lifestyle

What's in a Japanese name?

10 Comments
By Matthew Coslett

When I first arrived in Japan, I really struggled with Japanese names. Trying to get my tongue around even simple ones like 千秋 (ちあき)  and 夏子 (なつこ)  were tricky. I still remember the disappointed looks on some of the kids’ faces as they asked me if I remembered their names only to be met with shrugs; despite the fact I’d been teaching them for the better part of a year!

It would have been a lot easier to remember their names, however, if I had known that a lot of them reflect the values that their parents wanted to impart on their child. The name 千秋, for example, is made up the kanji for thousand (千) and autumn (秋) and the name 夏子 is created from summer (夏) and child (子). Appropriately the girls in question matched these descriptions, as 千秋 was a serious, smart girl (my image of someone in permanent autumn) and 夏子 was a bright and happy girl.

As well as making people’s names easier to remember, this practice is also a useful way to learn some kanji. Shortly before my JLPT2 exam, I made a point of noticing the kanji in my students’ names. This tactic paid off in an unexpected way when 恵む came up in my JLPT2 exam. A cinch as my girlfriend’s name is 恵仁 and I’d seen that kanji every time I’d sent her an email.

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10 Comments
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Someone should do a study of nominative determinism in cultures where names have meanings, to see if there is anything in the theory that "...the girls in question matched these descriptions..."

Isn't it more likely that the people end up matching their names?

I knew two sisters - the older one they named Muriel, the younger, Rosemary. Muriel was and still is (I think) a very old-fashioned, uncool name, for a plain, unhappy girl while Rosemary, and more so Rosie, is a sweet name for a sweet, popular girl.

And they did indeed grow into their names... and sadly life did not treat Muriel well.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I knew someone called Maria and she used to be a pious sort but very joyful. Always bursting into song, climbing mountains, making children's clothes out of curtains.

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My son is Brightness of the morning, since we didn't want to know the sex we chose other kanji for a girl same meaning.

Being western my 1st name means Rock/Stone.

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@Toasted Heretic: There are also Marias who are problems, who you have met, and who you gotta see. They probably suit me better than the twirly mountaintop Maria.

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My wife is "eternal child up the blue tree" 

青木久子?

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A cinch as my girlfriend’s name is 恵仁 

I must confess: I've lived in Japan for almost two decades, and I can't read this name. I suspect that えじん or えにん are not how you say it. Is she Japanese? I would love to know how to pronounce this.

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ThonTaddeo: According to WWW.JDIC Japanese names dictionary:

恵仁 is【けいじん】 (g) Keijin or 【えに】 (f) Eni

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I'd oh my money on Eni.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

*put

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