Japanese girl names: 120 names with kanji

A Japanese name is a sound and a spelling. Parents choose the sound first, then the kanji that write it, and the kanji give the name its meaning. Sakura written 桜 is cherry blossom, Hina written 陽菜 joins sun and greens, and Yui written 結衣 joins tie and robe. The same sound can take dozens of spellings, so each name below shows one common way to write it, not the only one. Older names often end in -ko, 子, child: Keiko, Yoko and Michiko were everywhere in the 20th century. Girls born today more often get two-syllable names built on bright or natural kanji such as 陽 sun, 花 flower, 結 tie and 葵 hollyhock. In Japan the family name comes first, so Sato Hina is Hina of the Sato family.

How to use this list: tap a name to copy it, and check the kanji before you pick one, since the meaning lives in the characters. For a character, match the era: a -ko name suits a grandmother or a story set before 1980, a name like Himari or Tsumugi suits a girl today. If none fit, describe the girl and the feeling you want in the search, and the generator suggests new names.