Japanese names that mean moon, light, flower or sky (with kanji)
You want a name that means moon, or light, or flower. In Japanese the meaning lives in the kanji, not in the sound, so the useful question is which kanji carries the idea and which real names use it. Hikaru written 光 means light; Hikaru written in kana means nothing in particular.
Below are the kanji Japanese parents actually use for light, the moon and stars, flowers and the sky, each with its dictionary meaning from KANJIDIC2 and names whose kanji and reading I checked in JMnedict. I've noted whether each name is usually given to boys, girls or both, and at the end there is a short routine for checking any name you find elsewhere.
How a Japanese name "means" something
A Japanese given name is usually one to three kanji, and each kanji brings its own meaning. 美月 Mizuki is 美 "beauty" + 月 "moon". There is no grammar joining them, so "beautiful moon", "beauty and the moon" and "moon of beauty" are all fair renderings. That is why I translate names kanji by kanji, as the cards in the generator do, and don't trust a single flowery translation.
Three things trip people up:
- Name readings. Kanji often take special readings in names (nanori). 陽 is normally yō or hi, but in names it is also haru and hina. You can't guess these, so always check the reading for the exact kanji.
- Kanji used for sound. In 星奈 Sena, the star is real, but 奈 is there only for the syllable na. Only one of the two kanji carries meaning.
- Month names. 葉月 Hazuki, 皐月 Satsuki and 弥生 Yayoi are old names of months (the eighth, fifth and third). They contain 月, but as a month, not as a moon in the sky. A Japanese reader hears the season first.
Names that mean light and sun
Light is the busiest theme in modern Japanese names. 陽 alone sits in several recent top-ten names, and Haruto has been the most popular boys' reading for years.
| Kanji | Dictionary meaning | Names (usually for) |
|---|---|---|
| 陽 (haru, hi, hina) | sunshine | 陽翔 Haruto (boys), 陽菜 Hina (girls), 陽向 Hinata (mostly boys) |
| 光 (hikaru, hikari, mitsu) | ray, light | 光 Hikaru (both), 光 Hikari (girls) |
| 輝 (ki, teru, hikaru) | radiance, shine | 晴輝 Haruki (boys), 一輝 Kazuki (boys) |
| 明 (aki, akira, mei) | bright, light | 明 Akira (mostly boys), 明美 Akemi (girls) |
| 旭 (asahi) | rising sun, morning sun | 旭 Asahi (boys) |
| 晃 (akira, kō) | clear | 晃 Akira (boys) |
| 灯 (akari) | lamp, a light | 灯 Akari (girls) |
A note on 光: as a given name it can be Hikaru, Hikari or Mitsuru, so on paper it doesn't tell you the gender. Hikari reads as female to most Japanese ears; Hikaru goes either way.
Names that mean moon, stars and night
The moon is rarer on its own than you might expect. 月 Tsuki alone is unusual as a name; it shines in combinations, usually read -zuki or -tsuki at the end of girls' names.
| Kanji | Dictionary meaning | Names (usually for) |
|---|---|---|
| 月 (tsuki, zuki) | moon, month | 美月 Mizuki (girls), 葉月 Hazuki (girls), 那月 Natsuki (mostly girls) |
| 星 (sei, hoshi) | star | 星奈 Sena (girls), 星羅 Seira (girls) |
| 宙 (sora, chū) | mid-air, space, sky | 宙 Sora (both) |
| 昴 (subaru) | the Pleiades | 昴 Subaru (boys) |
| 朔 (saku) | new moon, first day of the month | 朔 Saku (boys), 朔也 Sakuya (boys) |
| 夜 / 宵 (yo, yoi) | night / evening | 小夜 Sayo (girls) |
宙 is worth knowing. Its dictionary meaning is "mid-air, space", and parents use it for Sora when they want the sky with a hint of outer space. It is also the second kanji of 光宙, the name read "Pikachu" that became the standard example of a kira-kira name. The kanji are fine; the reading is the problem.
Names that mean flower
Flower names are the classic girls' theme, but plant names cross over: Ren, Aoi and Kaede are given to boys too, and 樹 "trees" leans to boys in Itsuki and Haruki.
| Kanji | Dictionary meaning | Names (usually for) |
|---|---|---|
| 花 (hana, ka) | flower | 花 Hana (girls), 花音 Kanon (girls), 一花 Ichika (girls) |
| 桜 (sakura) | cherry | 桜 Sakura (girls) |
| 咲 (saki) | blossom, bloom | 美咲 Misaki (girls), 咲 Saki (girls) |
| 葵 (aoi) | hollyhock | 葵 Aoi (both), 陽葵 Himari (girls) |
| 蓮 (ren) | lotus | 蓮 Ren (mostly boys) |
| 椿 / 楓 / 菫 / 百合 | camellia / maple / violet / lily | 椿 Tsubaki, 楓 Kaede (both), 菫 Sumire, 百合 Yuri (girls) |
| 樹 (ki, itsuki) | trees, timber | 樹 Itsuki (mostly boys), 春樹 Haruki (boys) |
| 菊 / 梅 (kiku, ume) | chrysanthemum / plum | きく Kiku, うめ Ume (girls, old-fashioned) |
Era matters a lot here. Sakura and Misaki were popular a generation ago. Two-kana names like Kiku and Ume belong to the Edo and Meiji periods: today they sound like great-grandmothers, and in period fiction they are perfect. 陽葵 Himari, with the hollyhock as its second kanji, is one of the top girls' names right now.
Names that mean sky and wind
Sky names lean towards boys today, with 翔 "soar" the single most used kanji in boys' names in a recent Meiji Yasuda ranking, but Sora and Aoi stay open to both.
| Kanji | Dictionary meaning | Names (usually for) |
|---|---|---|
| 空 (sora) | sky, empty | 空 Sora (both), 蒼空 Sora (boys) |
| 天 (ten, ama) | heavens, sky | 天音 Amane (mostly girls) |
| 翔 (shō, to, kakeru) | soar, fly | 翔 Kakeru (boys), 翔太 Shōta (boys) |
| 翼 (tsubasa) | wing | 翼 Tsubasa (mostly boys) |
| 颯 (hayate, sō) | sudden, the sound of the wind | 颯 Hayate (boys), 颯太 Sōta (boys) |
| 風 (fū, ka) | wind | 風花 Fūka (girls) |
| 蒼 / 碧 (ao, aoi) | blue, pale / blue, green | 蒼 Aoi (mostly boys), 碧 Ao (boys), 碧 Midori (girls) |
| 虹 (niji) | rainbow | 虹 Niji (girls) |
For seasons, the same logic applies: 小春 Koharu "little spring", 夏美 Natsumi "summer + beauty", 千秋 Chiaki "a thousand autumns" (both genders), 雪 Yuki "snow". Seasonal names quietly suggest when a character was born, which is a nice detail if your story uses it.
How to check a name you found elsewhere
Lists online are full of invented "Japanese names that mean moon". Before you commit to one, run it through these steps:
- Get the kanji. If a list gives only romaji, it hasn't told you the meaning. "Tsukiko" could be written several ways.
- Look up each kanji's meaning in a kanji dictionary such as KANJIDIC2, and decide whether it carries meaning or only sound in this name.
- Check that the reading exists for those exact kanji in a name dictionary such as JMnedict. A real kanji with an invented reading is how kira-kira names happen.
- Check the gender and era by looking at who carries the name: is it a grandmother, a pop idol or a toddler?
- Say it with a surname. Mizuki on its own is pretty. Mizuki next to a surname that also ends in -ki can sound clumsy.
Or skip the hunt: the Japanese name generator has a Meaning filter with Light & sun, Moon & night, Flowers & plants, Sky & wind, Water & sea and other themes, and every result comes with its kanji, reading and the meaning of each character.
Questions and answers
What Japanese name means moon?
Names with 月 "moon" such as 美月 Mizuki (beauty + moon) are the usual choice; 月 alone is rare. For night skies there are 星奈 Sena (star) and 昴 Subaru (the Pleiades).
What Japanese boy names mean light?
Haruto 陽翔 (sunshine + soar), Asahi 旭 (morning sun), Akira 晃 or 明 (clear, bright) and Hikaru 光 (light) are the common ones.
Is Sakura a common Japanese name?
Yes, 桜 Sakura is a real and well-known girls' name, though it was more fashionable a generation ago than it is now.
Can a name mean light if it is written in kana?
Not by itself. A kana name like ひかる has a sound, and the meaning only comes from the kanji. Many Japanese names are written in kanji precisely to fix that meaning.
