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Help[Opinions] What are your favorite Japanese names?
and what do you think of mine?
Chihiro - I love the meaning "a thousand questions", do you think that's a good meaning?
Chiyo - love the meaning, too associated with Chiyo Chips?
Miki
Yumi
Miyuki
Noa
Michiko
Sakura - my friend named her daughter Chloe Sakura and even though I don't care for Chloe the combo is so sweet.
Oh and do you think Japanese names only work on Japanese kids? I know a blonde haired blue eyed girl named Yumiko nn Yumi whose grandfather was Japanese (but she doesn't look Japanese at all). What do you think? Would it work?
So what are your faves?
Chihiro - I love the meaning "a thousand questions", do you think that's a good meaning?
Chiyo - love the meaning, too associated with Chiyo Chips?
Miki
Yumi
Miyuki
Noa
Michiko
Sakura - my friend named her daughter Chloe Sakura and even though I don't care for Chloe the combo is so sweet.
Oh and do you think Japanese names only work on Japanese kids? I know a blonde haired blue eyed girl named Yumiko nn Yumi whose grandfather was Japanese (but she doesn't look Japanese at all). What do you think? Would it work?
So what are your faves?
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Replies
Your cat has a nice name :) Do you know what Reika means? It's my cousin's name, only spelled differently.
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Lovely Petal
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Some that I like:
Atsuko
Ayame
Cho
Emiko
Hitomi
Kasumi
Kotone
Megumi
Mio
Momoko
Nanami
Naomi
Natsumi
Rie
Rin
Shiori (I LOVE the meaning of this - "bookmark")
Suzume
Takako
Daisuke
Daito
Hikaru
Hiroshi
Kaoru
Kenichi
Kenta
Masashi (this is the name of the student we are currently hosting)
Ryouichi
Satoshi
Shigeru
Taiki
Takashi
Yaso (I think the meaning for this name is interesting: "Eight-ten. The word for "nine" sounds like the word for "suffering," so this name means that suffering should skip the child the way the child's name skips suffering.")
I wouldn't have a problem with Japanese names on kids of other ethnicities, but all I ever seem to hear about are little white girls named Sakura running around. I like Sakura and all, but there ARE other Japanese names out there. (As a middle name, though, no big deal - anything goes for a middle name imo. Chloe Sakura is cute.)
Atsuko
Ayame
Cho
Emiko
Hitomi
Kasumi
Kotone
Megumi
Mio
Momoko
Nanami
Naomi
Natsumi
Rie
Rin
Shiori (I LOVE the meaning of this - "bookmark")
Suzume
Takako
Daisuke
Daito
Hikaru
Hiroshi
Kaoru
Kenichi
Kenta
Masashi (this is the name of the student we are currently hosting)
Ryouichi
Satoshi
Shigeru
Taiki
Takashi
Yaso (I think the meaning for this name is interesting: "Eight-ten. The word for "nine" sounds like the word for "suffering," so this name means that suffering should skip the child the way the child's name skips suffering.")
I wouldn't have a problem with Japanese names on kids of other ethnicities, but all I ever seem to hear about are little white girls named Sakura running around. I like Sakura and all, but there ARE other Japanese names out there. (As a middle name, though, no big deal - anything goes for a middle name imo. Chloe Sakura is cute.)
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I have a good friend named Satoshi. The meaning of Yaso is really cool.
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I love all Japanese names. Some more than others but I love them all!
Sakura has been a favorite of mine for a long time.
Sakura has been a favorite of mine for a long time.
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I'm not an expert on Japanese names, but these are the female names I like:
Airi
Emi
Haruna
Kaori
Mameha
Mei
Midori - probably my favorite
Naomi
Rina
Sakura
Sayuri
Shiori
Sora
Takara
And for males, I like:
Goro / Gorou
Haru
Haruto
Hayato
Hiraku
Hiroto
Kaito
Katsuro / Katsurou
Kenshin - probably my favorite
Minoru
Noboru
Ren
Ryo - I actually know a non-Japanese person named this. Pretty cool name.
Tarou
Airi
Emi
Haruna
Kaori
Mameha
Mei
Midori - probably my favorite
Naomi
Rina
Sakura
Sayuri
Shiori
Sora
Takara
And for males, I like:
Goro / Gorou
Haru
Haruto
Hayato
Hiraku
Hiroto
Kaito
Katsuro / Katsurou
Kenshin - probably my favorite
Minoru
Noboru
Ren
Ryo - I actually know a non-Japanese person named this. Pretty cool name.
Tarou
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I used to like Ryo, but the pronunciation totally threw me off it. I met a Ryo when I lived in Australia and it's pronounced almost like Joe. They R sounds like a mixture of a D, a J and an L (really hard to explain) and you could barely hear it has two syllables.
Same with Rina, it almost sounds like Gina, I know a girl named this also. I like Rina, though.
Same with Rina, it almost sounds like Gina, I know a girl named this also. I like Rina, though.
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Akemi it just sounds really sweet
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I love Sakura. That's my favorite Japanese name for a girl. I love Midori as well, but since it's the name of a liqueur, it's on my GP list. I'd name a pet Midori, but not an actual child.
I don't think it's that weird that Yumiko "Yumi" is blonde and blue-eyed with a Japanese name since the name is relevant to her heritage.
I don't think it's that weird that Yumiko "Yumi" is blonde and blue-eyed with a Japanese name since the name is relevant to her heritage.
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I don't like many Japanese names, but Kenta has been on my Top 40 for boys for some time. Noa, Reiko, and Sakura are also nice.
I'm torn on the usability of Japanese names to non-Japanese children. There was a white Sakura (who looked to be in her mid-twenties) in my class last quarter, and I didn't think twice about it. The one thing I would worry about is the parent being branded as one of the obsessive "weeaboo" types -- and I'll admit that might (unfortunately) be one of my thoughts if I met a non-Japanese child with a Japanese name. (There are, of course, people with a healthy interest in Japanese culture and media).
I'm torn on the usability of Japanese names to non-Japanese children. There was a white Sakura (who looked to be in her mid-twenties) in my class last quarter, and I didn't think twice about it. The one thing I would worry about is the parent being branded as one of the obsessive "weeaboo" types -- and I'll admit that might (unfortunately) be one of my thoughts if I met a non-Japanese child with a Japanese name. (There are, of course, people with a healthy interest in Japanese culture and media).
This message was edited 8/3/2011, 10:56 AM
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I've long liked Akira (....for a girl. I'm ashamed). I also really liked the names Chiko and Shio, two exchange students we had (girls). Shio told me her name means "salt", which I always thought was neat.
I also like:
Boys
Yemon "guarding the gate"
Zinan "second son"
Tobikuma "flying cloud"
Kenji "second son" (I love this one, it's so cute in a retro way)
Girls
Aoi "hollyhock"
Ayame "iris"
Choyo "a generation of dawns"
Kiyo "happy generations"
Machi "ten thousand thousand"
Miyuki "silence of deep snow"
Suzu "bell"
Tooka "tenth day"
Utako "child of the song"
Apparently these names are all "very old fashioned", according to a Japanese friend.
She once gave me a list of more modern nature-based names used in Japan but I lost it, like the fool I am. They meant things like "a sunny place" and "mallow", stuff like that.
I think I might be a bit confused or taken aback by a very non-Japanese child with a super Japanese name, but I'd assume there was some story behind it and immediately set about finding out said story :)
I also like:
Boys
Yemon "guarding the gate"
Zinan "second son"
Tobikuma "flying cloud"
Kenji "second son" (I love this one, it's so cute in a retro way)
Girls
Aoi "hollyhock"
Ayame "iris"
Choyo "a generation of dawns"
Kiyo "happy generations"
Machi "ten thousand thousand"
Miyuki "silence of deep snow"
Suzu "bell"
Tooka "tenth day"
Utako "child of the song"
Apparently these names are all "very old fashioned", according to a Japanese friend.
She once gave me a list of more modern nature-based names used in Japan but I lost it, like the fool I am. They meant things like "a sunny place" and "mallow", stuff like that.
I think I might be a bit confused or taken aback by a very non-Japanese child with a super Japanese name, but I'd assume there was some story behind it and immediately set about finding out said story :)
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The meaning is pretty, but it really makes me think of Uma (horse) and Ko (child). One of my Japanese friends and I always made jokes about Uma Thurman because her name means horse in Japanese, which of course wouldn't be used as a name. So she always said that if she had a child who was not very attractive she would name her Umako. We were only kidding of course and it was years ago when we were 13 but this is why I can't appreciate Umeko, they're too close.
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That's really funny. Horse Thurman. Ha!
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don't really know many, but Inari and only because it is my daughter's middle name. It's also a Finnish name which is why I used it.
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