Female Japanese Names

An Asian name not widely known in the West.

Homophonous with Mae and May, the beautiful (literally) Mei is poised to climb the charts. The hero of the 2022 Disney/Pixar film Turning Red is a Chinese-Canadian teen named Meilin "Mei" Lee, which may boost the name ever further.

One of the most familiar Japanese names thanks to the first commoner to become empress of Japan and to New York Times book empress Michiko Kakutani.

In Japan, color names symbolize human qualities (in this case, fame); name of gifted violist Midori, but also a Japanese melon liqueur.

One of the better-known Japanese names.

Mika is a Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. As a male name, it's a short form of Mikael, the Scandinavian and Finnish form of Michael. Both are spelled and pronounced the same.

Most famous as a Dracula victim (where Mina is short for Wilhelmina), Mina is a name that can stand on its own or be a diminutive of any name ending in -mina, most usually Wilhelmina.

Mio is a lovely Japanese name for girls that has migrated beyond its native country. One Berry reports several young girls named Mio in Australia, and the name has potential in the rest of the English-speaking world for parents who want to move beyond Mia and Maya.

A modern Japanese name meaning "future", borne by figure skater Mirai Nagasu. The name is technically unisex, but more often given to girls. Mirai is also a Shona female given name, meaning "wait".

Is it pronounced MEE-ah or MY-ah? Only the bearer knows for sure, which is one of the central problems with this hybrid name.

An attractive Japanese name with appealing meanings.

Most common in Japan in the mid-20th century, but to Western ears it doesn't sound dated.

The meaning of this sweet Japanese name varies depending on the combination of kanji used, but the first element mi means "beautiful".

Momoko is a Japanese name meaning "peach child." It's also the name of a character in the popular Sailor Moon manga series.