Japanese Names
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Japanese given name

Ai: Meaning & Kanji

愛

あい · アイ

Gender in this collection
girl
Stored reading
あい (Ai)
Written forms recorded
2
Style labels
—
Popularity in this collection
unranked

About Ai

Ai is a Japanese given name read あい in this collection, recorded with 2 written forms: 愛, and 愛以. The characters of 愛 carry the component glosses listed below. They describe the written form rather than a fixed name meaning, because the same reading can be written many different ways. This collection labels it for girl use and notes it as unranked for popularity in this collection's sources.

Written-form notes and labels above come from this collection’s records. They are not a current usage survey or a guarantee of suitability.

Written forms

Kanji variations for Ai

愛

Dictionary record

Kanji component glosses

Name meaning not established from character glosses.

Spelling and reading recorded in JMnedict (2026-08-01 snapshot), entry 5102735. This does not establish popularity or naming intention.

愛
love, affection, favourite

JMnedict documents this spelling-reading pair. KANJIDIC2 supplies the component glosses; they do not prove a combined meaning, popularity, or current naming style.

愛以

Dictionary record

Kanji component glosses

Name meaning not established from character glosses.

Spelling and reading recorded in JMnedict (2026-08-01 snapshot), entry 5102819. This does not establish popularity or naming intention.

愛
love, affection, favourite
以
by means of, because, in view of, compared with

JMnedict documents this spelling-reading pair. KANJIDIC2 supplies the component glosses; they do not prove a combined meaning, popularity, or current naming style.

Full-name pairings

Surnames to pair with Ai

Reviewed pairings for Ai are not yet recorded, so the examples below use frequently requested surnames from this collection. Any given name can precede a Japanese family name.

Related names

Names that share a kanji with Ai

Quick answers

Ai: questions and answers

How is Ai written in kanji?

Ai is recorded here as 愛 and 愛以, all read あい. Each spelling carries its own character meanings, shown on this page.

Is Ai a boy name or a girl name?

In this collection, Ai is recorded as a girl name. Japanese unisex names are common, so the same reading may appear in the other gender's registers with different spellings.

What does Ai mean?

The sound Ai does not have one fixed meaning. Written 愛, its characters carry the glosses 愛 (love, affection). These describe the written form, not a guaranteed name meaning.

Evidence trail

Sources

Kanji glosses help explain the written form. They are not a claim about the personality or destiny of a person who uses the name. The Jōyō Kanji reference is general character background; it does not verify every personal-name reading or establish popularity. Imported records cite their dictionary sources separately.

  1. JMnedict Japanese Multilingual Named Entity Dictionary

    Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group · JMnedict created 2026-08-01 · Evidence: reading kanji pair · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Accessed 2026-08-01

  2. KANJIDIC2 Kanji Database

    Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group · Evidence: meaning · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Accessed 2026-08-01