Japanese Girl Names with Meanings and Kanji Explore Japanese girl names with kanji, hiragana, romaji, and meaning notes. Compare written forms, listen to the reading, or keep a name while finding a surname to pair with it.
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Twelve Japanese girl names to start with Hand-picked entries from this collection — each card links to a full detail page with kanji breakdowns, sources, and full-name pairings.
Rinりん
Dignified composure — cold air that snaps clean. One crisp syllable; the collection also records 琳, a beautiful jewel.
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Hanaはな
Flower, one character and done — and a name that works in English almost unchanged.
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Akariあかり
A lamp's flame. The collection also records 明里, bright village — same reading, different image.
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Hikariひかり
Light itself, a single luminous character that also reads unisex.
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Yuiゆい
To tie (結) + garment (衣): a knot of cloth — connection you can hold.
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Kaedeかえで
Maple — the tree whose autumn color the whole country travels to see.
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Aoiあおい
Hollyhock, the Tokugawa crest plant — a top-10 name for girls and boys at once.
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Minatoみなと
Harbor: where boats — and families — find shelter. Rides the recent single-character boom.
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Himariひまり
This collection records the light-plus-hollyhock spelling 光葵; the reading is most famously written 陽葵, sun plus hollyhock.
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Hinaひな
Recorded here as light (光) + flower (花); the reading Hina is also commonly written 陽菜, sun on young greens.
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Mioみお
Sea cherry blossom in this collection's spelling — alongside 光桜, light cherry blossom. Elegant and compact.
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Momokaももか
Peach blossom — spring, sweetness, and a touch of Momotaro folklore. 杏花, apricot blossom, is the alternate spelling.
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Meaning themeAny meaning beauty hope light love moon nature peace strength Era and styleAny style Modern Traditional Timeless CommonnessAny commonness Popular Common Uncommon Rare Written lengthAny length 1 Kanji 2 Kanji 3 Kanji Sort resultsEditorial selection first Alphabetical Usage estimate Shortest Kanji first Reset
Initial All A C E F H I K M N R S T U W Y
Japanese girl names 236 matches Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
桜 cherry
子 child; sign of the rat; 11PM-1AM; first sign of Chinese zodiac Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
詩 poem; poetry Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
亜 Asia; rank next; come after; -ous
樹 timber; trees; wood; establish; set up
美 beauty; beautiful Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
海 sea; ocean Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
光 ray; light Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
茜 madder; red dye; Turkey red
花 flower Usage not ranked
modern timeless Usage estimate: common
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
暁 daybreak; dawn; in the event
月 month; moon Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
暁 daybreak; dawn; in the event
美 beauty; beautiful Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
朱 vermilion; cinnabar; scarlet; red; bloody
花 flower Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
空 empty; sky; void; vacant; vacuum
美 beauty; beautiful Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
章 badge; chapter; composition; poem; design
文 sentence; literature; style; art; decoration; figures; plan; literary radical (no. 67)
美 beauty; beautiful Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
空 empty; sky; void; vacant; vacuum
花 flower Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
子 child; sign of the rat; 11PM-1AM; first sign of Chinese zodiac Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
空 empty; sky; void; vacant; vacuum
海 sea; ocean Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
菜 vegetable; side dish; greens Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
乃 from; possessive particle; whereupon; accordingly Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
光 ray; light
男 male Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
光 ray; light Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
義 righteousness; justice; morality; honor; loyalty; meaning Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
彰 patent; clear
月 month; moon Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
亜 Asia; rank next; come after; -ous
子 child; sign of the rat; 11PM-1AM; first sign of Chinese zodiac
美 beauty; beautiful Usage not ranked
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
Character dictionary notes These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
愛 love; affection; favourite
海 sea; ocean Usage not ranked
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Page 2 of 10 Editorial selection is a browsing order, not a popularity ranking. Style and usage estimates are editorial guidance. Dictionary notes do not establish a name’s intended meaning.
Choosing a spelling, not just a sound Japanese given names are often discussed by reading and written form. Two people called Rin may use different kanji, so a meaning belongs to a particular spelling rather than automatically to every person with that reading.
For example, Hana written 花 points to a flower, while Hikari written 光 points to light. Akari can be written 明里 or 灯 in this collection; the character explanation changes with the spelling. Compare the displayed kanji as well as the sound before choosing.
Japanese girl names: questions and answers What are the most popular Japanese girl names right now? Recent national surveys of newborns put Himari (陽葵), Rin (凛), Aoi (葵), Hina (陽菜), Yuna (結菜), and Sakura (咲良/桜) at the top for girls. The explorer below covers the full collection; the most-popular-names guide explains how Japan's rankings work.
Which Japanese girl names mean flower or beauty? Hana (花) means flower, Sakura (桜) means cherry blossom, Momoka (桃花) means peach blossom, and Himari (陽葵) pairs the sun with the hollyhock. Names built on 美 (beauty) include Mika (美香) and Miyuki (美雪, beautiful snow).
Do Japanese girl names have fixed meanings? No — the meaning attaches to the kanji spelling, not the sound. The reading Rin can be 凛 (dignified composure) or 琳 (beautiful jewel). Always compare written forms; every entry below shows the kanji next to the reading.
What Japanese girl names are easy to pronounce in English? Hana, Mei, Mika, Rina, Emi, and Yuna all pronounce nearly identically in both languages. The bilingual-names guide covers the full list with pronunciation notes.