70 Japanese Inspired Baby Names

In the Japanese language, there are three separate alphabets – hiragana (for Japanese words), katakana (for foreign words) and Kanji (Chinese characters).

Choosing a baby name in Japan can be tricky as parents must pick a name they like the sound of, but also choose a meaning using Kanji that corresponds with the pronunciation.

Here’s a list of Japanese baby names and their possible meanings. There are many more meanings for the same pronunciation if the parents choose different characters. 

Japanese Inspired Baby Names for Girls

Aoi – The Japenese meaning of Aoi is “Hollyhocl” which translates to “Green, Blue”.

Airi – A soft name meaning “White Jasmine” or  “Love and Affection”.

Akari – This name is seen to be suited to twins born as Akaria means “The light” or “Glimmer”.

Akemi – Meaning “Bright Beauty” or “Beautiful Sunrise”.

Arisu – A popular girls’ Japanese name meaning “Noble Sort and Kind”.

Asuka – A name with multiple meanings “Tomorrow’s fragrance”, “Too Fly” and “Bird”.

Ayume – Meaning “Dream Walking” or “Walk your own way”.

Chiemi – Known as a feminine name meaning “A Thousand Blessings”.

Emi – A sweet name meaning “Beautiful Blessing” or “Smile”. 

Hana – The Japanese name meaning for Hana is “Grace, flower and craft”

Izumi – Known to be a unisex name meaning, “Source of water” or “Fountain”.

Kei – A name also known to be unisex, meaning “Blessed and Lucky”.

Kaede – This name is also used in Kanji with the meaning of “Maple”.

Kaiya – Popular in its variations, this name means “Ocean Arrow”.

Kaori – Meaning “Fragrance and Beauty”.

Kiyomi – An ancient Japanese name meaning “Pure Beauty” or “Holy and Sacred”

Madoka – A common Japamese girls’ name meaning “Circle”.

Mari – A national recognised name meaning “Rebelliousness”.

Midori – Another popular girls’ name meaning “Green or Verdant”

Mika – The name means “Beautiful Fragrance or Intelligent Racoon”.

Mizuki – A very modern japanese name meaning “Beautiful Moon’.

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