Ah, finding out your Japanese name is magical, isn’t it?
It’s the rite of passage for any new learner.
The second you start learning the language, you want to know how to write and say your name in Japanese. You’ll also need it to be able to introduce yourself in Japanese. So, I hope, by this time, you already know your Japanese alphabet… and specifically Katakana. If not… you…
…Ah, screw it.
I’ll show you anyway. (But you should really learn Katakana here.)
Want to know what your name is in Japanese?
- If you’re just lazy, just LOOK BELOW for the list of common translated names.
- If you’re ambitious… scroll all the WAY DOWN and the guide. It’ll take 3 or 4 minutes and you’ll be ready to use your Japanese name.
Also, be sure to leave a comment and say what your Japanese name is for practice!
Katakana Chart. You’ll Need This for Your Name in Japanese.
Just so you know…
Your name will be written in Katakana. All foreign words and names are written in this writing system. Below’s a quick run through of the Katakana (alphabet).
Katakana – English First, Then Japanese. | ||||
A | I | U | E | O |
ア | イ | ウ | エ | オ |
Ka | Ki | Ku | Ke | Ko |
カ | キ | ク | ケ | コ |
Ga | Gi | Gu | Ge | Go |
ガ | ギ | グ | ゲ | ゴ |
Sa | Shi | Su | Se | So |
サ | シ | ス | セ | ソ |
Za | Ji | Zu | Ze | Zo |
ザ | ジ | ズ | ゼ | ゾ |
Ta | Chi | Tsu | Te | To |
タ | チ | ツ | テ | ト |
Da | Dzi | Du | De | Do |
ダ | ヂ | ヅ | デ | ド |
Na | Ni | Nu | Ne | No |
ナ | ニ | ヌ | ネ | ノ |
Ha | Hi | Hu/Fu | He | Ho |
ハ | ヒ | フ | ヘ | ホ |
Ba | Bi | Bu | Be | Bo |
バ | ビ | ブ | ベ | ボ |
Pa | Pi | Pu | Pe | Po |
パ | ピ | プ | ペ | ポ |
Ma | Mi | Mu | Me | Mo |
マ | ミ | ム | メ | モ |
Ya | Yu | Yo | ||
ヤ | ユ | ヨ | ||
Ra | Ri | Ru | Re | Ro |
ラ | リ | ル | レ | ロ |
Wa | N | Wo | ||
ワ | ン | ヲ | ||
The Ya, Yu, Yo Sounds | ||||
Kya | Kyu | Kyo | ||
キャ | キュ | キョ | ||
Gya | Gyu | Gyo | ||
ギャ | ギュ | ギョ | ||
Sha | Shu | Sho | ||
シャ | シュ | ショ | ||
Ja | Ju | Jo | ||
ジャ | ジュ | ジョ | ||
Cha | Chu | Cho | ||
チャ | チュ | チョ | ||
Nya | Nyu | Nyo | ||
ニャ | ニュ | ニョ | ||
Hya | Hyu/Fyu | Hyo | ||
ヒャ | ヒュ | ヒョ | ||
Bya | Byu | Byo | ||
ビャ | ビュ | ビョ | ||
Pya | Pyu | Pyo | ||
ピャ | ピュ | ピョ | ||
Mya | Myu | Myo | ||
ミャ | ミュ | ミョ | ||
Rya | Ryu | Ryo | ||
リャ | リュ |
To make it easier, and so you can double-check your work, here are some common names translated into Japanese.
Common English Names Translated To Japanese For Lazy People
Names A-M | Romanized | Japanese |
Aaron | A-ron | アーロン |
Adam | Adamu | アダム |
Alex | Arekkusu | アレックス |
Ann | An | アン |
Anna | Anna | アンナ |
Andrew | Andoryuu | アンドリュウ |
Arthur | Arusaa | アルサー |
Becky | Bekki | ベッキ |
Ben | Ben | ベン |
Bill | Biru | ビル |
Bob | Bobu | ボブ |
Brittany | Burittanii | ブリッタニー |
Casey | Keishii | ケイシー |
Carl | Caaru | カール |
Charles | Charuzu | チャルズ |
Cindy | Shindii | シンディ |
Dan | Dan | ダン |
Deborah | Debora | デボラ |
Derek | Derekku | デレック |
Don | Don | ドン |
Donna | Donna | ドンナ |
Emma | Emma | エッマ |
Eric | Erikku | エリック |
Erica | Erika | エリカ |
Fred | Fureddo | フレッド |
Gary | Ge-ri | ゲーリ |
Glen | Guren | グレン |
Harry | Ha-ri | ハーリ |
Jack | Jakku | ジャック |
James | Je-muzu | ジェームズ |
Jen | Jen | ジェン |
Jenny | Jenni | ジェニー |
Jerry | Jerri | ジェリー |
Joe | Jo | ジョ |
John | Jon | ジョン |
Karen | Karen | カレン |
Keith | Kiifu | キーフ |
Ken | Ken | ケン |
Kim | Kimu | キム |
Larry | Ra-ri | ラーリ |
Lenny | Renni | レニー |
Linda | Rinda | リンダ |
Mark | Ma-ku | マーク |
Matt | Matto | マット |
Mary | Me-ri | メーリ |
Max | Makkusu | マックス |
Mike | Maiku | マイク |
Michael | Maikeru | マイケル |
Nathan | Ne-san | ネーサン |
Nick | Nikku | ニック |
Nikki | Nikki | ニッキ |
Patrick | Pattorikku | パットリック |
Paul | Po-ru | ポール |
Peter | Pi-ta | ピータ |
Philip | Firippu | フィリップ |
Rachel | Reicheru | レイチェル |
Randy | Rendi- | レンディ |
Ray | Rei | レイ |
Rebecca | Rebekka | レベッカ |
Richard | Richa-do | レチャード |
Robert | Roba-to | ロバート |
Roger | Roja- | ロジャー |
Sally | Sari- | サリー |
Sam | Samu | サム |
Sarah | Sara | サラ |
Sophie | Sofii | ソフィー |
Stan | Sutan | スタン |
Stephanie | Sutefanii | ステファニー |
Tim | Timu | ティム |
Valerie | Bareri- | バレリー |
Vicky | Bikki | ビッキ |
Victor | Bikkuta- | ビックター |
Victoria | Bikkutoria | ビックトリア |
Walter | Waruta- | ワルター |
Wanda | Wanda | ワンダ |
Wendy | Uendii | ウェンディ |
Will | Uirru | ウィル |
William | Uirriamu | ウィッリアム |
Zack | Zakku | ザック |
Zachary | Zakkari | ザッカリ |
If I don’t have yours, leave a comment below and I will add it!
So, hopefully I got your Japanese name in there. Now, you can start speaking basic Japanese and go introduce yourself as…
-
- Hajimemashite, watashi no namae wa (name) desu.
- はじめまして。私の名前は(name)です。
- Nice to meet you. My name is (name).
Or you can just say the more casual way.
-
- (name) desu.
- (name)です。
- I’m (name).
If you got your name right, be sure to leave a comment and introduce yourself. If I missed your name, also leave a comment and we’ll get one for you! And now that you know your name and can introduce yourself, you should learn even more Japanese!
What is my name in Japanese? How to translate your name.
First, there are 9 rules that you need to know about finding out your Japanese name.
Don’t worry, they’re not scary. You’ll be fine after reading them.
And if you’re still confused, just leave a comment.
Or… proceed to the list below if now you’re feeling lazy.
- It must be written in Katakana as it’s a foreign name. Katakana is merely a version of the Japanese alphabet dedicated to foreign words that were adopted by Japanese.
- The spelling WILL depend on how you pronounce your name. Let’s say you have an uncommon name that may not sound how its spelled. For example, your name is Böb but it’s not pronounced as “Bob” but “Beaub.” Well, if you want most of your desired pronunciation to cross over into Japanese, you will need to go by sounds or phonetics. So, you won’t be a “Bobu ボブ” but perhaps “バーブ.”
- If you check the comments where people ask about their names, often the first question is… “well, how do you pronounce that?”
- There is no L. L becomes R. Sorry Larry, Linda, and Luke. Your names will start with the letter R from now on. There’s no L in the Japanese language and Japanese R is pretty unique, similar to the Russian/Spanish/Italian R where you slightly roll your tongue. So Larry, you are pretty much Rarry.
- There is no V. V becomes B. Sorry Vicky, you’re now Bikki.
- The Japanese Alphabet follows the this sound pattern. You’ll get a good idea of it after taking a look at the character chart below.
- Pronunciation: Ah (written as A)
- Pronunciation: Ee (written as I)
- Pronunciation: Oo (written as U)
- Pronunciation: Eh (Written as E)
- Pronunciation: Oh (Written as O)
- So, of course, there will be “ka, ki, ku, ke, ko” and “sa, shi, su, se, so” and so on.
- Most Japanese letters actually consist if 1 consonant and 1 vowel OR just 1 vowel.
- So, “Ka” is considered as one letter. So is “A.” And “De.”
- What does this mean? It means 2 things. If you have…
- Two consecutive consonants in your name like “Fr” in Fred or “Gl” in Glen, those two will now have vowels after the consonants. So, the Fr in Fred becomes “Fure” and the Gl in Glen becomes “Gure.”
- Rule: In two consecutive consonants, the first one follows an “U” sound. The second one will follow the vowel that’s already in your name.
- Or if your name ends in a consonant, like “D” in Ted, then that last consonant is doubled up and ends in an O or U. Ted actually becomes Teddo. Fred becomes Fureddo.
- This rule does not apply to names ending in “N.” N in Japanese is the only consonant can be counted as 1 letter. So, our friend Glen is Guren.
- This rule does not apply to names ending in “Y.” So, Ray becomes Rei. The letter I (イ) acts as that “iy” sound.
- Names ending in K, M or X take on the “U” ending. Jim is Jimu. Hank is Hanku. Sam is Samu. Max is Makkusu. Mark is Ma-ku.
- Two consecutive consonants in your name like “Fr” in Fred or “Gl” in Glen, those two will now have vowels after the consonants. So, the Fr in Fred becomes “Fure” and the Gl in Glen becomes “Gure.”
- Japanese letters are pronounced with equal stress and time, unless noted by an elongation. Take the word “camera.” In English, camera is pronounced as “Caaamura,” right? There’s quite a bit of stress on the “Caaaaa.” In Japanese however, it is ka-me-ra where each letter, ka, me and ra, are said for equal amounts of time. This will help you understand rule #7 below.
- If a vowel in your name sounds like it receives stress, it will be an elongated vowel in Japanese. What do I mean? Take the name “Mary” or “Gary” for example. There’s quite a bit of emphasis on the letter A. It almost sounds like it’s pronounced as “Maaary” where the inflection on the A goes up. Same with Gary. In Japanese, these will become “Me-ri” and “Ge-ri”
- The Ya, Yu, Yo Sounds. Basically, any I sound, like Ki, Gi, Mi, Ji etc. can be combined with the Ya, Yu, Yo letters of a smaller version to produce sounds like…
- Gi: Gya, Gyu, Gyo
- Ji: Ja, Ju, Jo
- Ri: Rya, Ryu, Ryo
- And so, on. You’ll see more of these in the chart below.
Conclusion
Ok, now you’re ready to learn your Japanese name.
Below is a chart of the Katakana letters, providing you with the English first, Japanese character underneath, to help you find the character for your name. Here’s how you figure out your name:
-
- Step 1: Refer to rule #4 for the proper pronunciation of A, I, U, E, O.
- Step 2: If your name starts with a consonant and vowel, look for the ones that match you.
- Mary will start with “Me-” or メー
- Kevin will start with “Ke” or ケ
- Or similary, if your name starts with a vowel, chose A, I, U, E, or O, depending on how your name sounds.
- Step 3: Then piece your name together. Look for the next sound.
- Mary will start with “Me-” or メー, and then we need “Ri” so find that character, リ, and add it in: メーリ
- Kevin will start with “Ke” or ケ, and then we need “Bi” (remember no V in Japanese) and “N.” So, find “Bi” and “N” and you have “Kebin” or ケビン.
- Step 4: Feeling lazy? Scroll down below this chart where I’ve translated common English names into Japanese.
– The Junkie
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Hi, my name is Arielle and I’m kind of confused how to translate it.
Ok so my given name is Derek so that would be Derekku according to your list. But my surname is Ruehl (pronounced: real). Would it just be Riro?
If it’s pronounced as real, there’s an elongated “ee” sound between the two R’s so it’d be リール (ri-ru)
Hajimemashite, watashi no namae wa Esutaa desu
I cant write my name can you please tell me how to write my name
it is “Dhanraj”
How would the name Jadyn be pronounced and written out in Japanese? thank you!
Assuming your name is pronounced as “Jay-din,” it would be ジェイヂィン (Jei-din)
What is nicholai in Japanese
Please add my name “Aarlyn”
I don’t get it I just want to translate my name. Btw my name is Hans I will really appreciate it if u will translate it for me
My name in Japanese in “BIROGINI-A as Virginia..,,am i right?
Close! Would be Birujini-a. BUT… In the case of R before a consonant, the R can take on the vowel before. Like Mark is Maaku. You can go with バージニア (Ba-jinia) or ビージニア (Bi-jinia), although I think the Japanese “ee” sound of the “I” strays too far off/is too extreme compared to the original pronunciation. Case in point: Veerginia in English sounds odd. I think バージニア (Ba-jinia) would work best.
What about Jay? lol
こんにちは、my name is Jayens but I don’t know if he can translated as Jeiensu. (ジェイエンス)
ありがとうございます!
It depends on how you pronounce your name. If you pronounce it as Jei-ensu. (ジェイエンス) then that’s the best answer. If it’s more of a “Ja-yens,” then ジャエンス・ジャイェンス)
What would Ljay and Eljae be in Japanese please?
エルジェイ
How would I pronounce that please? Thank you if you do reply again, sorry if I’m bothering you.
No worries whatsoever. It’s eru-jei エルジェイ エ(e)ル(ru)ジ(ji)ェ(e)イ(i) when coupled with a small katakana vowel like ェ, ジェ becomes “je”
My name is RodRick (pronounced Rahd-rik), what would my name be?
ラッドリック (Raddo-rikku)
How about Mahfuzah ? Its become like this マフザデス ? It is right ? Im still learning and struggling to remember the hiragana and katakana alphabet.
I think it would be more so マフザ (Ma-fu-za) but it depends on the pronunciation
My name is julissa, what would my name be?
ジュリッサ
はじめまして。 ハビ です。よろしく お願いします!
Hajimemashite, Habi desu! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
Is that even right?
My name is melody, what my name in Japan?
メロディ
Can you please translate my name. It’s Scotia
スコウシャ
My name is Swetha. Pronounced as Sh-way-th-ah. What would my name in Japanese be?
シュウェイタ
Hi ! Um I’ve been wondering for a long time now but what would Fatima be? I’ve searched it up but it wouldn’t see change pls help♀️
ファティマ
some random person online named domanic and every variation of my name is domaniku in japan but when i decided to go to a Japanese website I know Japanese but not names so I decided to try to see why my name is failing so badly in japan could you help me
オマニック
My name is Zion and it is very difficult for me to find how to write my name.
ザイオン
my name is also rare.. its
Kazhmeire
translate please xD
カズメイレ or カジメイル depending on which one is closer
Hi my name is Giomari, what would mine be?
depends on the pronunciation
if Gee-oh-mari, then ジオマリ (ji-o-mari)
if “Jo-Mari” then ジョマリ (jo-mari)
my name is allisson so what would mine be?
アリソン (Arison) Careful: if you’re new to Japanese, you might think that the last 2 characters are exactly the same but they’re at different angles. to tell the difference: consider the first one is almost straight down, and the other one is almost horizontal.
My name is Owen how do I say it?
オーエン (ooen)
Please translate mu name
Sai Vinay
サイ ビナイ (Sai Bonai) or サイ ウィナイ (Sai Winai). Japanese doesn’t have a V sound so it’d be one of those 2 depending on your preference.
my name is Yaasmyn
ヤーズミン
my name is rarest…. zulfadzly … can anyone help me
How about mine? My name is May Arriesgado ,i know already about the May one its Mei,how about my surname?
マイ アッリエスガド
Can you add Scarlett thats my name
スカレット
What do you do when you have an x in the middle of your name?
X becomes a combination of ku and shi. Like, Taxi is Takushii. Lexi would be Rekushi-
I’ve got a weird one what is “Kaddesh” or “kadesh”
カッデシュ or カデシュ depending on the # of d’s you want.
Can you please translate Theineingam I can’t find it anywhere
テイネインガム
My middle name Lee
i just dont get it, its so confusing *sigh* and my name so long…
Surname: Fedosi ; Second Name: Alessandro ; First Name: Giovanni
would be insane if someone can translate it! :D
My name is Aniva. I tried translating it and came up with A Ni Ba (A Ni Va) lol can you correct me if I’m wrong please.
According to Google it’s Aniwa ♀️ So would love some help please.
I’m probably wrong but my name is Reveaux and I got this ルヴォー
well my names ada so like アダ I do be havin it easy doe
would Jasmine Marie sound as Jasumin Me-ri?
Yablu… my name translates to the word やぶる whitch meas to eliminate or destroy I feel powerful.
My name is Ide Aiman so how to say I’m in japanese
My name is Danielle. On other sites, I saw it translate to Danieeru or Danieru. Is this right?
you dont have my name-Razvan
My name is rare..
my name is Suchra
How ’bout me? I really can’t translate my name Can you help me out? Anyways my name is Kunyap
:) my name is RoReRi. Whelp
How to spell my name?
how to write my name i.e. Sumit Choudhary , I am from India,
im looking for maria
My name is Faezu could it be ファエズ ?
Yes!
I hope this still gets seen
My name is Rense what would it be in Japanese
My name is Parker, Are you able to translate that for me?
It would be パーカー (Paa-kaa)
My name is desirae, what would that be?
デシレー (De-shi-ree)
What’s Japanese name for Julius