, the fifth is Goro, etc. Also, in addition to “-ro”, the suffixes “-emon”, “-ji”, “-zo”, “-suke”, “-be” were used for this purpose.

Upon entering the period of adolescence, the samurai chose a different name for himself than the one given to him at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adult life, for example, to emphasize the onset of a new period (promotion or moving to another duty station). The master had the right to rename his vassal.
In cases of serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to that of Amida Buddha to appeal to his mercy. According to the rules of samurai duels, before the fight, the samurai had to say his full name so that the enemy could decide whether he was worthy of such an opponent. Of course, in life this rule was observed much less often than in novels and chronicles.

The suffix "-hime" was added to the end of the names of girls from noble families. It is often translated as "princess", but in fact it was used to refer to all noble ladies. The suffix “-gozen” was used for the names of samurai wives. They were often called simply by their husband's surname and rank. Personal names of married women were practically used only by their close relatives.
For the names of monks and nuns from the noble classes, the suffix “-in” was used.
Modern Japanese names and surnames

During the Meiji Restoration, all Japanese people were given surnames. Naturally, most of them were associated with various signs of peasant life, especially with rice and its processing. These surnames, like the surnames of the upper class, were also usually made up of two kanji.
The most common Japanese surnames today

Suzuki, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Watanabe, Saito, Sato, Sasaki, Kudo, Takahashi, Kobayashi, Kato, Ito, Murakami, Oonishi, Yamaguchi, Nakamura, Kuroki, Higa.

The same hieroglyphs are often found in names as in surnames, and the same phonetic and word-formation patterns apply to names. However, there are much more components included in names than in surnames, although there are certain patterns here too. Names include established components or combinations of components. Names often use hieroglyph readings and nanori readings that are rarely used in modern languages, and often there is no pattern in this.
There is a group of hieroglyphs that in names are consistently read as one ono or kun (among them, the most common are those that have only one reading):
準 jun 準吉 Junkichi
謙 ken 謙蔵 Kenzo:
鉄 tetsu 鉄山 Tetsuzan
鋼 ko: 鋼治 Ko:ji
諸 Moro 諸平 Morohira
Another, more numerous group of hieroglyphs in names uses two or three reading options (1-2 according to kun and 1 according to on), and the pattern of reading choice often depends on the position of the component in the name. For example, the characters 政、光、盛、信、宣 in the position of the second component are usually read according to kun, and the characters 一、七、十、六、吉、作、三郎、太郎 in combination with them are also read according to kun. In combination with hieroglyphs, these signs can be read using it.
Let us now consider the structure and types of Japanese male names
There are many fairly typical one-component names related to vago. They come from the old written final form of the predicative adjective (which ended in si), or from the third (dictionary) stem of the verb, or from the noun. In this case, variable endings are not written in names, only the root-hieroglyph is written.

For example:
博 Hiroshi, 実 Minoru,
正 Tadashi, 薫 Kaoru,
武 Takeshi, 東 Azuma,
雅 Masashi, 登 Noboru.
均 Hitoshi,

Simple names related to kango with readings for on are few.

For example:

竜 Ryu, 順 Jun.

Complex names of two components often include as second (third) elements the characters 郎, 夫, 男, 志, 人, 士, 彦, 司 meaning “man”, “husband”, “warrior”, “ outstanding man", as well as many other second elements.

Second stable components of two-component names
a) Japanese origin
…雄 o “strong, brave, superiority, male” (from osu), ….男o from otoko “man”, …夫 o from otto “husband”. Read according to kun
正男 Masao
和夫 Kazuo
信夫 Nobuo
…哉ya This hieroglyph is found only in male names and previously denoted an exclamation of delight “ah!” Names with this component are read according to kun
澄哉 Sumiya
只哉 Tadaya
…彦 hiko. In ancient times it had the meaning of “prince” and could only be included in the names of noble people. Names with this component feel old-fashioned and lack popularity. Names with this component have a kun reading
紀彦 Norihiko
勝彦 Katsuhiko
…助,…介, …輔 suke. In ancient times, all the hieroglyphs that denote this component meant “assistant” and served as a designation for the position. Names with this component are read according to kun
直助, 直介 Naosuke
…之, …行, …幸 yuki. Names with these components are read according to kun and are considered euphonious, although in everyday communication the yuki component is omitted. The first two hieroglyphs are read non-standardly by Yuki: the first hieroglyph means the indicator of the genitive case in Chineseisms, the second is the benevolent meaning of “happiness”, and the third is “going through life”
直之 Naoyuki
…人, …仁 hito. They mean “man” (the second hieroglyph is read non-standardly, but usually has a different meaning and reading – “philanthropy, humanity”). Names with this ending have a noble connotation, as they are worn by emperors. All names with this component have a kun reading.
康人 Yasuhito
…樹 ki “tree” second component of names with kun reading
直樹 Naoki
茂樹 Shigeki b) of Chinese origin (read by on)
…器 ki “ability”,…機 ki “loom”, …毅 ki “courage, courage, fortitude”, …記 ki “chronicle”, …騎 ki “rider”. All components and, accordingly, names with them are read according to it.
光記 Ko:ki
春機 Shunki
誠器 Seiki
明毅 Meiki
…朗, …郎 ro: “young man.” Basically follows the hieroglyphs-numerals, which reflect the order of birth of sons in the family. Names are mostly read by on.
太郎 Tarot,
二郎 Jiro

...也 this is the reading of the hieroglyph, which in the old written language also meant the connective nari “to be.” Names with this component are read by on.
心也 Xingya

...吾 go – onny reading of the hieroglyph with the meaning “I”, “our”, names with it are read according to it
健吾 Kengo

...平, …兵 hey. the second character was included in the names of military positions in the Nara period, but now names with this ending look archaic. Names with this component are read by on.
隼兵 Junpei

…太 ta “fat, big.” Names with this component are read by on and were often used in the classical works of Japanese writers, belonging to the characters of servants, peasants and conveying the image of a good-natured fat man.
権太Gonta

...志 si ("will, desire"), ...史 si "history", ...士 si "samurai", ...司 si "to manage". Names with these components are read by on, but there are also names with kun readings of the first components, and have very “masculine” meanings.
強志 Tsuyoshi
仁志 Hitoshi
雄司 Yuji

...一 iti "unit". Being in the second position in the name, this hieroglyph means “first (in something).” All names with this component are read by it
英一Eiichi
雄一 Juichi

...二 ji "second", "next", 治 ji "manage", 次 ji "next", 児 ji "child". All these components are probably related to the order in which sons appear in the family, some of them are matched by sound to ona ji - the next one. Names with these components have an onal reading
研次 Kenji
...蔵,..., 造, ...三 dzo: This ending is common among two-syllable names. It is more often used in names read by on, but can also appear in names of Japanese root.

A significant portion of male names with two components do not belong to any of the categories listed above. Among them there are names of Japanese and Chinese origin. Japanese root names are formed by adding noun stems, nouns with an adjective or verb, adjectives with verbs. The components themselves often have benevolent meanings.
貫之 Tsurayuki
広重 Hiroshige
正則 Masanori
There are significantly fewer Chinese root names of this type, and they are combinations of hieroglyphs read in ons. Moreover, the hieroglyphs used in such names and in male names in general have a benevolent meaning
勇吉 Yukichi
啓治 Keiji

There are few three-component names, and most of them are names with stable combinations of two components

Stable components of three-component names
…一郎 ichiro: “first son”
憲一郎 Kenichiro

….太郎 tarot: “eldest son”
竜太郎 Ryu:taro:

…次郎、….二郎 jiro: “second son”
正二郎 Sho:jiro:

…司郎、…志郎、…士郎 shiro:
恵司郎 Keishiro:

…之助, …之輔, …之介、….nosuke (see suke component)
準之助 Junnosuke

Another category of three-component names are names with one stable component 雄, 郎, 彦, 志, etc. from those listed when mentioning two-component names, but forming a complex of two components written in ateji - hieroglyphs by sound (i.e. the Japanese word is written in hieroglyphs that read according to him)
亜紀雄 Akio
伊智郎 Ichiro:
賀津彦 Katsuhiko
左登志 Satoshi

There are few names with four components, mostly these are names with stable final combinations …左衛門 zaemon, …右衛門 emon

Most Japanese female names end in "-ko" ("child") Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live or "-mi" ("beauty" Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live. Girls, as a rule, are given names associated in meaning with everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine. Unlike male names, female names are usually written not in kanji, but in hiragana.

Some modern girls do not like the ending “-ko” in their names and prefer to omit it. For example, a girl named "Yuriko" might call herself "Yuri".

According to a law passed during the time of Emperor Meiji, after marriage, husband and wife are legally required to adopt the same surname. In 98% of cases this is the husband's last name. For several years now, parliament has been discussing an amendment to the Civil Code allowing spouses to keep premarital surnames. However, so far she cannot get the required number of votes. After death, a Japanese person receives a new, posthumous name (kaimyo), which is written on a special wooden tablet (ihai). This tablet is considered to be the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is used in funeral rites. Kaimyo and ihai are purchased from Buddhist monks - sometimes even before the person's death.

The surname in Japanese is called "myoji" (苗字 or 名字, "uji" (氏 or "sei" (姓.

The vocabulary of the Japanese language has long been divided into two types: wago (Japanese 和語?) - native Japanese words and kango (Japanese 漢語?) - borrowed from China. Names are also divided into these types, although a new type is now actively expanding - gairaigo (Japanese 外来語?) - words borrowed from other languages, but components of this type are rarely used in names.

Modern Japanese names are divided into the following groups:

Cunnae (consisting of vago)
onny (consisting of kango)
mixed

The ratio of kun and on surnames is approximately 80% to 20%.

The most common surnames in Japan:

Sato (Japanese: 佐藤 Sato:?)
Suzuki (Japanese: 鈴木?)
Takahashi (Japanese: 高橋?)
Tanaka (Japanese: 田中?)
Watanabe (Japanese: 渡辺?)
Ito (Japanese: 伊藤 Ito:?)
Yamamoto (Japanese: 山本?)
Nakamura (Japanese: 中村?)
Ohayashi (Japanese: 小林?)
Kobayashi (Japanese: 小林?) (different surnames, but spelled the same and have approximately the same distribution)
Kato (Japanese: 加藤 Kato:?)

Many surnames, although read according to the onon (Chinese) reading, go back to ancient Japanese words and are written phonetically, and not by meaning.

Examples of such surnames: Kubo (Japanese: 久保?) - from Japanese. kubo (Japanese 窪?) - hole; Sasaki (Japanese 佐々木?) - from the ancient Japanese sasa - small; Abe (Japanese 阿部?) - from the ancient word ape - to connect, mix. If we take into account such surnames, then the number of native Japanese surnames reaches 90%.

For example, the character 木 (“tree”) is read in kun as ki, but in names it can also be read as ko; The character 上 (“up”) can be read in kun as either ue or kami. There are two different surnames Uemura and Kamimura, which are written the same way - 上村. In addition, there are dropouts and fusions of sounds at the junction of components, for example, in the surname Atsumi (Japanese 渥美?), the components individually are read as atsui and umi; and the surname 金成 (kana + nari) is often read simply as Kanari.

When combining hieroglyphs, it is typical to alternate the endings of the first component A/E and O/A - for example, 金 kane - Kanagawa (Japanese 金川?), 白 shiro - Shiraoka (Japanese 白岡?). In addition, the initial syllables of the second component often become voiced, for example 山田 Yamada (yama + ta), 宮崎 Miyazaki (miya + saki). Also, surnames often contain the remainder of the case indicator but or ha (in ancient times it was customary to place them between the first and last names). Usually this indicator is not written, but is read - for example, 一宮 Ichinomiya (ichi + miya);

榎本 Enomoto (e + moto). But sometimes the case indicator is displayed in writing in hiragana, katakana or hieroglyph - for example, 井之上 Inoue (and + but + ue);

木ノ下 Kinoshita (ki + katakana no + shita).

The majority of Japanese surnames consisting of two components are reported as 60-70%. Of these, the majority are surnames from Japanese roots - it is believed that such surnames are the easiest to read, since most of them are read according to the usual kuns used in the language. Examples - Matsumoto (Japanese 松本?) - consists of the nouns matsu “pine” and moto “root” used in the language; Kiyomizu (Japanese 清水?) - consists of the adjective stem 清い kiyoi - “pure” and the noun 水 mizu - “water”. Chinese two-part surnames are less numerous and usually have one single reading. Often Chinese surnames contain numbers from one to six (excluding four 四, since this number is read in the same way as “death” 死 si and they try not to use it). Examples: Ichijo: (Japanese: 一条?), Saito: (Japanese: 斉藤?). There are also mixed surnames, where one component is read as on, and the other as kun. Examples: Honda (Japanese 本田?), hon - “base” (on reading) + ta - “rice field” (kun reading); Betsumiya (Japanese 別宮?), betsu - “special, different” (on reading) + miya - “temple” (kun reading). Also, a very small part of surnames can be read both in onam and kun: 坂西 Banzai and Sakanishi, 宮内 Kunai and Miyauchi.

Three-component surnames often contain Japanese roots written phonetically. Examples: 久保田 "Kubota (probably the word 窪 kubo "hole" is written phonetically as 久保, 阿久津 Akutsu (probably the word 明く aku "to open" is written phonetically as 阿久. However, ordinary three-component surnames consisting of three kun readings are also common. Examples: 矢田部 Yatabe , 小野木 Onoki. There are also three-component surnames with Chinese reading.

Four or more component surnames are very rare.

There are surnames with very unusual readings that look like puzzles. Examples: 十八女 Wakairo - written in hieroglyphs for “eighteen-year-old girl”, and read as 若色 “young + color”; The surname denoted by the hieroglyph 一 “one” is read as Ninomae, which can be translated as 二の前 ni no mae “before two”; and the surname 穂積 Hozue, which can be interpreted as “gathering ears of grain,” is sometimes written as 八月一日 “the first day of the eighth lunar month” - apparently on this day in ancient times the harvest began.
Russian female names in Japanese:

Alexandra – (protector) – Mamoka
Alice – (from the noble class) – Yoizokumi
Alla – (other) – Sonota
Anastasia – (resurrected) – Fukkatsumi
Anna – (mercy, grace) – Jihiko
Antonina – (spatial) – Sorariko
Anfisa – (blooming) – Kaika, – Sakura
Valentina – (strong) – Tsuyoi
Barbara – (cruel) – Zankokumi
Vasilisa – (royal) – Joteiko
Faith – (faith) – Shinkori
Victoria – (winner) – Shori
Galina – (clarity) – Tomei
Daria – (great fire) – Ohiko
Evgeniya – (noble) – Yoiidenko
Catherine – (purity, spotlessness) – Koheiri
Elena – (light) – Hikari
Elizabeth – (worshipper of God) – Keikenna
Zinaida – (born of God) – Kamigauma
Zoya – (life) – Sei, – Inoti
Inna – (stormy stream) – Hayakawa
Irina – (peace or anger) – Sekai, – Ikari
Karina – (darling) – Kawaimi
Kira – (Mistress) – Fujinka
Claudia – (limping) – Ramejo
Ksenia – (wanderer, stranger) – Horomi
Larisa – (seagull) – Kamome
Lydia – (sad song) – Nageki
Love - (love) - Ay, - Ayumi
Lyudmila – (dear to people) – Tanomi
Margarita – (pearl) – Shinjuka, – Tamae
Marina – (sea) – Maritaimi
Maria – (bitter, stubborn) – Nigai
Hope – (hope) – Nozomi
Natalya – (born, native) – Umari
Nina – (queen) – Queenmi
Oksana – (inhospitable) – Aisonaku
Olesya – (forest) – Ringyoko
Olga – (light) – Hikari
Polina – (destroying, destroying) – Hakaina
Raisa – (heavenly, light, submissive) – Tenshimi
Svetlana – (light) – Hikaru
Seraphim – (flaming snake) – Honooryumi
Snezhana – (snowy) – Yuki, Yukiko
Sophia – (wise) – Kasikomi
Tamara – (palm) – Yashimi
Tatyana – (mistress) – Joshiko
Ulyana – (righteous) – Tadashimi
Julia - (wavy, fluffy) - Hajoka, - Nami
Yana - (God's grace) - Dzihiri

Feminine endings for names: -i, -mi, -ko, -ri, -yo, -e, -ki, -ra, -ka, -na.
An article about this list of names, with another list of Russian names in Japanese.

Russian male names in Japanese:

Alexander - (defender) 守る - Mamoru
Alexey – (assistant) 　―助け - Taske
Anatoly – (sunrise) 東 - Higashi
Andrey – (courageous, brave) – 勇気 オYukio
Anton – (competing) –力士– Rikishi
Arkady - (happy country) – 幸国 - Shiavakuni
Artem – (unharmed, impeccable health) 安全– Anzen
Arthur – (big bear) 大熊 - Okuma
Boris – (fighting) – 等式 - Toshiki
Vadim – (proving)　―　証明 - Shomei
Valentine – (strong, healthy) - 強し - Tsuyoshi
Valery – (vigorous, healthy) – 元気等 - Genkito
Vasily – (royal) – 王部 - Obu
Victor – (winner) – 勝利者 - Serisha
Vitaly (life) – 生きる - Ikiru
Vladimir (ruler of the world) – 平和主 - Heiwanushi
Vyacheslav (illustrious) –　輝かし - Kagayakashi
Gennady – (noble, well-born) – 膏血- Koketsu
George (farmer) – 農夫 - Nofu
Gleb (block, pole) -ブロック- Burokku
Gregory (awake) - 目を覚まし　―Meosamashi
Daniel (God's judgment) - 神コート- Kamikoto
Demyan – (conqueror, pacifier) ​​– 征服者 - Seifuku
Denis – (vital forces of nature) – 自然力 - Shizenryoku
Dmitry (earthly fruit) – 果実 - Kajitsu
Eugene (noble) - 良遺伝子 - Ryoidenshi
Egor (patron of agriculture) – 地主 - Jinushi
Emelyan – (flattering, pleasant in words) - 甘言 - Kangen
Efim (blessed) - 恵まろ-Megumaro
Ivan - (God's grace) - 神の恩寵 - Kaminooncho
Igor – (militancy, courage) – 有事路Yujiro
Ilya - (the fortress of the Lord) - 要塞主 - Yosaishu
Cyril – (lord of the sun) - 太陽の領主 - Taiyonoryoshyu
Constantine (regular) - 永続 - Eizoku
Leo (lion) – 獅子オ - Shishio
Leonidas (son of the lion) – 獅子急 - Shishikyu
Maxim (great) - 全くし - Mattakushi
Michael (god-like) - 神図 - Kamizu
Mark (hammer) - Tsuchiro
Nikita (victorious) - 勝利と - Shorito
Nicholas (victory of the people) - 人の勝利 - Hitonosori
Oleg (light) - 光ろ - Hikaro
Pavel (small) - 小子 - Shoshi
Peter (stone) - 石 - Ishi
Roman (Roman) - ローマン - Roman
Ruslan (solid lion) - 獅子ハード - Shishihado
Stanislav (to become famous) - 有名なる - Yumeinaru
Stepan (crown, wreath, crown) - 花輪ろ - Hanawaro
Yuri (creator) -やり手 - Yarite
Yaroslav (bright glory) - 明る名 - Akarumei

Male endings of names: -o, -go, -hiko, -ro, -ru, -si, -ki, -ke, -zu, -ya, -ti, -iti, -mu, -to, -hey, - boo, -n, -ta, -sa, -give.

How to Determine Your Japanese Hipster Name

Today I saw a funny version of how you can determine your Japanese name. True, there is a certain point, this is not just a name, but a hipster name. And if you consider yourself a hipster deep down, or a hipster on the outside, you'll be interested in knowing your name.

Open the picture in full size, find your birth month and date. Add up the resulting words and this is your Japanese name.

Composing a harmonious combination of surname and given name for the Japanese is a complex science with long traditions. In Japan, there is a special set of names consisting of more than two thousand hieroglyphs. Until now, parents turn to specialists - compilers of Japanese names. Usually the names of boys and girls living in the same village are never repeated.

There is no concept of “namesake” in Japan. The concept of “fashionable names” did not exist among the Japanese, with the exception of “ordinal” male names. This may be due to the fact that the Japanese use their surnames much more often than their personal names.

First Last Name, then First Name

Japanese names consist of two parts: the family name, which is written and pronounced first, and the personal name, which, according to Eastern tradition, comes second. Modern Japanese often write their names in “European order” (personal name and then clan surname) if they write them in Romaji (Latin) or Kiriji (Cyrillic). For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their surname in capital letters so that it is not confused with their given name.

Europeans, who rarely pay attention to the etymology of their own names, constantly face difficulties associated with reading, translating and transcribing Japanese names and surnames. Modern Japanese can tell you how to read their names, but they do not always dare to translate the nominal characters into foreign languages. The Japanese are creative when it comes to the names of foreigners: Svetlana may not recognize herself in “Suetorana” or Carmen will not immediately respond to the Japanese “Karumen”.

How did the surnames come about?

Until the second half of the 19th century, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames in Japan. The rest of the Japanese population went by personal names and nicknames. The number of aristocratic families in Japan is limited and has remained unchanged since antiquity. The most notable clans of Japanese aristocrats are the Fujiwara clan, collectively called “Gosetsuke”: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. IN modern Japan There are about one hundred thousand surnames, of which more than seventy thousand appeared only 130 years ago.

During the Meiji era ("Enlightened Reign") from 1868-1911. Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants, artisans and merchants to choose any surname. Some Japanese, instead of their surname, wrote down the name of the city or village in which they lived, others “for the surname” took the name of the store or workshop in which they worked. Creative people came up with sonorous surnames for themselves.

Most of the surnames of modern Japanese are associated with peasant life, rice growing and processing. For example, the surname Hakamada consists of two characters: “hakama” (the lower part of a traditional Japanese suit, men’s pants or a woman’s skirt) and “da” (“rice field”). Judging by the “peasant” meaning of the hieroglyphs, it can be assumed that Irina Khakamada’s ancestors were field workers.

In Japan, you can meet people with the common surname Ito and exactly the same name Ito (translated as “dandy, dandy, Italy”). But such coincidences are very rare.
The only exception is Emperor Akihito ("Showing Mercy") and his family members. The “symbol of the nation” of Japan never had a surname.

Samurai names

In the 12th century, the first military usurper in the history of Japan was the shogun-samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo, or Yoritomo from the Minamoto clan (translated as “source”), who laid the foundation for the formation of a privileged samurai class.

Samurai chose their personal names depending on their life circumstances: promotion, relocation due to service, etc. The fall of the last Tokugawa shogunate ("River of Virtue") and the transfer of power to Emperor Mutsuhito consolidated long years exclusive privileges of the military.

Until the 19th century, in addition to complete impunity and the possibility of easy money, samurai had the right to give names to their vassals. The names of samurai servants and peasants were often given “in order”: Ichiro - first son, Jiro - second, Saburo - third, Shiro - fourth, Goro - fifth, etc. In addition to “-ro”, the suffixes “-emon”, “-ji”, “-zo”, “-suke”, “-be” were used.

Modern Japanese male names also carry information about the “serial number” of the son in the family. The suffixes “-ichi” and “-kazu” (“first son”), “-ji” (“second son”) and “-zo” (“third son”) are still often used in Japanese male names.

It is not customary for the emperors of Japan to be called the same and distinguished by serial number, like commoners. By old tradition, the names of Japanese emperors are composed with the second character "compassion, mercy, sympathy." Emperor Mutsuhito's name is a combination of two characters for "friendly, warm" and "compassionate". Emperor Hirohito, who ruled Japan from 1926 to 1989, was raised by samurai, veterans of the Russo-Japanese War.

After the collapse of the empire, the nuclear bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the complete and unconditional surrender of Hirohito (approximately - “Abundant Mercy”), in a state of “deep shock,” showed compassion for own people, appealed to the mercy of the victors and renounced his divine origin.

Since the 19th and 20th centuries, rich and influential samurai have retained the highest positions in civil and military administration. Others became the founders of Japanese entrepreneurship. Part of the creative intelligentsia was formed from the samurai environment. All personal names of aristocrats and high-ranking samurai consisted of two hieroglyphs with a “noble” meaning.

For example, the name of the son of military instructor Kurosawa (“Black Swamp”) Akira (“light”, “clear”) can be roughly translated into Russian as “light in the darkness” or “illumination”. Perhaps only thanks to the aptly given name, an artist by training, Akira Kurosawa became a director, a classic of Japanese and world cinema, changing our understanding of the world (“swamp”).

Most Japanese girl names end in "-ko" ("child") or "-mi" ("beauty"). Japanese women are often given names associated with everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine, graceful.
Unlike male names, female names are usually written not in “solemn” characters, but simply in hiragana (the Japanese alphabet used to write Chinese and Japanese words).

So, new list names

New generations of educated Japanese parents have long sought to expand the old list of nominal characters in order to create completely new, interesting and original names for their children. In September 2004, the Japanese received an additional list - more than 500 hieroglyphs to compile the official name of little Japanese.

The new list of personal characters, compiled in the offices of the Japanese Ministry of Justice, included very extravagant signs. Among the “new products” appeared hieroglyphs with strange meanings for names: “beetle”, “frog”, “spider”, “turnip”.

The child-loving Japanese were seriously indignant. Then the Ministry of Justice of Japan urgently announced that several strange hieroglyphs were excluded from the new list of names: “cancerous tumor”, “prostitute”, “buttock”, “hemorrhoids”, “curse”, “debauchery”, “malice”, etc. Some citizens The countries of the rising sun reacted to the “name scandal” with complete indifference.

In modern Japan, every adult Japanese can take a pseudonym, and after death, almost all Japanese receive new, posthumous names (kaimyo), which are written on a special wooden tablet (ihai) - the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased. Most Japanese believe in reincarnation and try not to worry about the fleeting little things in life, even something as important as a personal name. Perhaps this is why the Japanese rarely give their children the names of their venerable ancestors.

Common Japanese surnames and their meanings

The following table provides a list of the most common Japanese surnames along with the characters, readings and their meanings in Russian as of April 2010.

As already written in the article about Japanese names, you may notice that most Japanese surnames mean various rural landscapes.