Anime surnames for VK. Japanese surnames and their meaning

Anime surnames for VK.  Japanese surnames and their meaning
Anime surnames for VK. Japanese surnames and their meaning

Japanese name(Japanese: 人名 jinmei?) nowadays, as a rule, consists of a family name (surname), followed by a personal name. This is a very common practice in East and Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and some other cultures.

Names are usually written in kanji, which can have many different pronunciations on different occasions.
Modern Japanese names can be compared to names in many other cultures. All Japanese have a single surname and a single given name without a middle name, with the exception of the Japanese Imperial Family, whose members do not have a surname.
In Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. At the same time, in Western languages ​​(often in Russian), Japanese names are written in the reverse order of first name - last name - according to European tradition.
Names in Japan are often created independently from existing characters, so the country has a huge number of unique names. Surnames are more traditional and most often go back to toponyms. There are more names in Japanese than surnames. Male and female names differ due to their characteristic components and structure. Reading Japanese proper names is one of the most difficult elements of the Japanese language.


Popular names for boys

Popular names for girls

Popular names in 2009

meaning of names
(most of it echoes the previous post (I'll clean up the repetitions later))
Ai - F - Love
Aiko - F - Beloved child
Akako - F - Red
Akane - F - Sparkling Red
Akemi - F - Dazzlingly beautiful
Akeno - M - Clear morning
Aki - F - Born in autumn
Akiko - F - Autumn child
Akina - F - Spring flower
Akio - M - Handsome
Akira - M - Smart, quick-witted
Akiyama - M - Autumn, mountain
Amaya - F - Night rain
Ami - F - Friend
Amida - M - Name of the Buddha
Anda - F - Met in the field
Aneko - F - Older sister
Anzu - F - Apricot
Arata - M - Inexperienced
Arisu - F - Yap. form of the name Alice
Asuka - F - The scent of tomorrow
Ayame - F - Iris
Azarni - F - Thistle flower


Botan - M - Peony

Chika - F - Wisdom
Chikako - F - Child of Wisdom
Chinatsu - F - A thousand years
Chiyo - F - Eternity
Chizu - F - A thousand storks (longevity is implied)
Cho - F - Butterfly

Dai - M/F - Great
Daichi - M - Great first son
Daiki - M - Great Tree
Daisuke - M - Great Help


Etsuko - F - A delightful child


Fujita - M/F - Field, meadow

Gin - F - Silver
Goro - M - Fifth son

Hana - F - Flower
Hanako - F - Flower Child
Haru - M - Born in Spring
Haruka - F - Far
Haruko - F - Spring
Hachiro - M - Eighth son
Hideaki - M - Brilliant, excellent
Hikaru - M/F - Light, shining
Hide - F - Fertile
Hiroko - F - Generous
Hiroshi - M - Generous
Hitomi - F - Doubly beautiful
Hoshi - F - Star
Hotaka - M - The name of a mountain in Japan
Hotaru - F - Firefly

Ichiro - M - First son

Ima - F - Gift
Isami - M - Courage
Ishi - F - Stone
Izanami - F - Attractive
Izumi - F - Fountain

Jiro - M - Second son
Joben - M - Loving purity
Jomei - M - Carrying light
Junko - F - Pure child
Juro - M - Tenth son

Kado - M - Gate
Kaede - F - Maple Leaf
Kagami - F - Mirror
Kameko - F - Child of the turtle (symbol of longevity)
Kanaya - M - Zealous
Kano - M - God of water
Kasumi - F - Fog
Katashi - M - Hardness
Katsu - M - Victory
Katsuo - M - Victorious Child
Katsuro - M - Victorious son
Kazuki - M - Joyful World
Kazuko - F - Cheerful child
Kazuo - M - Sweet son
Kei - F - Respectful
Keiko - F - Adored
Keitaro - M - Blessed
Ken - M - Big Guy
Ken`ichi - M - Strong first son
Kenji - M - Strong second son
Kenshin - M - Heart of the sword
Kenta - M - Healthy and bold
Kichi - F - Lucky
Kichiro - M - Lucky son
Kiku - F - Chrysanthemum
Kimiko - F - Child of noble blood
Kin - M - Golden
Kioko - F - Happy child
Kisho - M - Having a head on his shoulders
Kita - F - North
Kiyoko - F - Purity
Kiyoshi - M - Quiet
Kohaku - M/F - Amber
Kohana - F - Small flower
Koko - F - Stork
Koto - F - Jap. musical instrument "koto"
Kotone - F - Koto sound
Kumiko - F - Forever beautiful
Kuri - F - Chestnut
Kuro - M - Ninth son
Kyo - M - Consent (or red)
Kyoko - F - Mirror

Leiko - F - Arrogant

Machi - F - Ten thousand years
Machiko - F - Lucky child
Maeko - F - Honest child
Maemi - F - Sincere smile
Mai - F - Bright
Makoto - M - sincere
Mamiko - F - Baby Mami
Mamoru - M - Earth
Manami - F - The beauty of love
Mariko - F - Child of Truth
Marise - M/F - Endless
Masa - M/F - Straight (human)
Masakazu - M - First son of Masa
Mashiro - M - Wide
Matsu - F - Pine
Mayako - F - Child Maya
Mayoko - F - Baby Mayo
Mayuko - F - Baby Mayu
Michi - F - Fair
Michie - F - Gracefully dangling flower
Michiko - F - Beautiful and wise
Michio - M - Man with the strength of three thousand
Midori - F - Green
Mihoko - F - Baby Miho
Mika - F - New Moon
Miki - M/F - Stalk
Mikio - M - Three woven trees
Mina - F - South
Minako - F - Beautiful child

Mine - F - Brave Protector
Minoru - M - Seed
Misaki - F - Bloom of Beauty
Mitsuko - F - Child of Light
Miya - F - Three arrows
Miyako - F - Beautiful baby March
Mizuki - F - Beautiful moon
Momoko - F - Peach Child
Montaro - M - Big guy
Moriko - F - Child of the Forest
Morio - M - Forest boy
Mura - F - Rustic
Mutsuko - F - Baby Mutsu

Japanese names and their meanings

Nahoko - F - Baby Naho
Nami - F - Wave
Namiko - F - Child of the Waves
Nana - F - Apple
Naoko - F - Obedient child
Naomi - F - "Beauty First"
Nara - F - Oak
Nariko - F - Sissy
Natsuko - F - Summer child
Natsumi - F - Beautiful summer
Nayoko - F - Baby Nayo
Nibori - M - Famous
Nikki - M/F - Two Trees
Nikko - M - Daylight
Nori - F - Law
Noriko - F - Child of the Law
Nozomi - F - Hope
Nyoko - F - Jewel

Oki - F - Mid Ocean
Orino - F - Peasant Meadow
Osamu - M - Firmness of the law

Rafu - M - Network
Rai - F - Truth
Raidon - M - God of Thunder
Ran - F - Water lily
Rei - F - Gratitude
Reiko - F - Gratitude
Ren - F - Water lily
Renjiro - M - Honest
Renzo - M - Third son
Riko - F - Jasmine Child
Rin - F - Unfriendly
Rinji - M - Peaceful forest
Rini - F - Little Bunny
Risako - F - Child Risa
Ritsuko - F - Child of Ritsu
Roka - M - White wave crest
Rokuro - M - Sixth son
Ronin - M - Samurai without a master
Rumiko - F - Baby Rumi
Ruri - F - Emerald
Ryo - M - Superb
Ryoichi - M - First son of Ryo
Ryoko - F - Baby Ryo
Ryota - M - Strong (obese)
Ryozo - M - Third son of Ryo
Ryuichi - M - First son of Ryu
Ryuu - M - Dragon

Saburo - M - Third son
Sachi - F - Happiness
Sachiko - F - Child of happiness
Sachio - M - Luckily Born
Saeko - F - Baby Sae
Saki - F - Cape (geographical)
Sakiko - F - Baby Saki
Sakuko - F - Baby Saku
Sakura - F - Cherry blossoms
Sanako - F - Baby Sana
Sango - F - Coral
Saniiro - M - Wonderful
Satu - F - Sugar
Sayuri - F - Little lily
Seiichi - M - First son of Sei
Sen - M - Spirit of the tree
Shichiro - M - Seventh son
Shika - F - Deer
Shima - M - Islander
Shina - F - Worthy
Shinichi - M - First son of Shin
Shiro - M - Fourth son
Shizuka - F - Quiet
Sho - M - Prosperity
Sora - F - Sky
Sorano - F - Heavenly
Suki - F - Favorite
Suma - F - Asking
Sumi - F - Purified (religious)
Susumi - M - Moving forward (successful)
Suzu - F - Bell (bell)
Suzume - F - Sparrow

Tadao - M - Helpful
Taka - F - Noble
Takako - F - Tall child
Takara - F - Treasure
Takashi - M - Famous
Takehiko - M - Bamboo Prince
Takeo - M - Like Bamboo
Takeshi - M - Bamboo tree or brave
Takumi - M - Artisan
Tama - M/F - Jewel
Tamiko - F - Child of abundance
Tani - F - From the valley (child)
Taro - M - Firstborn
Taura - F - Many lakes; many rivers
Teijo - M - Fair
Tomeo - M - Cautious person
Tomiko - F - Child of Wealth
Tora - F - Tigress
Torio - M - Bird's tail
Toru - M - Sea
Toshi - F - Mirror reflection
Toshiro - M - Talented
Toya - M/F - House door
Tsukiko - F - Child of the moon
Tsuyu - F - Morning dew

Udo - M - Ginseng
Ume - F - Plum Blossom
Umeko - F - Child of Plum Blossoms
Usagi - F - Rabbit
Uyeda - M - From the rice field (child)

Yachi - F - Eight thousand
Yasu - F - Calm
Yasuo - M - Mirny
Yayoi - F - March
Yogi - M - Yoga Practitioner
Yoko - F - Child of the sun
Yori - F - Trustworthy
Yoshi - F - Perfection
Yoshiko - F - Perfect child
Yoshiro - M - Perfect Son
Yuki - M - Snow
Yukiko - F - Snow Child
Yukio - M - Cherished by God
Yuko - F - Kind child
Yumako - F - Baby Yuma
Yumi - F - Like a bow (weapon)
Yumiko - F - Arrow Child
Yuri - F - Lily
Yuriko - F - Child of a lily
Yuu - M - Noble blood
Yuudai - M - Great Hero

Nagisa - "coast"
Kaworu - "to smell sweet"
Ritsuko - "science", "attitude"
Akagi - "mahogany"
Shinji - "death"
Misato - "beautiful city"
Katsuragi - "fortress with walls entwined with grass"
Asuka - lit. "love-love"
Soryu - "central current"
Ayanami - "strip of fabric", "wave pattern"
Rei - "zero", "example", "soul"
KENSHIN name means "Heart of the sword".

Japanese names and their meanings

Akito - Sparkling Man
Kuramori Reika - "Treasure Protector" and "Cold Summer" Rurouni - Wandering Wanderer
Himura - "Burning Village"
Shishio Makoto - True Hero
Takani Megumi - "Love Sublime"
Shinomori Aoshi - "Green Bamboo Forest"
Makimachi Misao - "Ruling the City"
Saito Hajime - "The Beginning of Human Life"
Hiko Seijuro - "Justice Triumphed"
Seta Sojiro - "Comprehensive Forgiveness"
Mirai is the future
Hajime - boss
Mamoru is a protector
Jibo - earth
hikari - light
Atarashiki - transformations
Namida - tears
Sora - the sky
Ginga - the universe
Eve is alive
Izzy is a doctor
Usagi is a rabbit
Tsukino - Lunar
Ray is the soul
Hino - fire
Ami - rain
Mitsuno - water
Corey - ice, icy
makoto is true
Cinema - air, forest
Minako - Venus
Aino - loving
Setsuna - Guard
Mayo - castle, palace
Haruka - 1) distance, 2) heavenly
Teno - heavenly
Michiru - the way
Cayo - sea
Hotaru - light
Tomo is a friend.
Kaori - soft, affectionate
Yumi - "Perfumed Beauty"

Hakufu - Noble Sign

Nominal suffixes
In Japanese, there is a whole set of so-called nominal suffixes, that is, suffixes added in colloquial speech to names, surnames, nicknames and other words denoting an interlocutor or a third person. They are used to indicate social relations between the speaker and the one being spoken about. The choice of a suffix is ​​determined by the character of the speaker (normal, rude, very polite), his attitude towards the listener (usual politeness, respect, fawning, rudeness, arrogance), their position in society and the situation in which the conversation takes place (one on one, in the circle of loved ones friends, between colleagues, between strangers, on people). What follows is a list of some of these suffixes (in ascending order of "respect") and their usual meanings.

Tti (cchi) - Children's version of "-chan" (cf. "Tamagotti").

Ue (ue) - "Senior". A rare and obsolete respectful suffix used for older family members. Not used with names - only with designations of position in the family ("father", "mother", "brother").

Japanese names
Modern Japanese names consist of two parts - the surname, which comes first, and the given name, which comes second. True, the Japanese often write their names in "European order" (first name - last name) if they write them in romaji. For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their last name in CAPITAL letters so that it is not confused with the name (due to the above-described inconsistency).
The exception is the emperor and members of his family. They don't have a last name. Girls who marry princes also lose their last names.

Ancient names and surnames
Before the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames. The rest of the population of Japan was content with personal names and nicknames.
Women of aristocratic and samurai families also usually did not have surnames, since they did not have the right to inherit. In cases where women did have surnames, they did not change them upon marriage.

Surnames were divided into two groups - the surnames of aristocrats and the surnames of samurai.
Unlike the number of samurai surnames, the number of surnames of aristocrats has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them date back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most revered and respected clans of aristocrats were: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. All of them belonged to the Fujiwara clan and had common name- Gosetsuke. From among the men of this kind, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and wives for emperors were chosen from among women.
The following in nobility were the Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Saionji, Sanjo, Imaidegawa, Tokudaiji, and Kaoin clans. From among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed.

So, representatives of the Saionji clan served as imperial stables (meryo no gogen). Then came all the other aristocratic clans.
The hierarchy of nobility of aristocratic families began to take shape in the VI century and lasted until the end of the XI century, when power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans of Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. A number of their representatives at different times were the shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

Upon entering the samurai during his youth, he chose a different name for himself than what he was given at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adulthood, for example, to emphasize the onset of her new period (promotion or moving to another duty station). The lord had the right to rename his vassal. In the event of a serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to the name of the Buddha Amida in order to appeal to his mercy.
According to the rules of samurai fights, before the fight, the samurai had to give his full name so that the enemy could decide whether he was worthy of such an opponent. Of course, in life this rule was observed much less frequently than in novels and chronicles.

At the end of the names of girls from noble families, the suffix "-hime" was added. It is often translated as "princess", but in fact it was used in relation to all noble young ladies.
For the names of the wives of the samurai, the suffix "-gozen" was used. Often they were called simply by their husband's surname and rank. The personal names of married women were practically used only by their close relatives.


Modern names and surnames
During the Meiji Restoration, all Japanese were given surnames. Naturally, most of them were associated with various signs. peasant life especially with rice and its processing. These surnames, like those of the upper class, were also usually composed of two kanji.

The most common Japanese surnames now are Suzuki, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Watanabe, Saito, Sato, Sasaki, Kudo, Takahashi, Kobayashi, Kato, Ito, Murakami, Onishi, Yamaguchi, Nakamura, Kuroki, Higa.

Men's names have changed less. They also often depend on the "serial number" of the son in the family. The suffixes "-ichi" and "-kazu" meaning "first son" are often used, as well as the suffixes "-ji" ("second son") and "-zo" ("third son").
Names containing "shin" are generally considered unfortunate and unlucky because "shin" is Japanese for "death".

Most Japanese female names end in "-ko" ("child") or "-mi" ("beauty"). Girls, as a rule, are given names that are connected in meaning with everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine. Unlike male names, female names are usually written in hiragana instead of kanji.

According to the law passed during the time of Emperor Meiji, after marriage, the husband and wife are required by law to take the same surname. In 98% of cases, this is the husband's surname. For several years now, an amendment to the Civil Code has been discussed in parliament, allowing spouses to leave premarital surnames. However, while she can not get the required number of votes.
After death, a Japanese person receives a new, posthumous name (kaimyo), which is written on a special wooden tablet (ihai). This tablet is considered the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is used in funeral rites. Kaimyo and ihai are bought from Buddhist monks - sometimes even before a person's death.

The surname in Japanese is called "myoji" (苗字 or 名字), "uji" (氏) or "sei" (姓).

The vocabulary of the Japanese language has long been divided into two types: wago (jap. 和語?) - native Japanese words and kango (jap. 漢語?) - borrowed from China. Names are also divided into the same types, although a new type is now actively expanding - gairaigo (jap. 外来語?) - words borrowed from other languages, but components of this type are rarely used in names.


kunnye (consisting of vago)
onny (consisting of kango)
mixed


Sato (Japanese: 佐藤 Sato:?)
Suzuki (jap. 鈴木?)
Takahashi (Japanese: 高橋?)
Tanaka (Japanese: 田中?)
Watanabe (jap. 渡辺?)
Ito (Japanese: 伊藤 Itō:?)
Yamamoto (jap. 山本?)
Nakamura (Japanese: 中村?)
Ohayashi (Jap. 小林?)
Kobayashi (Jap. 小林?) (different surnames, but spelled the same and have roughly the same distribution)
Kato (Jap. 加藤 Kato:?)

In three-component surnames, Japanese roots are often found phonetically recorded by onami. Examples: 久保田 "Kubota (probably the word 窪 kubo "fossa" is spelled phonetically as 久保), 阿久津 Akutsu (probably the word 明く aku "open" is spelled phonetically as 阿久). However, common three-component surnames consisting of three kun readings are also common. Examples: 矢田部 Yatabe, 小野木 Ōnoki There are also three-component surnames with Chinese reading.

Four or more component surnames are very rare.

There are surnames with very unusual readings that look like puzzles. Examples: 十八女 Wakairo - written in characters "eighteen-year-old girl", and read as 若色 "young + color"; The surname denoted by the character 一 "one" is read as Ninomae, which can be translated as 二の前 ni no mae "before the deuce"; and the surname 穂積 Hozue, which can be interpreted as "gathering ears" is sometimes written as 八月一日 " the first day of the eighth lunar month" - apparently on this day the harvest began in ancient times.

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Japanese surnames

Japanese surnames

Japanese full name, as a rule, consists of a generic name (surname), followed by a personal name. Traditionally, in Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. This is a common practice in East and Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and some other cultures.

Modern Japanese often write their names in the European order (personal name, and then family name), if they write in Latin or Cyrillic.

All Japanese people have a single last name and a single given name. no patronymic, except for the Japanese imperial family, whose members do not have a surname.

The first law on Japanese names and surnames appeared at the beginning of the Meiji era - in 1870. Under this law, every Japanese was required to choose a surname for himself. Most of the surnames created at that time come from the names of the place of residence. And many Japanese surnames mean different rural landscapes.

Japanese surnames (list)

Akiyama

asano

Asayama

Arai

Araki

Wada

Watanabe

Yoshimura

Ikeda

Imai

inoe

Isis

Ishikawa

Katsura

Kido

Kimura

Kita

Kitano

Kobayashi

Kojima

Condo

Kubo

Kubota

Kuroki

Maruyama

matida

Matsuda

Matsui

Maeda

Minami

Miura

Morimoto

Morita

Murakami

Murata

Nagai

Nakai

Nakagawa

Naqada

Nakamura

Nakano

Nakahara

Nakayama

Narazaki

Ogawa

Ozawa

Okada

Oonisi

Uno

Oyama

Sawada

Sakai

Sakamoto

Sano

Sibata

Suzuki

Taguchi

Takano

Tamura

Tanaka

Tanigawa

Takahashi

Tachibana

Takeda

Uchida

Ueda

Uematsu

Fujita

Fujii

Fujimoto

Fukushima

Hara

Hattori

Hayashi

Hirano

Honda

Hoshino

Tsubaki

Enomoto

Yamada

Yamaki

Yamanaka

Yamasaki

Yamamoto

Yamamura

Yamashita

Yamauchi

Yasuda

The most common Japanese surnames

Suzuki (Wooden bell)

Watanabe (Walk in the neighborhood)

Tanaka (Midfield)

Yamamoto (Foot of the Mountain)

Takahashi (High Bridge)

Kobayashi (Little Forest)

Murakami (Head of the village)

Nakamura (Village center)

Oonisi (Greater West)

Hashimoto (bridge)

Miura (three bays)

Takano (plain)

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Japanese surnames

For the Japanese, a beautiful combination of first and last name is the main thing. They consider it a complex science. It is known that the choice of a name for a child, they trust only people who specialize in this. Due to such a serious attitude to the choice of names, in the same village you can never hear the same names of guys and girls. In Japan, there is no such thing as a "namesake", but all because the Japanese prefer to use their surnames rather than given names, which, by the way, are many.

First name after last name

Japanese names consist of two adjectives: a family name and a personal name. In Japan, in turn, the surname is the main one, it is written and spoken first everywhere. Modern Japanese are used to writing their first and last name like Europeans, but in order to designate their last name as the main one, they write it in capital letters. Europeans do not attach importance to such a strange and serious attitude of the Japanese to their surnames, which causes misunderstandings related to the reading, translation and transcription of Japanese names and surnames.

Until the second half of the 19th century, only aristocrats and samurai had surnames in Japan, even their wives did not have the honor of bearing a surname. The rest of the population had only nicknames and personal names. The most notable were the clans of aristocrats - Fuji, which had the common name "Gosetsuke". Today, in the dictionary of Japanese surnames, there are 100,000 family names, of which approximately 70,000 appeared 135 years ago (for comparison: in Europe 50,000, in China a couple of hundred, in Korea about 160, in Russia about 85,000, in the USA more than 1 million families). During the era of His Eminence (1868–1911), the reigning Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants to choose any surname for their families. The Japanese were shocked by this idea, many did not know what to come up with. Someone wrote the name of their locality, someone wrote the name of their store, and creative people themselves came up with unusual last name, consonant with the name.

The surname is the hereditary name of the clan, which in Japan is passed from father to children, wives almost always take the husband's surname.

The first legislative act on Japanese surnames appeared in 1870, it stated that every Japanese must take a surname for himself. By this time, already 35 million people (descendants of aristocrats and samurai) had surnames.

Surnames in Japanese in 70% consist of two hieroglyphs. It is very rare to find a surname of 3 or more hieroglyphs.

Surname types

The first type includes surnames indicating the place of residence. The dictionary of Japanese surnames considers this type to be the leading one. Often it uses not only names settlements, but also the name of trees, rivers, terrain, settlements, reservoirs, etc.

Very often, Japanese surnames are associated with peasant life, rice cultivation and harvesting (almost 60%), it is rare to find an interesting or simply beautiful (from the point of view of a Russian-speaking person) surname.

The second type includes surnames formed as a result of simple professions. For example, "Inukai" - in translation, this word means nothing more than "dog breeder".

The third type includes individual nicknames.

Rare, but well-aimed beautiful surnames

Here is a small list of popular, beautiful and unusual surnames:

  • Akiyama - autumn;
  • Araki - tree;
  • Baba is a horse;
  • Wada - rice field;
  • Yoshida - happiness;
  • Yoshikawa - river;
  • Kaneko - gold;
  • Mizuno - water;
  • Suzuki - bell;
  • Takagi is a tall tree;
  • Fukui - happiness;
  • Homma - good luck;
  • Yano is an arrow.

Common surname

In Japan, surnames do not have a generic affiliation. One surname is suitable for both men and women.

Previously, Japanese law stipulated that a husband and wife must have the same surname. Until 1946, inclusive, only the husband's surname could be family, but the constitution, written in the post-war period, abolished this inequality. Modern Japanese can optionally choose a surname, even a husband or wife, but according to the traditions of the old time, spouses stop at the surname of a man.

Interesting Japanese Surnames

For Russian people, all Japanese names and surnames seem interesting and unusual. But there are those whose translation sounds like real music.

This is, for example:

  • Igarashi - 50 storms;
  • Katayama - wild well;
  • Kikuchi is a chrysanthemum.

Common surnames in Japan

The most popular Japanese surnames in alphabetical order are, of course, offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames. Surnames include:

  • A- Ando, ​​Arai, Araki, Asano, Akiyama, Asayama.
  • AND- Imai, Ito, Iwasaki, Iwata, Igarasti, Iida, Inoe, Ishida (despite the similarity of sound, she has nothing to do with the ancient Egyptian goddess), Ishihara, Ichikawa.
  • TO- Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Kaneko, Kitano.
  • M- Maruyama, Masuda, Morimoto, Matila.
  • H- Nakahara, Narita, Nakanishi.
  • ABOUT- Oyama, Okazaki, Okumura, Ogiva, Ootsuoka.
  • WITH- Saida, Sato, Sano, Sakurai, Shibada, Shima.
  • T- Tachibana, Takaki, Takeguchi.
  • At- Ueda, Uematsu, Ueno, Uchida.
  • F- Fujii, Fukushima, Fujimomo, Fujivra
  • X- Hattori, Hattochi, Hirai, Hirata, Hirosa, Homma, Hori.
  • C- Tsubaki, Tsuji, Tsuchiya
  • I- Yamamura, Yano, Yamanaka, Yamamoto, Yamashita, Yamauchi, Yasuda, Yamashita.

And also Enomoto, Yumake also belong to the list of popular and common, according to the data offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames.

GACKT and some Yaoi...

Japanese names and their meanings


Japanese given names (人名 jinmei?) these days usually consist of a family name (surname) followed by a personal name. This is a very common practice in East and Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and some other cultures.

Names are usually written in kanji, which can have many different pronunciations on different occasions.
Modern Japanese names can be compared to names in many other cultures. All Japanese have a single surname and a single given name without a middle name, with the exception of the Japanese Imperial Family, whose members do not have a surname.
In Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. At the same time, in Western languages ​​(often in Russian), Japanese names are written in the reverse order of first name - last name - according to European tradition.
Names in Japan are often created independently from existing characters, so the country has great amount unique names. Surnames are more traditional and most often go back to toponyms. There are more names in Japanese than surnames. Male and female names differ due to their characteristic components and structure. Reading Japanese proper names is one of the most difficult elements of the Japanese language.

From the tables below, you can see how preferences have changed when choosing names over the past almost 100 years:

Japanese names

Ai - F - Love
Aiko - F - Beloved child
Akako - F - Red
Akane - F - Sparkling Red
Akemi - F - Dazzlingly beautiful
Akeno - M - Clear morning
Aki - F - Born in autumn
Akiko - F - Autumn child
Akina - F - Spring flower
Akio - M - Handsome
Akira - M - Smart, quick-witted
Akiyama - M - Autumn, mountain
Amaya - F - Night rain
Ami - F - Friend
Amida - M - Name of the Buddha
Anda - F - Met in the field
Aneko - F - Older sister
Anzu - F - Apricot
Arata - M - Inexperienced
Arisu - F - Yap. form of the name Alice
Asuka - F - The scent of tomorrow
Ayame - F - Iris
Azarni - F - Thistle flower
Benjiro - M - Enjoying the world
Botan - M - Peony
Chika - F - Wisdom
Chikako - F - Child of Wisdom
Chinatsu - F - A thousand years
Chiyo - F - Eternity
Chizu - F - A thousand storks (longevity is implied)
Cho - F - Butterfly
Dai - M/F - Great
Daichi - M - Great first son
Daiki - M - Great Tree
Daisuke - M - Great Help
Etsu - F - Delightful, charming
Etsuko - F - A delightful child
Fudo - M - God of fire and wisdom
Fujita - M/F - Field, meadow
Gin - F - Silver
Goro - M - Fifth son
Hana - F - Flower
Hanako - F - Flower Child
Haru - M - Born in Spring
Haruka - F - Far
Haruko - F - Spring
Hachiro - M - Eighth son
Hideaki - M - Brilliant, excellent
Hikaru - M/F - Light, shining
Hide - F - Fertile
Hiroko - F - Generous
Hiroshi - M - Generous
Hitomi - F - Doubly beautiful
Hoshi - F - Star
Hotaka - M - The name of a mountain in Japan
Hotaru - F - Firefly
Ichiro - M - First son
Ima - F - Gift
Isami - M - Courage
Ishi - F - Stone
Izanami - F - Attractive
Izumi - F - Fountain
Jiro - M - Second son
Joben - M - Loving purity
Jomei - M - Carrying light
Junko - F - Pure child
Juro - M - Tenth son
Kado - M - Gate
Kaede - F - Maple Leaf
Kagami - F - Mirror
Kameko - F - Child of the turtle (symbol of longevity)
Kanaya - M - Zealous
Kano - M - God of water
Kasumi - F - Fog
Katashi - M - Hardness
Katsu - M - Victory
Katsuo - M - Victorious Child
Katsuro - M - Victorious son
Kazuki - M - Joyful World
Kazuko - F - Cheerful child
Kazuo - M - Sweet son
Kei - F - Respectful
Keiko - F - Adored
Keitaro - M - Blessed
Ken - M - Big Guy
Ken`ichi - M - Strong first son
Kenji - M - Strong second son
Kenshin - M - Heart of the sword
Kenta - M - Healthy and bold
Kichi - F - Lucky
Kichiro - M - Lucky son
Kiku - F - Chrysanthemum
Kimiko - F - Child of noble blood
Kin - M - Golden
Kioko - F - Happy child
Kisho - M - Having a head on his shoulders
Kita - F - North
Kiyoko - F - Purity
Kiyoshi - M - Quiet
Kohaku - M/F - Amber
Kohana - F - Small flower
Koko - F - Stork
Koto - F - Jap. musical instrument "koto"
Kotone - F - Koto sound
Kumiko - F - Forever beautiful
Kuri - F - Chestnut
Kuro - M - Ninth son
Kyo - M - Consent (or red)
Kyoko - F - Mirror
Leiko - F - Arrogant
Machi - F - Ten thousand years
Machiko - F - Lucky child
Maeko - F - Honest child
Maemi - F - Sincere smile
Mai - F - Bright
Makoto - M - sincere
Mamiko - F - Baby Mami
Mamoru - M - Earth
Manami - F - The beauty of love
Mariko - F - Child of Truth
Marise - M/F - Endless
Masa - M/F - Straight (human)
Masakazu - M - First son of Masa
Mashiro - M - Wide
Matsu - F - Pine
Mayako - F - Child Maya
Mayoko - F - Baby Mayo
Mayuko - F - Baby Mayu
Michi - F - Fair
Michie - F - Gracefully dangling flower
Michiko - F - Beautiful and wise
Michio - M - Man with the strength of three thousand
Midori - F - Green
Mihoko - F - Baby Miho
Mika - F - New Moon
Miki - M/F - Stalk
Mikio - M - Three woven trees
Mina - F - South
Minako - F - Beautiful child
Mine - F - Brave Protector
Minoru - M - Seed
Misaki - F - Bloom of Beauty
Mitsuko - F - Child of Light
Miya - F - Three arrows
Miyako - F - Beautiful baby March
Mizuki - F - Beautiful moon
Momoko - F - Peach Child
Montaro - M - Big guy
Moriko - F - Child of the Forest
Morio - M - Forest boy
Mura - F - Rustic
Mutsuko - F - Baby Mutsu

Japanese names and their meanings

Nahoko - F - Baby Naho
Nami - F - Wave
Namiko - F - Child of the Waves
Nana - F - Apple
Naoko - F - Obedient child
Naomi - F - "Beauty First"
Nara - F - Oak
Nariko - F - Sissy
Natsuko - F - Summer child
Natsumi - F - Beautiful summer
Nayoko - F - Baby Nayo
Nibori - M - Famous
Nikki - M/F - Two Trees
Nikko - M - Daylight
Nori - F - Law
Noriko - F - Child of the Law
Nozomi - F - Hope
Nyoko - F - Jewel
Oki - F - Mid Ocean
Orino - F - Peasant Meadow
Osamu - M - Firmness of the law
Rafu - M - Network
Rai - F - Truth
Raidon - M - God of Thunder
Ran - F - Water lily
Rei - F - Gratitude
Reiko - F - Gratitude
Ren - F - Water lily
Renjiro - M - Honest
Renzo - M - Third son
Riko - F - Jasmine Child
Rin - F - Unfriendly
Rinji - M - Peaceful forest
Rini - F - Little Bunny
Risako - F - Child Risa
Ritsuko - F - Child of Ritsu
Roka - M - White wave crest
Rokuro - M - Sixth son
Ronin - M - Samurai without a master
Rumiko - F - Baby Rumi
Ruri - F - Emerald
Ryo - M - Superb
Ryoichi - M - First son of Ryo
Ryoko - F - Baby Ryo
Ryota - M - Strong (obese)
Ryozo - M - Third son of Ryo
Ryuichi - M - First son of Ryu
Ryuu - M - Dragon
Saburo - M - Third son
Sachi - F - Happiness
Sachiko - F - Child of happiness
Sachio - M - Luckily Born
Saeko - F - Baby Sae
Saki - F - Cape (geographical)
Sakiko - F - Baby Saki
Sakuko - F - Baby Saku
Sakura - F - Cherry blossoms
Sanako - F - Baby Sana
Sango - F - Coral
Saniiro - M - Wonderful
Satu - F - Sugar
Sayuri - F - Little lily
Seiichi - M - First son of Sei
Sen - M - Spirit of the tree
Shichiro - M - Seventh son
Shika - F - Deer
Shima - M - Islander
Shina - F - Worthy
Shinichi - M - First son of Shin
Shiro - M - Fourth son
Shizuka - F - Quiet
Sho - M - Prosperity
Sora - F - Sky
Sorano - F - Heavenly
Suki - F - Favorite
Suma - F - Asking
Sumi - F - Purified (religious)
Susumi - M - Moving forward (successful)
Suzu - F - Bell (bell)
Suzume - F - Sparrow
Tadao - M - Helpful
Taka - F - Noble
Takako - F - Tall child
Takara - F - Treasure
Takashi - M - Famous
Takehiko - M - Bamboo Prince
Takeo - M - Like Bamboo
Takeshi - M - Bamboo tree or brave
Takumi - M - Artisan
Tama - M/F - Jewel
Tamiko - F - Child of abundance
Tani - F - From the valley (child)
Taro - M - Firstborn
Taura - F - Many lakes; many rivers
Teijo - M - Fair
Tomeo - M - Cautious person
Tomiko - F - Child of Wealth
Tora - F - Tigress
Torio - M - Bird's tail
Toru - M - Sea
Toshi - F - Mirror reflection
Toshiro - M - Talented
Toya - M/F - House door
Tsukiko - F - Child of the moon
Tsuyu - F - Morning dew
Udo - M - Ginseng
Ume - F - Plum Blossom
Umeko - F - Child of Plum Blossoms
Usagi - F - Rabbit
Uyeda - M - From the rice field (child)
Yachi - F - Eight thousand
Yasu - F - Calm
Yasuo - M - Mirny
Yayoi - F - March
Yogi - M - Yoga Practitioner
Yoko - F - Child of the sun
Yori - F - Trustworthy
Yoshi - F - Perfection
Yoshiko - F - Perfect child
Yoshiro - M - Perfect Son
Yuki - M - Snow
Yukiko - F - Snow Child
Yukio - M - Cherished by God
Yuko - F - Kind child
Yumako - F - Baby Yuma
Yumi - F - Like a bow (weapon)
Yumiko - F - Arrow Child
Yuri - F - Lily
Yuriko - F - Child of a lily
Yuu - M - Noble blood
Yuudai - M - Great Hero
Nagisa - "coast"
Kaworu - "to smell sweet"
Ritsuko - "science", "attitude"
Akagi - "mahogany"
Shinji - "death"
Misato - "beautiful city"
Katsuragi - "fortress with walls entwined with grass"
Asuka - lit. "love-love"
Soryu - "central current"
Ayanami - "strip of fabric", "wave pattern"
Rei - "zero", "example", "soul"
KENSHIN name means "Heart of the sword".

Japanese names and their meanings

Akito - Sparkling Man
Kuramori Reika - "Treasure Protector" and "Cold Summer" Rurouni - Wandering Wanderer
Himura - "Burning Village"
Shishio Makoto - True Hero
Takani Megumi - "Love Sublime"
Shinomori Aoshi - "Green Bamboo Forest"
Makimachi Misao - "Ruling the City"
Saito Hajime - "The Beginning of Human Life"
Hiko Seijuro - "Justice Triumphed"
Seta Sojiro - "Comprehensive Forgiveness"
Mirai is the future
Hajime - boss
Mamoru is a protector
Jibo - earth
hikari - light
Atarashiki - transformations
Namida - tears
Sora - the sky
Ginga - the universe
Eve is alive
Izzy is a doctor
Usagi is a rabbit
Tsukino - Lunar
Ray is the soul
Hino - fire
Ami - rain
Mitsuno - water
Corey - ice, icy
makoto is true
Cinema - air, forest
Minako - Venus
Aino - loving
Setsuna - Guard
Mayo - castle, palace
Haruka - 1) distance, 2) heavenly
Teno - heavenly
Michiru - the way
Cayo - sea
Hotaru - light
Tomo is a friend.
Kaori - soft, affectionate
Yumi - "Perfumed Beauty"
Hakufu - Noble Sign

Japanese names names surnames and their meanings
How to name a child?

For future parents in Japan, they release special collections of names - like ours in general - so that they can choose the most suitable for their child. In general, the process of choosing (or inventing) a name comes down to one of the following ways:
1. A keyword can be used in the name - a seasonal phenomenon, a shade of color, a precious stone, etc.
2. The name may contain the wish of the parents to become strong, wise or courageous, for which the hieroglyphs of strength, wisdom and courage are used, respectively.
3. you can also go from choosing the hieroglyphs you like the most (in various spellings) and combining them with each other.
4. Recently, it has become popular to name a child, focusing on hearing, i.e. depending on how pleasant the desired name is to the ear. Having chosen the desired pronunciation, they determine the hieroglyphs with which this name will be written.
5. It has always been popular to name a child after celebrities - heroes of historical chronicles, politicians, pop stars, TV series heroes, etc.
6. Some parents rely on various fortune-telling, they believe that the number of features in the hieroglyphs of the first and last name should be combined with each other.
The most common endings for Japanese names are:

Male names: ~aki, ~fumi, ~go, ~haru, ~hei, ~hiko, ~hisa, ~hide, ~hiro, ~ji, ~kazu, ~ki, ~ma, ~masa, ~michi, ~mitsu , ~nari, ~nobu, ~nori, ~o, ~rou, ~shi, ~shige, ~suke, ~ta, ~taka, ~to, ~toshi, ~tomo, ~ya, ~zou

Female names: ~a, ~chi, ~e, ~ho, ~i, ~ka, ~ki, ~ko, ~mi, ~na, ~no, ~o, ~ri, ~sa, ~ya, ~yo
Nominal suffixes

In Japanese, there is a whole set of so-called nominal suffixes, that is, suffixes added in colloquial speech to names, surnames, nicknames and other words denoting an interlocutor or a third person. They are used to indicate the social relationship between the speaker and the one being spoken about. The choice of a suffix is ​​determined by the character of the speaker (normal, rude, very polite), his attitude towards the listener (usual politeness, respect, fawning, rudeness, arrogance), their position in society and the situation in which the conversation takes place (one on one, in the circle of loved ones friends, between colleagues, between strangers, in public). What follows is a list of some of these suffixes (in ascending order of "respectfulness") Japanese names and their meanings Japanese given name Japan surnames given names green yaponiya live and their usual meanings.

Tyan (chan) - A close analogue of the "diminutive" suffixes of the Russian language. Usually used in relation to the younger or lower in the social sense, with whom one develops a close relationship. In the use of this suffix, the element of "lisping" is felt. Usually used when referring to adults to children, boys to their beloved girls, girlfriends to each other, small children to each other. The use of this suffix in relation to people who are not very close, equal in position to the speaker, is impolite. For example, if a guy refers to a peer of the same age with whom he does not “twist an affair”, then he shows incorrectness. A girl who addresses a fellow peer with whom she doesn’t “twist an affair” is, in fact, rude.

Kun (kun) - An analogue of the appeal "comrade". Most often used between men or in relation to guys. Indicates, rather, some "official", however, close relations. Say, between classmates, partners or friends. It can also be used in relation to the younger or lower in the social sense, when this circumstance does not need to be emphasized.

Yang (yan) - Kansai analogue of "-chan" and "-kun".

Pyon (pyon) - Children's version of "-kun".

Tti (cchi) - Children's version of "-chan" (cf. "Tamagotti" Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surname names green yaponiya live.

Without suffix - Close relationship, but without "lisping". The usual address of adults to teenage children, friends to each other, etc. If a person does not use suffixes at all, then this is a clear indicator of rudeness. Addressing by surname without a suffix is ​​a sign of familiar, but "detached" relationships (a typical example is the relationship of schoolchildren or students).

San (san) - An analogue of the Russian "mister / madam". A general indication of respect. Often used to communicate with strangers, or when all other suffixes do not fit. Used in relation to elders, including older relatives (brothers, sisters, parents).

Han (han) - Kansai equivalent of "-san".

Xi (shi) - "Sir", is used exclusively in official documents after the surname.

Fujin (fujin) - "Lady", is used exclusively in official documents after the surname.

Kohai (kouhai) - Appeal to the younger. Especially often - at school in relation to those who are younger than the speaker.

Senpai (senpai) - Appeal to the elder. Especially often - at school in relation to those who are older than the speaker.

Dono (dono) - Rare suffix. Respectful address to an equal or superior, but slightly different in position. It is now considered obsolete and almost never occurs in communication. In ancient times, it was actively used when samurai addressed each other.

Sensei (sensei) - "Teacher". Used in relation to the actual teachers and professors, as well as to doctors and politicians.

Senshu (senshu) - "Athlete". Used in relation to famous athletes.

Zeki (zeki) - "Sumo wrestler". Used in relation to famous sumo wrestlers.

Ue (ue) - "Senior". A rare and obsolete respectful suffix used for older family members. Not used with names - only with designations of position in the family ("father", "mother", "brother" Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live.

Sama (sama) - The highest degree of respect. Appeal to gods and spirits, to spiritual authorities, a girl to her lover, servants to noble masters, etc. It roughly translates into Russian as "respected, dear, venerable."

Jin (jin) - "One of". "Saya-jin" - "one of the Sai".

Tachi (tachi) - "And friends." "Goku-tachi" - "Goku and his friends."

Gumi (gumi) - "Team, group, party." "Kenshin-gumi" - "Team Kenshin".

Japanese names and their meanings
Personal pronouns

In addition to nominal suffixes, Japan also uses many different ways to address each other and refer to oneself using personal pronouns. The choice of a pronoun is determined by the social laws already mentioned above. The following is a list of some of these pronouns.

Group with the meaning "I"
Watashi - A polite option. Recommended for use by foreigners. Usually used by men. Infrequently used in colloquial speech, as it carries a connotation of "high style".
Atashi (Atashi) - Polite option. Recommended for use by foreigners. Usually used by women. Or gay. ^_^ Not used when communicating with high-ranking personalities.
Watakushi - A very polite female version.
Washi - Obsolete polite variant. Does not depend on gender.
Wai (Wai) - Kansai analogue of "washi".
Boku (Boku) - Familiar youth male version. It is rarely used by women; in this case, “non-femininity” is emphasized. Used in poetry.
Ore (Ore) - Not a very polite option. Purely masculine. Kind of cool. ^_^
Ore-sama (Ore-sama) - "Great I". A rare form, an extreme degree of boasting.
Daikou or Naikou (Daikou/Naikou) - An analogue of "ore-sama", but somewhat less boastful.
Sessha - A very polite form. Usually used by samurai when addressing their masters.
Hisyo (Hishou) - "Insignificant." A very polite form, now practically not used.
Gusei (Gusei) - An analogue of "hisyo", but somewhat less pejorative.
Oira (Oira) - Polite form. Commonly used by monks.
Chin (Chin) - A special form that only the emperor has the right to use.
Ware (Ware) - Polite (formal) form, translated as [I / you / he] “himself”. It is used when it is necessary to especially express the importance of "I". For example, in spells (“I conjure” Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live. In modern Japanese, it is rarely used in the meaning of “I”. It is more often used to form a return form, for example, - “forgetting about yourself” - "ware in wasurete" [Speaker's name or position] - Used by children or when communicating with them, usually in the family. Let's say a girl named Atsuko might say "Atsuko is thirsty." Or her older brother, referring to her, might say “Brother will bring you juice.” There is an element of “lisping” in this, but such an appeal is quite acceptable.

Group with the meaning "We"
Watashi-tachi - A polite option.
Ware-ware (Ware-ware) - A very polite, formal option.
Bokura - An impolite variant.
Touhou - Common variant.

Group with the meaning "You / You":
Anata (Anata) - General polite option. Also, the usual address of a wife to her husband ("dear" Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surname names green yaponiya live.
Anta (Anta) - Less polite option. Usually used by young people. A slight hint of disrespect.
Otaku (Otaku) - Literally translated as "your home". Very polite and rare form. Due to the arrogant use of Japanese informals in relation to each other, the second meaning was fixed - “fan, crazy”.
Kimi - A polite variant, often between friends. Used in poetry.
Kijo (Kijou) - "Mistress". A very polite way of addressing a lady.
Onushi (Onushi) - "Insignificant". An obsolete form of polite speech.
Omae (Omae) - Familiar (when referring to an enemy - insulting) option. Usually used by men in relation to the socially younger (father to daughter, say).
Temae/Temee (Temae/Temee) - Offensive male version. Usually towards the enemy. Something like "bastard" or "bastard".
Onore (Onore) - Offensive variant.
Kisama - Very offensive. Translated with dots. ^_^ Oddly enough, it literally translates as "noble lord."

Japanese names

Modern Japanese names consist of two parts - the surname, which comes first, and the given name, which comes second. True, the Japanese often write their names in "European order" (first name - last name) if they write them in romaji. For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their last name in CAPITAL letters so that it is not confused with the name (due to the above-described inconsistency).

The exception is the emperor and members of his family. They don't have a last name. Girls who marry princes also lose their last names.
Ancient names and surnames

Before the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames. The rest of the population of Japan was content with personal names and nicknames. Women of aristocratic and samurai families also usually did not have surnames, since they did not have the right to inherit. In cases where women did have surnames, they did not change them upon marriage.

Surnames were divided into two groups - the surnames of aristocrats and the surnames of samurai. Unlike the number of samurai surnames, the number of surnames of aristocrats has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them date back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most revered and respected clans of aristocrats were: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. All of them belonged to the Fujiwara clan and had a common name - "Gosetsuke". From among the men of this kind, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and wives for emperors were chosen from among women. The following in nobility were the Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Saionji, Sanjo, Imaidegawa, Tokudaiji, and Kaoin clans. From among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed.

So, representatives of the Saionji clan served as imperial stables (meryo no gogen). Then came all the other aristocratic clans. The hierarchy of nobility of aristocratic families began to take shape in the VI century and lasted until the end of the XI century, when power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans of Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. A number of their representatives at different times were the shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

The personal names of aristocrats and high-ranking samurai were formed from two kanji (hieroglyphs) of a "noble" meaning.

The personal names of samurai servants and peasants were often given according to the "numbering" principle. The first son is Ichiro, the second is Jiro, the third is Saburo, the fourth is Shiro, the fifth is Goro, and so on. Also, in addition to "-ro", the suffixes "-emon", "-ji", "-zo", "-suke", "-be" were used for this purpose.

Upon entering the samurai during his youth, he chose a different name for himself than what he was given at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adulthood, for example, to emphasize the onset of her new period (promotion or moving to another duty station). The lord had the right to rename his vassal.
In the event of a serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to the name of the Buddha Amida in order to appeal to his mercy. According to the rules of samurai fights, before the fight, the samurai had to give his full name so that the enemy could decide whether he was worthy of such an opponent. Of course, in life this rule was observed much less frequently than in novels and chronicles.

At the end of the names of girls from noble families, the suffix "-hime" was added. It is often translated as "princess", but in fact it was used in relation to all noble young ladies. For the names of the wives of the samurai, the suffix "-gozen" was used. Often they were called simply by their husband's surname and rank. The personal names of married women were practically used only by their close relatives.
For the names of monks and nuns from the noble classes, the suffix "-in" was used.
Modern Japanese names and surnames

During the Meiji Restoration, all Japanese were given surnames. Naturally, most of them were associated with various signs of peasant life, especially with rice and its processing. These surnames, like those of the upper class, were also usually composed of two kanji.
The most common Japanese surnames today

Suzuki, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Watanabe, Saito, Sato, Sasaki, Kudo, Takahashi, Kobayashi, Kato, Ito, Murakami, Onishi, Yamaguchi, Nakamura, Kuroki, Higa.

Names often contain the same hieroglyphs as surnames, and the same phonetic and word-formation patterns apply to names. However, there are much more components included in names than for surnames, although there are certain patterns here too. Names include established components or combinations of components. Names often use hieroglyphic readings, nanori readings, which are rarely used in the modern language, and often there is no pattern in this.
There is a group of hieroglyphs that are stably read in names by one on or kun (among them, the most common are those that have only one reading):
準 jun 準吉 Junkichi
謙 ken 謙蔵 Kenzo:
鉄 tetsu 鉄山 tetsuzan
鋼 ko: 鋼治 koji
諸 Moro 諸平 Morohira
Another, more numerous group of hieroglyphs in names uses two or three reading options (1-2 for kun and 1 for on), and the choice of reading often depends on the position of the component in the name. For example, the characters 政、光、盛、信、宣 in the position of the second component are usually read in kun, and the characters 一、七、十、六、吉、作、三郎、太郎 in combination with them are also read in kun. In combination with hieroglyphs, these signs are read on it.
Consider now the structure and types of Japanese male names
There are many fairly typical one-component names related to vago. They come from the old written final form of the predicative adjective (which ended in si), either from the third (dictionary) stem of the verb, or from the noun. At the same time, variable endings are not written in the names, only the root hieroglyph is written.

For example:
博 Hiroshi, 実 Minoru,
正 Tadashi, 薫 Kaworu,
武 Takeshi, 東 Azuma,
雅 Masashi, 登 Noboru.
均 Hitoshi,

There are few simple names related to kango with onu readings.

For example:

竜 Ryu, 順 Jun.

Compound names with two components often include as second (third) elements the characters 郎, 夫, 男, 志, 人, 士, 彦, 司 meaning "man", "husband", "warrior", "outstanding person", as well as many other second elements.

Second stable components of two-component names
a) Japanese origin
…雄 o “strong, brave, superiority, male” (from osu), ….男o from otoko “man”, …夫 o from otto “husband”. Read in kuna
Masao
和夫 Kazuo
信夫 Nobuo
…哉 i This hieroglyph is found only in male names and previously denoted the exclamation of delight “ah!”. Names with this component are read by kun
澄哉 Sumiya
只哉 Tadai
… 彦 hiko. In ancient times, it meant "prince" and could only be included in the names of noble people. Names with this component feel old-fashioned and lack popularity. Names with this component have a coon reading
紀彦 Norihiko
勝彦 Katsuhiko
…助,…介, …輔 suke. In ancient times, all the hieroglyphs that denote this component meant "assistant" and served as a designation of the position. Names with this component are read by kun
直助, 直介 Naosuke
…之, …行, …幸 yuki. Names with these components are read in kun and are considered euphonious, although the yuki component is omitted in everyday communication. The first two hieroglyphs are read non-standard yuki: the first hieroglyph means an indicator of the genitive case in Chineseisms, the second is the auspicious meaning of “happiness”, and the third “going through life”
直之 Naoyuki
…人, …仁 hito. They have the meaning "man" (the second hieroglyph is read non-standard, and usually has a different meaning and reading - "philanthropy, humanity"). Names with this ending have a noble connotation, as emperors wear them. All names with this component have a coon reading.
康人 Yasuhito
…樹 ki "tree" second component of names with kun reading
直樹 Naoki
茂樹 Shigeki b) of Chinese origin (read from onu)
…器 ki “ability”,…機 ki “loom”, …毅 ki “courage, courage, fortitude”, …記 ki “chronicle”, …騎 ki “horseman”. All components and, accordingly, the names with them are read by it.
光記 Ko:ki
春機 Shunki
誠器 Seiki
明毅 Meiki
…朗, …郎 ro: "young man". It mainly follows the hieroglyphs-numerals, which reflect the order of the birth of sons in the family. Names are mostly read by it.
太郎 Tarot,
二郎 Jiro

... 也 is the on reading of the hieroglyph, which in the old written language also meant the bunch of nari "to be". Names with this component are read by it.
心也 xingya

...吾 go - one reading of the hieroglyph with the meaning "I", "our", names with it are read according to it
健吾 Kengo

...平, …兵 hei. the second character was part of the names of military positions during the Nara period, and now names with this endings look like archaic. Names with this component are read by it.
隼兵 Junpei

…太 ta “fat, big”. Names with this component are read by it and were often used in classical works. Japanese writers, belonging to the characters of servants, peasants and conveying the image of a good-natured fat man.
権太 Gonta

...志 si ("will, aspiration"), ...史 si "history", ...士 si "samurai", ...司 si "govern". Names with these components are read by it, but there are also names with kun readings of the first components, and have very "masculine" meanings.
強志 Tsuyoshi
仁志 Hitoshi
雄司 Yuuji

...一 ichi "unit". Being in the second position in the name, this hieroglyph means "first (in something)" All names with this component are read by it
英一 Eiichi
雄一 Juichi

...二 ji "second", "next", 治 ji "to manage", 次 ji "next", 児 ji "child". All these components are probably related to the order of the appearance of sons in the family, some of them are matched in sound to onu ji - next. Names with these components have the same reading
研次 Kenji
...蔵,..., 造, ...三 zo: This ending is common among two-syllable names. It is more often used in names that read it, but it can also appear in the names of the Japanese root.

A significant part of male names from two components does not belong to any of the categories listed above. Among them are the names of the Japanese and Chinese roots. The names of the Japanese root are formed by adding the stems of nouns, nouns with an adjective or verb, adjectives with verbs. The components themselves often have a benevolent meaning.
貫之 Tsurayuki
広重 Hiroshige
正則 Masanori
There are much fewer Chinese root names of this type, and they are additions of hieroglyphs read by onons. moreover, the hieroglyphs used in such names and in male names in general, have a benevolent meaning
勇吉 Yukichi
啓治 Keiji

There are few three-component names, and most of them are names with stable combinations of two components

Persistent components of three-part names
…一郎 itiro: "first son"
憲一郎 Kenichiro

….太郎 taro: "eldest son"
竜太郎 Ryu: taro:

…次郎、….二郎 jiro: "second son"
正二郎 Sho:jiro:

…司郎、…志郎、…士郎 Shiro:
恵司郎 Keishiro:

…之助, …之輔, …之介、….nosuke (see suke component)
準之助 Junnosuke

Another category of three-component names are names with one stable component 雄, 郎, 彦, 志, etc. from those listed at the mention of two-component names, but forming a complex of two components written in ateji - hieroglyphs in sound (i.e., the Japanese word is written in hieroglyphs readable according to her)
亜紀雄 Akio
伊智郎 Ichiro:
賀津彦 Katsuhiko
左登志 Satoshi

There are few names with four components, mostly names with stable final combinations …左衛門 zaemon, …右衛門 emon

Most Japanese female names end in "-ko" ("child" Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live or "-mi" ("beauty" Japanese names and their meanings Japanese name Japan surnames names green yaponiya live. Girls are usually given names that are related in meaning to everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine.Unlike male names, female names are usually written not in kanji, but in hiragana.

Some modern girls do not like the "-ko" ending in their names and prefer to omit it. For example, a girl named "Yuriko" might refer to herself as "Yuri".

According to the law passed during the time of Emperor Meiji, after marriage, the husband and wife are required by law to take the same surname. In 98% of cases, this is the husband's surname. For several years now, an amendment to the Civil Code has been discussed in parliament, allowing spouses to leave premarital surnames. However, while she can not get the required number of votes. After death, the Japanese receive a new, posthumous name (kaimyo), which is written on a special wooden tablet (ihai). This tablet is considered the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is used in funeral rites. Kaimyo and ihai are bought from Buddhist monks - sometimes even before a person's death.

The surname in Japanese is called "myoji" (苗字 or 名字, "uji" (氏 or "sei" (姓.

The vocabulary of the Japanese language has long been divided into two types: wago (jap. 和語?) - native Japanese words and kango (jap. 漢語?) - borrowed from China. Names are also divided into the same types, although a new type is now actively expanding - gairaigo (jap. 外来語?) - words borrowed from other languages, but components of this type are rarely used in names.

Modern Japanese names are divided into the following groups:

Kunny (consisting of vago)
onny (consisting of kango)
mixed

The ratio of Kun and Onn surnames is approximately 80% to 20%.

The most common surnames in Japan are:

Sato (Japanese: 佐藤 Sato:?)
Suzuki (jap. 鈴木?)
Takahashi (Japanese: 高橋?)
Tanaka (Japanese: 田中?)
Watanabe (jap. 渡辺?)
Ito (Japanese: 伊藤 Itō:?)
Yamamoto (jap. 山本?)
Nakamura (Japanese: 中村?)
Ohayashi (Jap. 小林?)
Kobayashi (Jap. 小林?) (different surnames, but spelled the same and have roughly the same distribution)
Kato (Jap. 加藤 Kato:?)

Many surnames, although they are read according to the on (Chinese) reading, go back to ancient Japanese words and are written phonetically, and not in meaning.

Examples of such surnames: Kubo (jap. 久保?) - from jap. kubo (jap. 窪?) - a hole; Sasaki (jap. 佐々木?) - from the ancient Japanese sasa - small; Abe (jap. 阿部?) - from ancient word ape - to combine, mix. If we take into account such surnames, then the number of native Japanese surnames reaches 90%.

For example, the hieroglyph 木 ("tree") is read in kun as ki, but in names it can also be read as ko; The hieroglyph 上 ("up") can be read in kun as both ue and kami. There are two different surnames Uemura and Kamimura, which are written the same - 上村. In addition, there are dropping out and merging of sounds at the junction of components, for example, in the surname Atsumi (Japanese 渥美?), the components separately are read as atsui and umi; and the surname 金成 (kana + nari) is often read simply as Kanari.

When combining hieroglyphs, the alternation of the ending of the first component A / E and O / A is typical - for example, 金 kane - Kanagawa (jap. 金川?), 白 shiro - Shiraoka (jap. 白岡?). In addition, the initial syllables of the second component often become voiced, for example 山田 Yamada (pit + ta), 宮崎 Miyazaki (miya + saki). Also, surnames often contain the remainder of the case indicator no or ha (in ancient times it was customary to put them between the given name and surname). Usually this indicator is not written, but read - for example, 一宮 Ichinomiya (ichi + miya); 榎本 Enomoto (e + moto). But sometimes the case indicator is displayed in writing in hiragana, katakana or a hieroglyph - for example, 井之上 Inoue (and + but + ue); 木ノ下 Kinoshita (ki + katakana no + sita).

The vast majority of surnames in Japanese consist of two characters, surnames of one or three characters are less common, and four-digit or more surnames are very rare.

One-component surnames are mainly of Japanese origin and are formed from nouns or medial forms of verbs. For example, Watari (jap. 渡?) - from watari (jap. 渡り crossing?),  hata (jap. 畑?) - the word hata means "plantation, vegetable garden". Onn surnames consisting of one hieroglyph are much less common. For example, Cho (Jap. 兆 Cho:?) - means "trillion", Ying (Jap. 因?) - "reason".

Japanese surnames consisting of two components, the majority, are called numbers in 60-70%. Of these, most of them are surnames from Japanese roots - it is believed that such surnames are the easiest to read, since most of them are read according to the usual kuns used in the language. Examples - Matsumoto (jap. 松本?) - consists of the nouns used in the language of matsu "pine" and moto "root"; Kiyomizu (Jap. 清水?) - consists of the stem of the adjective 清い kiyoi - "clean" and the noun 水 mizu - "water". Chinese two-component surnames are less numerous and usually have a single reading. Often Chinese surnames contain numbers from one to six (excluding four 四, since this number is read the same as "death" 死 si and they try not to use it). Examples: Ichijo: (Japanese 一条?), Saito: (Japanese 斉藤?). There are also mixed surnames, where one component is read by on, and the other by kun. Examples: Honda (jap. 本田?), hon - "base" (on reading) + ta - "rice field" (kun reading); Betsumiya (jap. 別宮?), betsu - “special, different” (on reading) + miya - “temple” (kun reading). Also, a very small part of the surnames can be read both by ons and by kuns: 坂西 Banzai and Sakanishi, 宮内 Kunai and Miyauchi.

In three-component surnames, Japanese roots are often found phonetically recorded by onami. Examples: 久保田 "Kubota (probably the word 窪 kubo "fossa" is written phonetically as 久保, 阿久津 Akutsu (probably the word 明く aku "to open" is written phonetically as 阿久. However, the usual three-component surnames consisting of three kun readings are also common. Examples: 矢田部 Yatabe , 小野木 Ōnoki There are also three-component surnames with Chinese reading.

Four or more component surnames are very rare.

There are surnames with very unusual readings that look like puzzles. Examples: 十八女 Wakairo - written in characters "eighteen-year-old girl", and read as 若色 "young + color"; The surname denoted by the character 一 "one" is read as Ninomae, which can be translated as 二の前 ni no mae "before the deuce"; and the surname 穂積 Hozue, which can be interpreted as "gathering ears" is sometimes written as 八月一日 "the first day of the eighth lunar month" - apparently on this day the harvest began in ancient times.
Russian female names in Japanese:

Alexandra - (protector) - Mamoka
Alice - (from the noble class) - Yoizokumi
Alla - (other) - Sonota
Anastasia - (resurrected) - Fukkatsumi
Anna - (mercy, grace) - Jihiko
Antonina - (spatial) - Sorariko
Anfisa - (blooming) - Kaika, - Sakura
Valentine - (strong) - Tsuyoi
Barbara - (cruel) - Zankokumi
Vasilisa - (royal) - Joteiko
Faith - (faith) - Shinkori
Victoria - (winner) - Seri
Galina - (clarity) - Tomei
Daria - (great fire) - Ohiko
Evgenia - (noble) - Yoyidenko
Catherine - (purity, cleanliness) - Koheiri
Elena - (light) - Hikari
Elizabeth - (worshiping God) - Kaikanna
Zinaida - (born of a god) - Kamigauma
Zoya - (life) - Sei - Inochi
Inna - (turbulent stream) - Hayakawa
Irina - (peace or anger) - Sekai, - Ikari
Karina - (darling) - Kawaimi
Kira - (Mistress) - Fujinka
Claudia - (limping) - Rameyo
Xenia - (stranger, stranger) - Khoromi
Larisa - (seagull) - Kamome
Lydia - (sad song) - Nageki
Love - (love) - Ai, - Ayumi
Lyudmila - (dear to people) - Tanomi
Margarita - (pearl) - Shinjuka, - Tamae
Marina - (marine) - Maritaimi
Maria - (bitter, stubborn) - Nigai
Hope - (hope) - Nozomi
Natalya - (born, native) - Umari
Nina - (queen) - Quinmee
Oksana - (inhospitable) - Isonaku
Olesya - (forest) - Ringyoko
Olga - (light) - Hikari
Polina - (destroying, destroying) - Hakaina
Raisa - (heavenly, light, submissive) - Tenshimi
Svetlana - (light) - Hikaru
Seraphim - (flaming snake) - Honooryumi
Snezhana - (snowy) - Yuki, Yukiko
Sofia - (wise) - Kasikomi
Tamara - (palm tree) - Yashimi
Tatyana - (mistress) - Joshiko
Ulyana - (righteous) - Tadashimi
Julia - (wavy, fluffy) - Hajouka, - Nami
Yana - (God's grace) - Jihiri

Feminine endings of names: -i, -mi, -ko, -ri, -yo, -e, -ki, -ra, -ka, -na.
An article about this list of names, with another list of Russian names in Japanese.

Russian male names in Japanese:

Alexander - (Defender) 守る - Mamoru
Alexey - (assistant)  ―助け - Taske
Anatoly - (sunrise) 東 - Higashi
Andrew - (courageous, brave) - 勇気 オ Yukio
Anton - (competitor) -力士 - Rikishi
Arkady - (happy country) - 幸国 - Shiawakuni
Artem - (intact, impeccable health) 安全 - Anzen
Arthur - (big bear) 大熊 - Okuma
Boris - (wrestling) - 等式 - Toshiki
Vadim - (proving)  ― 証明 - Shomei
Valentine - (strong, healthy) - 強し - Tsuyoshi
Valery - (peppy, healthy) - 元気等 - Genkito
Basil - (royal) - 王部 - Obu
Victor - (winner) - 勝利者 - Shorisha
Vitaliy (vital) - 生きる - Ikiru
Vladimir (lord of the world) - 平和主 - Heiwanushi
Vyacheslav (famous) - 輝かし - Kagayakashi
Gennady - (noble, well-born) - 膏血 - Koketsu
George (farmer) - 農夫 - Nofu
Gleb (block, pole) -ブロック- Burokku
Gregory (awake) - 目を覚まし ―Meosamashi
Daniel (God's Judgment) - 神コート - Kamikoto
Demyan - (subjugator, pacifier) ​​- 征服 者 - Seifuku
Denis - (life force of nature) - 自然 力 - Shizenryoku
Dmitry (earth fruit) - 果実 - Kajitsu
Eugene (noble) - 良遺伝子 - Ryōidenshi
Egor (patron of agriculture) - 地 主 - Jinushi
Emelyan - (flattering, pleasant in a word) - 甘言 - Kangen
Yefim (blessed) - 恵まろ-Megumaro
Ivan - (God's grace) - 神の恩寵 - Kaminooncho
Igor - (army, courage) - 有事路 Yujiro
Ilya - (fortress of the Lord) - 要塞主 - Yosaishyu
Cyril - (lord of the sun) - 太陽の領主 - Tayonoryoshchu
Constantine (permanent) - 永続 - Eizoku
Lion (lion) - 獅子オ - Shishio
Leonid (son of a lion) - 獅子急 - Shishikyu
Maxim (great) - 全くし - Mattakushi
Michael (Godlike) - 神図 - Kamizu
Mark (hammer) - Tsuchiro
Nikita (victorious) - 勝利と - Shorito
Nicholas (victory of the people) -人の勝利 - Hitonoshiori
Oleg (light) - 光ろ - Hikaro
Pavel (small) - 小子 - Shoshi
Peter (stone) - 石 - Yishi
Roman (Roman) -ローマン - Roman
Ruslan (hard lion) - 獅子 ハード - Shishihado
Stanislav (to become famous) - 有名なる - Yumeinaru
Stepan (crown, wreath, crown) - 花輪ろ - Hanawaro
Yuri (creator) - やり手 - Yarite
Yaroslav (bright glory) - 明る名 - Akarumei

Masculine name endings: -o, -go, -hiko, -ro, -ru, -si, -ki, -ke, -zu, -ya, -ti, -iti, -mu, -to, -hei, - boo, -n, -ta, -sa, -give.

How to determine your Japanese hipster name

Today I saw a funny version of how you can define your Japanese name. True, there is some point, this is not just a name, but a hipster name. And if you read yourself deep down, or on the outside as a hipster, you'll be interested in knowing your name.


Open the picture in full size, find your birth month and date. Add up the resulting words and here it is your Japanese name.

Drawing up a harmonious combination of a surname and a name for the Japanese is a complex science with a long tradition. In Japan, there is a special code of names, consisting of more than two thousand hieroglyphs. Until now, parents turn to specialists - compilers of Japanese names. Usually the names of boys and girls living in the same village are never repeated.

In Japan, there is no concept of "namesake". The Japanese did not have the concept of “fashionable names”, with the exception of “ordinal” male names. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the Japanese use their surnames much more often than personal names.


Last name first, then first name

Japanese names consist of two parts: the family name, which is written and pronounced first, and the personal name, which, according to Eastern tradition, comes second. Modern Japanese often write their names in "European order" (personal name followed by family name) when written in romaji (Latin) or kiriji (Cyrillic). For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their surname in capital letters so that it is not confused with the given name.

Europeans, who rarely attach importance to the etymology of proper names, constantly face difficulties in reading, translating and transcribing Japanese given names and surnames. Modern Japanese can tell you how to read their names, but they do not always dare to translate nominal hieroglyphs into foreign languages. The Japanese are creative with the names of foreigners: Svetlana may not recognize herself in "Suetorana" or Carmen will not immediately respond to the Japanese "Karumen".

How did the surnames appear?

Until the second half of the 19th century, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames in Japan. The rest of the population of Japan managed with personal names and nicknames. The number of aristocratic families in Japan is limited and unchanged from antiquity. The most noble clans of Japanese aristocrats are the Fujiwara clan, the common name is "Gosetsuke": Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. IN modern Japan there are about one hundred thousand surnames, of which more than seventy thousand appeared only 130 years ago.

In the Meiji era ("Enlightened rule") in 1868-1911. Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants, artisans and merchants to choose any surname. Some Japanese instead of a surname wrote down the name of the city or village in which they lived, others “for the surname” took the name of the store or workshop in which they served. Creative people themselves came up with sonorous surnames.

Most of the surnames of modern Japanese are associated with peasant life, the cultivation of rice and its processing. For example, the surname Khakamada consists of two hieroglyphs: "hakama" ( Bottom part traditional Japanese costume, men's pants or women's skirt) and "yes" ("rice field"). Judging by the "peasant" meaning of the hieroglyphs, it can be assumed that the ancestors of Irina Khakamada were field workers.

In Japan, you can meet people with the common surname Ito and exactly the same name Ito (translated as "dandy, dandy, Italy"). But such coincidences are very rare.
The only exception is Emperor Akihito (Show Mercy) and members of his family. The "symbol of the nation" of Japan never had a surname.

Samurai names

In the 12th century, the first military usurper in the history of Japan was the samurai shogun Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, or Yoritomo from the Minamoto clan (translated as “source”), who laid the foundation for the formation of a privileged class-estate of the samurai.

Samurai chose their personal names depending on life circumstances: promotion, relocation in connection with the service, etc. The fall of the last Tokugawa shogunate ("River of Virtue") and the transfer of power to Emperor Mutsuhito were fixed on long years exclusive military privileges.

Until the 19th century, besides complete impunity and opportunities for easy money, the samurai had the right to give names to their vassals. The names of samurai servants and peasants were often given "in order": Ichiro - the first son, Jiro - the second, Saburo - the third, Shiro - the fourth, Goro - the fifth, etc. In addition to "-ro", the suffixes "-emon", "-ji", "-zo", "-suke", "-be" were used.

Modern Japanese male names also carry information about the "serial number" of the son in the family. Until now, the suffixes “-ichi” and “-kazu” (“first son”), “-ji” (“second son”) and “-zo” (“third son”) are often used in Japanese personal male names.

The emperors of Japan are not usually called the same and distinguished by serial number, like commoners. According to the old tradition, the names Japanese emperors composed with the second hieroglyph "compassion, mercy, sympathy." Emperor Mutsuhito's name is a combination of two characters for "friendly, warm" and "compassion". Emperor Hirohito, who ruled Japan from 1926-1989, was raised by samurai veterans of the Russo-Japanese War.

After the collapse of the empire, the nuclear bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the complete and unconditional surrender of Hirohito (approximately - “Abundant Mercy”), in a state of “deep shock”, he showed compassion for his own people, appealed to the mercy of the winners and renounced his divine origin.

Since the 19th-20th centuries, wealthy and influential samurai have retained their highest positions in civil and military government. Others became the founders of Japanese entrepreneurship. A part of the creative intelligentsia was formed from the samurai environment. All personal names of aristocrats and high-ranking samurai consisted of two hieroglyphs with a "noble" meaning.

For example, the name of the son of a military instructor Kurosawa (“Black Swamp”) Akira (“bright”, “clear”) can be roughly translated into Russian as “light in the dark” or “enlightenment”. Perhaps, only thanks to the well-given name, an artist by education, Akira Kurosawa became a director, a classic of Japanese and world cinema, changing our understanding of the world (“swamp”).

Most Japanese female names end in "-ko" ("child") or "-mi" ("beauty"). Japanese women are often given names associated with everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine, graceful.
Unlike male names, female names are usually written not in "solemn" hieroglyphs, but simply in hiragana (the Japanese alphabet used to write Chinese and Japanese words).

So a new list of names

New generations of educated Japanese parents have long sought to expand the old list of nominal characters in order to create completely new, interesting and original names for their children. In September 2004, the Japanese received an additional list of more than 500 characters to compile the official name of the little Japanese.

Very extravagant signs were included in the new list of nominal hieroglyphs, worked out in the offices of the Ministry of Justice of Japan. Among the "new products" appeared hieroglyphs with strange meanings for names: "beetle", "frog", "spider", "turnip".

The child-loving Japanese were seriously indignant. Then the Ministry of Justice of Japan urgently announced that several strange characters were excluded from the new name list: “cancer tumor”, “prostitute”, “buttock”, “hemorrhoids”, “curse”, “debauchery”, “malice”, etc. Some citizens The countries of the rising sun reacted with complete indifference to the "nominal scandal".

In modern Japan, every adult Japanese can take a pseudonym for himself, and after death, almost all Japanese receive new, posthumous names (kaimyo), which are written on a special wooden tablet (ihai) - the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased. Most Japanese believe in reincarnation and try not to worry about fleeting little things in life, even as important as a personal name. Perhaps that is why the Japanese rarely give children the names of their venerable ancestors.

Common Japanese Surnames and Their Meanings

The following table provides a list of the most common Japanese surnames along with the characters, readings, and their meaning in Russian as of April 2010.

As already mentioned in the article about Japanese names, you can see that most Japanese surnames mean various rural landscapes.


Last name position Japanese surnames in Russian Japanese last names in hieroglyphs The meanings of the hieroglyphs of Japanese surnames
Sato: 佐藤 assistant + wisteria
Suzuki 鈴木 bell (bell) + tree
Takahashi 高橋 high+bridge
Tanaka 田中 rice field + middle
Watanabe 渡辺/渡邊 to cross+neighborhood
Ito: 伊藤 I + wisteria
Yamamoto 山本 mountain + base
Nakamura 中村 middle + village
9 Kobayashi 小林 small forest
10 Kato: 加藤 add + wisteria
11 Yoshida 吉田 happiness + rice field
12 Yamada 山田 mountain + rice field
13 Sasaki 佐々木 helpers + tree
14 Yamaguchi 山口 mountain + mouth, entrance
15 Saito: 斎藤/齋藤 cleansing (religious) + wisteria
16 Matsumoto 松本 pine + base
17 inoe 井上 well + top
18 Kimura 木村 tree + village
19 Hayashi forest
20 Shimizu 清水 pure water
21 Yamazaki/ Yamasaki 山崎 mountain + cape
22 Maury forest
23 Abe 阿部 corner, shadow; sector;
24 Ikeda 池田 pond + rice field
25 Hashimoto 橋本 bridge + base
26 Yamashita 山下 mountain + under, bottom
27 Ishikawa 石川 stone + river
28 Nakajima/Nakashima 中島 middle + island
29 Maeda 前田 behind + rice field
30 Fujita 藤田 wisteria + rice field
31 Ogawa 小川 small river
32 Goto: 後藤 behind, future + wisteria
33 Okada 岡田 hill + rice field
34 Hasegawa 長谷川 long+valley+river
35 Murakami 村上 village + top
36 Condo 近藤 close + wisteria
37 Isius 石井 stone + well
38 Saito: 斉藤/齊藤 equal+wisteria
39 Sakamoto 坂本 slope + base
40 Iendo: 遠藤 distant + wisteria
41 Aoki 青木 green, young + tree
42 Fujii 藤井 wisteria + well
43 Nishimura 西村 west+village
44 Fukuda 福田 happiness, prosperity + rice field
45 Oota 太田 large + rice field
46 Miura 三浦 three bays
47 Okamoto 岡本 hill + base
48 Matsuda 松田 pine + rice field
49 Nakagawa 中川 middle + river
50 Nakano 中野 middle + [uncultivated] field; plain
51 Harada 原田 plain, field; steppe + rice field
52 Fujiwara 藤原 wisteria + plain, field; steppe
53 It 小野 small + [uncultivated] field; plain
54 Tamura 田村 rice field + village
55 Takeuchi 竹内 bamboo+inside
56 Kaneko 金子 gold + child
57 Wada 和田 harmony + rice field
58 Nakayama 中山 middle + mountain
59 Isis 石田 stone + rice field
60 Ueda/Ueta 上田 top+rice field
61 Morita 森田 forest + rice field
62 Hara plain, field; steppe
63 Sibata 柴田 brushwood + rice field
64 Sakai 酒井 alcohol + well
65 Kudo: 工藤 working + wisteria
66 Yokoyama 横山 side of the mountain
67 Miyazaki 宮崎 temple, palace + cape
68 Miyamoto 宮本 temple, palace + base
69 Uchida 内田 inside+rice field
70 Takagi 高木 tall tree
71 Ando: 安藤 calm + wisteria
72 Taniguchi 谷口 valley + mouth, entrance
73 Uno 大野 large + [uncultivated] field; plain
74 Maruyama 丸山 round+mountain
75 Imai 今井 now+well
76 Takada/ Takata 高田 high + rice field
77 Fujimoto 藤本 wisteria + base
78 Takeda 武田 military + rice field
79 Murata 村田 village + rice field
80 Ueno 上野 top + [uncultivated] field; plain
81 sugiyama 杉山 Japanese cedar + mountain
82 Masuda 増田 enlarge+rice field
83 sugawara 菅原 sedge + plain, field; steppe
84 Hirano 平野 level + [uncultivated] field; plain
85 Ootsuka 大塚 big+hill
86 Kojima 小島 small+island
87 Chiba 千葉 a thousand sheets
88 Kubo 久保 long+support
89 Matsui 松井 pine + well
90 Iwasaki 岩崎 rock + cape
91 sakurai 桜井/櫻井 sakura + well
92 Kinoshita 木下 tree + under, bottom
93 Noguchi 野口 [uncultivated] field; plain + mouth, entrance
94 Matsuo 松尾 pine + tail
95 Nomura 野村 [uncultivated] field; plain + village
96 Kikuchi 菊地 chrysanthemum + earth
97 Sano 佐野 assistant + [uncultivated] field; plain
98 Oonisi 大西 big west
99 Sugimoto 杉本 Japanese cedar + roots
100 Arai 新井 new well
101 Hamada 浜田/濱田 shore + rice field
102 Ichikawa 市川 city ​​+ river
103 Furukawa 古川 old river
104 Mizuno 水野 water + [uncultivated] field; plain
105 Komatsu 小松 little pine
106 Shimada 島田 island + rice field
107 Koyama 小山 small mountain
108 Takano 高野 high + [uncultivated] field; plain
109 Yamauchi 山内 mountain+inside
110 Nishida 西田 west + rice field
111 Kikuchi 菊池 chrysanthemum + pond
112 Nishikawa 西川 west + river
113 Igarashi 五十嵐 50 storms
114 Kitamura 北村 north+village
115 Yasuda 安田 calm + rice field
116 Nakata/ Nakada 中田 middle + rice field
117 Kawaguchi 川口 river + mouth, entrance
118 Hirata 平田 flat + rice field
119 kawasaki 川崎 river + cape
120 Iida 飯田 boiled rice, food + rice field
121 Yoshikawa 吉川 happiness + river
122 Honda 本田 base + rice field
123 Kubota 久保田 long+maintain+rice field
124 Sawada 沢田/澤田 swamp + rice field
125 Tsuji Street
126 seki 関/關 Outpost; barrier
127 Yoshimura 吉村 happiness + village
128 Watanabe 渡部 to cross + part; sector;
129 Iwata 岩田 rock + rice field
130 Nakanishi 中西 west+middle
131 Hattori 服部 clothes, subordinate + part; sector;
132 Higuchi 樋口 gutter; drain + mouth, input
133 Fukushima 福島 happiness, prosperity + island
134 Kawakami 川上 river + top
135 Nagai 永井 eternal well
136 Matsuoka 松岡 pine + hill
137 Taguchi 田口 rice floor+mouth
138 Yamanaka 山中 mountain + middle
139 Morimoto 森本 forest + base
140 Tsuchiya 土屋 land + house
141 I but 矢野 arrow + [uncultivated] field; plain
142 Hirose 広瀬/廣瀬 wide fast current
143 Ozawa 小沢/小澤 small swamp
144 Akiyama 秋山 autumn + mountain
145 Ishihara 石原 stone + plain, field; steppe
146 Matsushita 松下 pine+under, bottom
147 Woman 馬場 horse + seat
148 Oohashi 大橋 big bridge
149 Matsuura 松浦 pine + bay
150 Yoshioka 吉岡 happiness + hill
151 Koike 小池 small + pond
152 asano 浅野/淺野 small + [uncultivated] field; plain
153 Araki 荒木 wild+tree
154 Ookubo 大久保 big+long+support
155 Kumagai 熊谷 bear + valley
156 But yes 野田 [uncultivated] field; plain+rice field
157 Tanabe 田辺/田邊 rice field + surroundings
158 Kawamura 川村 river + village
159 Hoshino 星野 star + [uncultivated] field; plain
160 Ootani 大谷 big valley
161 Kuroda 黒田 black rice field
162 hori channel
163 Ozaki 尾崎 tail + cape
164 Mochizuki 望月 full moon
165 Nagata 永田 eternal rice field
166 Naito 内藤 inside + wisteria
167 Matsumura 松村 pine + village
168 Nishiyama 西山 west + mountain
169 Hirai 平井 level well
170 Ooshima 大島 big Island
171 Iwamoto 岩本 rock + base
172 Katayama 片山 piece + mountain
173 Homma 本間 base + gap, room, luck
174 Hayakawa 早川 early + river
175 Yokota 横田 side+rice field
176 Okazaki 岡崎 hill+cape
177 Arai 荒井 wild well
178 Ooisi 大石 big Stone
179 Kamata 鎌田 sickle, scythe + rice field
180 Narita 成田 form + rice field
181 Miyata 宮田 temple, palace + rice field
182 Oh yeah 小田 small rice field
183 Ishibashi 石橋 stone + bridge
184 Ko:but 河野 river + [uncultivated] field; plain
185 shinohara 篠原 undersized bamboo + plain, field; steppe
186 Suto/Sudo 須藤 certainly + wisteria
187 Hagiwara 萩原 bicolor lespedeza + plain, field; steppe
188 Takayama 高山 high mountain
189 Oosawa 大沢/大澤 big swamp
190 Konishi 小西 small+west
191 Minami south
192 Kurihara 栗原 chestnut + plain, field; steppe
193 Ito 伊東 that, he + east
194 Matsubara 松原 pine + plain, field; steppe
195 Miyake 三宅 three houses
196 Fukui 福井 happiness, well-being + well
197 Oomori 大森 big forest
198 Okumura 奥村 deep (hidden) + village
199 Oka Hill
200 Uchiyama 内山 inside+mountain

These are Japanese names with Russian translation :-)* :-D*

Ai - W - Love
Aiko - f - Beloved child
Akako - W - Red
Akane - w - Sparkling Red
Akemi - f - Dazzlingly beautiful
Akeno - m - Clear morning
Aki - w - Born in autumn
Akiko - w - autumn child
Akina - w - Spring Flower
Akio - m - Handsome
Akira - m - Smart, quick-witted
Akiyama - m - Autumn, mountain
Amaya - w - Night Rain
Ami - w - Friend
Amiko - m - Pretty girl
Amida - m - Name of the Buddha
Anda - f - Met in the field
Aneko - f - older sister
Anzu - W - Apricot
Arahsi - Storm, whirlwind
Arata - m - Inexperienced
Arisu - w - Jap. form of the name Alice
Asuka - w - Flavor of Tomorrow
Ayame - W - Iris
Azarni - w - Thistle flower
Benjiro - m - Enjoying the world
Botan - m - Peony
Chika - w - wisdom
Chikako - W - Child of Wisdom
Chinatsu - w - Thousand years
Chiyo - W - Eternity
Chizu - w - Thousand storks (longevity is implied)
Cho - w - Butterfly
Dai-m-Great
Dai - W - Great
Daichi - m - Great first son
Daiki - m - Great Tree
Daisuke - m - Great help
Etsu - f - Delightful, charming
Etsuko - f - A delightful child
Fudo - m - God of fire and wisdom
Fujita - m/f - Field, meadow
Gin - w - Silvery
Goro - m - Fifth son
Hana - w - Flower
Hanako - w - Flower child
Haru - m - Born in the spring
Haruka - W - Distant
Haruko - w - Spring
Hachiro - m - Eighth son
Hideaki - m - Brilliant, excellent
Hikaru - m/f - Light, shining
Hide - w - Fertile
Hiroko - W - Magnanimous
Hiroshi - m - Generous
Hitomi - f - Doubly beautiful
Hoshi - W - Star
Hotaka - m - The name of a mountain in Japan
Hotaru - W - Firefly
Ichiro - m - First son
Ima - w - Gift
Isami - m - Courage
Ishi - W - Stone
Izanami - w - Attractive
Izumi - w - Fountain
Jiro - m - Second son
Joben - m - Loving purity
Jomei - m - Bringer of light
Junko - w - Pure child
Juro - m - Tenth son
Yachi - F - Eight thousand
Yasu - F - Calm
Yasuo - M - Mirny
Yayoi - F - March
Yogi - M - Yoga Practitioner
Yoko - F - Child of the sun
Yori - F - Trustworthy
Yoshi - F - Perfection
Yoshiko - F - Perfect child
Yoshiro - M - Perfect Son
Yudsuki - M - Crescent
Yuki - M - Snow
Yukiko - F - Snow Child
Yukio - M - Cherished by God
Yuko - F - Kind child
Yumako - F - Baby Yuma
Yumi - F - Like a bow (weapon)
Yumiko - F - Arrow Child
Yuri - F - Lily
Yuriko - F - Child of a lily
Yuu - M - Noble blood
Yuudai - M - Great Hero
Kado - m - Gate
Kaede - W - Maple Leaf
Kagami - w - Mirror
Kameko - w - Child of the turtle (symbol of longevity)
Kanaya - m - Zealous - And you thought I took this name out of my head?
Kano - m - God of water
Kasumi - w - Fog
Katashi - m - Hardness
Katsu - m - Victory
Katsuo - m - Victorious child
Katsuro - m - Victorious son
Kazuki - m - Joyful world
Kazuko - w - Cheerful child
Kazuo - m - Dear son
Kei - W - Respectful
Keiko - W - Adorable
Keitaro - m - Blessed
Ken - m - big guy
Ken`ichi - m - Strong first son
Kenji - m - Strong second son
Kenshin - m - Heart of the sword
Kensiro - m - Heavenly son
Kenta - m - Healthy and bold
Kichi - W - Lucky
Kichiro - m - Lucky son
Kiku - w - Chrysanthemum
Kimiko - w - Child of noble blood
Kin - m - golden
Kioko - w - happy child
Kisho - m - Having a head on his shoulders
Kita - W - North
Kiyoko - w - Purity
Kiyoshi - m - Quiet
Kohaku - m/f - Amber
Kohana - w - Small flower
Koko - w - stork
Koto - w - Jap. musical instrument "koto"
Kotone - w - The sound of a koto
Kumiko - f - Forever beautiful
Kuri - W - Chestnut
Kuro - m - Ninth son
Kyo - m - Consent (or redhead)
Kyoko - W - Mirror
Leiko - w - Arrogant
Machi - w - Ten thousand years
Machiko - W - Lucky Child
Maeko - w - Honest child
Maemi - w - sincere smile
Mai - W - Bright
Makoto - m - Sincere
Mamiko - w - Baby Mami
Mamoru - m - Earth
Manami - w - The beauty of love
Mariko - f - child of truth
Marise - m/f - Endless
Masa - m/f - Straight (human)
Masakazu - m - First son of Masa
Mashiro - m - wide
Matsu - w - Pine
Mayako - w - Child of Maya
Mayoko - w - Child Mayo
Mayuko - w - Child of Mayu
Michi - W - Fair
Michie - f - Gracefully hanging flower
Michiko - w - Beautiful and wise
Michio - m - A man with the strength of three thousand
Midori - W - Green
Mihoko - w - Baby Miho
Mika - W - New Moon
Miki - m/f - Stalk
Mikio - m - Three woven trees
Mina - W - South
Minako - w - Handsome child
Mine - w - Brave Protector
Minoru - m - Seed
Misaki - w - The Blossom of Beauty
Mitsuko - w - Child of Light
Miya - w - Three arrows
Miyako - w - Beautiful baby March
Mizuki - W - Beautiful Moon
Momoko - W - Child-Peach
Montaro - m - big guy
Moriko - w - Child of the Forest
Morio - m - Forest boy
Mura - w - Rustic
Muro - m - Runaway - I chose this name not at all because of the meaning
Mutsuko - w - Baby Mutsu
Nahoko - w - Baby Naho
Nami - W - Wave
Namiko - w - Child of the Waves
Nana - W - Apple
Naoko - f - obedient child
Naomi - f - Above all beauty
Nara - W - Oak
Nariko - w - Sissy
Natsuko - w - Summer Child
Natsumi - W - Beautiful Summer
Nayoko - w - Baby Nayo
Nibori - m - Famous
Nikki - m/f - Two Trees
Nikko - m - Daylight
Nori - w - Law
Noriko - w - Child of the Law
Nozomi - w - Hope
Nyoko - w - Jewel
Oki - W - Mid Ocean
Orino - w - Peasant Meadow
Osamu - m - Firmness of the law
Rafu - m - Network
Rai - W - Truth
Raidon - m - god of thunder
Ran - f - water lily
Rei - W - Gratitude
Reiko - f - Gratitude - Most likely there was "Child Rei"
Ren - w - Water lily
Renjiro - m - Honest
Renzo - m - Third son
Riko - f - Child of Jasmine
Rin - w - Surly
Rinji - m - Peaceful forest
Rini - w - Little Bunny
Risako - w - Child of Risa
Ritsuko - w - Child of Ritsu
Roka - m - White wave crest
Rokuro - m - Sixth son
Ronin - m - Samurai without a master
Rumiko - w - Baby Rumi
Ruri - w - Emerald
Ryo - m - Superb
Ryoichi - m - First son of Ryo
Ryoko - w - Baby Ryo
Ryota - m - Strong (obese)
Ryozo - m - Third son of Ryo
Ryuichi - m - First son of Ryu
Ryuu - m - Dragon
Saburo - m - Third son
Sachi - W - Happiness
Sachiko - w - Child of Happiness
Sachio m - fortunately born
Saeko - w - Child of Sae
Saki - w - Cape (geographical)
Sakiko - w - Baby Saki
Sakuko - w - Baby Saku
Sakura - w - Cherry blossoms
Sanako - w - Baby Sana
Sango - W - Coral
Saniiro - m - Wonderful
Satu - W - Sugar
Sayuri - W - Little Lily
Seiichi - m - First son of Sei
Sen - m - Spirit of the tree
Shichiro - m - Seventh son
Shika - w - Deer
Shima - m - Islander
Shina - W - Worthy
Shinichi - m - First son of Shin
Shiro - m - Fourth son
Shizuka - w - Quiet
Sho-m-Prosperity
Sora - W - Sky
Sorano - W - Heavenly
Suki - f - Favorite
Suma - f - Asking
Sumi - f - Purified (religious)
Susumi - m - Moving forward (successful)
Suzu - w - Handbell (bell)
Suzume - w - Sparrow
Tadao - m - Helpful
Taka - w - Noble
Takako - w - Tall child
Takara - w - Treasure
Takashi - m - Famous
Takehiko - m - Bamboo Prince
Takeo - m - Similar to bamboo
Takeshi - m - Bamboo tree or brave
Takumi - m - Artisan
Tama - m/f - Jewel
Tamiko - f - Child of abundance
Tani - w - From the valley (baby)
Taro - m - Firstborn
Taura - w - Many lakes; many rivers
Teijo - m - Fair
Tomeo - m - Cautious person
Tomiko - w - Child of Wealth
Tora - w - Tigress
Torio - m - Bird's tail
Toru - m - Sea
Toshi - W - Mirror Reflection
Toshiro - m - Talented
Toya - m/f - House door
Tsukiko - w - Child of the Moon
Tsuyu - f - morning dew
Udo - m - Ginseng
Ume - w - Plum Blossom
Umeko - w - Child of Plum Blossoms
Usagi - W - Rabbit
Uyeda - m - from the rice field (child)
Yachi - w - Eight thousand
Yasu - w - Calm
Yasuo - m - Peaceful
Yayoi - W - March
Yogi - m - Practicing yoga
Yoko - W - Child of the Sun
Yori - W - Trustworthy
Yoshi - W - Perfection
Yoshiko - w - Perfect child
Yoshiro - m - Perfect son
Yudsuki - m - Crescent
Yuki-m-Snow
Yukiko - w - Snow Child
Yukio - m - Cherished by God
Yuko - w - Kind child
Yumako - w - Child of Yuma
Yumi - f - Like a bow (weapon)
Yumiko - W - Child of the Arrow
Yuri - w - Lily
Yuriko - w - Child of a lily
Yuu - m - Noble blood
Yuudai - m - Great hero

Gods and deities

NAMES OF THE GODS

Yarila (legend)
God of rage, youth and beauty and vitality: from earthly fertility and human sexuality to the will to live. Wild animals, nature spirits and lower deities obey him (or her).

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Yard see [Wyrd]
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Yar-Khmel God of intoxicated honey, beer, wine, fun and winemaking.
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Yan-di God of the Sun and fire.
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Yama God of the realm of the dead.
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Jupiter (legend) God of the sky, daylight, thunderstorms. Having thrown his father, the titan Kronos, into Tartarus, he became the lord of the gods and people.
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Eya see [Oanne]
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Etheria Daughter of the sun god Phoebe and the oceanides Clymene.
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Ereshkigal Lady of the realm of the dead.
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Eos Goddess of the sun, dawn. "with purple fingers Eos".
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Enlil see [Ellil]
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Enki see [Eya]
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Ellil Enlil. god of air and earth
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Ellie Ellie. As, goddess of old age.
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Air Air. As, the patroness of doctors, the goddess who bestows love.
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Eya Enki. God of world fresh waters, wisdom, patron of people.
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Shamash God of the Sun.
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Chur (legend) God of protection of property rights, protection, patron of borders, integrity, protection, protection from damage and evil spirits.
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Number God God of time and astrology, letters, numbers, calendar.
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Zhuan Xu God of waters.
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Chernobog (legend) (Black Serpent, Kashchey) Lord of Navi, Darkness and Pekelny kingdom. God of cold, destruction, death, evil; God of madness and the embodiment of everything bad and black.
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Tsukuyomi God of the Moon.
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Hyuk Hjuke. The growing moon, one of the three goddesses, along with Bil and Mani.
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Huang Di "Lord of the Center". supreme deity.
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Khors God of the Sun, brother of the Moon.
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Hops God of hops and drunkenness. Husband of Surica.
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Hlin Hlin. Ace, Frigga's messenger who takes care of those her mistress wants to protect.
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Hitzliputzli see [Hitzilopochtli]
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Hitzlaputzli see [Hitzilopochtli]
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Hermod Hermod. Messenger of Asgard. His name is mentioned in connection with an unsuccessful attempt to bring Balder back from the realm of Hel.
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Hoenir Hoenir. As, god of priestly functions. He is often referred to as the Silent God.
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Hel Hel. Daughter of Loki, ruler of the underworld, queen of the dead. Above the belt is an ordinary woman, and below is a skeleton.
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Heimdall (legend) Guardian of the Bifrest Bridge, son of Odin, "Wise Ace". He sleeps less than a bird, sees a hundred days' journey in any direction, and can hear the growth of grass and wool.
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Khed (legend) Hoder. Son of Odin, "Blind Ace". He possesses huge force, but never leaves Asgard. He is one of the twelve main gods.
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Heidrun A goat that lives in Asgard and feeds on leaves from the top of Yggrasil. Everyone in Asgard feeds on her milk, strong as honey, and there is enough for everyone.
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Fulla Fulla. As, Frigga's servant.
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Frigg (legend) As, goddess of marriage and procreation, wife of Odin. Frigg rules over the goddesses living in Asgard.
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Freya (legend) Goddess of love, her heart is so soft and gentle that she sympathizes with the suffering of everyone. She is the leader of the Valkyries.
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Freyr (legend) God of fertility and summer. He is subject to sunlight, he is beautiful and powerful, he is a van, sending wealth.
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Fortune Roman goddess of happiness, chance and good luck. It was depicted on a ball or wheel (a symbol of the variability of happiness), sometimes with a blindfold.
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Forseti Forseti. As, son of Balder, god of justice and victory in disputes.
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Phoebus (legend) God of the sun.
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Faetusa Daughter of the sun god Phoebe and the oceanides Clymene.
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Phaethon The son of the sun god Phoebus and the oceanides Clymene.
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Ushas God of the dawn.
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Adoption One of the three giant brothers, assistants to Perun (Gorynya, Dubynya and Usynya).
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Usud (legend) God is the arbiter of fate. Determines who is born rich or poor, happy or unhappy.
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Usins Latvian "horse god".
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Ouroboros (legend) "Eating his own tail". A snake biting its tail, "beginning at the end of its tail", encircling the whole world.
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Uranus Son of the sky god, husband of Gaia, father of Tetis.
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Ull (legend) Patron of archers and skiers, god of fertility and law.
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Ulap (legend) The patron of the Chuvash, the god-bogatyr, who threw the sun and moon far from the earth.
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Huitzilopochtli (legend) Hitzliputzli, Hitzlaputzli, "Hummingbird of the left side". Human hearts were sacrificed to this god.
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Wyrd A silent goddess who rules over immortals and mortals.
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Tian-di God of the sky.
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Tyr (legend) As, god of war, son of Odin and sister of the sea giant Hymir, the third of the aces after Odin and the bravest among them.
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Tiermes (legend) Udmurt god - thunderer. When he defeats the god - the deer Myandash, the end of the world will come.
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Trojan the Three-Headed Lord of the Three Kingdoms. One of Troyan's heads devours people, the other - cattle, the third - fish, he travels at night, as he is afraid of sunlight.
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Triton Sea deity, son of Poseidon and Nereid Amphetrite.
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Triptolemos Lord of the realm of the dead.
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Triglavs Great Triglav: Rod - Belobog - Chernobog. Small Triglav: Svarog - Perun - Veles.
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Triglav (legend) In the mythology of the Baltic Slavs, a three-headed deity. They symbolize power over the three kingdoms - heaven, earth and the underworld.
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Tochi see [Tlazolteotl]
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Thor (legend) As, the god of thunder, the son of Odin and the goddess of the earth Yord. Considered the most powerful god after Odin.
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Tlasolteotl Ishkuin, Tochi, Teteoinnan. Goddess of fertility, sexual sins, repentance, devourer of dirt and excrement.
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Tetis Daughter of Uranus and Gaia, wife of Oceanus. She was Phaeton's maternal grandmother; Clymene was her daughter.
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Teteoinnan see [Tlazolteotl]
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Tezcatlipoca (legend) "Smoking mirror". Forever young, omnipotent, omniscient god of evil, rival of Quetzalcoatl.
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Thaumant Father of the rainbow goddess Iris.
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Tarkh, see [Dazhbog]
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Tammuz see [Dimuzi]
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Tamamo-no-mae One of the evil gods.
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Xiong Syn. As, the goddess who protects people's houses from thieves.
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Sjövn Siofn. As, a goddess, striving for people to live peacefully and amicably.
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Syvlampi "Rosa". Daughter of the Sun and his wives: morning and evening Dawn, the sister of man.
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Susanoo God of the wind and water element, later a hero who saved people from the eight-headed serpent.
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Suritsa Suritsa - the solar Goddess of joy, light (surya drink (drinking honey)). Khmel's wife. Daughter of Dazhbog.
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Stribog (legend) The supreme god of the wind. He can call and tame a storm, he can turn into his assistant, the bird Stratim.
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Stix Stux (Greek) - "Hateful". Goddess of the river of the same name in the realm of the dead.
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Srecha Goddess of happiness and good luck.
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Snotra Snotra. As, goddess of wisdom and courtesy.
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Sif (legend) Sif. As, goddess of fertility, wife of Thor. The beauty of Sif is second only to Freya.
---
Siva (legend) Siva is the god of sowing, harvest and cattle.
---
Si-wanmu Goddess, mistress of the country of immortality.
---
Semargl (legend) Simargl, Fire God. God of fire and moon, fire sacrifices, home and hearth, keeps seeds and crops.
---
Selena Goddess of the moon.
---
Svyatovit (legend) God of light, fertility, harvest, autumn sun, grain. The god of war and victory, represented in the form of a warrior - horseman.
---
Sventovit (legend) Supreme deity Western Slavs, referred to in the Middle Ages as Wends, and rugs.
---
Svarog (legend) God of fire, blacksmithing, family hearth. Heavenly blacksmith and great warrior. There are quite conflicting reports about this god.
---
Saraswati Beautiful goddess of eloquence.
---
Saga Saga. As, goddess of stories and genealogy.
---
Ren Ran. Van, wife of Aegir, goddess of weather and storms, requiring regular soul sacrifices.
---
Rudra One of the main Indian gods, many-armed and three-eyed. The son of the creator of the universe Brahma.
---
Rodov Triglav see [Big Triglav]
---
Radogost (legend) The essence of the punishing face of the Almighty, the judge of human souls.
---
Proteus (legend) The sea god, is able to take on the appearance of different creatures and move into various properties of matter - fire, water, wood.
---
Poseidon God of the sea, father of Triton and Proteus.
---
Whistle Elder wind, god of the storm. Son of Stribog.
---
Midnighter God of the wind at midnight, son of Stribog.
---
Noon God of the noon wind, son of Stribog.
---
Polel God of love and spring fertility, brother of Lelya and Lelya.
---
Podaga God of the hot, withering wind, living in the desert in the south. Son of Stribog.
---
Weather Warm, light breeze, god of pleasant weather. Son of Stribog.
---
Perun (legend) "Striking". Red-bearded god of thunder, thunder and lightning, patron of warriors and knights. One of the main trinity of gods. His attribute is an axe.
---
Pereplut (legend) Pereplut - God of the sea, navigation. Watermen obey him. There is not enough information about him to exact definition its functions.
---
Ohhurs A class of gods in India and Iran.
---
Osiris Usyr. God of fertility and king of the underworld.
---
Ora Goddesses of the changing seasons and hours.
---
Ocean Husband of Tethys.
---
Odin (legend) Supreme god of Scandinavia, ace, ruler of Asgard, god of warriors.
---
Fiery Magus Guardian of the way to the Iry garden, god of war and courage. Lely's husband.
---
Ovivi see [Kokopelli]
---
Oanne (legend) Eya. Babylonian god of the sea, the oldest of the sea gods.
---
O-Kuni-Nusi God, who grew grass and trees on earth, taught people to heal diseases.
---
Nui-wa Goddess - the creator of mankind.
---
Njord (legend) Njord. Van, the patron of navigation, fishing and shipbuilding, he is subject to the winds and the sea. Njord is richer than all aesir and, like all Vanir, very kind.
---
Ninurta God of war.
---
Nintu The goddess who created people, the patroness of women in childbirth.
---
Nereus God of the calm sea. Lives in a palace at the bottom of the sea.
---
Nergal Lord of the realm of the dead, husband of the goddess Ereshkigal.
---
Nemesis Goddess of deserved punishment.
---
Nedolya Goddess, together with Dolya and Makosh, spinning the thread of human life on earth.
---
Nanna God of the Moon.
---
Nanna Nanna. As, goddess of fertility, wife of Balder, who did not survive his death.
---
Namtar "Destiny" God, who appears to the dying and takes him to the realm of the dead.
---
Naboo God is the patron of sciences.
---
Morrigan (legend) In Irish mythology, one of the three goddesses of war. She is also called the Mighty Queen and is seen as the Triple Goddess or the death form of the Triple Goddess.
---
Morok God of lies and deceit, ignorance and delusion. But he is also the guardian of the paths to the Truth, hiding the Truth from others behind an empty mundane toil.
---
Frost (legend) God of winter and cold weather. A short old man with a long gray beard. In winter, he runs through the fields and streets and knocks - from his knock, bitter frosts begin and the rivers are encased in ice.
---
Modi (legend) Modi. As, son of Thor and Sif, sometimes referred to as the patron of berserkers.
---
Mitra Ancient Iranian deity, incarnation: bull. His cult was very widespread in the Roman Empire in the first centuries of the new era, as the "Soldier God".
---
Mictlantecuhtli Lord of Mictlan, the underworld of the dead.
---
Month Month Mesyatsovich, brother of the Sun. "Perun was angry with him and cut him in half with a damask axe. Since then, the month has not become round, but the way we see it in heaven."
---
Mother Earth Cheese (legend) People revered the Earth not only in pagan times, but also now. The earth is called holy, mother, she is the embodiment of health and purity. The wife of the sky, which fertilizes her with rain.
---
Martsana (legend) Goddess of death of all living beings except humans, goddess of hunting, fishing and hunting.
---
Marena (legend) Marana, Morena, Marzhana, Marzhona. Goddess associated with the embodiment of death, with the seasonal rituals of the death and resurrection of nature, and with the rituals of bringing rain.
---
Marduk Originally the god of the city of Babylon, later - the supreme deity, "the lord of the gods."
---
Mara (goddess) (legend) Morana, Morena, Marena, Mora. The mighty and formidable goddess of Winter and Death, the wife (daughter) of Kashchei and the daughter of Lada, sister Alive with Lelya. Her symbol is the Black Moon, piles of broken skulls, and a sickle with which she cuts the Threads of Life.
---
Mani Mani. The moon as a deity, one of the three goddesses, along with Hyuk and Bil.
---
Mamon (legend) Mamon Slavic black deity of wealth and gluttony, opposed to light gods.
---
Small Triglav (legend) Svarog - Perun - Veles.
---
Makosh (legend) Makosh - the Goddess spinning the Threads of Fate - in Heaven, as well as the patroness of women's needlework - on Earth.
---
Magura (legend) Daughter of Perun, cloud maiden - beautiful, winged, warlike. Her heart is forever given to warriors, heroes. She sends the dead warriors to Iriy.
---
Magni (legend) Magni. As, son of Thor, god of physical strength.
---
Lub (legend) Lub is the guardian spirit of the marriage bed. He appeared as a big-eared, shaggy, golden-haired cat with an arrowhead stalk in his teeth. Lyuba had to be appeased in every possible way so that he would drive Nelyub away from the bedroom - the same cat, only black and vicious, with a branch of henbane in his mouth.
---
Lei-shen God of thunder.
---
Loki (legend) Giant, god of fire, brother of Odin, accepted by the Asami as an equal.
---
Summer Olympian goddess.
---
Lelya (legend) Spring, the goddess of girlish love, the youngest Rozhanitsa, the patroness of lovers, beauty, happiness. Lada's daughter. Wife of Semargl.
---
Lel (legend) God of youthful love, passion, son of Lada and brother of Lely. Sparks ignite the fire of love from his hands.
---
Lahmu Lahmu and Lahamu - the oldest pair of gods, generated by primitive chaos.
---
Lampetia Daughter of the sun god Phoebe and the oceanides Clymene.
---
Lakshmi A beautiful white-robed maiden born of the ocean, the goddess of beauty and happiness.
---
Lada (legend) The female hypostasis of the Family, the wife of Svarog and the mother of the Svarozhich gods, the elder Rozhanitsa (Rozhanitsa - Mother), family deity.
---
Lad God of reconciliation and harmony, in a sense, order.
---
Löwn Lofn. As, the goddess who sanctifies marriages between people.
---
Kyldysin (legend)
---
Bathing suit Goddess of the night. Mother of Kostroma and Kupala, whom she gave birth to from Semargl.
---
Kupala (legend) Kupala (and his twin sister Kostorma): children of the Goddess of the Night Bathing Suit and Semargl.
---
Kubera God of wealth, living in the heavenly city of Gandharvaranagara ("mirage").
---
Kuaz (legend)
---
Kruchina see [Karna]
---
Kostroma (legend) The daughter of Semargl and Kupalnitsa, who by mistake married her brother Kupala and committed suicide by drowning herself and turning into a mermaid.
---
Kokopelli (legend) Ovivi. Small Indian god.
---
Clymene Nymph (Oceanis), wife of the sun god Phoebus.
---
Kvasura (legend) Originally the god of intoxicated honey, beer, wine, fun and winemaking, almost the same as Yar-Khmel.
---
Yord Goddess of the earth.
---
Ishtar see [Inanna]
---
Ishkuin see [Tlazolteotl]
---
Itzamana Mayan god of healing, fair-skinned bearded man. His symbol is a rattlesnake.
---
Isis Goddess of the moon.
---
Irida Rainbow goddess, daughter of Thaumant.
---
Inmar God, ruler of the upper, heavenly world - the world of the gods.
---
Indra (legend) "Lord". The main god of the Indian Vedic pantheon. In the Book of Veles, he is mentioned as the supreme heavenly god.
---
Inari One of the good gods, benevolent and wise.
---
Inanna Ishtar. Goddess of fertility and love
---
Isis see [Isis]
---
Idunn see [Iddun]
---
Izanami Goddess, wife of Izanaki, later - the mistress of the kingdom of the dead.
---
Izanaki Izanaki - god, creator of the earth and people.
---
Iddun (legend) Idunn. As, goddess of eternal youth and healing.
---
Zimtserla (legend) Lady of the beginning of the day, goddess of the dawn. It comes out at night to frolic over the forest-fields, and then they call it Zarnitsa.
---
Zeus Supreme Olympian god.
---
Zevana (legend) Goddess of the beasts and the hunt. In the temple, she holds a bow and a trap in her hands, at her feet lies a spear and a knife.
---
Zhurba see [Jelly]
---
jelly see [jelly]
---
Zhivana see [Alive]
---
Alive (legend) the Goddess of Spring and Life in all its manifestations: Life-giving Forces of Nature, spring bubbling waters, the first green shoots; patroness of young girls and young wives.
---
Zhelya (legend) Zhlya, Zhurba. Goddess of mortal sorrow, pity and funeral lamentation, messenger of the dead, escorting to the funeral pyre. Even the mere mention of her name relieves the soul.
---
Yrd Yord. As, mother of Thor, goddess of the earth.
---
Dyy (legend) The name of the god, mentioned in the Old Russian insert in the South Slavic text "The Virgin's Passage through the Torments". Sometimes - the general designation of the middle gods.
---
Dubynya One of the three giant brothers, assistants of Perun (Gorynya, Dubynya and Usynya).
---
Dorida Sea goddess, wife of Nereus, mother of Nereids.
---
Share (legend) Heavenly spinner, spinning a good, fertile thread of human life. Nedoli's sister, Makoshi's assistant.
---
Dodola (legend) Thunder goddess of spring. She walks over fields and cornfields with her retinue, and they are pursued in noise spring thunderstorm Perun and his companions.
---
Dogoda (legend) God of a quiet, pleasant wind and clear weather. A ruddy, fair-haired young man in a cornflower blue wreath, in silver-blue clothes, with semi-precious wings behind his back.
---
Dimuzi Tammuz. God of spring fertility, patron of cattle breeders.
---
Dimu-nannyan Goddess, personification of the earth.
---
Did (legend) The third son of the goddess Lada, after Lelya and Polely, the god of conjugal love. Forever young Didid patronizes strong unions, is revered as a symbol of ageless, inescapable love.
---
Divia (legend) (Diva) Goddess of nature, mother of all living things. The paramount goddess, equal in size to Dyu.
---
Diverkiz (legend) Hare god, once revered by the Slavic and Baltic tribes.
---
Diva (legend) Virgo, Divia, Dina (Valakh), Devana (Czech) Goddess of hunting, protected forests, animals, maidens (women's secret hunting communities).
---
Di-jun God, father of heavenly bodies.
---
Danai Father of the nymph Amimone.
---
Dana (legend) Goddess of water. She was revered as a bright and kind goddess, giving life to all living things.
---
Dazhdbog Svarozhich (legend) Dabog, Dazhbog, Dabusha. "Giving God", "Giver of all blessings". God of the Sun, son of Svarog.
---
Gullveig (legend) Gullveig. Wang, one of the main opponents of the aces. Ases speak of her as a witch and a sorceress.
---
Horus The bird-headed god of the sun.
---
Gna Gna. Ace, Frigga's handmaiden and messenger, traveling through different worlds doing the errands of his mistress.
---
Gaia Goddess - Earth, wife of Uranus, mother of Tetis.
---
Gefun Gefju. As, goddess of gardening and the plow
---
Hephaestus God of flame, blacksmith.
---
Hermes Trismegistus (Thrice the greatest). The patron of magic and esotericism.
---
Hermes "Messenger", "Thief", "Psychopomp" - the driver of souls to the kingdom of Hades.
---
Helia Daughter of the sun god Phoebe and the oceanides Clymene.
---
Helios God of the Sun of Olympus, son of the titans Hyperion and Feya, brother of Selene and Eos.
---
Geladas Daughters of the sun god Phoebus and oceanides Klymene: Faetusa, Lampetia, Helia and Etheria.
---
Hekate Goddess of dark forces, the underworld and the night, three-faced and snake-haired.
---
Garuda (legend) Bird of paradise, half eagle half man, symbol of speed and power, child of heaven and king of all birds. Phoenix.
---
Vjofn Vjofn. As, the goddess of harmony and reconciliation, who resolves differences among mortals.
---
Vulcan The Roman god of the blacksmith, and also the god of the cleansing flame, protecting from fires.
---
Vritra Demon from the myth of Indra.
---
Wotan Mayan god, fair-skinned bearded man. His symbol is a snake
---
Vor. As, goddess of curiosity and the solution of mysteries
---
Water strider A small Indian god.
---
Vishnu The second god of the trinity, head of the Brahminist pantheon. Depicted as blue, with four arms, holding a club, a conch, a disk, and a lotus.
---
Vili search As, son (daughter) of Bor, brother (sister) of Odin and Ve.
---
Vidar (legend) Silent Ace, the son of Odin and the giantess Grid, is almost as powerful as the thunder god Thor.
---
Evening Goddess of the evening (she corresponds to Vechernik). Sister of Midday, Bathing and Dawn - Zarenitsy.
---
We are wanted by As, son (daughter) of Bor, brother (sister) of Odin and Vili.
---
Varuna God of the Ocean.
---
Varma-ava Goddess of the wind in Mordovia.
---
Var Var. As, goddess of truth. He listens and writes down the oaths of people.
---
Vaner vans. A kind of gods in Scandinavia, at enmity with the gods - Asami.
---
Vanadis see [Freya]
---
Vali (legend) As, one of the twelve main (after Odin) gods.
---
Storm (legend) Goddess of the wind, wife of Stribog. "Required as Stribog."
---
Storm Buri. Ace, freed from the ice by the cow Audumla, father of Bor.
---
Bulda One of the gods. wanted
---
Bragi (legend) "Long-bearded". As, god of poets and skalds, son of Odin, husband of Idunn.
---
Bor Bor. As, son of Storm, husband of Bestla, father of Odin, Vili and Ve.
---
Big Triglav or Rodov Triglav: Rod - Belobog - Chernobog.
---
Bozhich (legend) Bozhik (maked.), Mares (lat.). One of the heroes of the caroling ritual, a symbol of the new year. Bozhich patronizes the family and the hearth.
---
Bogumir (legend) Son of Dazhbog and Morena. He married Slavun and from him came all the people on the Russian land, the tribes from his children. Therefore, they say that the Rus are Dazhdbozh's grandchildren.
---
Bill Bill. The waning moon, one of the three goddesses, along with Hyuk and Mani.
---
Belobog (legend) Embodiment of Light, Good, Good Luck, happiness, goodness, personification of the daytime spring sky. Collective image of all bright gods.
---
Barma (legend) God of prayer. This good god, but if he goes into a rage, at that moment it is better not to get in his way.
---
Balder (legend) As, god of spring, joy and happiness. With his death, the world became gray and dull, as it is now.
---
Aushra Lithuanian god of dawn.
---
Aesir Aesir. Kind of gods in Scandinavia.
---
Aster "Star". One of the names of Veles.
---
Aslati God of Thunder.
---
Artemis Goddess of the hunt.
---
Apollo Olympian god of the sun, son of Zeus and Leto, brother of Artemis.
---
Anu God of the sky.
---
Andrimnir (legend) A cook in Valhalla.
---
Amaterasu Amaterasu is the Goddess of the Sun.
---
Hades Lord of the realm of the dead.
---
Azovushka Wife of Veles.
---
Aegir (legend) Van, the god of the sea, who controls the mood of the sea surface.
---
Aditya The supreme spirit, the essence of the universe in the Rigveda.
---
Aditi Father of all gods.
---
Adad God of thunder, rain and storm.
---
Agunya (legend) God of Earth Fire, the youngest of the Svarozhichs. It represents the Power of the Gods of Heaven on Earth - cleansing and protecting from all evil spirits.
---
Agrik Legendary bogatyr who wielded a treasure-sword, mentioned in The Tale of Peter and Fevronia.
---
Aurora Goddess of the dawn.

Many of us are familiar with Japanese names from anime plots, from literary and artistic characters, from famous Japanese actors and singers. But what do these sometimes beautiful and cute, and sometimes quite dissonant for our ears, Japanese names and surnames mean? What is the most popular Japanese name? How can I translate Russian names into Japanese? What is the meaning of the characters of the Japanese name? What Japanese names are rare? I will try to tell about this and many other things, based on my personal experience of living in the Land of the Rising Sun. Since this topic is very extensive, I will divide it into three parts: the first will focus on Japanese names and surnames in general, and the last on beautiful female names and their meanings.

A Japanese given name is made up of a surname and a given name. A nickname is sometimes inserted between them, for example, Nakamura Nue Satoshi (here Nue is a nickname), but, of course, he is not in the passport. Moreover, during roll call and in the list of document authors, the order will be exactly this: first the last name, then the first name. For example Honda Yosuke, not Yosuke Honda.

In Russia, as a rule, the opposite is true. Compare for yourself what is more familiar to Anastasia Sidorova or Sidorova Anastasia? Russian names and surnames in general differ from Japanese ones in that we have many people with the same names. Depending on the generation, at one time or another, among our classmates or classmates there were three Natashas, ​​four Alexanders, or solid Irina. The Japanese, on the contrary, are dominated by the same surnames.

According to site version myoji-yurai Japanese "Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov" is:

  1. Satō (佐藤 - assistant + wisteria, 1 million 877 thousand people),
  2. Suzuki (鈴木 - bell + tree, 1 million 806 thousand people) and
  3. Takahashi (高橋 - high bridge, 1 million 421 thousand people).

The same names (not only in sound, but also with the same hieroglyphs) are very rare.

How do Japanese parents come up with names for their children? The most reliable answer can be obtained by looking at one of the typical Japanese sites - aggregators of names (yes, such exist!) bi-name.

  • First, the parents' surname is given (women don't always change their surname when they get married, but children have their father's surname), for example, Nakamura 中村, then their names (for example, Masao and Michiyo - 雅夫 and 美千代) and the gender of the child (boy). The surname is given in order to select names that match with it. This is no different from Russia. The names of the parents are needed in order to use one of the characters from the father's name (in the case of a boy) or from the characters of the mother (in the case of a girl) in the name of the child. This is how continuity is maintained.
  • Next, the number of characters in the name is selected. Most often two: 奈菜 - Nana, less often one: 忍 - Shinobu or three: 亜由美 - Ayumi, and in exceptional cases four: 秋左衛門 - Akisaemon.
  • The next parameter is the type of characters that the desired name should consist of: they will only be hieroglyphs: 和香 - Waka, or hiragana for those who want to quickly write a name: さくら - Sakura, or katakana used to write foreign words: サヨリ - Sayori. Also, a mixture of hieroglyphs and katakana, hieroglyphs and hiragana can be used in the name.

When selecting hieroglyphs, it is taken into account how many features it consists of: they distinguish between a favorable and unfavorable number. There is a formed group of hieroglyphs that are suitable for composing names.

So, the first result of my hypothetical query is Nakamura Aiki 中村合希 (the meaning of the hieroglyphs is realizing dreams). This is just one among hundreds of options.

Hieroglyphs can also be selected by sound. This is where the main difficulty arises in comparing Russian and Japanese names. What if the names have a similar sound, but a different meaning? This question is solved in different ways. For example, my sons' names are Ryuga and Taiga, but Russian grandparents call them Yurik and Tolyan, while it's more convenient for me to call them Ryugash and Taygusha.

The Chinese, who use only hieroglyphs, simply write down Russian names according to their sound, choosing hieroglyphs with a more or less good meaning. In my opinion, the most consecutive translation Russian names into Japanese should be based on their meanings. The most popular example of the implementation of this principle is the name Alexander, that is, the protector, which in Japanese sounds like Mamoru, which means the same thing and is written with one character 守.

Now regarding the use of names in everyday life. In Japan, just like in America, surnames are used in formal communication: Mr. Tanaka 田中さん, Mrs. Yamada 山田さん. By name + suffix -san, female girlfriends call each other: Keiko-san, Masako-san.

In families, when family members address each other, their family status is used, not their first name. For example, husband and wife do not call each other by their first names, they use "supurug" and "spouse": danna-san 旦那さん and oku-san 奥さん.

The same goes for grandparents, brothers and sisters. The emotional coloring and one or another status of the household is emphasized by the notorious suffixes -kun, -chan, -sama. For example, "grandmother" is baa-chan ばあちゃん, a wife as beautiful as a princess is "oku-sama" 奥様. That rare case when a man can call a girlfriend or wife by name - in a fit of passion, when he can no longer control himself. It is permissible for women to use "anta" - あなた or "dear".

Only children are called by name, and not only their own. Suffixes are also used eldest daughter, for example, - Mana-san, the youngest son - Sa-chan. At the same time, the real name of "Saiki" is truncated to "Sa". It's cute from a Japanese point of view. Boys who have gone from infancy to adulthood are called -kun, for example: Naoto-kun.

In Japan, as well as in Russia, there are strange and even vulgar names. Often, such names are given by short-sighted parents who want to somehow distinguish their child from the crowd. Such names are called in Japanese "kira-kira-nemu" キラキラネーム (from Japanese "kira-kira" - a sound that conveys shine and from English name), that is, "brilliant name". They enjoy some popularity, but like all controversial things, there are good and bad examples of the use of such names.

A scandalous case, widely discussed in the Japanese press, is when a son was given a name that literally means "demon" - jap. Akuma 悪魔. This name, as well as the use of such hieroglyphs in the name, was banned after this incident. Another example is Pikachu (this is not a joke!!!) Jap. ピカチュウ after the name of an anime character.

Speaking of successful "kira-kira-nemu", one cannot fail to mention the female name Rose, which is written with the hieroglyph "rose" - 薔薇 yap. "bara", but pronounced in a European manner. I also have one of my Japanese nieces (because I have 7 of them!!!) with a brilliant name. Her name is pronounced June. If you write in Latin, then June, that is, "June". She was born in June. And the name is written 樹音 - literally "the sound of a tree."

Summing up the story about such different and unusual Japanese names, I will give tables of popular Japanese names for girls and boys for 2017. Such tables are compiled every year on the basis of statistics. Often, it is these tables that become the last argument for Japanese parents choosing a name for their child. Probably, the Japanese really like to be like everyone else. These tables display the rating of names by hieroglyphs. There is also a similar rating for the sound of the name. It is less popular because the choice of characters is always a very difficult task for a Japanese parent.


Place inranking 2017 Hieroglyphs Pronunciation Meaning Frequency of occurrence in 2017
1 RenLotus261
2 悠真 Yuma / YumaCalm and true204
3 Minatosafe harbor198
4 大翔 HirotoLarge spread wings193
5 優人 Yuto / Yutogentle man182
6 陽翔 harutoSunny and free177
7 陽太 YotaSunny and courageous168
8 Itskystately like a tree156
9 奏太 SōtaHarmonious and courageous153
10 悠斗 Yuto / YutoCalm and eternal like a starry sky135
11 大和 YamatoGreat and Reconciling, the ancient name of Japan133
12 朝陽 AsahiMorning sun131
13 Сōgreen meadow128
14 Yu / YūCalm124
15 悠翔 Yuto / YutoCalm and free121
16 結翔 Yuto / YutoUnifying and free121
17 颯真 SōmaFresh wind, truthful119
18 陽向 HinataSunny and purposeful114
19 ArataUpdated112
20 陽斗 harutoEternal like the sun and stars112
Place in the ranking2017 Hieroglyphs Pronunciation Meaning Frequency of occurrence in 2017
1 結衣 Yui / YuiWarming with your embrace240
2 陽葵 Himariflower facing the sun234
3 Rinhardened, bright229
4 咲良 SakuraCharming smile217
5 結菜 Yuna / YunaCaptivating like a spring flower215
6 AoiDelicate and elegant, the shamrock from the crest of the Tokugawa family214
7 陽菜 hinasunny, spring192
8 莉子 RicoSoothing like the scent of jasmine181
9 芽依 MayIndependent, with great life potential180
10 結愛 Yua / YuaUniting people, awakening love180
11 Rinmajestic170
12 さくら SakuraSakura170
13 結月 YuzukiCharming151
14 あかり AkariLight145
15 KaedeBright as autumn maple140
16 TsumugiStrong and durable like a sheet139
17 美月 MitskyBeautiful like the moon133
18 AnApricot, fertile130
19 MioA waterway that brings peace119
20 心春 MiharuWarming people's hearts116

What are your favorite Japanese names?


For the Japanese, a beautiful combination of first and last name is the main thing. They consider it a complex science. It is known that the choice of a name for a child, they trust only people who specialize in this. Due to such a serious attitude to the choice of names, in the same village you can never hear the same names of guys and girls. In Japan, there is no such thing as a "namesake", but all because the Japanese prefer to use their surnames rather than given names, which, by the way, are many.

First name after last name

Japanese names consist of two adjectives: a family name and a personal name. In Japan, in turn, the surname is the main one, it is written and spoken first everywhere. Modern Japanese are used to writing their first and last name like Europeans, but in order to designate their last name as the main one, they write it in capital letters. Europeans do not attach importance to such a strange and serious attitude of the Japanese to their surnames, which causes misunderstandings related to the reading, translation and transcription of Japanese names and surnames.

Until the second half of the 19th century, only aristocrats and samurai had surnames in Japan, even their wives did not have the honor of bearing a surname. The rest of the population had only nicknames and personal names. The most notable were the clans of aristocrats - Fuji, which had the common name "Gosetsuke". Today, in the dictionary of Japanese surnames, there are 100,000 family names, of which approximately 70,000 appeared 135 years ago (for comparison: in Europe 50,000, in China a couple of hundred, in Korea about 160, in Russia about 85,000, in the USA more than 1 million families). During the era of His Eminence (1868–1911), the reigning Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants to choose any surname for their families. The Japanese were shocked by this idea, many did not know what to come up with. Someone wrote the name of their locality, someone wrote the name of their store, and creative people themselves came up with an unusual surname, consonant with the name.

The surname is the hereditary name of the clan, which in Japan is passed from father to children, wives almost always take the husband's surname.

The first legislative act on Japanese surnames appeared in 1870, it stated that every Japanese must take a surname for himself. By this time, already 35 million people (descendants of aristocrats and samurai) had surnames.

Surnames in Japanese in 70% consist of two hieroglyphs. It is very rare to find a surname of 3 or more hieroglyphs.

Surname types

The first type includes surnames indicating the place of residence. The dictionary of Japanese surnames considers this type to be the leading one. Often it uses not only the names of settlements, but also the names of trees, rivers, areas, settlements, reservoirs, etc.

Very often, Japanese surnames are associated with peasant life, rice cultivation and harvesting (almost 60%), it is rare to find an interesting or simply beautiful (from the point of view of a Russian-speaking person) surname.

The second type includes surnames formed as a result of simple professions. For example, "Inukai" - in translation, this word means nothing more than "dog breeder".

The third type includes individual nicknames.

Rare, but well-aimed beautiful surnames

Here is a small list of popular, beautiful and unusual surnames:

  • Akiyama - autumn;
  • Araki - tree;
  • Baba is a horse;
  • Wada - rice field;
  • Yoshida - happiness;
  • Yoshikawa - river;
  • Kaneko - gold;
  • Mizuno - water;
  • Suzuki - bell;
  • Takagi is a tall tree;
  • Fukui - happiness;
  • Homma - good luck;
  • Yano is an arrow.

Common surname

In Japan, surnames do not have a generic affiliation. One surname is suitable for both men and women.

Previously, Japanese law stipulated that a husband and wife must have the same surname. Until 1946, inclusive, only the husband's surname could be family, but the constitution, written in the post-war period, abolished this inequality. Modern Japanese can optionally choose a surname, even a husband or wife, but according to the traditions of the old time, spouses stop at the surname of a man.

For Russian people, all Japanese names and surnames seem interesting and unusual. But there are those whose translation sounds like real music.

This is, for example:

  • Igarashi - 50 storms;
  • Katayama - wild well;
  • Kikuchi is a chrysanthemum.

Common surnames in Japan

The most popular Japanese surnames in alphabetical order are, of course, offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames. Surnames include:

  • A- Ando, ​​Arai, Araki, Asano, Akiyama, Asayama.
  • AND- Imai, Ito, Iwasaki, Iwata, Igarasti, Iida, Inoe, Ishida (despite the similarity of sound, she has nothing to do with the ancient Egyptian goddess), Ishihara, Ichikawa.
  • TO- Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Kaneko, Kitano.
  • M- Maruyama, Masuda, Morimoto, Matila.
  • H- Nakahara, Narita, Nakanishi.
  • ABOUT- Oyama, Okazaki, Okumura, Ogiva, Ootsuoka.
  • WITH- Saida, Sato, Sano, Sakurai, Shibada, Shima.
  • T- Tachibana, Takaki, Takeguchi.
  • At- Ueda, Uematsu, Ueno, Uchida.
  • F- Fujii, Fukushima, Fujimomo, Fujivra
  • X- Hattori, Hattochi, Hirai, Hirata, Hirosa, Homma, Hori.
  • C- Tsubaki, Tsuji, Tsuchiya
  • I- Yamamura, Yano, Yamanaka, Yamamoto, Yamashita, Yamauchi, Yasuda, Yamashita.

And also Enomoto, Yumake also belong to the list of popular and common, according to the data offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames.

Japanese names and their meanings...

A Japanese given name (人名 jinmei?) these days usually consists of a family name (surname) followed by a personal name. This is a very common practice in East and Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and some other cultures.

Names are usually written in kanji, which can have many different pronunciations on different occasions.

Modern Japanese names can be compared to names in many other cultures. All Japanese have a single surname and a single given name without a middle name, with the exception of the Japanese Imperial Family, whose members do not have a surname.

In Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. At the same time, in Western languages ​​(often in Russian), Japanese names are written in the reverse order of first name - last name - according to European tradition.

Names in Japan are often created independently from existing characters, so the country has a huge number of unique names. Surnames are more traditional and most often go back to toponyms. There are more names in Japanese than surnames. Male and female names differ due to their characteristic components and structure. Reading Japanese proper names is one of the most difficult elements of the Japanese language.

From the tables below, you can see how preferences have changed when choosing names over the past almost 100 years:

Popular boy names

Year/Place 1 2 3 4 5

1915 Kiyoshi Saburou Shigeru Masao Tadashi

1925 Kiyoshi Shigeru Isamu Saburou Hiroshi

1935 Hiroshi Kiyoshi Isamu Minoru Susumu

1945 Masaru Isamu Susumu Kiyoshi Katsutoshi

1955 Takashi Makoto Shigeru Osamu Yutaka

1965 Makoto Hiroshi Osamu Naoki Tetsuya

1975 Makoto Daisuke Manabu Tsuyoshi Naoki

1985 Daisuke Takuya Naoki Kenta Kazuya

1995 Takuya Kenta Shouta Tsubasa Daiki

2000 Shou Shouta Daiki Yuuto Takumi

Popular names for girls

Year/Place 1 2 3 4 5

1915 Chiyo Chiyoko Fumiko Shizuko Kiyo

1925 Sachiko Fumiko Miyoko Hirsako Yoshiko

1935 Kazuko Sachiko Setsuko Hiroko Hisako

1945 Kazuko Sachiko Youko Setsuko Hiroko

1955 Youko Keiko Kyouko Sachiko Kazuko

1965 Akemi Mayumi Yumiko Keiko Kumiko

1975 Kumiko Yuuko Mayumi Tomoko Youko

1985 Ai Mai Mami Megumi Kaori

1995 Misaki Ai Haruka Kana Mai

2000 Sakura Yuuka Misaki Natsuki Nanami

Ai - F - Love

Aiko - F - Beloved child

Akako - F - Red

Akane - F - Sparkling red

Akemi - F - Dazzlingly beautiful

Akeno - M - Clear morning

Aki - F - Born in autumn

Akiko - F - Autumn child

Akina - F - Spring flower

Akio - M - Handsome

Akira - M - Smart, quick-witted

Akiyama - M - Autumn, mountain

Amaya - F - Night rain

Ami - F - Friend

Amida - M - Name of the Buddha

Anda - F - Met in the field

Aneko - F - Big sister

Anzu - F - Apricot

Arata - M - Inexperienced

Arisu - F - Yap. form of the name Alice

Asuka - F - Aroma of Tomorrow

Ayame - F - Iris

Azarni - F - Thistle flower

Benjiro - M - Enjoying the world

Botan - M - Peony

Chika - F - Wisdom

Chikako - F - Child of Wisdom

Chinatsu - F - A thousand years

Chiyo - F - Eternity

Chizu - F - A thousand storks (longevity is implied)

Cho - F - Butterfly

Dai - M / F - Great / th

Daichi - M - Great First Son

Daiki - M - Great Tree

Daisuke - M - Great Help

Etsu - F - Delightful, charming

Etsuko - F - A delightful child

Fudo - M - God of fire and wisdom

Fujita - M/F - Field, meadow

Gin - F - Silver

Goro - M - Fifth son

Hana - F - Flower

Hanako - F - Flower child

Haru - M - Born in the spring

Haruka - F - Far

Haruko - F - Spring

Hachiro - M - Eighth son

Hideaki - M - Brilliant, excellent

Hikaru - M / F - Light, shining

Hide - F - Prolific

Hiroko - F - Generous

Hiroshi - M - Generous

Hitomi - F - Doubly beautiful

Hoshi - F - Star

Hotaka - M - The name of a mountain in Japan

Hotaru - F - Firefly

Ichiro - M - First son

Ima - F - Gift

Isami - M - Courage

Ishi - F - Stone

Izanami - F - Attractive

Izumi - F - Fountain

Jiro - M - Second son

Joben - M - Loving purity

Jomei - M - Carrier of light

Junko - F - Pure child

Juro - M - Tenth son

Kado - M - Gate

Kaede - F - Maple Leaf

Kagami - F - Mirror

Kameko - F - Child of the turtle (symbol of longevity)

Kanaya - M - Zealous

Kano - M - God of water

Kasumi - F - Fog

Katashi - M - Hardness

Katsu - M - Victory

Katsuo - M - Victorious child

Katsuro - M - Victorious son

Kazuki - M - Joyful World

Kazuko - F - Cheerful child

Kazuo - M - Sweet son

Kei - F - Respectful

Keiko - F - Adored

Keitaro - M - Blessed

Ken - M - Zdorovyak

Ken`ichi - M - Strong first son

Kenji - M - Strong second son

Kenshin - M - Heart of the sword

Kenta - M - Healthy and bold

Kichi - F - Lucky

Kichiro - M - Lucky son

Kiku - F - Chrysanthemum

Kimiko - F - Child of noble blood

Kin - M - Golden

Kioko - F - Happy child

Kisho - M - Having a head on his shoulders

Kita - F - North

Kiyoko - F - Purity

Kiyoshi - M - Quiet

Kohaku - M/F - Amber

Kohana - F - Small flower

Koko - F - Stork

Koto - F - Jap. musical instrument "koto"

Kotone - F - Sound of a koto

Kumiko - F - Forever beautiful

Kuri - F - Chestnut

Kuro - M - Ninth son

Kyo - M - Consent (or red)

Kyoko - F - Mirror

Leiko - F - Arrogant

Machi - F - Ten thousand years

Machiko - F - Lucky child

Maeko - F - Honest child

Maemi - F - Sincere smile

Mai - F - Bright

Makoto - M - Sincere

Mamiko - F - Baby Mami

Mamoru - M - Earth

Manami - F - The beauty of love

Mariko - F - Child of Truth

Marise - M/F - Infinite

Masa - M/F - Straight (human)

Masakazu - M - First son of Masa

Mashiro - M - Wide

Matsu - F - Pine

Mayako - F - Maya Child

Mayoko - F - Child Mayo

Mayuko - F - Child of Mayu

Michi - F - Fair

Michie - F - Gracefully hanging flower

Michiko - F - Beautiful and wise

Michio - M - Man with the strength of three thousand

Midori - F - Green

Mihoko - F - Baby Miho

Mika - F - New Moon

Miki - M/F - Stalk

Mikio - M - Three woven trees

Mina - F - South

Minako - F - Beautiful child

Mine - F - Brave Protector

Minoru - M - Seed

Misaki - F - The flowering of beauty

Mitsuko - F - Child of Light

Miya - F - Three arrows

Miyako - F - Beautiful baby March

Mizuki - F - Beautiful moon

Momoko - F - Peach Child

Montaro - M - Big guy

Moriko - F - Child of the forest

Morio - M - Forest boy

Mura - F - Rustic

Mutsuko - F - Child of Mutsu

Nahoko - F - Baby Naho

Nami - F - Wave

Namiko - F - Child of the waves

Nana - F - Apple

Naoko - F - Obedient child

Naomi - F - "Beauty First"

Nara - F - Oak

Nariko - F - Sissy

Natsuko - F - Summer child

Natsumi - F - Beautiful summer

Nayoko - F - Baby Nayo

Nibori - M - Famous

Nikki - M/F - Two trees

Nikko - M - Daylight

Nori - F - Law

Noriko - F - Child of the Law

Nozomi - F - Hope

Nyoko - F - Gemstone

Oki - F - Mid-Ocean

Orino - F - Peasant meadow

Osamu - M - Firmness of the law

Rafu - M - Network

Rai - F - Truth

Raidon - M - God of Thunder

Ran - F - Water lily

Rei - F - Gratitude

Reiko - F - Gratitude

Ren - F - Water lily

Renjiro - M - Honest

Renzo - M - Third son

Riko - F - Child of Jasmine

Rin - F - Unfriendly

Rinji - M - Peaceful forest

Rini - F - Little Bunny

Risako - F - Child of Risa

Ritsuko - F - Child of Ritsu

Roka - M - White crest of the wave

Rokuro - M - Sixth son

Ronin - M - Samurai without a master

Rumiko - F - Baby Rumi

Ruri - F - Emerald

Ryo - M - Excellent

Ryoichi - M - First son of Ryo

Ryoko - F - Child Ryo

Ryota - M - Strong (obese)

Ryozo - M - Third son of Ryo

Ryuichi - M - First son of Ryu

Ryuu - M - Dragon

Saburo - M - Third son

Sachi - F - Happiness

Sachiko - F - Child of happiness

Sachio - M - Fortunately born

Saeko - F - Child of Sae

Saki - F - Cape (geographic)

Sakiko - F - Baby Saki

Sakuko - F - Baby Saku

Sakura - F - Cherry flowers

Sanako - F - Child Sana

Sango - F - Coral

Saniiro - M - Wonderful

Satu - F - Sugar

Sayuri - F - Little lily

Seiichi - M - First son of Sei

Sen - M - Spirit of the tree

Shichiro - M - Seventh son

Shika - F - Deer

Shima - M - Islander

Shina - F - Worthy

Shinichi - M - First son of Shin

Shiro - M - Fourth son

Shizuka - F - Quiet

Sho - M - Prosperity

Sora - F - Sky

Sorano - F - Heavenly

Suki - F - Favorite

Suma - F - Asking

Sumi - F - Purified (religious)

Susumi - M - Moving forward (successful)

Suzu - F - Bell (bell)

Suzume - F - Sparrow

Tadao - M - Helpful

Taka - F - Noble

Takako - F - Tall child

Takara - F - Treasure

Takashi - M - Famous

Takehiko - M - Bamboo Prince

Takeo - M - Similar to bamboo

Takeshi - M - Bamboo tree or brave

Takumi - M - Craftsman

Tama - M/F - Jewel

Tamiko - F - Child of abundance

Tani - F - From the valley (child)

Taro - M - Firstborn

Taura - F - Many lakes; many rivers

Teijo - M - Fair

Tomeo - M - Cautious person

Tomiko - F - Child of wealth

Tora - F - Tigress

Torio - M - Bird's tail

Toru - M - Sea

Toshi - F - Mirror Reflection

Toshiro - M - Talented

Toya - M/F - Door of the house

Tsukiko - F - Child of the Moon

Tsuyu - F - Morning dew

Udo - M - Ginseng

Ume - F - Plum Blossom

Umeko - F - Child of plum blossoms

Usagi - F - Rabbit

Uyeda - M - From the rice field (child)

Yachi - F - Eight thousand

Yasu - F - Calm

Yasuo - M - Mirny

Yayoi - F - March

Yogi - M - Practicing yoga

Yoko - F - Child of the Sun

Yori - F - Trustworthy

Yoshi - F - Perfection

Yoshiko - F - Perfect child

Yoshiro - M - Perfect Son

Yuki - M - Snow

Yukiko - F - Snow child

Yukio - M - Cherished by God

Yuko - F - Kind child

Yumako - F - Child Yuma

Yumi - F - Like a bow (weapon)

Yumiko - F - Arrow Child

Yuri - F - Lilia

Yuriko - F - Child of a lily

Yuu - M - Noble blood

Yuudai - M - Great Hero

Nagisa - "coast"

Kaworu - "to smell sweet"

Ritsuko - "science", "attitude"

Akagi - "mahogany"

shinji - "death"

Misato - "beautiful city"

Katsuragi - "fortress with walls entwined with grass"

Asuka - lit. "love-love"

Soryu - "central current"

Ayanami - "strip of fabric", "wave pattern"

Rei - "zero", "example", "soul"

KENSHIN name means "Heart of the sword".

Akito - Glittering Man

Kuramori Reika - Protector of Treasure and Cold Summer Rurouni - The Wandering Wanderer

Himura - Burning Village

Shishio Makoto - True Hero

Takani Megumi - Sublime Love

Shinomori Aoshi - "Green Bamboo Forest"

Makimachi Misao - "Ruling the City"

Saito Hajime - "The Beginning of Human Life"

Hiko Seijuro - "Justice Done"

Seta Sojiro - "Comprehensive Forgiveness"

Mirai is the future

Hajime - boss

Mamoru - protector

Jibo - earth

hikari - light

Atarashiki - transformations

Namida - tears

Sora - sky

Ginga - the universe

Eve is alive

Izzy - doctor

Usagi the rabbit

Tsukino - Lunar

Ray - soul

Hino - fire

Ami - rain

Mitsuno - water

Corey - ice, icy

makoto is true

Cinema - air, forest

Minako - Venus

Aino - loving

Setsuna - Guard

Mayo - castle, palace

Haruka - 1) distance, 2) heavenly

Teno - heavenly

Michiru - way

Cayo - sea

Hotaru - light

Tomo is a friend.

Kaori - soft, affectionate

Yumi - Fragrant Beauty

Hakufu - Noble Sign

How to name a child?

For future parents in Japan, they release special collections of names - like ours in general - so that they can choose the most suitable for their child. In general, the process of choosing (or inventing) a name comes down to one of the following ways:

1. A keyword can be used in the name - a seasonal phenomenon, a shade of color, a precious stone, etc.

2. The name may contain the wish of the parents to become strong, wise or courageous, for which the hieroglyphs of strength, wisdom and courage are used, respectively.

3. you can also go from choosing the hieroglyphs you like the most (in various spellings) and combining them with each other.

4. Recently, it has become popular to name a child, focusing on hearing, i.e. depending on how pleasant the desired name is to the ear. Having chosen the desired pronunciation, they determine the hieroglyphs with which this name will be written.

5. It has always been popular to name a child after celebrities - heroes of historical chronicles, politicians, pop stars, TV series heroes, etc.

6. Some parents rely on various fortune-telling, they believe that the number of features in the hieroglyphs of the first and last name should be combined with each other.

The most common endings for Japanese names are:

Male names: ~aki, ~fumi, ~go, ~haru, ~hei, ~hiko, ~hisa, ~hide, ~hiro, ~ji, ~kazu, ~ki, ~ma, ~masa, ~michi, ~mitsu , ~nari, ~nobu, ~nori, ~o, ~rou, ~shi, ~shige, ~suke, ~ta, ~taka, ~to, ~toshi, ~tomo, ~ya, ~zou

Female names: ~a, ~chi, ~e, ~ho, ~i, ~ka, ~ki, ~ko, ~mi, ~na, ~no, ~o, ~ri, ~sa, ~ya, ~yo

Nominal suffixes

Personal pronouns

Japanese nominal suffixes and personal pronouns

Nominal suffixes

In Japanese, there is a whole set of so-called nominal suffixes, that is, suffixes added in colloquial speech to names, surnames, nicknames and other words denoting an interlocutor or a third person. They are used to indicate the social relationship between the speaker and the one being spoken about. The choice of a suffix is ​​determined by the character of the speaker (normal, rude, very polite), his attitude towards the listener (usual politeness, respect, fawning, rudeness, arrogance), their position in society and the situation in which the conversation takes place (one on one, in the circle of loved ones friends, between colleagues, between strangers, in public). What follows is a list of some of these suffixes (in ascending order of "respect" and their usual meanings.

Tyan (chan) - A close analogue of the "diminutive" suffixes of the Russian language. Usually used in relation to the younger or lower in the social sense, with whom one develops a close relationship. In the use of this suffix, the element of "lisping" is felt. Usually used when referring to adults to children, boys to their beloved girls, girlfriends to each other, small children to each other. The use of this suffix in relation to people who are not very close, equal in position to the speaker, is impolite. For example, if a guy refers to a peer of the same age with whom he does not “twist an affair”, then he shows incorrectness. A girl who addresses a fellow peer with whom she doesn’t “twist an affair” is, in fact, rude.

Kun (kun) - An analogue of the appeal "comrade". Most often used between men or in relation to guys. Indicates, rather, some "official", however, close relations. Say, between classmates, partners or friends. It can also be used in relation to the younger or lower in the social sense, when this circumstance does not need to be emphasized.

Yang (yan) - Kansai equivalent of "-chan" and "-kun".

Pyon (pyon) - Children's version of "-kun".

Tti (cchi) - Children's version of "-chan" (cf. "Tamagotti".

Without suffix - Close relationship, but without "lisping". The usual address of adults to teenage children, friends to each other, etc. If a person does not use suffixes at all, then this is a clear indicator of rudeness. Addressing by surname without a suffix is ​​a sign of familiar, but "detached" relationships (a typical example is the relationship of schoolchildren or students).

San (san) - An analogue of the Russian "mister / madam". A general indication of respect. Often used to communicate with strangers, or when all other suffixes do not fit. Used in relation to elders, including older relatives (brothers, sisters, parents).

Han (han) - Kansai equivalent of "-san".

Si (shi) - "Sir", is used exclusively in official documents after the surname.

Fujin (fujin) - "Lady", is used exclusively in official documents after the surname.

Kohai (kouhai) - Appeal to the younger. Especially often - at school in relation to those who are younger than the speaker.

Senpai (senpai) - Appeal to the elder. Especially often - at school in relation to those who are older than the speaker.

Dono (dono) - Rare suffix. Respectful address to an equal or superior, but slightly different in position. It is now considered obsolete and almost never occurs in communication. In ancient times, it was actively used when samurai addressed each other.

Sensei (sensei) - "Teacher". Used in relation to the actual teachers and professors, as well as to doctors and politicians.

Senshu (senshu) - "Athlete". Used in relation to famous athletes.

Zeki (zeki) - "Sumo wrestler". Used in relation to famous sumo wrestlers.

Ue (ue) - "Senior". A rare and obsolete respectful suffix used for older family members. It is not used with names - only with designations of the position in the family ("father", "mother", "brother".

Sama (sama) - The highest degree of respect. Appeal to gods and spirits, to spiritual authorities, a girl to her lover, servants to noble masters, etc. It roughly translates into Russian as "respected, dear, venerable."

Jin (jin) - "One of". "Saya-jin" means "one of the Sai".

Tachi (tachi) - "And friends." Goku-tachi - Goku and his friends.

Gumi (gumi) - "Team, group, party." "Kenshin-gumi" - "Team Kenshin".

Japanese names and their meanings

Personal pronouns

In addition to nominal suffixes, Japan also uses many different ways to address each other and refer to oneself using personal pronouns. The choice of a pronoun is determined by the social laws already mentioned above. The following is a list of some of these pronouns.

Group with the meaning "I"

Watakushi - A very polite female version.

Washi - Obsolete polite variant. Does not depend on gender.

Wai is the Kansai equivalent of "washi".

Boku (Boku) - Familiar youth male version. It is rarely used by women; in this case, “non-femininity” is emphasized. Used in poetry.

Ore - Not a very polite option. Purely masculine. Kind of cool. ^_^

Ore-sama (Ore-sama) - "Great I". A rare form, an extreme degree of boasting.

Daiko or naiko (Daikou/Naikou) - An analogue of "ore-sama", but somewhat less boastful.

Sessha - A very polite form. Usually used by samurai when addressing their masters.

Hisyo (Hishou) - "Insignificant." A very polite form, now practically not used.

Gusei - An analogue of "hisyo", but somewhat less pejorative.

Oira (Oira) - Polite form. Commonly used by monks.

Chin - A special form that only the emperor can use.

Ware (Ware) - Polite (formal) form, translated as [I / you / he] "himself". It is used when it is necessary to especially express the importance of "I". For example, in spells (“I conjure.” In modern Japanese, it is rarely used in the meaning of “I”. It is more often used to form a reflexive form, for example, “forgetting about yourself” - “ware in vasurete”.

[Speaker's name or position] - Used by or with children, usually within a family. Let's say a girl named Atsuko can say "Atsuko is thirsty". Or her older brother, referring to her, can say "Brother will bring you juice." There is an element of "lisping" in this, but such an appeal is quite acceptable.

Group with the meaning "We"

Watashi-tachi - A polite option.

Ware-ware - A very polite, formal variant.

Bokura - An impolite variant.

Touhou - The usual variant.

Group with the meaning "You / You":

Anata - General polite variant. Also, the usual address of a wife to her husband ("dear".

Anta (Anta) - A less polite option. Usually used by young people. A slight hint of disrespect.

Otaku (Otaku) - Literally translated as "your home." Very polite and rare form. Due to the arrogant use of Japanese informals in relation to each other, the second meaning was fixed - “fan, crazy”.

Kimi - A polite variant, often between friends. Used in poetry.

Kijo (Kijou) - "Lady". A very polite way of addressing a lady.

Onushi (Onushi) - "Insignificant." An obsolete form of polite speech.

Omae (Omae) - Familiar (when referring to an enemy - insulting) option. Usually used by men in relation to the socially younger (father to daughter, say).

Temae / Temee (Temae / Temee) - Offensive male version. Usually towards the enemy. Something like "bastard" or "bastard".

Onore - An offensive variant.

Kisama - Very offensive. Translated with dots. ^_^ Oddly enough, it literally translates as "noble lord."

Japanese names

Modern Japanese names consist of two parts - the family name, which comes first, and the given name, which comes second. True, the Japanese often write their names in "European order" (first name - last name) if they write them in romaji. For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their last name in CAPITAL letters so that it is not confused with the name (due to the above-described inconsistency).

The exception is the emperor and members of his family. They don't have a last name. Girls who marry princes also lose their last names.

Ancient names and surnames

Before the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames. The rest of the population of Japan was content with personal names and nicknames.

Women of aristocratic and samurai families also usually did not have surnames, since they did not have the right to inherit. In cases where women did have surnames, they did not change them upon marriage.

Surnames were divided into two groups - the surnames of aristocrats and the surnames of samurai.

Unlike the number of samurai surnames, the number of surnames of aristocrats has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them date back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most revered and respected clans of aristocrats were: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. All of them belonged to the Fujiwara clan and had a common name - "Gosetsuke". From among the men of this kind, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and wives for emperors were chosen from among women.

The following in nobility were the Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Saionji, Sanjo, Imaidegawa, Tokudaiji, and Kaoin clans. From among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed.

So, representatives of the Saionji clan served as imperial stables (meryo no gogen). Then came all the other aristocratic clans.

The hierarchy of nobility of aristocratic families began to take shape in the VI century and lasted until the end of the XI century, when power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans of Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. A number of their representatives at different times were the shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

The personal names of aristocrats and high-ranking samurai were formed from two kanji (hieroglyphs) of a "noble" meaning.

The personal names of samurai servants and peasants were often given according to the "numbering" principle. The first son is Ichiro, the second is Jiro, the third is Saburo, the fourth is Shiro, the fifth is Goro, and so on. Also, in addition to "-ro", the suffixes "-emon", "-ji", "-zo", "-suke", "-be" were used for this purpose.

Upon entering the samurai during his youth, he chose a different name for himself than what he was given at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adulthood, for example, to emphasize the onset of her new period (promotion or moving to another duty station). The lord had the right to rename his vassal. In the event of a serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to the name of the Buddha Amida in order to appeal to his mercy.

According to the rules of samurai fights, before the fight, the samurai had to give his full name so that the enemy could decide whether he was worthy of such an opponent. Of course, in life this rule was observed much less frequently than in novels and chronicles.

At the end of the names of girls from noble families, the suffix "-hime" was added. It is often translated as "princess", but in fact it was used in relation to all noble young ladies.

For the names of the wives of the samurai, the suffix "-gozen" was used. Often they were called simply by their husband's surname and rank. The personal names of married women were practically used only by their close relatives.

For the names of monks and nuns from the noble classes, the suffix "-in" was used.

Modern names and surnames

During the Meiji Restoration, all Japanese were given surnames. Naturally, most of them were associated with various signs of peasant life, especially with rice and its processing. These surnames, like those of the upper class, were also usually composed of two kanji.

The most common Japanese surnames now are Suzuki, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Watanabe, Saito, Sato, Sasaki, Kudo, Takahashi, Kobayashi, Kato, Ito, Murakami, Onishi, Yamaguchi, Nakamura, Kuroki, Higa.

Men's names have changed less. They also often depend on the "serial number" of the son in the family. The suffixes "-ichi" and "-kazu" meaning "first son" are often used, as well as the suffixes "-ji" ("second son" and "-zo" ("third son").

Most Japanese female names end in “-ko” (“child” or “-mi” (“beauty”). Girls are usually given names that are related in meaning to everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine. Unlike male names, female names are usually written not in kanji, but in hiragana.

Some modern girls do not like the "-ko" ending in their names and prefer to omit it. For example, a girl named "Yuriko" might refer to herself as "Yuri".

According to the law passed during the time of Emperor Meiji, after marriage, the husband and wife are required by law to take the same surname. In 98% of cases, this is the husband's surname. For several years now, an amendment to the Civil Code has been discussed in parliament, allowing spouses to leave premarital surnames. However, while she can not get the required number of votes.

After death, a Japanese person receives a new, posthumous name (kaimyo), which is written on a special wooden tablet (ihai). This tablet is considered the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is used in funeral rites. Kaimyo and ihai are bought from Buddhist monks, sometimes even before the person dies.

The surname in Japanese is called "myoji" (苗字 or 名字), "uji" (氏) or "sei" (姓).

The vocabulary of the Japanese language has long been divided into two types: wago (Jap. 和語?) - native Japanese words and kango (Jap. 漢語?) - borrowed from China. Names are divided into the same types, although a new type is now actively expanding - gairaigo (Jap. 外来語?) - words borrowed from other languages, but components of this type are rarely used in names.

Modern Japanese names are divided into the following groups:

kunnye (consisting of vago)

onny (consisting of kango)

mixed

The ratio of Kun and Onn surnames is approximately 80% to 20%.

The most common surnames in Japan are:

Sato (Japanese: 佐藤 Sato:?)

Suzuki (jap. 鈴木?)

Takahashi (Japanese: 高橋?)

Tanaka (Japanese: 田中?)

Watanabe (jap. 渡辺?)

Ito (Japanese: 伊藤 Itō:?)

Yamamoto (jap. 山本?)

Nakamura (Japanese: 中村?)

Ohayashi (Jap. 小林?)

Kobayashi (Jap. 小林?) (different surnames, but spelled the same and have roughly the same distribution)

Kato (Jap. 加藤 Kato:?)

Many surnames, although they are read according to the on (Chinese) reading, go back to ancient Japanese words and are written phonetically, and not in meaning.

Examples of such surnames: Kubo (jap. 久保?) - from jap. kubo (jap. 窪?) - a hole; Sasaki (jap. 佐々木?) - from the ancient Japanese sasa - small; Abe (jap. 阿部?) - from the ancient word ape - to connect, mix. If we take into account such surnames, then the number of native Japanese surnames reaches 90%.

For example, the hieroglyph 木 ("tree") is read in kun as ki, but in names it can also be read as ko; The hieroglyph 上 ("up") can be read in kun as both ue and kami. There are two different surnames Uemura and Kamimura, which are written the same way - 上村. In addition, there are dropping out and merging of sounds at the junction of components, for example, in the surname Atsumi (Japanese 渥美?), the components separately are read as atsui and umi; and the surname 金成 (kana + nari) is often read simply as Kanari.

When combining hieroglyphs, the alternation of the ending of the first component A / E and O / A is typical - for example, 金 kane - Kanagawa (Jap. 金川?), 白 Shiro - Shiraoka (Jap. 白岡?). In addition, the initial syllables of the second component often become voiced, for example 山田 Yamada (pit + ta), 宮崎 Miyazaki (miya + saki). Also, surnames often contain the remainder of the case indicator no or ha (in ancient times it was customary to put them between the given name and surname). Usually this indicator is not written, but read - for example, 一宮 Ichinomiya (ichi + miya); 榎本 Enomoto (e + moto). But sometimes the case indicator is displayed in hiragana, katakana, or a hieroglyph - for example, 井之上 Inoue (and + but + ue); 木ノ下 Kinoshita (ki + katakana no + sita).

The vast majority of surnames in Japanese consist of two characters, surnames of one or three characters are less common, and four-digit or more surnames are very rare.

One-component surnames are mainly of Japanese origin and are formed from nouns or medial forms of verbs. For example, Watari (Jap. 渡?) - from watari (Jap. 渡り crossing?),  Hata (Jap. 畑?) - the word hata means "plantation, vegetable garden". Onn surnames consisting of one hieroglyph are much less common. For example, Cho (Jap. 兆 Cho:?) means “trillion”, Ying (Jap. 因?) means “reason”.

Japanese surnames consisting of two components, the majority, are called numbers in 60-70%. Of these, most of them are surnames from Japanese roots - it is believed that such surnames are the easiest to read, since most of them are read according to the usual kuns used in the language. Examples - Matsumoto (Jap. 松本?) - consists of the nouns used in the language of matsu "pine" and moto "root"; Kiyomizu (Japanese: 清水?) - consists of the adjective stem 清い kiyoi - "clean" and the noun 水 mizu - "water". Chinese two-component surnames are less numerous and usually have a single reading. Often Chinese surnames contain numbers from one to six (excluding four 四, since this number is read the same as "death" 死 si and they try not to use it). Examples: Ichijo: (Japanese 一条?), Saito: (Japanese 斉藤?). There are also mixed surnames, where one component is read by on, and the other by kun. Examples: Honda (jap. 本田?), khon - "base" (on reading) + ta - "rice field" (kun reading); Betsumiya (jap. 別宮?), betsu - "special, different" (on reading) + miya - "temple" (kun reading). Also, a very small part of the surnames can be read both by ons and by kuns: 坂西 Banzai and Sakanishi, 宮内 Kunai and Miyauchi.

In three-component surnames, Japanese roots are often found phonetically recorded by onami. Examples: 久保田 "Kubota (probably the word 窪 kubo "fossa" is spelled phonetically as 久保), 阿久津 Akutsu (probably the word 明く aku "open" is spelled phonetically as 阿久). However, common three-component surnames consisting of three kun readings are also common. Examples: 矢田部 Yatabe, 小野木 Ōnoki There are also three-component surnames with Chinese reading.

Four or more component surnames are very rare.

There are surnames with very unusual readings that look like puzzles. Examples: 十八女 Wakairo - written in characters "eighteen-year-old girl", and read as 若色 "young + color"; The surname denoted by the character 一 "one" is read as Ninomae, which can be translated as 二の前 ni no mae "before the deuce"; and the surname 穂積 Hozue, which can be interpreted as "gathering of ears", is sometimes written as 八月一日 "the first day of the eighth lunar month" - apparently on this day the harvest began in ancient times.