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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Hand-picked entries from this collection — each card links to a full detail page with kanji breakdowns, sources, and full-name pairings.
凛
girlRinりん
Dignified composure — cold air that snaps clean. One crisp syllable; the collection also records 琳, a beautiful jewel.
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花
girlHanaはな
Flower, one character and done — and a name that works in English almost unchanged.
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灯
girlAkariあかり
A lamp's flame. The collection also records 明里, bright village — same reading, different image.
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光
unisexHikariひかり
Light itself, a single luminous character that also reads unisex.
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結衣
girlYuiゆい
To tie (結) + garment (衣): a knot of cloth — connection you can hold.
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楓
girlKaedeかえで
Maple — the tree whose autumn color the whole country travels to see.
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葵
unisexAoiあおい
Hollyhock, the Tokugawa crest plant — a top-10 name for girls and boys at once.
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湊
unisexMinatoみなと
Harbor: where boats — and families — find shelter. Rides the recent single-character boom.
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光葵
girlHimari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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光花
girlHina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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海桜
girlMioみお
Sea cherry blossom in this collection's spelling — alongside 光桜, light cherry blossom. Elegant and compact.
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桃花
unisexMomoka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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Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Light; radiance
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Sunny place; facing the sun
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Maple
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
Given name formats
Meaning
Name meaning not established from character glosses.
These are general dictionary senses, including abbreviations and other contexts. They do not establish the meaning or intention of this name.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.