Japanese names
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Featured in baby name books
Akira
Akira is a Japanese name meaning “intelligent” or “bright,” sometimes also “dawn.” Traditionally male, as with film director Akira Kurosawa, Akira is increasingly given to girls as an alternative to Keira and Kyra.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, The Everything Baby Names Book
Alina
Alina is a Slavic and Russian name related to Helen, meaning “light,” “bright,” or “beautiful,” with “nobility” also given. Alina is popular across the Slavic world, its Old English cousin Aline was used in the Middle Ages, and Alena can also serve as a short form of Magdalena.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Best Baby Names for Girls, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Amaya
Amaya is a Japanese name meaning “night rain.”
Sources: Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Anna
Anna is a form of Hannah and Ann, meaning “grace” or a woman favored by God. In the Gospel of Luke, Anna is an elderly widow and prophetess at the Jerusalem temple who recognized the infant Jesus as the Messiah.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, The Best Baby Names for Girls, Numerology for Baby Names, The Everything Baby Names Book, Classic Biblical Baby Names, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With
Asa
Asa is a Hebrew name meaning “healer,” “physician,” or “doctor,” and in Japanese it means “born in the morning.” Asa was the third king of Judah, who removed pagan idols and reigned for forty-one years, though in old age he trusted physicians rather than God.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, The Best Baby Names for Boys, Classic Biblical Baby Names, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Eli
Eli is a Hebrew name meaning “high,” “height,” or “ascended.” Eli is also read as “God is great,” and a separate Scandinavian Eli means “light.”
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names Made Easy, The Best Baby Names for Boys, Classic Biblical Baby Names, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Ena
Ena is an Irish name meaning “bright” or “shining,” possibly derived from Helen. Ena is also linked to the Gaelic for “fire” or “little ardent one,” with Enya as a related form.
Sources: Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Baby Names Made Easy, Numerology for Baby Names
Gina
Gina began as a short form of names like Regina (“queen”), Angelina, Georgina, or Virginia. Other meanings offered are Hebrew “garden,” Japanese “silvery,” and Greek “farmer.”
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, The Everything Baby Names Book, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, Numerology for Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), The Best Baby Names for Girls, Baby Names Made Easy
Hana
Hana is Japanese for “flower” or “flower blossom,” with Hanako as a related form. Hana is also an Arabic name meaning “happy” or “blissful.”
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Best Baby Names for Girls, The Everything Baby Names Book
Jun
Jun is a Chinese name meaning “truth” or “truth of life.” Jun is also Japanese for “obedient” or “pure.”
Sources: Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book
Kai
Kai is most often linked to Hawaiian “sea,” and is rising, especially for boys. Kai is also Japanese for “forgiveness.”
Sources: Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, The Best Baby Names for Boys, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time
Kane
Kane is a Gaelic or Irish name linked to battle, meaning “little warrior” or “one who battles.” Kane is also Welsh for “beautiful” and Japanese for “golden.”
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, The Best Baby Names for Boys, Baby Names Made Easy, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book
Karen
Karen is a Danish or Scandinavian form of Katherine, meaning “pure.” Karen took hold in the U.S. in the 1920s and was top five through much of the 1960s, so it now sounds ordinary, like Susan and Lisa; singer Karen Carpenter is a famous bearer.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, The Best Baby Names for Girls, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time
Keiko
Keiko is a Japanese name meaning “respectful child,” “joyful child,” or “adored.” A badass namesake is Keiko Fukuda, the samurai’s granddaughter who became the highest-ranking woman in judo history.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names Made Easy, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names, Badass Baby Names
Kenji
Kenji is a Japanese name meaning “second son,” sometimes “intelligent second son.” Kenji is also glossed as “wise ruler.”
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names, Baby Names Made Easy
Kira
Kira is a Greek name meaning “lady,” while Carrington gives “lord.” Kira is also linked to light and the sun, from Latin, Russian, or Persian roots.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Numerology for Baby Names
Lena
Lena is a variation of Helen meaning “bright one” or “light.” Lena began as a nickname for names like Helena and Magdalena; the related Lina is Arabic for a young palm tree.
Sources: Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, 10,000 Baby Names, Numerology for Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time
Leo
Leo is Latin for “lion,” suggesting a lion’s strength and pride. Saint Leo, a pope, is credited with saving Rome from Attila the Hun; the name suits boys born under the sign of Leo and manages to be both strong and cute.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names Made Easy, The Best Baby Names for Boys, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Lisa
Lisa began as a short form of Elizabeth, Hebrew for “God is my oath” or “pledged to God.” Lisa rarely stood alone before the 1930s, then ruled as the top girl’s name through most of the 1960s before fading as parents turned to Liza or Libby.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Best Baby Names for Girls, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names, Sci-Fi Baby Names
Luna
Luna is Latin and Italian for “moon.” Luna was the Roman moon goddess.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, The Best Baby Names for Girls, Numerology for Baby Names, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book
Maria
Maria is the Latin and Mediterranean form of Mary, meaning “bitter,” or “star of the sea.” Deeply traditional yet modern-sounding, Maria evokes The Sound of Music, West Side Story, and “Ave Maria”; it was also the name of a wife of Muhammad.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Best Baby Names for Girls, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Marie
Marie is the French form of Mary, meaning “bitter.” Marie was the second most popular U.S. name in the 1920s and remains a middle ground between Mary and Maria.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Marina
Marina is Latin for “from the sea.” Marina is a fashionable Shakespearean name.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Mina
Mina is a German name meaning “love” or “tender affection,” and is a character in Dracula. Mina began as a short form of names like Wilhelmina, and it is so cute and current that many parents skip the long form.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Numerology for Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, The Everything Baby Names Book
Mira
Mira comes from Latin and means “admirable,” “wonderful,” or “respected.” Mira shares a root with “miracle” and “mirage”; it is also a Sanskrit name meaning “prosperous” and an Eastern European short form of Miroslava.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Numerology for Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time
Naomi
Naomi is a Hebrew name meaning “pleasant,” sometimes glossed as “amiable” or “friendly.” In the Bible, Naomi is Ruth’s mother-in-law, who returned to Bethlehem grieving and guided Ruth toward Boaz.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, Classic Biblical Baby Names, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names, The Best Baby Names for Girls, Baby Names Made Easy
Reiko
Reiko is a Japanese name meaning “pleasant child” or “polite child.” Reiko is also linked to gratitude, read as “thankful one.”
Sources: Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, 10,000 Baby Names, Numerology for Baby Names
Ringo
Ringo is a Japanese word meaning “apple,” sometimes also “peace be with you.” Ringo is also explained as English, from “ring.”
Sources: Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, 10,000 Baby Names, Numerology for Baby Names, Unusual Baby Names
Risa
Risa is a Latin name meaning “laughter,” with variants such as Rissa and Riza.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Tori
Tori is the Japanese word for “bird.” Tori is also a short form of Victoria, meaning “victory,” and one book suggests naming her Victoria and calling her Tori instead.
Sources: 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names Book, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, 10,000 Baby Names, The Everything Baby Names Book
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These lists are only intended to give you name ideas. Make sure to further research each name, as some may have negative connotations.