湊
Editorial selectionWritten-form notes
Harbor; gathering place by water
Spelling and reading recorded in JMnedict (2026-08-01 snapshot), entry 5658888. This does not establish popularity or naming intention.
- 湊
- harbor
- Gender in this collection
- boy, unisex
- Stored reading
- みなと (Minato)
- Written forms recorded
- 1
- Style labels
- modern
- Popularity in this collection
- common
What does Minato mean in this spelling?
Minato is written 湊 in this collection, with a harbor-related character meaning and the reading みなと. It offers a water-related written image. The character does not establish that a person comes from a port or coastal family.
These are written-form explanations. Style and gender labels describe this collection; they are not a current usage survey or a guarantee of suitability.
About Minato in this collection
Minato is a Japanese given name read みなと in this collection, recorded in the written form 湊. In this spelling the name is associated with harbor, and gathering place by water; the component characters carry the glosses listed below. This collection labels it for boy and unisex use and notes it as common within this collection's sources.
Written forms
Kanji variations for Minato
Full-name pairings
Surnames to pair with Minato
Quick answers
Minato: questions and answers
How is Minato written in kanji?
Minato is recorded here as 湊, read みなと. Other spellings of the same sound exist beyond this collection.
Is Minato a boy name or a girl name?
In this collection, Minato is recorded for boy and unisex use — a genuinely unisex reading. Gender in Japanese names comes from usage patterns and endings, not from the kanji itself.
What does Minato mean?
Written 湊, Minato is associated with harbor, gathering place by water. The meaning belongs to this spelling — the same reading written with other kanji carries different imagery.
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.
- Index of readings in the Jōyō Kanji Table
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan · Accessed 2026-07-29
- 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