Japanese surnames of girls and their meaning. All about real Japanese names: from spelling to meaning

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 the choice of a name for a child, they trust only people who specialize in this. Due to 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", but all because the Japanese prefer to use their surnames rather than given names, which, by the way, are many.

First name after last name

Japanese names consist of two adjectives: a family name and a personal name. In Japan, in turn, the surname is the main one, it is written and spoken first everywhere. Modern Japanese are used to writing their first and last name 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 such a strange and serious attitude of the Japanese to their surnames, which causes misunderstandings related to 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 common 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 about 85,000, in the USA more than 1 million families). During the era of His Eminence (1868–1911), the reigning Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants to choose any surname for their families. The Japanese were shocked by this idea, many did not know what to come up with. Someone wrote the name of their locality, someone wrote the name of their store, and creative people themselves came up with an unusual surname, consonant with the name.

The surname is the hereditary name of the clan, which in Japan is passed from father to children, wives almost always take the husband's surname.

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

Surnames in Japanese in 70% consist of two hieroglyphs. It is very rare to find a surname of 3 or more hieroglyphs.

Surname types

The first type includes surnames indicating the 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, areas, settlements, reservoirs, etc.

Very often, Japanese surnames are associated with peasant life, rice cultivation 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" - in translation, this word means nothing more than "dog breeder".

The third type includes individual nicknames.

Rare, but well-aimed 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 is a tall tree;
• Fukui - happiness;
• Homma - good luck;
• Yano is an arrow.

Common surname

In Japan, surnames do not have a generic affiliation. One surname is suitable for both men and women.

Previously, Japanese law stipulated that a husband and wife must have the same surname. Until 1946, inclusive, only the husband's surname could be family, but the constitution, written in the post-war period, abolished this inequality. Modern Japanese can optionally choose a surname, even a husband or wife, but according to the traditions of the old time, spouses stop at the surname of a man.

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 is a chrysanthemum.

Common surnames in Japan

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

• A- Ando, ​​Arai, Araki, Asano, Akiyama, Asayama.
• AND- Imai, Ito, Iwasaki, Iwata, Igarasti, Iida, Inoe, Ishida (despite the similarity of sound, she has nothing to do with the ancient Egyptian goddess), Ishihara, Ichikawa.
• TO- Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Kaneko, Kitano.
• M- Maruyama, Masuda, Morimoto, Matila.
• H- Nakahara, Narita, Nakanishi.
• ABOUT- Oyama, Okazaki, Okumura, Ogiva, Ootsuoka.
• WITH- Saida, Sato, Sano, Sakurai, Shibada, Shima.
• T- Tachibana, Takaki, Takeguchi.
• At- Ueda, Uematsu, Ueno, Uchida.
• F- Fujii, Fukushima, Fujimomo, Fujivra
• X- Hattori, Hattochi, Hirai, Hirata, Hirosa, Homma, Hori.
• C- Tsubaki, Tsuji, Tsuchiya
• I- Yamamura, Yano, Yamanaka, Yamamoto, Yamashita, Yamauchi, Yasuda, Yamashita.

And also Enomoto, Yumake also belong to the list of popular and common, according to the data offered by the dictionary of 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 the choice of a name for a child, they trust only people who specialize in this. Due to such a serious attitude to the choice of names, in the same village you can never hear the same names of guys and girls. In Japan, there is no such thing as a "namesake", but all because the Japanese prefer to use their surnames rather than given names, which, by the way, are many.

First name after last name

Japanese names consist of two adjectives: a family name and a personal name. In Japan, in turn, the surname is the main one, it is written and spoken first everywhere. Modern Japanese are used to writing their first and last name 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 such a strange and serious attitude of the Japanese to their surnames, which causes misunderstandings related to 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 common 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 about 85,000, in the USA more than 1 million families). During the era of His Eminence (1868–1911), the reigning Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants to choose any surname for their families. The Japanese were shocked by this idea, many did not know what to come up with. Someone wrote the name of their locality, someone wrote the name of their store, and creative people themselves came up with an unusual surname, consonant with the name.

The surname is the hereditary name of the clan, which in Japan is passed from father to children, wives almost always take the husband's surname.

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

Surnames in Japanese in 70% consist of two hieroglyphs. It is very rare to find a surname of 3 or more hieroglyphs.

Surname types

The first type includes surnames indicating the 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, areas, settlements, reservoirs, etc.

Very often, Japanese surnames are associated with peasant life, rice cultivation 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" - in translation, this word means nothing more than "dog breeder".

The third type includes individual nicknames.

Rare, but well-aimed 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 is a tall tree;
• Fukui - happiness;
• Homma - good luck;
• Yano is an arrow.

Common surname

In Japan, surnames do not have a generic affiliation. One surname is suitable for both men and women.

Previously, Japanese law stipulated that a husband and wife must have the same surname. Until 1946, inclusive, only the husband's surname could be family, but the constitution, written in the post-war period, abolished this inequality. Modern Japanese can optionally choose a surname, even a husband or wife, but according to the traditions of the old time, spouses stop at the surname of a man.

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 is a chrysanthemum.

Common surnames in Japan

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

• A- Ando, ​​Arai, Araki, Asano, Akiyama, Asayama.
• AND- Imai, Ito, Iwasaki, Iwata, Igarasti, Iida, Inoe, Ishida (despite the similarity of sound, she has nothing to do with the ancient Egyptian goddess), Ishihara, Ichikawa.
• TO- Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Kaneko, Kitano.
• M- Maruyama, Masuda, Morimoto, Matila.
• H- Nakahara, Narita, Nakanishi.
• ABOUT- Oyama, Okazaki, Okumura, Ogiva, Ootsuoka.
• WITH- Saida, Sato, Sano, Sakurai, Shibada, Shima.
• T- Tachibana, Takaki, Takeguchi.
• At- Ueda, Uematsu, Ueno, Uchida.
• F- Fujii, Fukushima, Fujimomo, Fujivra
• X- Hattori, Hattochi, Hirai, Hirata, Hirosa, Homma, Hori.
• C- Tsubaki, Tsuji, Tsuchiya
• I- Yamamura, Yano, Yamanaka, Yamamoto, Yamashita, Yamauchi, Yasuda, Yamashita.

And also Enomoto, Yumake also belong to the list of popular and common, according to the data offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames.

Types of surnames by origin

• American
• English
• Jewish

• Italian
• German
• Polish

• Russians
• French
• Japanese

© Author: Alexey Krivenky. Photo: depositphotos.com

Japanese names and their meanings. Male and female Japanese names: list

Do you know Japanese names and their meanings? What names are popular in Japan today? We will answer these and other questions in the article. Japanese names these days tend to include a family name (surname) followed by a personal name. This practice is common in East and Southeast Asia, including in Korean, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and other cultures.

Name comparison

Few people know Japanese names and their meanings. Japanese names are usually written using kanji, which in different cases have completely different pronunciations. The current names of Japan can be compared with the names present in other cultures. Every Japanese has one surname and one name without a patronymic, minus the Japanese royal family - its members do not have a surname.

A lot of people say that the Japanese name meaning "fire" sounds amazing. In Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. Meanwhile, in Western languages ​​(sometimes in Russian), the names of the Japanese are written the other way around - the first name and last name. This nuance corresponds to the European tradition.

Creation of names

Are you interested in Japanese names and their meanings? The Japanese often create names from the characters they have on hand, so there are a huge number of unformatted names in the country. Surnames are more rooted and often rise to toponyms. There are more given names in Japanese than surnames. Female and male names differ due to their typical elements and patterns. Reading Japanese proper names is one of the most intricate details of the Japanese language.

A bit of history

So what are Japanese names and their meanings? As stated above, the names of the Japanese are usually written in hieroglyphs. However, parents can sometimes use the Japanese katakana and hiragana syllabaries to record the names of their babies. In addition, in 1985, the list of formally permitted characters for writing Japanese names was expanded, and now people in this country can use Latin characters (romanji), hentaiganu, syllabary alphabets (manyoganu), as well as special letters, characters like % * ^ $ and so on. But in fact, people usually use hieroglyphs.

Earlier in Japan, people were the property of the autocrat, and their surname reflected their role in the directory. For example, Otomo (comrade, great friend). Names were also given so that everyone would know that a person had made a contribution, some great achievement, and so on.

Before the Meiji Restoration, the common people did not have surnames: if necessary, people used the name of the place of birth. At that time, the Japanese name, meaning "Angel", had not yet been invented. After the Meiji Reconstruction, the upper classes ordered all the plebeians to compose a surname for themselves. Some people preferred historical names, others thought up fortune-telling or turned to priests. This explains why there are so many different surnames in Japan, both in spelling and pronunciation, which makes it difficult to read.

Japanese male names

Many experts study Japanese male names and their meaning. What features do they have? Many classic Japanese names can be easily read and written, but despite this, most parents choose names with unusual pronunciations and characters. Such names do not have an unambiguous spelling or reading.

This trend started in 1990. For example, many boys are named after Hiroto. There were also multiple readings of this name: Yamato, Haruto, Taiga, Daito, Taito, Sora, Masato, and all of them began to be used.

Men's names often end in -ro (Ichiro - "son", but also "bright", "clear"), -ta (Kenta - "big, fat"), contain "ichi" or "ji" (Jiro - " next"), give (Daiiti - "big, great").

Also, in the names of men with a pair of hieroglyphs, their indicator signs are often used.

Japanese female names

Consider Japanese female names and their meaning. Most of the names of Japanese women have an abstract meaning. As a rule, they use such characters as “ma” (truth), “ai” (love), “mi” (beauty), “ti” (mind), “an” (calmness), “yu” (tenderness ) and others. For the most part, names with such inclusions are given to girls, wishing that they would have these qualities in the future.

There are names of a different kind, including hieroglyphs of plants and animals. Names with the hieroglyphs "deer" or "tiger" were considered to be conducive to health. However, today they are considered outdated and almost never used. The exception is the hieroglyph "crane".

Those names containing hieroglyphs related to vegetation are still used frequently. For example, "ine" (rice), "take" (bamboo), "hana" (flower), "kiku" (chrysanthemum), "yanagi" (willow), "momo" (peach) and others. And there are also names with numerals, but they are few and they are quite rare. They came, most likely, from the old custom of naming girls from noble families in the order of their birth. Today, from the numerals, the hieroglyphs "nana" (seven), "ti" (one thousand), "go" (five), "mi" (three) are usually used.

In Japan, there are also names with subtexts of the seasons, time of day, natural phenomena and many others. For example, "kumo" (cloud), "yuki" (snow), "asa" (morning), "natsu" (summer).

Sometimes syllabic alphabets are used instead of hieroglyphs. Along with this, the record of such a name is permanent, unlike words that are written differently (mixed, alphabet, hieroglyphs). So, if a woman's name is written in hiragana, then it will always be written that way, although it can be written in a hieroglyph in meaning. Many Japanese like the name Megumi - blessed.

By the way, among the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, it is possible and unusual, instead of typical ladies' names, to use foreign names: Maria, Anna, Rena, Emiri, Rina and others.

Popular names of Japan

The following male names are popular in Japan:

• Hiroto (large, flying);
• Ren (lotus);
• Yuma (calm, honest);
• Sora (blue sky);
• Yamato (large, peaceful, fat);
• Riku (earth, land);
• Haruto (positive, flying, sunny).

The following female names are considered the most popular in Japan:

• Yui (clothing, tie);
• Aoi (mallow, geranium, marshmallow);
• Yua (love, connect);
• Rin (impressive, majestic);
• Hina (positive, solar, vegetable, greens);
• Yuina (to form, greens, vegetable);
• Sakura (sakura);
• Mana (greens, vegetable, love);
• Saki (bloom, desire).

Japanese nicknames

To form one or a pair of diminutive names from each name, you just need to add the nominal suffix -kun or -chan to the stem. There are two types of stem names. The first is made up of the full name, for example, Yasunari-chan (Yasunari) or Kimiko-chan (Kimiko).

The second type of base is an abbreviation of the full name: Ya:-chan (Yasunari), Kii-chan (Kimiko) and so on. This type conveys the more intimate nature of the relationship (for example, between friends).

There are other ways to create short names, for example, a girl named Megumi can be called Kei-chan. In this case, the character that is written first in Megumi's name can be read as Kei.

It is known that the Japanese are able to create abbreviations by combining the first pair of syllables of two words. This practice is commonly used when composing celebrity names.

So, Kimura Takuya (famous Japanese singer and actor) becomes Kimutaku. Thus, the names of foreign luminaries are sometimes modified: Brad Pitt (pronounced Buraddo Pitto in Japanese) is known as Burapi. Another less recognized way is to double one or two syllables in a human name. For example, Mamiko Noto is often referred to as MamiMami.

It is known that in Japan it is customary to address each other by their last names. And when referring to a person, the Japanese use nominal suffixes for a surname or name.

Japanese emperors

The Japanese emperors do not have surnames, and their vital names are taboo and are not used in the official documents of Japan. Instead, the autocrat is addressed only by title. When the ruler dies, he is given a posthumous name, which consists of two parts: the name of the righteousness praising him and the tenno title: - "ruler". So, if during his lifetime the ruler had the name Mutsuhito, then he will receive a posthumous name - Meiji-tenno (Monarch of highly developed government).

During the life of the ruler, it is also not customary to address him by name, as this is impolite. Instead, various titles apply. For example, Akihito in childhood had a title - Tsugu-no-miya (Infant Tsugu). Similar titles are mostly applied when a person has not received a specific name or is an heir.

If a member of the ruler's family turned into an ordinary person, then the emperor gave him a surname. The surname Minamoto was very popular in the Middle Ages. And on the contrary, if a third-party person entered the family of an autocrat, his surname was lost. For example, the crowned Michiko, before she became the wife of the ruler Akihito, was called Michiko Shoda.

The meaning of ladies' names

So, let's study Japanese female names and their meaning in as much detail as possible. Women's names differ from men's in a more understandable translation and easy pronunciation. This is due to the fact that they are mainly read in kuna, and they also have a simple structure. However, sometimes there are deviations from the rules. In Japan, there are such ladies' names:

• Azumi - a protected house;
• Azemi - thistle flower;
• Ai - love;
• Ayano - shades of silk;
• Akiko - autumn child;
• Aoi - blue;
• Asuka - fragrance;
• Aya - woven or colorful silk;
• Banquo is a child;
• Janko is a pure baby;
• June - submissive;
• Zhina - silver;
• Izumi is the source;
• Yoko is an ocean child;
• Yoshi - fragrant branch;
• Kay - respectful;
• Keen - gold;
• Kemeko - turtle (symbol of long life);
• Keori - fragrance;
• Mizuki is a beautiful moon;
• Miko is a beautiful blessing child;
• Miyuki - beautiful happiness;
• Meiko - child's dance;
• Nobuko is a devoted child;
• Netsumi - summer splendor;
• Ran - water lily;
• Rei - respectful;
• Riko is the child of jasmine;
• Sora - heaven;
• Suzu is a signal;
• Sengo - coral;
• Tomoko - friendly;
• Tamiko - child of abundance;
• Uzeji - a hare;
• Umeko is the child of the blossoming plum tree;
• Fuji - wisteria;
• Hana - flower or favorite;
• Herumi - the splendor of spring;
• Chi - intelligence;
• Chico is a wise little one;
• Chiesa - morning;
• Shizuka - quiet;
• Shika - fragile;
• Shinju - pearl;
• Eiko is a long-lived child;
• Eiko is a beloved baby;
• Eri is a blessed prize;
• Yuko is a superior, helpful kid;
• Yuri - lily;
• Yasu - serene;
• Yasuko is an honest, peaceful child.

The current names of women and their interpretation show the transformation of the attitude of the Japanese towards their customs. Previously, the Japanese name, meaning "moon", for example, was liked by many parents. It sounded like Mizuki. In recent years, the Japanese have increasingly begun to name their babies after manga or anime characters. This phenomenon has already begun to spread throughout the world.

The meaning of male names

Why are Japanese male names and their meanings of interest to many people? Japanese names for men are one of the most difficult parts of the Japanese language, since it is in them that rare and non-standard readings, as well as surprising variations of individual components, are very popular. There are even cases when the spelling of a name is not related to its pronunciation, and only the native speaker can read it.

The names of men, as well as women, have undergone tremendous changes associated with the modification of Japanese values. In Japan, there are the following meanings of male names:

• Akayo is a smart man;
• Aki - bright, autumn;
• Akio is a charmer;
• Akira - clear, brilliant;
• Akihiko is a colorful prince;
• Akihiro - spectacular, learned, smart;
• Areta - the newest;
• Goro is the fifth son;
• Jero is the tenth son;
• Jun - obedient;
• Daisyuk is a great helper;
• Izamu - daring, warrior;
• Isao - merit, honor;
• Iori - addiction;
• Yoshieki - true glory, spectacular luck;
• Ichiro is the first heir;
• Kayoshi - calm;
• Ken is healthy and strong;
• Kero is the ninth son;
• Kichiro is a lucky son;
• Katsu - triumph;
• Makoto - true;
• Mitseru - complete;
• Memoru is a protector;
• Naoki is an honest tree;
• Nobu - faith;
• Norio is a man of principles;
• Ozemu - autocrat;
• Rio is magnificent;
• Raiden - thunder and lightning;
• Ryuu is a dragon;
• Seiji - warning, second (son);
• Susumu - progressive;
• Takayuki - noble, filial happiness;
• Teruo is a bright person;
• Toshi - emergency;
• Temotsu - protecting, full;
• Tetsuo - dragon man;
• Tetsuya is the dragon one transforms into (and possesses its longevity and wisdom);
• Fumayo is an academic, literary child;
• Hideo is a luxurious person;
• Hizoka - saved;
• Hiroki - rich fun, strength;
• Hechiro is the eighth son;
• Shin - true;
• Shoichi - correct;
• Yukayo is a happy person;
• Yuki - grace, snow;
• Yuudei is a great hero;
• Yasuhiro - rich honesty;
• Yasushi - honest, peaceful.

Beautiful names of men in Japan are usually divided into two types: single-component and multi-component. The composition of names with one element includes a verb, as a result of which the name has an ending - for example, Mamoru (intercessor). Or an adjective with an ending - si, for example, Hiroshi (spacious).

Sometimes you can find names with one sign that have an on-reading. Names made up of a pair of hieroglyphs usually indicate the masculine principle. For example: son, warrior, man, husband, courageous and so on. Each of these indicators has its own ending.

In the structure of such names, there is usually a hieroglyph that reveals what reading the name should be read. There are also names consisting of three elements. In this episode, the indicator will be two-link. For example, "eldest son", "youngest son" and so on. It is rare to find a person with a three-link name and a one-component indicator. Infrequently, there are names that contain four components, written in Japanese alphabet, and not in hieroglyphs.

Name Shizuka

The Japanese name meaning "dragon" is popular with locals and foreigners alike. What is the name Shizuka? Interpretation of this name: quiet. The meanings of the letters in this name are as follows:

• Ш - developed intuition, impulsiveness, ambition, diligence, independence.
• And - intelligence, emotionality, kindness, pessimism, uncertainty, creative inclinations.
• Z - independence, developed intuition, intelligence, diligence, pessimism, secrecy.
• U - kindness, developed intuition, sincerity, creative inclinations, spirituality, optimism.
• K - developed intuition, ambition, impulsiveness, practicality, kindness, sincerity.
• A - selfishness, activity, creative inclinations, impulsiveness, ambition, sincerity.

The number of the name Shizuka is 7. It hides the ability to direct abilities into the world of philosophy or art, into religious activity, the sphere of science. But the results of the activities of people with this name largely depend on a deep analysis of already accomplished victories and on the true planning of their own future. Knowing other people, they often turn into leaders and teachers of the highest class. But if they are engaged in commercial or financial affairs, then here they themselves will need someone's help.

The planet named after Shizuka is Mercury, the element is cold dry air, the sign of the zodiac is Virgo and Gemini. The color of this name is changeable, colorful, mixed, day is Wednesday, metals are bismuth, mercury, semiconductors, minerals are agate, emerald, topaz, porphyry, rock crystal, glass, sardonyx, plants are parsley, basil, celery, walnut tree, valerian , animals - weasel, monkey, fox, parrot, stork, thrush, nightingale, ibis, lark, flying fish.

Tell me beautiful Japanese names and surnames (female)

Ksyusha Darova

_Yuki_nyan_ sweet

Female Japanese names.
Azumi is a safe place to live
Azemi - thistle flower
Ai - love
Ayano - the color of silk
Akemi - bright beauty
Aki - autumn, bright


Akane - shiny, red
Amaterezu - bright in the sky
Amaya - evening rain
Aoi - blue
Arizou - noble look
Asuka - fragrance
Asemi - morning beauty



Ayako is an academic kid
Ayam - iris
Banquo is a literary child
Janko is a pure child
Jun - obedient
Zhina - silver
Izumi - fountain
Izanami - the woman who invites
Yoko is an ocean child, a confident child
Yoshi - fragrant branch, good bay
Yoshiko - fragrant, good, noble child
Yoshshi - good
Kam - turtle (symbol of long life)
Kayao - beautiful generation, increase generation
Keiko is a happy, respectful child
Kay - respectful
Kyoko is a pure child
Kiku - chrysanthemum
Kimi is an abbreviation for names beginning with "Kimi"
Kimiko - beautiful child of history, dear child, ruling child
Keen - golden
Kyoko is a child of the capital
Cotone - the sound of a harp
Koheku - amber
Kumiko is a beautiful, long-lived child
Kaed - maple
Kezu - branch, blessed, harmonious
Kazuko is a harmonious child
Kazumi - harmonious beauty
Cameio - turtle (symbol of long life)
Kemeko - turtle (symbol of long life)
Keori - fragrance
Kaoru - fragrance
Katsumi - winning beauty
Marie - Beloved
Megumi - blessed
Miwa - beautiful harmony, three rings
Midori - green
Mizuki is a beautiful moon
Mizeki - flower of beauty
Miyoko - beautiful generation child, third generation child
Mika - first sound
Miki - beautiful tree, three trees
Miko is a beautiful child of blessing
Minori - beautiful harbor, village of beautiful areas
Mineko is a beautiful child
Mitsuko - full child (blessings), bright child
Miho - beautiful bay
Michi - trail
Michiko - a child on the right track, a thousand beauties of a child
Miyuki - beautiful happiness
Miyako is a beautiful baby in March
Mommo - peach
Momo - a hundred blessings, a hundred rivers
Momoko is the child of the peach
Moriko - forest child
Madoka - calm
Mezumi - increased beauty, true purity
Masako - fix, control baby
Mathemy - proper, graceful beauty
May - dance
Meiko - child's dance
Mayumi - true bow, true absorbed beauty
Mackie - true report, tree
Maine is true
Manami - the beauty of love
Mariko - true cause baby
Mesa is an abbreviation for names beginning with "Mesa"
Nana - seven
Naoki - an honest tree
Naomi - above all beauty
Nobuko is a devoted child
Nori is an abbreviation for names beginning with "Nori"
Noriko is a child of principles
Neo - honest
Neoko is an honest child
Netsuko - summer child
Netsumi - summer beauty
Ran - water lily
Reiko is a beautiful, suave child
Ray - polite
Ren - water lily
Rika - rated flavor
Rico is a jasmine child
Ryoko is a good child
Sake - cape
Setsuko is a temperate child
Sora - sky
Suzu - call
Susumu - progressive
Suzyum - sparrow
Sumiko - clear, thinking child, pure child
Sayeri - small lily
Sackera - cherry blossom
Sekiko - blooming child, earlier child
Sengo - coral
Sechiko is a happy child
Teruko is a bright child
Tomiko - the child who kept beauty
Tomoko is a friendly, wise child
Toshi - emergency
Toshiko is a child of many years, a priceless child
Tsukiko - moon child
Takeko - tall, noble child
Tekera - treasure
Tamiko - child of abundance
Uzeji - rabbit
Umeko - plum blossom child
Ume-elv - plum blossom
Fuji - wisteria
Fumiko - child, keeping

Filicia latitude

Surnames: Sato: Assistant + Glitz
２Suzuki 鈴木bell (bell) + wood
３Takahashi 高橋high+bridge
４Tanaka 田中rice field+middle
５Watanabe 渡辺／渡邊crossing+surroundings
６Itō: 伊藤and + wisteria
７Yamamoto 山本mountain+base
８Nakamura中村middle+village
9Kobayashi 小林small forest
10Kato: 加藤 add + wisteria
11 Yoshida 吉田 happiness + rice field
12Yamada 山田mountain + rice field
13 Sasaki 佐々木 assistants + tree
14Yamaguchi 山口mountain + mouth entrance
15 Saito: 斎藤／齋藤 purification (religious) + wisteria
16Matsumoto 松本pine+base
17Inoe井上well+top
18Kimura 木村tree+village
19Hayashi林forest
20Shimizu 清水pure water
21Yamazaki／Yamasaki山崎mountain+cape
22Mori森forest
23Abe 阿部 criminal, shadow; sector;
24Ikeda 池田pond+rice field
25Hashimoto 橋本 bridge + base
26Yamashita 山下mountain+under, down
27Ishikawa 石川stone+river
28Nakajima／Nakashima中島middle+island
29Maeda 前田 behind + rice field
30Fujita 藤田 wisteria+rice field
31Ogawa 小川 small river
32 Goto: 後藤 behind, future + wisteria
33 Okada 岡田 hill + rice field
34Hasegawa 長谷川long+valley+river
35Murakami村上village+top
36Kondo 近藤 close + wisteria
37Ishii 石井stone+well
38 Saito: 斉藤／齊藤 equal + wisteria
39Sakamoto 坂本slope+base
40Iendo: 遠藤 distant + wisteria
41Aoki 青木 green, young + tree
42Fujii 藤井 wisteria+well
43Nishimura 西村west+village
44Fukuda 福田 happiness, prosperity + rice field
45Oota 太田big+rice field
46Miura三浦three bays
47Okamoto 岡本 hill+base
48Matsuda 松田pine+rice field
49Nakagawa 中川 middle+river
50 Nakano 中野 middle + [uncultivated] field; plain
51Harada 原田plain, field; steppe + rice field
52Fujiwara 藤原 wisteria+plain, field; steppe
53It is 小野small+[uncultivated] field; plain
54Tamura 田村rice field + village
55Takeuchi 竹内bamboo+inside
56Kaneko 金子gold+child
57Wada 和田harmony+rice field
58Nakayama 中山 middle+mountain
59Ishida 石田stone+rice field
60Ueda/Ueta上田top+rice field
61 Morita 森田 forest+rice field
62Hara 原plain, field; steppe
63Shibata 柴田 brushwood+rice field
64Sakai 酒井alcohol+well
65Kudou: 工藤 worker+wisteria
66Yokoyama横山side, side of the mountain
67Miyazaki 宮崎 temple, palace + cape
68Miyamoto 宮本 temple, palace + base
69Uchida 内田inside+rice field
70 Takagi 高木 tall tree
71Ando: 安藤calm + wisteria
72Taniguchi 谷口valley+mouth entrance
73Oono 大野big + [uncultivated] field; plain
74Maruyama丸山round+mountain
75Imai今井now+well
76Takada／ Takata 高田high+rice field
77Fujimoto 藤本 wisteria + base
78Takeda 武田military+rice field
79Murata 村田village + rice field
80Ueno上野top+[uncultivated] field; plain
81Sugiyama 杉山Japanese cedar+mountain
82Masuda 増田enlarge+rice field
83Sugawara 菅原sedge + plain, field; steppe
84Hirano 平野 level + [uncultivated] field; plain
85Ootsuka 大塚big+hill
86Kojima小島small+island
87Chiba 千葉Thousand leaves
88Kubo久保long+support
89Matsui 松井pine+well
90Iwasaki岩崎rock+cape
91Sakurai 桜井／櫻井sakura+well
92Kinoshita 木下wood+under, bottom
93 Noguchi 野口 [uncultivated] field; plain + mouth, entrance
94Matsuo 松尾pine+tail
95 Nomura 野村 [uncultivated] field; plain + village
96Kikuchi 菊地chrysanthemum+earth
97Sano 佐野 assistant + [uncultivated] field; plain
98Oonishi大西great west
99Sugimoto 杉本Japanese cedar+roots
100Arai新井new well
101Hamada 浜田／濱田 shore + rice field
102Ichikawa 市川city+river
103Furukawa 古川old river
104 Mizuno 水野 water + [uncultivated] field; plain
105Komatsu 小松little pine
106Shimada 島田 island+rice field
107Koyama 小山small mountain
108Takano 高野 high + [uncultivated] field; plain
109Yamauchi 山内mountain+inside
110Nishida 西田west+rice field
111Kikuchi 菊池chrysanthemum+pond
112Nishikawa 西川west+river
113Igarashi五十嵐50 Storms
114 Kitamura 北村 north+village
115Yasuda 安田calm + rice field
116 Nakata／ Nakada 中田 middle+rice field
117Kawaguchi川

Emina Kulieva

Azumi is a safe place to live
Azemi - thistle flower
Ai - love
Ayano - the color of silk
Akemi - bright beauty
Aki - autumn, bright
Akiko - autumn child or smart child
Akira - bright, clear, dawn
Akane - shiny, red
Amaterezu - bright in the sky
Amaya - evening rain
Aoi - blue
Arizou - noble look
Asuka - fragrance
Asemi - morning beauty
Atsuko is a hardworking, warm child
Aya - colorful or woven silk
Ayaka - colorful flower, fragrant summer
Ayako is an academic kid
Ayam - iris

Drawing up a harmonious combination of a surname and a name for the Japanese is a complex science with long traditions. In Japan, there is a special code 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.

In Japan, there is no concept of "namesake". The Japanese did not have the concept of “fashionable names”, with the exception of “ordinal” male names. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the Japanese use their surnames much more often than personal names.

Last name first, 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 followed by family name) when written in romaji (Latin) or kiriji (Cyrillic). For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their surname in capital letters so that it is not confused with the given name.

Europeans, who rarely attach importance to the etymology of proper names, constantly face difficulties in reading, translating and transcribing Japanese given names and surnames. Modern Japanese can tell you how to read their names, but they do not always dare to translate nominal hieroglyphs into foreign languages. The Japanese are creative with 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 appear?
Until the second half of the 19th century, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames in Japan. The rest of the population of Japan managed with personal names and nicknames. The number of aristocratic families in Japan is limited and unchanged from antiquity. The most noble clans of Japanese aristocrats are the Fujiwara clan, the common name is "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 rule") in 1868-1911. Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants, artisans and merchants to choose any surname. Some Japanese instead of a 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 served. Creative people themselves came up with sonorous surnames.

Most of the surnames of modern Japanese are associated with peasant life, the cultivation of rice and its processing. For example, the surname Khakamada consists of two characters: "hakama" (the lower part of the traditional Japanese costume, men's pants or women's skirt) and "da" ("rice field"). Judging by the "peasant" meaning of the hieroglyphs, it can be assumed that the ancestors of Irina Khakamada 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 (Show Mercy) and members of his family. 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 samurai shogun Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, or Yoritomo from the Minamoto clan (translated as “source”), who laid the foundation for the formation of a privileged class-estate of the samurai.
Samurai chose their personal names depending on life circumstances: promotion, relocation in connection with the service, etc. The fall of the last Tokugawa shogunate (“River of Virtue”) and the transfer of power to Emperor Mutsuhito secured the exclusive privileges of the military for many years.
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 - the first son, Jiro - the second, Saburo - the third, Shiro - the fourth, Goro - the 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. Until now, the suffixes “-ichi” and “-kazu” (“first son”), “-ji” (“second son”) and “-zo” (“third son”) are often used in Japanese personal male names.
The emperors of Japan are not usually called the same and distinguished by serial number, like commoners. According to an old tradition, the names of Japanese emperors are composed with the second hieroglyph "compassion, mercy, sympathy." Emperor Mutsuhito's name is a combination of two characters for "friendly, warm" and "compassion". Emperor Hirohito, who ruled Japan from 1926-1989, was raised by samurai veterans of the Russo-Japanese War.

After the collapse of the empire, the nuclear bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the complete and unconditional surrender of Hirohito (approximately - “Abundant Mercy”), in a state of “deep shock”, he showed compassion for his own people, appealed to the mercy of the winners and renounced his divine origin.
Since the 19th-20th centuries, wealthy and influential samurai have retained their highest positions in civil and military government. Others became the founders of Japanese entrepreneurship. A 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 a military instructor Kurosawa (“Black Swamp”) Akira (“bright”, “clear”) can be roughly translated into Russian as “light in the dark” or “enlightenment”. Perhaps, only thanks to the well-given name, an artist by education, Akira Kurosawa became a director, a classic of Japanese and world cinema, changing our understanding of the world (“swamp”).
Most Japanese female 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" hieroglyphs, but simply in hiragana (the Japanese alphabet used to write Chinese and Japanese words).
So a new list of 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 of more than 500 characters to compile the official name of the little Japanese.

Very extravagant signs were included in the new list of nominal hieroglyphs, worked out in the offices of the Ministry of Justice of Japan. 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 characters were excluded from the new name list: “cancer tumor”, “prostitute”, “buttock”, “hemorrhoids”, “curse”, “debauchery”, “malice”, etc. Some citizens The countries of the rising sun reacted with complete indifference to the "nominal scandal".

In modern Japan, every adult Japanese can take a pseudonym for himself, 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 fleeting little things in life, even as important as a personal name. Perhaps that is why the Japanese rarely give children the names of their venerable ancestors.
http://miuki.info/2010/12/yaponskie-familii/

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 meaning in Russian as of April 2010.

As already mentioned in the article about Japanese names, you can see that most Japanese surnames mean various rural landscapes.

Surname position Japanese surnames in Russian Japanese surnames in hieroglyphs Character meanings of Japanese surnames １ Sato: 佐藤 assistant+wisteria ２ Suzuki 鈴木 bell (bell)+tree ３ Takahashi 高橋 tall+bridge ４ Tanaka 田中 rice field+middle ５ Watanabe 渡辺／渡邊 to cross+surroundings ６ Ito: 伊藤 I+wisteria ７ Yamamoto 山本 mountain+base ８ Nakamura 中村 middle+village 9 Kobayashi 小林 small forest 10 Kato: 加藤 add+wisteria 11 Yoshida 吉田 happiness+rice field 12 Yamada 山田 mountain+rice field 13 Sasaki 佐々木 assistants+ tree 14 Yamaguchi 山口 mountain + mouth, entrance 15 Saito: 斎藤／齋藤 purification (religious) + wisteria 16 Matsumoto 松本 pine tree + base 17 Inoe 井上 well + top 18 Kimura 木村 tree + village 19 Hayashi 林 forest 20 Shimizu 清水 clear water 21 Yamazaki ／ Yamasaki 山崎 mountain + cape 22 Mori 森 forest 23 Abe 阿部 corner, shadow; sector; 24 Ikeda 池田 pond+rice field 25 Hashimoto 橋本 bridge+base 26 Yamashita 山下 mountain+under, bottom 27 Ishikawa 石川 rock+river 28 Nakajima／Nakashima 中島 middle+island 29 Maeda 前田 behind+rice field 30 Fu jita 藤田 wisteria+rice field 31 Ogawa 小川 small river 32 Goto: 後藤 behind, future+wisteria 33 Okada 岡田 hill+rice field 34 Hasegawa 長谷川 long+valley+river 35 Murakami 村上 village+top 36 Kondo 近藤 close+wisteria 37 Ishii 石井 rock+colo Dec 38 Saito: 斉藤 ／齊藤 equal+wisteria 39 Sakamoto 坂本 slope+base 40 Iendo: 遠藤 distant+wisteria 41 Aoki 青木 green, young+tree 42 Fujii 藤井 wisteria+well 43 Nishimura 西村 west+village 44 Fukuda福田 happiness, prosperity + rice field 45 Oota 太田 large+rice field 46 Miura 三浦 three bays 47 Okamoto 岡本 hill+base 48 Matsuda 松田 pine+rice field 49 Nakagawa 中川 middle+river 50 Nakano 中野 middle+[uncultivated] field; plain 51 Harada 原田 plain, field; steppe+rice field 52 Fujiwara 藤原 wisteria+plain, field; steppe 53 Ono 小野 small+[uncultivated] field; plain 54 Tamura 田村 paddy field+village 55 Takeuchi 竹内 bamboo+inside 56 Kaneko 金子 gold+child 57 Wada 和田 harmony+rice field 58 Nakayama 中山 middle+mountain 59 Ishida 石田 rock+rice field 60 Ueda/Ueta 上田 top+rice field 61 Morita 森田 forest + rice field 62 Hara 原 plain, field; steppe 63 Shibata 柴田 brushwood+rice field 64 Sakai 酒井 alcohol+well 65 Kudo: 工藤 worker+wisteria 66 Yokoyama 横山 side, mountain side 67 Miyazaki 宮崎 temple, palace+cape 68 Miyamoto 宮本 temple, palace+base 69 Uchida 内田 inside + rice field 70 Takagi 高木 tall tree 71 Ando: 安藤 calm+wisteria 72 Taniguchi 谷口 valley+mouth entrance 73 Oono 大野 large+[uncultivated] field; plain 74 Maruyama 丸山 round+mountain 75 Imai 今井 now+well 76 Takata／ Takata 高田 high+rice field 77 Fujimoto 藤本 wisteria+base 78 Takeda 武田 military+rice field 79 Murata 村田 village+rice field 80 Ueno上野 top+[uncultivated] field; plain 81 Sugiyama 杉山 Japanese cedar+mountain 82 Masuda 増田 increase+rice field 83 Sugawara 菅原 sedge+plain, field; steppe 84 Hirano 平野 flat+[uncultivated] field; plain 85 Ootsuka 大塚 big+hill 86 Kojima 小島 small+island 87 Chiba 千葉 thousand leaves 88 Kubo 久保 long+support 89 Matsui 松井 pine tree+well 90 Iwasaki 岩崎 rock+cape 91 Sakurai 桜井／櫻井 sakura+well 92 Kinoshita 木下 tree+under , bottom 93 Noguchi 野口 [uncultivated] field; plain+mouth, entrance 94 Matsuo 松尾 pine+tail 95 Nomura 野村 [uncultivated] field; plain+village 96 Kikuchi 菊地 chrysanthemum+earth 97 Sano 佐野 helper+[uncultivated] field; plain 98 Oonishi 大西 great west 99 Sugimoto 杉本 Japanese cedar+roots 100 Arai 新井 new well 101 Hamada 浜田／濱田 shore+ricefield 102 Ichikawa 市川 city+river 103 Furukawa 古川 old river 104 Mizuno 水野 water + [uncultivated] field; plain 105 Komatsu 小松 small pine tree 106 Shimada 島田 island+rice field 107 Koyama 小山 small mountain 108 Takano 高野 high+[uncultivated] field; plain 109 Yamauchi 山内 mountain+inside 110 Nishida 西田 west+rice field 111 Kikuchi 菊池 chrysanthemum+pond 112 Nishikawa 西川 west+river 113 Igarashi 五十嵐 50 storms 114 Kitamura 北村north+village 115 Yasuda 安田 calm+rice field 116 Nakata／ Nakada 中田 middle +rice field 117 Kawaguchi 川口 river+mouth, entrance 118 Hirata 平田 flat+rice field 119 Kawasaki 川崎 river+cape 120 Iida 飯田 boiled rice, food+rice field 121 Yoshikawa 吉川 happiness+river 122 Honda 本田base + rice field 123 Kubota 久保田 long+maintain+rice field 124 Sawada 沢田／澤田 swamp+rice field 125 Tsuji 辻 street 126 Seki 関／關 Outpost; barrier 127 Yoshimura 吉村 happiness+village 128 Watanabe 渡部 cross+part; sector; 129 Iwata 岩田 rock+rice field 130 Nakanishi 中西 west+middle 131 Hattori 服部 clothing, subordinate+ part; sector; 132 Higuchi 樋口 gutter; drain+mouth, entrance 133 Fukushima 福島 happiness, prosperity+island 134 Kawakami 川上 river+top 135 Nagai 永井 eternal well 136 Matsuoka 松岡 pine tree+hill 137 Taguchi 田口 rice field+mouth 138 Yamanaka 山中 mountain+middle a 139 Morimoto 森本 wood + base 140 Tsuchiya 土屋 land+house 141 Yano 矢野 arrow+[uncultivated] field; plain 142 Hirose 広瀬／廣瀬 wide fast current 143 Ozawa 小沢／小澤 small swamp 144 Akiyama 秋山 autumn+mountain 145 Ishihara 石原 stone+plain, field; steppe 146 Matsushita 松下 pine+under, bottom 147 Baba 馬場 horse+seat 148 Oohashi 大橋 big bridge 149 Matsuura 松浦 pine+boo

http://www.kanjiname.ru/stati/67-yaponskie-familii

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 names of heroes mean? This question is asked by many people who have looked at the masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki at least once in their lives.

Japanese names consist of a genus name and a proper name. They are usually written using hieroglyphs, although since 1985 other characters have been allowed 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 court of the emperor or speak of merit 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 the customs of the West to Japan, ordered everyone to invent family names. This circumstance gave rise to many troubles associated with the incorrect spelling of a particular 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 are: Sato (two hieroglyphs meaning the words helper and wisteria), Suzuki (bell ringing + tree) and Takahashi (high bridge).

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

Writing and reading Japanese surnames is not as difficult as given names. Japanese surnames and their meaning are often lost next to given names, which are often difficult to spell and pronounce due to their diversity. This does not apply to classical names, but after 1990, characters began to appear in the names of young Japanese that cannot always be read unambiguously.

Nominal suffixes

In the tradition of Japan, there are nominal suffixes -chan and -kun. With their help, diminutive names are formed. The full name or an abbreviated one can be taken as a basis, depending on the proximity of the relationship between the bearer of the name and the speaking person.

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

Surname types

It is known that in Japan there is still one family that does not have a last name. This is the imperial family. With the name of the emperor, too, not everything is simple. The emperor is not usually called by name. In childhood, he has one name, after accession to the throne - another, and after death - a third.

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

The most common type of surname is kunny, about 80% of them.

Women's names in Japan

As in many cultures, in Japan, names are most often given in the hope that the child will have the qualities that the name indicates. Therefore, female names often contain hieroglyphs meaning beauty, love, intelligence, calmness, tenderness, truth, and other features 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 now. In popular female names, you can find the hieroglyphs rice, flower, chrysanthemum, bamboo, willow and peach.

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

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

Until 1868, the hieroglyph -ko (child) in the name of a girl 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 sex is also -mi (beauty). It can occur in any part of the name.

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

Male names in Japan

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

Often male names include:

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

Due to the difficulties of spelling and reading, Japanese surnames in English do not always accurately convey their meaning. After all, many names are written in paired 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 attached to the names of the Chinese or Japanese. After all, in Russia a couple of letters is a set of 2-4 sounds, and in Japan - a whole sentence.

Attention, only TODAY!

Japanese names and their meanings...

A Japanese given name (人名 jinmei?) these days usually 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 in kanji, which can have many different pronunciations on different occasions.

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 of 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 toponyms. There are more 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.

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

Popular boy names

Year/Place 1 2 3 4 5

1915 Kiyoshi Saburou Shigeru Masao Tadashi

1925 Kiyoshi Shigeru Isamu Saburou Hiroshi

1935 Hiroshi Kiyoshi Isamu Minoru Susumu

1945 Masaru Isamu Susumu Kiyoshi Katsutoshi

1955 Takashi Makoto Shigeru Osamu Yutaka

1965 Makoto Hiroshi Osamu Naoki Tetsuya

1975 Makoto Daisuke Manabu Tsuyoshi Naoki

1985 Daisuke Takuya Naoki Kenta Kazuya

1995 Takuya Kenta Shouta Tsubasa Daiki

2000 Shou Shouta Daiki Yuuto Takumi

Popular names for girls

Year/Place 1 2 3 4 5

1915 Chiyo Chiyoko Fumiko Shizuko Kiyo

1925 Sachiko Fumiko Miyoko Hirsako Yoshiko

1935 Kazuko Sachiko Setsuko Hiroko Hisako

1945 Kazuko Sachiko Youko Setsuko Hiroko

1955 Youko Keiko Kyouko Sachiko Kazuko

1965 Akemi Mayumi Yumiko Keiko Kumiko

1975 Kumiko Yuuko Mayumi Tomoko Youko

1985 Ai Mai Mami Megumi Kaori

1995 Misaki Ai Haruka Kana Mai

2000 Sakura Yuuka Misaki Natsuki Nanami

Ai - F - Love

Aiko - F - Beloved 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 the Buddha

Anda - F - Met in the field

Aneko - F - Big sister

Anzu - F - Apricot

Arata - M - Inexperienced

Arisu - F - Yap. form of the name Alice

Asuka - F - Aroma 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 - A thousand years

Chiyo - F - Eternity

Chizu - F - A thousand storks (longevity is implied)

Cho - F - Butterfly

Dai - M / F - Great / th

Daichi - M - Great First Son

Daiki - M - Great Tree

Daisuke - M - Great Help

Etsu - F - Delightful, charming

Etsuko - F - A 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 the spring

Haruka - F - Far

Haruko - F - Spring

Hachiro - M - Eighth son

Hideaki - M - Brilliant, excellent

Hikaru - M / F - Light, shining

Hide - F - Prolific

Hiroko - F - Generous

Hiroshi - M - Generous

Hitomi - F - Doubly beautiful

Hoshi - F - Star

Hotaka - M - The 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 purity

Jomei - M - Carrier of light

Junko - F - Pure child

Juro - M - Tenth son

Kado - M - Gate

Kaede - F - Maple Leaf

Kagami - F - Mirror

Kameko - F - Child of the turtle (symbol of longevity)

Kanaya - M - Zealous

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 - Sweet son

Kei - F - Respectful

Keiko - F - Adored

Keitaro - M - Blessed

Ken - M - Zdorovyak

Ken`ichi - M - Strong first son

Kenji - M - Strong second son

Kenshin - M - Heart of the sword

Kenta - M - Healthy and bold

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 - Purity

Kiyoshi - M - Quiet

Kohaku - M/F - Amber

Kohana - F - Small flower

Koko - F - Stork

Koto - F - Jap. musical instrument "koto"

Kotone - F - Sound of a koto

Kumiko - F - Forever beautiful

Kuri - F - Chestnut

Kuro - M - Ninth son

Kyo - M - Consent (or red)

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 - Straight (human)

Masakazu - M - First son of Masa

Mashiro - M - Wide

Matsu - F - Pine

Mayako - F - Maya Child

Mayoko - F - Child Mayo

Mayuko - F - Child of Mayu

Michi - F - Fair

Michie - F - Gracefully hanging flower

Michiko - F - Beautiful and wise

Michio - M - Man with the strength of three thousand

Midori - F - Green

Mihoko - F - Baby Miho

Mika - F - New moon

Miki - M/F - Stalk

Mikio - M - Three woven trees

Mina - F - South

Minako - F - Beautiful child

Mine - F - Brave Protector

Minoru - M - Seed

Misaki - F - The flowering of beauty

Mitsuko - F - Child of Light

Miya - F - Three arrows

Miyako - F - Beautiful baby March

Mizuki - F - Beautiful moon

Momoko - F - Peach Child

Montaro - M - Big guy

Moriko - F - Child of the forest

Morio - M - Forest boy

Mura - F - Rustic

Mutsuko - F - Child of Mutsu

Nahoko - F - Baby Naho

Nami - F - Wave

Namiko - F - Child of the waves

Nana - F - Apple

Naoko - F - Obedient child

Naomi - F - "Beauty First"

Nara - F - Oak

Nariko - F - Sissy

Natsuko - F - Summer child

Natsumi - F - Beautiful 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 - Hope

Nyoko - F - Gemstone

Oki - F - Mid-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 of Risa

Ritsuko - F - Child of Ritsu

Roka - M - White crest of the wave

Rokuro - M - Sixth son

Ronin - M - Samurai without a master

Rumiko - F - Baby Rumi

Ruri - F - Emerald

Ryo - M - Excellent

Ryoichi - M - First son of Ryo

Ryoko - F - Child Ryo

Ryota - M - Strong (obese)

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 of Sae

Saki - F - Cape (geographic)

Sakiko - F - Baby Saki

Sakuko - F - Baby Saku

Sakura - F - Cherry flowers

Sanako - F - Child Sana

Sango - F - Coral

Saniiro - M - Wonderful

Satu - F - Sugar

Sayuri - F - Little lily

Seiichi - M - First son of Sei

Sen - M - Spirit of the tree

Shichiro - M - Seventh son

Shika - F - Deer

Shima - M - Islander

Shina - F - Worthy

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 - Similar to bamboo

Takeshi - M - Bamboo tree or brave

Takumi - M - Craftsman

Tama - M/F - Jewel

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's tail

Toru - M - Sea

Toshi - F - Mirror Reflection

Toshiro - M - Talented

Toya - M/F - Door of the house

Tsukiko - F - Child of the Moon

Tsuyu - F - Morning dew

Udo - M - Ginseng

Ume - F - Plum Blossom

Umeko - F - Child of plum blossoms

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 - Practicing yoga

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 - Like a bow (weapon)

Yumiko - F - Arrow Child

Yuri - F - Lilia

Yuriko - F - Child of a lily

Yuu - M - Noble blood

Yuudai - M - Great Hero

Nagisa - "coast"

Kaworu - "to smell sweet"

Ritsuko - "science", "attitude"

Akagi - "mahogany"

shinji - "death"

Misato - "beautiful city"

Katsuragi - "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".

Akito - Glittering Man

Kuramori Reika - Protector of Treasure and Cold Summer Rurouni - The Wandering Wanderer

Himura - Burning Village

Shishio Makoto - True Hero

Takani Megumi - Sublime Love

Shinomori Aoshi - "Green Bamboo Forest"

Makimachi Misao - "Ruling the City"

Saito Hajime - "The Beginning of Human Life"

Hiko Seijuro - "Justice Done"

Seta Sojiro - "Comprehensive Forgiveness"

Mirai is the future

Hajime - boss

Mamoru - protector

Jibo - earth

hikari - light

Atarashiki - transformations

Namida - tears

Sora - sky

Ginga - the universe

Eve is alive

Izzy - doctor

Usagi the rabbit

Tsukino - Lunar

Ray - soul

Hino - fire

Ami - rain

Mitsuno - water

Corey - ice, icy

makoto is true

Cinema - air, forest

Minako - Venus

Aino - loving

Setsuna - Guard

Mayo - castle, palace

Haruka - 1) distance, 2) heavenly

Teno - heavenly

Michiru - way

Cayo - sea

Hotaru - light

Tomo is a friend.

Kaori - soft, affectionate

Yumi - Fragrant Beauty

Hakufu - Noble Sign

How to name a child?

For future parents in Japan, they release special collections of names - like ours in general - so that they can choose the most suitable for their child. In general, the process of choosing (or inventing) 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 wish of the parents to become strong, wise or courageous, for which the hieroglyphs of strength, wisdom and courage are used, respectively.

3. you can also go from choosing the hieroglyphs you like the most (in various spellings) and combining them with each other.

4. Recently, it has become popular to name a child, focusing 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, they believe that the number of features in the hieroglyphs of the first and last name 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

Personal pronouns

Japanese nominal suffixes and personal pronouns

Nominal suffixes

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

Tyan (chan) - A close analogue of the "diminutive" suffixes of the Russian language. Usually used in relation to the younger or lower in the social sense, with whom one develops a close relationship. In the use of this suffix, the element of "lisping" is felt. Usually used when referring to adults to children, boys to their beloved girls, girlfriends to each other, small children to each other. The use of this suffix in relation to people who are not very close, equal in position to the speaker, is impolite. For example, if a guy refers to a peer of the same age with whom he does not “twist an affair”, then he shows incorrectness. A girl who addresses a fellow peer with whom she doesn’t “twist an affair” is, in fact, rude.

Kun (kun) - An analogue of the appeal "comrade". Most often used between men or in relation to guys. Indicates, rather, some "official", however, close relations. Say, between classmates, partners or friends. It can also be used in relation to the younger or lower in the social sense, when this circumstance does not need to be emphasized.

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

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

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

Without suffix - Close relationship, 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. Addressing by surname without a suffix is ​​a sign of familiar, but "detached" relationships (a typical example is the relationship of schoolchildren or students).

San (san) - An analogue of the Russian "mister / madam". A general indication of respect. Often used to communicate with strangers, or when all other suffixes do not fit. Used in relation to elders, including older relatives (brothers, sisters, parents).

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

Si (shi) - "Sir", is used exclusively in official documents after the surname.

Fujin (fujin) - "Lady", is used exclusively in official documents after the surname.

Kohai (kouhai) - Appeal to the younger. Especially often - at school in relation to those who are younger than the speaker.

Senpai (senpai) - Appeal to the 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. It is now considered obsolete and almost never occurs in communication. In ancient times, it was actively used when samurai addressed each other.

Sensei (sensei) - "Teacher". Used in relation to the actual teachers and professors, as well as to doctors and politicians.

Senshu (senshu) - "Athlete". Used in relation to famous athletes.

Zeki (zeki) - "Sumo wrestler". Used in relation to famous sumo wrestlers.

Ue (ue) - "Senior". A rare and obsolete respectful suffix used for older family members. It is not used with names - only with designations of the position in the family ("father", "mother", "brother".

Sama (sama) - The highest degree of respect. Appeal to gods and spirits, to spiritual authorities, a girl to her lover, servants to noble masters, etc. It roughly translates into Russian as "respected, dear, venerable."

Jin (jin) - "One of". "Saya-jin" means "one of the Sai".

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 oneself using personal pronouns. The choice of a 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"

Watakushi - A very polite female version.

Washi - Obsolete polite variant. Does not depend on gender.

Wai is the Kansai equivalent of "washi".

Boku (Boku) - Familiar youth male version. It is rarely used by women; in this case, “non-femininity” is emphasized. Used in poetry.

Ore - Not a very polite option. Purely masculine. Kind of cool. ^_^

Ore-sama (Ore-sama) - "Great I". A rare form, an extreme degree of boasting.

Daiko or naiko (Daikou/Naikou) - An analogue of "ore-sama", but somewhat less boastful.

Sessha - A very polite form. Usually used by samurai when addressing their masters.

Hisyo (Hishou) - "Insignificant". A very polite form, now practically not used.

Gusei - An analogue of "hisyo", but somewhat less pejorative.

Oira (Oira) - Polite form. Commonly used by monks.

Chin - A special form that only the emperor can use.

Ware (Ware) - Polite (formal) form, translated as [I / you / he] "himself". It is used when it is necessary to especially express the importance of "I". For example, in spells (“I conjure.” 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 in vasurete”.

[Speaker's name or position] - Used by or with children, usually within a family. Let's say a girl named Atsuko can say "Atsuko is thirsty". Or her older brother, referring to her, can say "Brother will bring you juice." There is an element of "lisping" in this, but such an appeal is quite acceptable.

Group with the meaning "We"

Watashi-tachi - A polite option.

Ware-ware - A very polite, formal variant.

Bokura - An impolite variant.

Touhou - The usual variant.

Group with the meaning "You / You":

Anata - General polite variant. Also, the usual address of a wife to her husband ("dear".

Anta (Anta) - A less polite option. Usually used by young people. A slight hint of disrespect.

Otaku (Otaku) - Literally translated as "your home." Very polite and rare form. Due to the arrogant use of the Japanese non-formals in relation to each other, the second meaning was fixed - “fan, psycho”.

Kimi - A polite variant, often between friends. Used in poetry.

Kijo (Kijou) - "Lady". A very polite way of addressing a lady.

Onushi (Onushi) - "Insignificant." An obsolete form of polite speech.

Omae (Omae) - Familiar (when referring to an enemy - insulting) option. Usually used by men in relation to the socially younger (father to daughter, say).

Temae / Temee (Temae / Temee) - Offensive male version. Usually towards the enemy. Something like "bastard" or "bastard".

Onore - An offensive variant.

Kisama - Very offensive. Translated with dots. ^_^ Oddly enough, it literally translates as "noble lord."

Japanese names

Modern Japanese names consist of two parts - the family name, which comes first, and the given name, which comes second. True, the Japanese often write their names in "European order" (first name - last name) 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 the name (due to the above-described inconsistency).

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

Ancient names and surnames

Before the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames. The rest of the population of Japan 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 to inherit. In 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 surnames of aristocrats has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them date back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most revered 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 kind, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and wives for emperors were chosen from among women.

The following in nobility were the Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Saionji, Sanjo, Imaidegawa, Tokudaiji, and Kaoin clans. From among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed.

So, representatives of the Saionji clan served as imperial stables (meryo no gogen). Then 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 the power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans of Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. A number of their representatives at different times were the shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

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

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

Upon entering the samurai during his youth, he chose a different name for himself than what he was given at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adulthood, for example, to emphasize the onset of her new period (promotion or moving to another duty station). The lord had the right to rename his vassal. In the event of a serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to the name of the Buddha Amida in order to appeal to his mercy.

According to the rules of samurai fights, before the fight, the samurai had to give 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 frequently than in novels and chronicles.

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

For the names of the wives of the samurai, the suffix "-gozen" was used. Often they were called simply by their husband's surname and rank. The 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 names and surnames

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

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

Men's names have changed less. They all 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 well as the suffixes "-ji" ("second son" and "-zo" ("third son").

Most Japanese female names end in “-ko” (“child” or “-mi” (“beauty”). Girls are usually given names that are related in meaning to 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 "-ko" ending in their names and prefer to omit it. For example, a girl named "Yuriko" might refer to herself as "Yuri".

According to the law passed during the time of Emperor Meiji, after marriage, the husband and wife are required by law to take the same surname. In 98% of cases, this is the husband's surname. For several years now, an amendment to the Civil Code has been discussed in parliament, allowing spouses to leave premarital surnames. However, while she can not 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 the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is used in funeral rites. Kaimyo and ihai are bought from Buddhist monks, sometimes even before the person dies.

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 (Jap. 和語?) - native Japanese words and kango (Jap. 漢語?) - borrowed from China. Names are also divided into the same types, although a new type is now actively expanding - gairaigo (jap. 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:

kunnye (consisting of vago)

onny (consisting of kango)

mixed

The ratio of Kun and Onn surnames is approximately 80% to 20%.

The most common surnames in Japan are:

Sato (Japanese: 佐藤 Sato:?)

Suzuki (jap. 鈴木?)

Takahashi (Japanese: 高橋?)

Tanaka (Japanese: 田中?)

Watanabe (jap. 渡辺?)

Ito (Japanese: 伊藤 Itō:?)

Yamamoto (jap. 山本?)

Nakamura (Japanese: 中村?)

Ohayashi (Jap. 小林?)

Kobayashi (Jap. 小林?) (different surnames, but spelled the same and have roughly the same distribution)

Kato (Jap. 加藤 Kato:?)

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

Examples of such surnames: Kubo (jap. 久保?) - from jap. kubo (jap. 窪?) - a hole; Sasaki (jap. 佐々木?) - from the ancient Japanese sasa - small; Abe (jap. 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 hieroglyph 木 ("tree") is read in kun as ki, but in names it can also be read as ko; The hieroglyph 上 ("up") can be read in kun as both ue and kami. There are two different surnames Uemura and Kamimura, which are written the same way - 上村. In addition, there are dropping out and merging of sounds at the junction of components, for example, in the surname Atsumi (Japanese 渥美?), the components separately are read as atsui and umi; and the surname 金成 (kana + nari) is often read simply as Kanari.

When combining hieroglyphs, the alternation of the ending of the first component A / E and O / A is typical - for example, 金 kane - Kanagawa (Jap. 金川?), 白 Shiro - Shiraoka (Jap. 白岡?). In addition, the initial syllables of the second component often become voiced, for example 山田 Yamada (pit + ta), 宮崎 Miyazaki (miya + saki). Also, surnames often contain the remainder of the case indicator no or ha (in ancient times it was customary to put them between the given name and surname). Usually this indicator is not written, but 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 a hieroglyph - for example, 井之上 Inoue (and + but + ue); 木ノ下 Kinoshita (ki + katakana no + sita).

The vast majority of surnames in Japanese consist of two characters, surnames of one or three characters are less common, and four-digit or more surnames are very rare.

One-component surnames are mainly of Japanese origin and are formed from nouns or medial forms of verbs. For example, Watari (Jap. 渡?) - from watari (Jap. 渡り crossing?), 　Hata (Jap. 畑?) - the word hata means "plantation, vegetable garden". Onn surnames consisting of one hieroglyph are much less common. For example, Cho (Jap. 兆 Cho:?) means “trillion”, Ying (Jap. 因?) means “reason”.

Japanese surnames consisting of two components, the majority, are called numbers in 60-70%. Of these, most of them 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 (Jap. 松本?) - consists of the nouns used in the language of matsu "pine" and moto "root"; Kiyomizu (Japanese: 清水?) - consists of the adjective stem 清い kiyoi - "clean" and the noun 水 mizu - "water". Chinese two-component surnames are less numerous and usually have a single reading. Often Chinese surnames contain numbers from one to six (excluding four 四, since this number is read the same 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 by on, and the other by kun. Examples: Honda (jap. 本田?), khon - "base" (on reading) + ta - "rice field" (kun reading); Betsumiya (jap. 別宮?), betsu - "special, different" (on reading) + miya - "temple" (kun reading). Also, a very small part of the surnames can be read both by ons and by kuns: 坂西 Banzai and Sakanishi, 宮内 Kunai and Miyauchi.

In three-component surnames, Japanese roots are often found phonetically recorded by onami. Examples: 久保田 "Kubota (probably the word 窪 kubo "fossa" is spelled phonetically as 久保), 阿久津 Akutsu (probably the word 明く aku "open" is spelled phonetically as 阿久). However, common three-component surnames consisting of three kun readings are also common. Examples: 矢田部 Yatabe, 小野木 Ōnoki 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 characters "eighteen-year-old girl", and read as 若色 "young + color"; The surname denoted by the character 一 "one" is read as Ninomae, which can be translated as 二の前 ni no mae "before the deuce"; and the surname 穂積 Hozue, which can be interpreted as "gathering of ears", is sometimes written as 八月一日 "the first day of the eighth lunar month" - apparently on this day the harvest began in ancient times.

Personal names in Japan are the most difficult direction in the Japanese language. Women's names are no exception here. At first, reading the translations, it may seem that there is nothing complicated. In Japanese, the surname is pronounced first, and then the given name. In Russian, as in many Western languages, the first name is pronounced first, and only then the surname. But believe me - this is the smallest difficulty that you encounter when working with Japanese names. Although even such a trifle sometimes confuses people who are poorly familiar with Japanese culture.

In Japanese culture, and in particular personal names, over the past hundred years there have been dramatic changes. This also affected the spelling of names and their meaning. New hieroglyphs and signs for writing names were allowed. The last major change dates back to the nineties of the twentieth century. Then the Parliament of Japan amended the list of permitted characters for writing names. In principle, these signs are amended approximately every five years. But as they say, only a dead language does not change.

The change in attitude towards traditions is especially evident in the modern names of the Japanese. If Japan used to be an extremely traditional society, now it is fading away with every generation. Names from Japanese comics - manga are very popular among modern Japanese names for girls. Manga is one of the Japanese cultural phenomena, comics covering a wide variety of topics for both children and adults. Manga, in fact, is not the usual children's comic, but rather a serious literary and visual work. This cultural phenomenon is known and is already popular all over the world.

Another difficulty is the transliteration of Japanese names for girls. Transliteration of any language causes a lot of controversy, to say nothing of the language of the Land of the Rising Sun. Most often in Russian practice, the Polivanov system is used. It was introduced in the thirties of the twentieth century and since then has been an unofficially approved transliteration system from Japanese to Cyrillic.

Japanese girl names popular in 2009-2011

Pronunciation Yui Aoi Yua Rin hina Yuina Sakura mana saki Yuna

Writing 結衣 結愛 陽菜 結菜 さくら 愛菜 咲希 優奈

Meaning of the name tie and clothes mallow / marshmallow / geranium connect and love majestic / imposing solar/positive connect / form sakura love and vegetables bloom and rarely/wish excellent/graceful

List of Japanese female names, their spelling and meaning.

Here is a list of female Japanese names compiled by our editors. Of course, these are not all possible female Japanese names, but according to statistics, these are the most popular. Japanese names are the most complex part of the Japanese language and therefore there are so many discrepancies in their translations. Enjoy watching.

Pronunciation Ai aika Aiko Aimi Akane Akemi Aki Akiko Akira Amaterasu Aoi arisu Asami Asuka Atsuko Avaron Aya Ayaka ayame Ayano Ayumi Azumi June Junko Izumi Kaori Kaworu Kasumi Katsumi Kazue Kazuko Kazumi Kiku Kimi Kimiko kin Kiyoko Kiyomi Kohaku Kotone Coe Kumiko Kiyoko Madoka May and maiko Makoto mana Manami Mariko Masako Masami Masumi Masuyo Megumi Mi Michi Michiko Midori Minako Minori Misaki Mitsuko Miyako Mieko Mizuki My Momo Momoe Moriko Nana Nao Naoki Naoko Naomi Natsumi Ran Reiko rica Ren Fumiko Hana Hanako Haru Haruka Haruki Haruko Harumi Hideko Hikaru Hiro Hiromi Hisako Hoshi Hotaru Chi Chico Chiharu Chica chicaco Chie Chieko Chow Eiko Amy Emiko Erie Etsuko

Writing 蓝 and 爱 爱佳 爱子 爱美 明美 秋 and 明 and 晶 秋子 明 and 亮 天照 碧 and 葵 アリス 麻美 明日香 笃子 and 温子 アヴァロン 彩 and 绫 彩花 and 彩华 菖蒲 彩乃 and 绫乃 あゆみ あずみ 顺子 and 纯子 香织 胜美 一恵 和子 and 一子 和美 后子 and 君子 清子 清见 琥珀 琴音 幸 and 光 久美子 恭子 円 and 円花 舞子 爱美 and 爱海 真里子 雅子 and 昌子 雅美 真澄 益世 美智子 美奈子 美咲 光子 美夜子 美代子 美月 モモ 百恵 森子 ナナ 直 and 尚 直树 直子 and 尚子 直美 夏美 丽子 文子 花子 晴 and 春 and 阳 遥 and 遥 and 悠 春树 はるこ 春美 秀子 裕 and 寛 and 浩 裕美 and 浩美 久子 恵子 千春 散花 千香子 千代 千代子 栄子 恵美 and 絵美 恵子美 絵理 悦子

Meaning of the name indigo/love love song love child love beauty bright red color bright beauty autumn/bright/sparkle autumn baby bright/clear sun goddess blue/mallow Alice morning beauty flavor of tomorrow kind child island of apples colorful/design color-flower/flower petals iris flower my color / my design pace/walk/walk safe living. obedient obedient child fountain weaving fragrance fragrance fog beauty victory branch/first blessing harmonious harmonious beauty chrysanthemum honest, noble noble child gold pure child pure beauty amber harp sounds happiness/light/peace beautiful child child of the city circle/flower dance dancing child meaning / sincerity Love tender beauty true child of the village elegant child elegant beauty true clarity benefit the world blessing beauty path beautiful, wise child green beautiful child true beauty of flowering shining baby beautiful baby of the night handsome generation child beautiful moon budding peach one hundred blessings forest child seven obedient / respected obedient tree obedient child above all beauty summer beauty lily/orchid lovely baby meaningful flavor water lily child of cherished beauty favorite/flower baby flower spring/sun distance spring tree spring baby spring beauty gorgeous baby shine generous/tolerant abundant beauty long-lived child star Firefly wisdom wise child thousand springs scattered flowers fragrant baby a thousand generations child of a thousand generations butterfly long-lived baby beautiful blessing/ beautiful child blessed prize joyful child

FEMALE names - ratio - Russian and 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

Valentine - (strong) - - Tsuyoi

Barbara - (cruel) - - Zankokumi

Vasilisa - (royal) - - Joteiko

Faith - (faith) - - Shinkori

Victoria - (winner) - - Shori

Galina - (clarity) - - Tomei

Daria - (great fire) - - Ohiko

Evgenia - (noble) - - Yoyidenko

Ekaterina - (purity, cleanliness) - - Koheiri

Elena - (sunny) - - Tayota

Elizabeth - (worshiping God) - - Kaikanna

Zinaida - (born of a god) - - Kamigauma

Zoya - (life) - - Sei, - Inochi

Inna - (turbulent stream) - - Hayakawa

Irina - (peace or anger) - - Sekai, - Ikari

Karina - (darling) - - Kawaimi

Kira - (mistress) - - Fujinka

Claudia - (limping) - - Rameyo

Xenia - (stranger, stranger) - - Khoromi

Larisa - (seagull) - - Kamome

Lydia - (sad song) - - Nageki

Love - (love) - - Ay, - Ayumi

Lyudmila - (dear to people) - - Tanomi

Margarita - (pearl) - - Shinjuka, - Tamae

Marina - (marine) - - Maritaimi

Maria - (bitter, stubborn) - - Nigai

Hope - (hope) - - Nozomi

Natalia - (born, native) - - Umari

Nina - (Queen) - - Quinmee

Oksana - (inhospitable) - - Isonaku

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

Sofia - (wise) - - Kasikomi

Tamara - (palm tree) - - Yashimi

Tatiana - (mistress) - - Joshiko

Ulyana - (righteous) - - Tadashimi

Julia - (wavy, fluffy) - - Hajouka, - Nami

Yana - (God's grace) - - Jihiri