100 Japanese Boy Names (With Meaning) - Mom loves it best (2023)

Japanese is written in three scripts called kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Kanji are symbols that represent a word, e.g. B. a verb, a noun, or the root of an adjective. Hiragana is used for new words in foreign languages, and katakana means syllables.

Consequently, many Japanese names can be spelled differently, have different meanings, and sound the same. It's important to keep this in mind, as Japanese naming trends often revolve around a specific kanji rather than a single name, and this is reflected in our list of Japanese boy names.

100 names and meanings of Japanese boys

You'll see some well-known favorites on this list, but you'll also likely discover some unique male Japanese names you've never heard of before.

1. Akihiko

This Japanese name means shining prince.

In the Marvel Comics universe, Akihiko was a yakuza boss who was one of the people who survived the activation of the Infinity Gauntlet and the subsequent mass extinction.

2. Akihito

Akihito means bright and compassionate.

From January 7, 1989 to April 30, 2019, Akihito was the Emperor of Japan. Due to his advanced age and declining health, he abdicated the throne.

3. Akimitsu

The name Akimitsumeans bright light.

Akimitsu Takase is a Japanese voice actor who has not only appeared in some of the best anime likeFullmetal-Alchemistynaruto,but it also has feature films such as dubbeddifferentyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

4. Akio

Akio is a Japanese boy name meaning bright or shiny.

The Arizona State University Museum of Art has more than 20 works in its permanent collection by renowned Japanese-American artist Akio Takamori.

5. Aoi

The name Aoi means hollyhock or bluish green.

In Japan, 18,617 children were born with the name Aoi between January 1 and October 20, 2020. Among the top ten names by sound, Aoi was number 9, and among the top ten names by kanji, Aoi was number 10. .

6. Arata

Arata is a Japanese name meaning fresh or new.

In addition to being a cute and popular name for little boys in Japan, Arata is also a relatively common surname in Italy. Arata means plow in Italian.

7. Asuka

Asuka can be written to mean tomorrow or fly and smell or bird.

The most common spelling of Asuka is 明日香, which translates to "morning" and "fragrance", and is a gender-neutral name.

8. Aymu

The Japanese name Ayumumean walking sleepy.

The Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University studies primate cognition, and the chimpanzee Ayumu has been involved in the project since birth. You can test your mental power against Ayumu⁽¹⁾.

9. Daichi

Daichi is Japanese for earth.

The Advanced Earth Observing Satellite, also known as Daichi, is a four-tonne satellite launched in 2006. The satellite was supposed to be used for mapping, but the images were too blurry to be of any use.

10. Daiki

The name Daiki can be created using kanji which means great shine.

The minor planet 9225 Daiki was discovered on January 10, 1996. Discovered by amateur astronomer T. Kobayashi, it is about 5 kilometers in diameter.

11. Daisuke

The name Daisuke means big, great, or help.

The main character of one of the best anime for children,Digimon aventura 02, is Davis Motomiya, DigiDestined of the Season, Lead Goggle Boy and partner of Veemon. The reason why he is here under this name? In the original Japanese, he is Daisuke, not Davis.

12. Denki

The name Denki means electricity or electric.

Denki isn't on the list for any reason other than my daughter's favorite name.cartoon character. Denki Kaminari can be found in the popular series,my hero academia.

13. Fumihito

Fumihito means writing and compassion.

We think the meaning of the Japanese boy name Fumihito makes it a great choice for a family of writers or people in a caring profession as a family. B. Physicians, Nurses or Consultants.

14. Genji

The name Genji means two beginnings.

Genji's storyis a classic Japanese novel by Murasaki Shikibu. The original definition of kawaii, which means pathetic, comes from this story.

15. Goro

Goro means six and son.

In Norway, the goro is a type of gizzard. Like the love child of a cookie and a waffle, Goro is flavored with cardamom, cooked on a special Goro griddle, and plays an integral role in Norwegian Christmas celebrations.

16. It's not

The kanji for hachirō means eight and son.

The kanji for hachirō is 八郎 and is pronounced HA-CHEE-RO, but it can also be spelled hachiro and hachirou in English. This name was traditionally given to the eighth child.

17. Haru

Haru's kanji can mean light, sun, masculine, or spring.

Haru is a gender-neutral name. While in Japan it is the word for the spring season, it is the Korean word for day.

18. Haruka

The name Haruka means aloof or aloof.

The definition distant, aloof comes from the unique kanji, 遥. However, Haruka can also be made with 春 meaning spring or 晴 meaning clear weather for the HARU element plus 花 meaning flower or 香 meaning fragrance for KA.

19. Haruto

The most popular kanji combination for Haruto means light, sun, masculine, as well as flying.

In 2020, Haruto retained its first place as the phonetically most popular name for boys in Japan. When the most popular kanji was included, Haruto with the combination 陽翔 was number 2, one place above the previous year.

20. Hayate

Hayate has quite a poetic meaning, which is the sudden powerful sound of the wind.

Hayate is the name of the second fastest bullet train on Japan's Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed rail line. After public consultation, Hayate was the most popular name due to its strong speed associations.

21. Hibiki

Hibiki means sound or echo.

Hibiki Blended Whiskey was launched by the Japanese whiskey company The House of Suntory. Hibiki was imported into the United States by an American company and has received multiple awards for its unique recipe.

22.Hideaki

This name means brilliant excellence.

New Hampshire potter Hideaki Miyamura wanted to be a doctor, but medical school was too expensive, so he went to Western Michigan University to study art. Unique pottery from him is in several galleries and museums, including the Smithsonian.

23.Hideyoshi

Hideyoshi means excellent and virtuous, good, respectable.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a daimyo, meaning great lord, in the 16th century, responsible for the unification of Japan and the restructuring of society. He ordered all citizens to be disarmed and all samurai to renounce their non-military role.

24. Hikari

The name Hikari means light.

Hikari is a brand specialized in tropical fish food with a range of species-specific lines. Their food is so prized that it is used in places like the Baltimore National Aquarium.

25.Hikaru

Hikaru can mean light or shine.

Five-time American chess champion Hikaru Nakamura is credited with boosting the popularity of online chess. Nakamura broadcasts on Twitch as GMHikaru and has over 500,000 followers, which is roughly equal to his number of YouTube subscribers.

26. Hinata

Hinata can mean sunny place or facing the sun.

The gender-neutral name Hinata can also be a non-standard reading of Hinata or Himawari, meaning sunflower. To avoid confusion, Hinata is often written as ひなた with hiragana or ヒナタ with katakana instead of kanji.

27. Hiraku

The name Hiraku means to expand, open, support.

"Michi wo hiraku," which means "open the way," is a bestseller by industrialist and businessman Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Panasonic.

28. Hirohito

Hirohito means abundant and personal or compassionate.

Emperor Hirohito ruled the Empire of Japan from December 25, 1926 to May 2, 1947, and then Emperor of the State of Japan from May 2, 1947 to January 7, 1989.

29. Hiroshi

The most commonly used kanji for Hiroshi means tolerant, generous, and prosperous.

For his actions during the Korean War, the US awarded the Medal of Honor, the Meritorious Service Medal, and a Purple Heart to Army Master Sergeant Hiroshi Miyamura. In his hometown of Gallup, New Mexico, Miyamura High School is named after him.

30. Ichiro

Both of Ichiro's writings mean a son.

In 2016, Ichiro Suzuki achieved the 3,000th hit of his MLB career, becoming the 30th member of baseball's 3000 club. He began and ended his MLB career with the Seattle Mariners and also played for the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins.

31. Isamu

The name Isamu means brave.

Isamu Noguchi designed the Playscapes playground in Atlanta, Georgia. Famous for his landscapes and sculptures, such as Bolt of Lightning... A monument to Benjamin Franklin in Franklin Square, Philadelphia, Noguchi's work can be found throughout the United States.

32.Itsuki

In the Nanori reading of the kanji, itsuki means tree.

Itsuki's lullaby is said to have originated in the mountain village of Itsuki in the 16th century. Refugees from the Heike clan found work as babysitters and were generally mistreated. This song narrates his experiences.

33. Hay

Jiro is an alternate transliteration of Jirō, which means two sons.

Chef Jiro Ono is considered the best living sushi chef in the world. As the creator of many of the innovative methods used in modern sushi preparation, he is the subject of the Netflix documentary.Jiro dreams of sushi.

June 34

Depending on the kanji used, jun can mean pure, clean, simple, or moist.

Jun is a fermented drink, similar to kombucha, but made with green tea and honey instead of black tea and cane sugar. Only two companies, Wild Tonic and Huney Jun, make and sell Jun in the United States.

35. Junichi

Junichi means to obey, submit, or simply combine with one.

The winner of our "Least Likely Career Combination" award goes to University of San Diego law professor Junichi P. Semitsu, who is also the exclusive blogger for country music band The Chicks. Semitsu is also a co-founder of Policks.com.

36. Junpei

Junpei is a Japanese name meaning pure, peaceful.

Junpei, sometimes spelled Jumpei, is an exclusively male given name in Japan. However, in China, it can be either a girl's name or a boy's name, depending on the combination of characters used.

37. Valor

Jūrō means ten sons.

This name can also be written as Juro, Jurou, and Juurou, all of which have the same definition. Historically, this name was given to the tenth son of the family, making Jūrō a unique choice of name if he uses it traditionally.

38. Kaede

The name Kaede means maple.

In the scientific study of cells, the Kaede protein comes from a specific species of hard coral that is used as a marker dye. With the Kaede, scientists can see how cells in the brain's cerebral cortex migrate.

39. Kaito

The most common kanji for kaito are 海, which means sea, ocean, and 翔, which means to rise, fly.

The Vocaloid Kaito software was given the name because it was thought to be easy for English speakers to pronounce. Vocaloid software allows the user to input lyrics and melodies and create synthesized voices.

40. Kaoru

Kaoru can be written in kanji as 香/郁/香, which means fragrance, or in hiragana as 香る, where it has no meaning.

As a gender-neutral name, Kaoru has become popular in Japanese popular culture, where it is often chosen as the name of an androgynous character or a character with androgynous traits.

41. Katashi

The name Katashi means hard, firm.

Katashi Damascus Steel Knives operates out of Chicago, Illinois. Their high-end chef's knives have 66 layers of Damascus coating and a VG10 steel blade.

42. Katsu

The name Katsu means victory.

Based in New York City, graffiti artist KATSU creates traditional graffiti, digital media, and concept art. Although he is known for his art project with drones, he is best known for the portrait of Mark Zuckerburg that KATSU painted with his own stool.

43. Katsuo

Katsuo is a name that means victory and hero.

Katsuo isn't just a boy's name: Skipjack tuna is known as katsuo in Japan. Popular in sushi, sashimi and tataki dishes, katsuo is also the main ingredient in dashi, the widely used Japanese fish stock.

44. Katsuo

Katsurō is usually formed from the kanji for victory and son.

Katsuro is also a surname, and the story of Paul and Mary Katsuro was recorded as part of the San Jose Japanese American Museum Oral History Project.

45. Kazuki

Kazuki means one or peaceassociated with hope, shine or tree.

In the popular Samurai Shodown video game series, Kazuki Kazama is a hot-headed, red-haired ninja who makes his first appearance in Samurai Shodown IV.

46. ​​Kazuo

Kazuo means a man or a husband.

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature went to the British author Kazuo Ishiguro. His 1989 novelThe Rest of the Tagus, won the Booker Prize, and his 2005 book,Never let Me Go,it was Time's Book of the Year.

47. Hay

Kei can mean clever, jewel, or congratulate depending on the kanji used.

Kei is the vehicle category for the smallest road cars in Japan. Known outside of Japan as Japanese City Car or Ultramini, they accounted for a third of domestic car sales in 2019.

48. Ken

The name Ken means healthy, strong.

dr. HOW andwas an American comedy written by and starring Ken Jeong. The series is based on Jeong's experiences as a doctor before leaving the medical profession to become a comedian.

49.Kenichi

Kenichi means strong, healthy.

Mixed martial artist Kenichi Yamamoto fought in the four-man Japanese Tournament of Champions that was part of UFC 23. He was crowned the tournament's middleweight champion and then fought at UFC 29, where he lost to Pat Miletich.

50. Kenji

Kenji is most commonly created using the kanji for healthy or strong and two.

Kenji was the 751st most common boy's name in the US Social Security Administration in 1978, when it was used 128 times. In 1979, it was given to 84 boys, making it the 968th most used boy's name that year.

51.Ken Shin

The Japanese boy name Kenshin means humble, humble, and trust, believe.

Rurouni Kenshin, oder Kenshin Rurouni imEnglish Version, is the hero of a manga and anime series and has a dark and sad backstory.

52. Kenzo

Kenzo means number two in Japan, humble, modest.

The French luxury fashion brand KENZO was founded in 1970 by Kenzo Takada. The famous KENZO tiger sweater was hardly ever made, but is now one of their most popular designs. This could be a great name choice for parents who like the popular name Enzo but want something Japanese.

53.Kichiro

Kichiro and Kichirou are alternate spellings of Kichirō which means son of good luck.

If you are looking for a unique name, this is it. Fewer than five people in the United States are named Kichiro at birth each year.

54. Kiyoshi

This name means bright, bright, or clear.

Kiyoshi K. Muranaga, a US Army Private First Class, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during World War II. Originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, his award was updated in 2000 following a review of Japanese-American service records.

55. Kohaku

Kōhaku means red and white or gold and silver.

At the Japanese New Year's Eve Kōhaku show, the most successful performers of the year are invited and divided into the girls' red team and the boys' white team. The teams perform and the public chooses the winners.

56. Which

The Japanese name Kōji has multiple meanings depending on the kanji used.

The Kōji mold has multiple uses in Japan, including making sake, miso, and shochu. It is so important that the Brewing Society of Japan has declared kōji the national mushroom.

57. Go away

Kurō means nine children and was traditionally given to the ninth child in the family.

Hirasawa Kurō was a samurai of the Edo period. When he retired from working life, he opened a tea house and made his own Shinto tea sets for the tea ceremony.

58. Kyō

Kyō can mean apricot, unit, company, town, or capital.

The Kyō app is like a journal designed to help you reflect on your day. The app brings you new questions every day and can be used in conjunction with the Kyō Conversations podcast.

59. Makoto

Makoto is a gender-neutral Japanese name meaning sincerity or truth.

Makoto Ueda is a Stanford Professor Emeritus. Among his many contributions is the translation of the works of various haiku poetesses from the 17th to the 20th centuries. This opened a window into the previously marginalized experiences of Japanese women expressed in haiku.

60. Fairs

The name Masami means to become beautiful.

Masami Anno is the director of the anime series,¡ Chuka Ichiban!Based on a manga of the same name, the direct translation is The Best in Chinese (Food)! However, in many countries, the anime series was retitled Cooking Master Boy.

61. Masaro

Masaru can mean victory or excellence.

The last time Masaru was registered as a name in the US was in 1992, when five boys were given this cute Japanese name. Masaru may have been used on other occasions, but a name is only reported if it is used five or more times.

62. Minato

This gender-neutral baby name from Japan means port.

Depending on the source you believe in, Japanese baby name Minato ranked 3rd or 5th in the top ten boy names by kanji in 2020. In reading, it ranked #2 in both sources.

63. Minoru

Minoru means bearing fruit.

Minoru is one of the rare Japanese baby names to be in the top 1000 in the US. Between 1917 and 1926, Minoru was rated four times out of 43 to 50 boys named Minoru.

64. Naoki

The most popular kanji for Naoki, 直樹, means straight tree.

The biennial Naoki Prize is a prestigious Japanese literary prize for the best work of popular literature by a new, young, or aspiring artist.

65. Naruhito

The name Naruhito means virtue, compassion.

Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. Since his ascension to the throne, his name has fallen into disuse and he is only known as His Majesty the Emperor or The Emperor. After his death he will be Emperor Reiwa.

66. Nori

The name Nori means ceremony, rites.

Nori is the common name for pyropia, a red algae used in Japanese cuisine, particularly sushi and onigiri. Nori can be used fresh or dry, and the dried form is made using a process similar to papermaking.

67. The lonely

Osamu can mean discipline, study, logic, chronicle, government, or dominance.

Osamu Tezuka was a cartoonist, animator, and manga artist often referred to as "The Father of Manga" or "The Godfather of Manga." His work was used to teach an AI that produced a manga story, Paidon.

68. Ren

The Japanese boy name Ren means lotus.

Ren can be written using many different kanji, but 蓮, which means lotus, is the most popular. In fact, 蓮 is the number one boy's name in Japan, after kanji, and has been for many years.

69. Rin

The name Rin means dignified, stern, or cold.

The rhine is an old Japanese monetary unit. One rhine was worth 1/10 sen and 100 sen was equal to one yen.

70. Ringo

Ringo is Japanese for apple.

The English version of Ringo evolved from the Old English word hring, meaning circle. This name was given to a ring maker and these crosses make it a great choice for families in the jewelry industry. It can also be a fun option for big fans of The Beatles music band, thanks to its member Ringo Starr.

71. Ronín

Rōnin means vagabond or vagabond.

A rōnin was a masterless samurai of feudal Japan. In modern usage, the word rōnin is used in reference to a university graduate who has not yet received admission to the university.

72.Ryō

Ryo, also spelled Ryō, means cool, refreshing, or reality.

Ryo is also a term used in poker. It stands for Roll Your Own, and when playing this variant, a player can choose which of their cards are face up and visible to the other players.

73.Ryoichi

Ryoichi is made by combining the kanji for good or clear with the kanji for one.

Ryoichi Hirano is a Japanese ballet dancer who is currently Director of the Royal Ballet in London. Hirano joined the Royal Ballet as an apprentice in 2001 after competing in the Prix de Lausanne.

74. Ryota

Ryōta means cool, refreshing, clear or good combined with thick, big.

Professional boxer Ryōta Murata is the (super) middleweight champion of the World Boxing Association. Of his 18 professional fights, he has won 13 by knockout and three by decision, and both of his losses have come by decision.

75. Ryu

The most popular kanji for ryu, 龍, means dragon.

Japan has a rich and varied mythology centered on dragons, with a mix of indigenous, Chinese, Indian, and religious influences. Many myths involve dragons in or around bodies of water and near temples and shrines.

76.Ryuuji

Ryuuji is most commonly written by combining the kanji for dragon with the kanji for second or child.

Ryuji Kisaragi is the main protagonist of the novel and anime series Dragon Crisis! Ryuuji, an ordinary teenager, finds himself embroiled in a fight to keep the dragon Rose out of the hands of a shadowy organization known as FANG.

77. Saburo

The Japanese boy name Saburō means third son or brilliant son.

The name Saburō was traditionally given to the third son in the family. Among smaller families, the traditional use of saburō is now rare, but significantly more common than names meaning ninth son or tenth son.

78. Shigeru

Shigeru written as 茂 means exuberant, exuberant.

Shigeru Miyamoto is a video game designer and producer, and Game Director at Nintendo. He is responsible for the development of Donkey Kong, Mario, and The Legend of Zelda, among others.

79. Blackhead

The Japanese boy's name Shin means royal, royal.

Pronounced SHEEN in Japan, this boy's name may not translate well in English-speaking countries where SHIN is usually pronounced and the first thought is usually the pimple on the leg.

80. Shingo

Shingo is a combination of real, real with me, me.

Shingo Katori was the youngest member of the best-selling boy band SMAP. Formed in 1988, they were the most successful band in Japanese music history credited with transforming the industry.

81. Shinobu

The name Shinobu means stealth or resistance.

Shinobu is a form of shinobi that combined with No Mono means those who act in secret. Shinobi were mercenaries or covert agents in feudal Japan, now commonly known as ninja in popular culture.

82. Shinya

Shin'ya means real, genuine and also.

Shinya is a drummer and one of the co-founders of Dir En Grey, a Japanese band that performs in multiple genres, including metal, extreme metal, alternative, and avant-garde.

83. Esquion

Shion is the Japanese word for aster.

While Aster is the direct translation of Shion, the name can also be created through a combination of kanji, with the most popular combination being 詩音, meaning poem and sound.

84. Motto

The name Shiori generally means flexible, flexible.

Shiori is a gender-neutral name, but the various kanji combinations are usually attributed to either male or female babies. Consequently, 撓, meaning flexible, bent, is used for boys, and 栞, meaning bookmark, is used for girls.

85. School

The most commonly used kanji for shō means to soar, fly, or prize, reward.

A shō is a Japanese musical instrument made of 17 thin bamboo tubes. At the base of each whistle is a metalless tongue. Shōs became famous in Western pop culture thanks to the Icelandic singer Björk.

86.Shohei

Shōhei is created with the kanji for floating, gliding, and leveling, being smooth and peaceful.

The Shōhei era lasted from 1346 to 1370 at the southern court of Japan. The southern court was based in Yoshino and the northern court was based in Kyoto.

87. Shota

Shota is made by combining 翔 which means to float, slide and 太 which means thick, big.

In the My Hero Academia anime, Shota Aizawa is the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A. Aizawa can control his student's superpowered quirks through the blink of an eye, but this tires him out and leaves him permanently exhausted.

88. Evita

Shun can be written using the kanji for quick or talented.

Shun, pronounced SHOON, is not only a gender-neutral Japanese name, but also agender neutral chinese name. However, as a Chinese name, Shun means to obey, to submit.

89. Soma

Sōma means real, genuine, the sudden gust of wind.

The Sōma clan was a Japanese samurai clan whose rule lasted for over 700 years, ending with the Meiji Restoration of 1868.

90. Sora

Both kanji kong and hao mean heaven.

The sora is a small robin-sized bird found throughout Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Native to wetlands, its mottled brown plumage is unremarkable, but the caramel yellow bill is its distinguishing feature.

91. Salsa

Sōta means sudden big, fat wind sound.

In 2020, Sōta was the fourth most popular boy's name, down two places in Japan from the previous year. Meanwhile, the kanji name Sō, meaning the sudden sound of wind, ranked fifth.

92. Susumu

The Japanese boy's name Susumu means progress, progress.

Pronounced SOO-SOO-MEE, this is not only a popular name but also the name of an asteroid discovered by Augustin Susumu Yamamoto, director of the Yamamoto Observatory.

93. Tai Chi

Taichi means gordo, big, one.

The downside to this cool Japanese boy's name, pronounced TA-EE-CHEE, is that English speakers confuse it with Tai Chi, the Chinese martial art.

94. thai

Taiki means big, big, shiny or big, big tree.

The Mazda Taiki is a 2007 concept car. With butterfly doors and bodywork inspired by floating robes, the vehicle has a coefficient of drag of 0.25. The interior was inspired by koinobori, the colorful carp-shaped Japanese windsocks.

95. Takashi

Takashi, written 隆, means rich, noble.

There are several ways to combine kanji to create takashi. The most common are 喬士, which means gentleman, tall, boastful, samurai, 孝, which means piety, filial, servant parents;

傑 means hero, outstanding; and 江詩, meaning poem, estuary, bay.

96. Takehiko

Takehiko means military, warlike or bamboo combined with child, prince.

Takehiko's military ties make him a great choice for families with military heritage.

97.Takumi

Takumi can mean craftsman or expert.

Takumi Corporation was formed in 1994 when Toaplan Co. Ltd went bankrupt and several spin-off companies were formed. Our favorite Takuni game is Elemental Monster, an online card battle game.

98. Yamato

The kanji for Yamato means Great Harmony.

Yamato was the name of the sea that surrounds the present-day city of Sakurai in Nara Prefecture, Japan. This area became the province of Yamato and then the name of the entire country of Japan.

99. Yuma

When written as 悠真, yūma means permanence, real, genuine.

This popular kanji combination for Yūma saw it reach number four in Japan's top ten boy name kanji in 2020. That was four places higher than in 2019.

100. Utah

Yūto can mean excellence, meekness, superiority or permanence in the person, planning or flying.

The many ways of creating yūto with kanji resulted in it being the fifth most popular Japanese boy name in 2020 according to reading.

Soshite Saigo Ni (y finalmente)

With a vibrant history spanning millennia, Japan has a deep and rich naming culture to explore, and this list of 100 Japan boy names is just the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands more names to discover, as well as multiple kanji combinations for some of them.