Japanese names are used worldwide in Japan and Japanese communities. Names can have multiple meanings depending on kanji combinations
Japanese is spoken by around 123 million people worldwide. It is the principal language of the Japonic family. Japanese is agglutinative with simple phonotactics and mora-timed structure. Word order is subject-object-verb with particles marking grammatical functions
Japanese surnames have unique origin stories based on geography, occupations, or ancestors. There are thousands of different surnames in Japan, with no single dominant name. Names are typically written in kanji with two to three characters. Each family uses a unique surname, unlike Western cultures. Gender-specific suffixes like "-ko" are common in female names
Traditional names reflect historical figures and cultural elements. Modern names offer contemporary twists while maintaining cultural roots. Unique names provide individuality and unconventional meanings
Japanese names use kanji characters with Chinese origins. More than 3,000 kanji characters are combined to create names. Names can be written in kanji, hiragana, or katakana
Kanji arrived in Japan from China between 5th and 8th centuries AD. Japanese has over seven kanji readings due to cultural influences. Onyomi uses phonetic approximations, kunyomi is fully Japanese