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People - Part III

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Meanings in names

Similar to the explanation on the Language (Part III - Kanji) page, names can mean different things, especially if kanji are used. The three character sets, hiragana, katakana and kanji, can be used to write out names. There are some very common names in Japan. I will go through three of them and give an explanation as to why they are popular and what they mean.

Name
Translation
Meaning
Akira
 'Anchor' or 'Bright' or 'Intelligent' A very popular name, obviously since parents would like their child to be clever, this name is the first they would choose. This can be used for both genders, but I've only seen used on males
Sakura
 Cherry blossoms The Sakura (cherry blossom) is the national flower of Japan, and much loved by the Japanese people. The parents hoped that if their child was called Sakura, she (it's exclusively female) would have many friends.
Taro
 No translation Basically the most generic name there is, similar to a 'John Smith' in English

There are patterns to the way names are constructed by the ending of the names, as shown below.

Male
Female
Ending
Example
Ending
Example
ro
Keitaro
ko
Haruko
shi
Masashi
mi
Mutsumi
ya
Seiya
e
Takame
o
Gendo
yo
Chiyo

However, these are not concrete, there are men who have female name endings and vice versa, but it is a general guide to determining one's gender without knowing the person beforehand.

 

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