I remember when I was first starting to research Japanese names and used all these websites only to discover as I learned more Japanese, they were totally 100% WRONG (which prompted me to start this blog in the first place).
Do Not Trust These Websites For Japanese Names!
1. http://www.japanese-names.org/
2. http://www.20000-names.com/
3. http://www.behindthename.com/
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Really? I've spent hours doing research on two of those listed sites... :(
ReplyDeleteThose are the three sights I've found I can trust. At least the ones that give Romanji as well as the Kanji and English version. I've been trying to correct names when I come across wrong ones. http://epublishing.nademoya.biz/japan/names_in_japan.php is a good list of names but sadly, they don't give the meanings and I only pick names with good meanings.
ReplyDeleteI picked the name Naoya for two reasons, the first being that it sounds enough like Noah, the English name I've given the same character, and that it means Straight Arrow. I've read that parents usually pick Kanji characters they like that have good meanings for their children. I take the same view for my characters in my writing because my characters are a bit like my children. I don't want to name them something that has a bad meaning or connotation. Granted, 'Behind the Names' isn't complete, but they are one of the best sites I've found for names in general. It takes us as users to make it better. Honestly, I hope I can trust your information, but I'll trust the above sites because they've been around longer. Besides, I always double check with a Japanese-English dictionary (http://www.gokanji.com/cgi-bin/j-e/inline/dict?I=on&IK=on&LI=on) if I'm not 100% sure. Even if I can't get the exact meaning I can at least get a general idea of what the name implies by looking up individual Kanji. As for Naoya, I like 'straight arrow' or 'honest one' better than some of the other meanings I've found. Unless the kanji for 'ya', arrow, is on the list of ones not to name your kids. :-)