[Opinions] Re: Some Japanese names
in reply to a message by MissJ.
Mika - Definitely usable, but my first association is with the camp male singer by that name.
Nana - Very granny-ish in an English-speaking context, but it could work.
Jun - Well it's pronounced just like June, so probably usable, though I bet a lot of people would pronounce it JUHN from the spelling.
Miwa - Cute, but I think it would sound strange in a non-Japanese context. I prefer Misa.
Yua - Perhaps best left to people of that culture. In English usage it sounds very East Asian (I think there's a Hmong girl in Gran Torino called this) and might cause "you are..." jokes. I prefer Yuna (Yuuna).
Noa - Usable and I like it. Unfortunately people might assume it's a male name because of Noah.
Kiyona - Quite nice, though I'd spell it Kiona so people would be more likely to get the pronunciation right.
Nana - Very granny-ish in an English-speaking context, but it could work.
Jun - Well it's pronounced just like June, so probably usable, though I bet a lot of people would pronounce it JUHN from the spelling.
Miwa - Cute, but I think it would sound strange in a non-Japanese context. I prefer Misa.
Yua - Perhaps best left to people of that culture. In English usage it sounds very East Asian (I think there's a Hmong girl in Gran Torino called this) and might cause "you are..." jokes. I prefer Yuna (Yuuna).
Noa - Usable and I like it. Unfortunately people might assume it's a male name because of Noah.
Kiyona - Quite nice, though I'd spell it Kiona so people would be more likely to get the pronunciation right.
This message was edited 10/20/2012, 9:19 AM