Japanese Names
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Japanese given name

Mei: Meaning & Kanji

愛

めい · メイ

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

About Mei

Mei is a Japanese given name read めい in this collection, recorded with 2 written forms: 愛, and 美. 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 Mei

愛

Dictionary record

Kanji component glosses

Name meaning not established from character glosses.

Spelling and reading recorded in JMnedict (2026-08-01 snapshot), entry 5102775. 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.

美

Dictionary record

Kanji component glosses

Name meaning not established from character glosses.

Spelling and reading recorded in JMnedict (2026-08-01 snapshot), entry 5606871. This does not establish popularity or naming intention.

美
beauty, beautiful

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 Mei

Reviewed pairings for Mei 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 Mei

Quick answers

Mei: questions and answers

How is Mei written in kanji?

Mei is recorded here as 愛 and 美, all read めい. Each spelling carries its own character meanings, shown on this page.

Is Mei a boy name or a girl name?

In this collection, Mei 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 Mei mean?

The sound Mei 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