Nature has inspired both boy and girl names in Japan. Image: Kyoto, Japan Japanese Names Inspired by Nature Some of the meanings are wise second, healthy second, healthy child, and wise or govern.

Kenji - Kenji is a popular boy’s name that has several meanings.

Hinata - Best sunlight, a ray of warmth.

Here are some of the most popular and well-known Japanese boy names. Many popular boy’s names in Japan are well known because of actors, baseball players, and musicians from Japan. Akiko is the first name of one of Japan’s princesses in the Imperial House of Japan. Here are some of the most popular names for girls in Japan. Many of the names used in these popular art forms are also well-loved Japanese baby names. Japanese girl names have become widely known amongst English speakers because of anime and manga, two well-loved art forms that originated in Japan. For example, Ichiro means “first son,” Jiro means “second son,” and Saburo means “third son.” This theme is widely expanded on for baby boy names, and there any many different names and meanings for sons based on birth order. Traditional Japanese boy names were often styled on birth order. Given names are typically written in Chinese characters called kanji, which can drastically change the meaning and pronunciation of the name.Īs someone who had the privilege of living in Japan for a year in the early 2000s, I can tell you it has become quite common, especially among post-WWII generations, to use the common first name, last name styling. In Western cultures, the given name is what we think of as their first name.

Traditionally, In Japan, the surname comes before the given name, and people were often referred to by their surname rather than their given name. In the 1870s, with the creation of the family registration system and a formalized naming system, the Japanese naming tradition we know today, consisting of a surname and given name, came into fruition. Therefore, Japanese names were fluid and often changed with a person's status and affiliations during these times. In Japan, status, birth order, personality or physical traits, warrior status are some of the inspirations behind baby names.

During the feudal society times in Japan, given names represented a person's social status.

Unique japanese girl names