Who
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Style
  • Health
  • Beauty
  • Sexiest People
  • The Travel List
  • Podcasts
  • Video
Who
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Style
  • Health
  • Beauty
  • Sexiest People
  • The Travel List
  • Podcasts
  • Video
Subscribe
Louis Tomlinson Calls James Corden Out
Watch 0:36

Louis Tomlinson Calls James Corden Out

{headline}

{headline}

Androgynous, Gender-Neutral, & Boy Names For Your Baby Girl

Androgynous, Gender-Neutral, & Boy Names For Your Baby Girl

Il Ragazzo: 10 Italian Baby Boy Names

Il Ragazzo: 10 Italian Baby Boy Names

Unique & Unusual Names For Girl Babies (100+ Names!)

Unique & Unusual Names For Girl Babies (100+ Names!)

30 Cute Girl Names From Flowers To Colours

30 Cute Girl Names From Flowers To Colours

{headline}

{headline}

The 15 Best Saint Names For Your Baby Girl

The 15 Best Saint Names For Your Baby Girl

15 Popular Spanish Boy Names That Aren’t José

15 Popular Spanish Boy Names That Aren’t José

22 Unique And Beautiful 4-Letter Female Names

22 Unique And Beautiful 4-Letter Female Names

{headline}

{headline}

Choose A Lovely French Name For Your Daughter

Choose A Lovely French Name For Your Daughter

These Names Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

These Names Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

Parents look to Netflix for their baby name inspiration

Parents look to Netflix for their baby name inspiration

A woman has given her child the 'strangest baby name EVER'

A woman has given her child the 'strangest baby name EVER'

2018’s most popular baby names reveals interesting new trend

2018’s most popular baby names reveals interesting new trend

Why these baby names are no longer popular

Why these baby names are no longer popular

These baby names from 100 years ago will be popular again

These baby names from 100 years ago will be popular again

  1. Home
  2. News

10 Best Japanese Boy Names For Your Newborn

Find out the most meaningful Japanese boy names, see the list! - by Rhys McKay
  • 03 Dec 2019
10 Best Japanese Boy Names For Your Newborn

If you’re looking for a creative name for your baby boy, you can’t go wrong taking inspiration from Japan. The Japanese have beautiful and poetic names with meanings like ‘fire’, ‘dark’, and ‘sky’! If you want your baby boy to stand out from the crowd, then a Japanese name might be the perfect fit!

In this article, we’re going to be listing 10 of the best Japanese boys’ names. But, before we get to our list, let’s go over some of the unique quirks of Japanese names.

RELATED: Androgynous, Gender-Neutral, & Boy Names For Your Baby Girl

What Makes Japanese Names Special

For one, Japanese phonetics are really different from English, which can make your baby’s name a bit more unique. For example; while there are lots of Japanese names that start with ‘m’ or that start with ‘a’, you won’t ever find a Japanese name starting with ‘c’ or ‘l’.

Japanese names are also special since they’re originally spelled with kanji characters, which have their own meanings. This unique property can make Japanese names feel a lot more layered as it draws not just from the meanings of the individual kanji but also from the combination of different kanji characters. 

If you know your way around the language, you can even come up with new interpretations of ancient Japanese male names! Just be sure to double-check your work before naming your kid. Otherwise, you might end up like Ariana Grande and her ‘small, charcoal grill’.

How Do I Pronounce Japanese Names?

While Japanese names can seem too foreign for our English-speaking tongues, they’re actually pretty easy to pronounce once you know the trick behind them. For one, most Japanese consonants are pronounced the same way that English consonants are. The only consonant you might have trouble pronouncing is ‘tsu’, which sounds like a mix of the hard ‘t’ sound and a short ‘s’ sound.

Japanese vowels are also pretty simple, since the pronunciation is pretty uniform across all Japanese words. The only times you would change the pronunciation is with doubled vowels like in ‘Yuuto’, and in those cases, you only need to lengthen the sound of the vowel.

Perfect Pronunciation of the 5 Japanese Vowels

The only part of Japanese pronunciation that can be a bit tricky for us English-speakers is the stress on the syllables. Unlike with a lot of English words, you don’t stress the syllables of short Japanese words. You also don’t stress the middle syllables of longer Japanese words as these tend to be the least stressed parts of the word. For example, ‘Sakura’ is pronounced ‘SA-Ku-Ra’ and not ‘Sa-KU-Ra’. 

As long as you keep these pronunciation rules in mind, you should be fine with most common Japanese names, including the ones in our list below.

10. Haruto

Pronunciation: HA-Ru-To

If you have high hopes for you baby boy, ‘Haruto’ can be a great name for him as it can mean ‘to soar’ or ‘to fly’. The name can also be read as ‘sunny person’, so it’ll fit someone who’s bright and bubbly.

Famous namesakes: Haruto Shirai (football player), Haruto Sakuraba (from Eyeshield 21)

09. Hinata

Pronunciation: HI-Na-Ta

‘Hinata’ conveys warmth and hope as it can mean ‘ray of warmth’ or ‘moving towards the sun’. It can also be a cute name for your baby boy as it’s an alternate reading for ‘himawari’, the Japanese word for sunflower.

Famous namesakes: Hinata Watanabe (kickboxer), Shouyou Hinata (from the anime Haikyuu!)

08. Asahi

Pronunciation: A-Sa-Hi

If ‘Hinata’ doesn’t sound right for your baby, you could also go with ‘Asahi’, which can mean ‘morning sun’ or ‘sunshine’. 

Famous namesakes: Asahi Yada (football player), Asahi Nakiri (from Food Wars)

07. Touma

Pronunciation: TO-U-Ma

Touma means ‘ten thousand swords’. It’s also another one of the few Japanese male names that work well with English since you could call him ‘Tom’ for short.

Famous namesakes: Touma Ikuta (actor), Touma Kamijou (from A Certain Magical Index)

06. Kaito

Pronunciation: KA-I-To

‘Kaito’ is another name that works great in both English and Japanese. After all, it sounds like ‘kite’ while also meaning ‘to fly above the ocean’! How cool is that?

Famous namesakes: Kaito Kiyomiya (professional wrestler), Yuna D. Kaito (from Card Captor Sakura)

05. Hayato

Pronunciation: HA-Ya-To

Speaking of cool names, ‘Hayato’ can literally mean falcon person! How cool would it be to be named after one of the fastest birds in the world?

Famous namesakes: Hayato Sano (actor/singer), Hayato Gokudera (from Reborn!)

sanohayato_milk View Profile
88k likes - View Post on Instagram
昨日は東京でワンマンでした! 本当にたくさんのみなさんがきてくれて嬉しかったです!! み!るきーずの フゥウウウウウウウ⤴︎ 最高でした! 楽しい時間をありがとう!! そしてそして、 なんと昨日は 我が妹 くるみがきてくれました! 久しぶりに会えてよかったー! そしてどんどん大きくなっていくな😭 こうして、 ドラマが終わっても仲良くしてくれて僕は嬉しいです☺️ そのほかにも たくさんの方が来てくれて 嬉しかったですー!! ありがとうございます!! 来週28日にラスト名古屋でライブやります! 楽しみにしててねー!! #MILK #砂の塔 #稲垣くるみ #佐野勇斗

04. Sora

Pronunciation: So-Ra

‘Sora’ can be an adorable name for a baby with beautiful blue eyes since it can mean ‘blue sky’. It’s also the name of one of the most popular video game protagonists, so chances are a lot of people will be familiar with it.

Famous namesakes: Sora Kawai (poet), Sora (from Kingdom Hearts)

03. Riku

Pronunciation: Ri-Ku 

Like Sora, Riku is another name that’s popular in the west due to the video-game Kingdom Hearts. It means ‘wise’ or ‘clever’, and best of all, it’s a simple and easy to pronounce name in English. 

Famous namesakes: Riku Sanjo (writer), Riku (from Kingdom Hearts)

02. Yuuki

Pronunciation: Yu-U-Ki

‘Yuuki’ translates to ‘courage’ and ‘bravery’, and if you’re expecting your kid around Christmas, you can also use the name as a cute reference to his birthday as it can also mean ‘summer evening’.

Famous namesakes: Yuuki Kaji (voice actor), Yuuki (from Erased)

kaji.yuki_ View Profile
6,407 likes - View Post on Instagram
take all my uwus 💞💗💖❣️🧡💝💛💗💚💘💜

01. Itsuki

Pronunciation: I-Tsu-Ki

If you’re feeling a bit cheeky, you can name your fifth kid ‘Itsuki’ since the name can translate to ‘five trees’. That said, even without the pun, it’s still a nice name to have as it can also mean ‘bright’ or ‘independence’.

Famous namesakes: Itsuki Urata (football player), Itsuki Koizumi (from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

RELATED: These Names Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

Rhys McKay

FREE Neoprene Tote-WORTH $79.95

By Willow Bay, when you subscribe

Subscribe Now
FREE Neoprene Tote

FREE Neoprene Tote-WORTH $79.95

By Willow Bay, when you subscribe

Subscribe Now
FREE Neoprene Tote

Recommended to you

Louis Tomlinson Calls James Corden Out
Watch 0:36

Louis Tomlinson Calls James Corden Out

{headline}

{headline}

Androgynous, Gender-Neutral, & Boy Names For Your Baby Girl

Androgynous, Gender-Neutral, & Boy Names For Your Baby Girl

Il Ragazzo: 10 Italian Baby Boy Names

Il Ragazzo: 10 Italian Baby Boy Names

Unique & Unusual Names For Girl Babies (100+ Names!)

Unique & Unusual Names For Girl Babies (100+ Names!)

30 Cute Girl Names From Flowers To Colours

30 Cute Girl Names From Flowers To Colours

{headline}

{headline}

The 15 Best Saint Names For Your Baby Girl

The 15 Best Saint Names For Your Baby Girl

15 Popular Spanish Boy Names That Aren’t José

15 Popular Spanish Boy Names That Aren’t José

22 Unique And Beautiful 4-Letter Female Names

22 Unique And Beautiful 4-Letter Female Names

{headline}

{headline}

Choose A Lovely French Name For Your Daughter

Choose A Lovely French Name For Your Daughter

These Names Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

These Names Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

Parents look to Netflix for their baby name inspiration

Parents look to Netflix for their baby name inspiration

A woman has given her child the 'strangest baby name EVER'

A woman has given her child the 'strangest baby name EVER'

2018’s most popular baby names reveals interesting new trend

2018’s most popular baby names reveals interesting new trend

Why these baby names are no longer popular

Why these baby names are no longer popular

These baby names from 100 years ago will be popular again

These baby names from 100 years ago will be popular again

Who
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
Who Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

Brands

  • Beauty Crew
  • Home Beautiful
  • Instyle
  • marie claire
  • Bounty Parents

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • New Idea food
  • New Idea
  • Girlfriend
  • That’s Life
  • All Recipes
  • Practical Parenting
  • 7plus
  • 7News
  • Health Engine
  • Starts at 60
  • The West Australian
  • Perth Now
  • Airtasker
  • Society One
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Who

Magazine Subscription Offer

FREE Neoprene Tote-WORTH $79.95

Shop This Offer
FREE Neoprene Tote