Japanese Name Generator

How the Japanese name generator works

This Japanese name generator combines a real family name with a real given name. The surnames are the most common in Japan (佐藤 Satō, 鈴木 Suzuki, 高橋 Takahashi, 田中 Tanaka and about 150 more), and the given names are drawn from roughly 240 male and 250 female names that are in actual use, from classics like 太郎 Tarō and 恵子 Keiko to names that top recent baby-name rankings such as 陽翔 Haruto and 陽菜 Hina. Every name is shown three ways: in kanji, in Hepburn romaji with macrons for long vowels (ō, ū), and with a short gloss of what the kanji mean.

Reading the meanings

Japanese given names are written with kanji chosen for both sound and sense, so 陽菜 Hina is literally "sun" + "greens", and 蓮 Ren is "lotus". The meaning line gives these character-by-character glosses. Two things to keep in mind: the same kanji often has several readings (悠 can be read Yū, Haruka or Hisashi), and the same sound can be written with many different kanji, each with a different meaning. The pairings here are common ones, but if you are naming a character you can legitimately pick other kanji for the same romaji. Family names are not glossed because most are place-derived (田中 means "middle of the rice field") and the meaning is rarely relevant to a character.

Name order: Satō Hina or Hina Satō?

In Japanese the family name always comes first: 佐藤陽菜, said "Satō Hina". The kanji in this tool are always in that order. For the romaji you can choose. Japanese order is now the official recommendation of Japan's government for English-language documents and is standard in academic writing and in most anime and manga subtitles. Western order (Hina Satō) is still common in news reporting, sports and business cards aimed at English speakers. Pick the convention your readers expect and stay consistent.

Tips for writers and players

• Era matters. Names ending in -ko (恵子, 幸子) were the female standard from the 1920s to the 1980s; a girl born in 2015 is far more likely to be 陽菜, 結衣 or 凛. Male names ending in -rō or -o (太郎, 和夫) read as older; 蓮, 湊 and 陽翔 read as current.
• Nicknames. Friends shorten names and add -chan or -kun (Hina-chan, Ren-kun); surnames with -san are the default among adults who are not close.
• Surnames carry region. 佐藤 and 鈴木 are everywhere, but 比嘉 is Okinawan and 五十嵐 Igarashi clusters in Niigata; a little research adds authenticity.
• Check before you commit. Search the full name; with common surnames, a generated name may match a real public figure.