Japanese has no alphabet, so the K in these names comes from romaji, the Latin spelling of Japanese sounds. I have selected 307 Japanese names that start with K, each with its meaning.
Japanese Girl Names That Start With K:
Kozue
I’ve always liked how leafy Kozue sounds: “treetop.”
Kaguya
”Radiant.” Kaguya-hime, a princess from the Moon who is discovered inside the stalk of a bamboo plant.
Kurenai
Deep crimson, a red once dyed from safflower.
Kanon
“Flower” and “sound.”
Kana
It combines ka, “beautiful,” with na, a character used for its sound.
Kaori
“Fragrance.”
Kiyohime
“Pure princess.” She’s a woman of Dojo-ji legend who becomes a fire-breathing serpent.
Kotori
I’d pair Kotori with a short surname. Little bird.
Kasane
Kasane is meaning “to pile up” or “to stack.”
Kazumi
Harmony plus beauty.
Kokoro
Heart, mind, spirit, feeling: four meanings in one word.
Kohana
Little flower.
Kimiko
“Noble child.”
Kiku
Chrysanthemum, the flower on Japan’s imperial seal.
Karin
“Chinese quince”.
Kotone
From koto, Japan’s thirteen-string zither, and ne, sound.
Keiko
”Blessed child.” Keiko was a male orca captured in the Atlantic Ocean and played Willy in Free Willy.
Kirara
Sparkle, as well as a word for mica.
Kae
Kae is pronounced KAH-eh: “good blessing.”
Kazuha
“harmony/leaf.”
Kurumi
“Walnut.”
Kasumi
Mist. Tokyo’s government quarter, Kasumigaseki, is the “barrier of mist.”
Kanoko
“Fawn,” and a tie-dye pattern of dots like a fawn’s spots.
Kiyomi
Pure beauty.
Koyomi
Calendar.
Kotoha
“Koto leaf,” or with other kanji, “words.”
Kokona
Heart and greens.
Kayoko
Good, generation and child.
Kiriko
“Paulownia child,” and the name of Tokyo’s cut glass, Edo kiriko.
Kanna
“Bookmark,” and the word for a carpenter’s plane.
Kyoka
“capital/fragrance.”
Kanade
From kanaderu, to play music.
Koume
I’ve always liked Koume for its size: “little plum.”
Kinu
Silk.
Kotomi
Koto and beauty.
Kikyo
Bellflower. She’s the priestess whose arrow pins Inuyasha to a tree.
Kazue
“Harmony branch.”
Kokone
It combines kokoro, heart, with ne, sound.
Kozakura
“Little cherry blossom.”
Kumiko
“Long-lasting beauty.” Kumiko is also a technique of assembling wooden pieces without nails.
Kisa
Hope and sand.
Kiyoka
Pure flower.
Kazusa
Harmony and gauze, as well as a province east of Tokyo Bay.
Kuniko
Child of the country.
Kohaku
Amber. Haku in Spirited Away is the spirit of a river with this moniker.
Kanami
“Increase,” plus beauty.
Kayano
Thatch-grass field.
Koharu
It means “small spring,” and koharu-biyori is a mild spell in late autumn.
Kazane
“Wind and sound.”
Kokoa
Heart and love. It sounds exactly like the Japanese word for cocoa.
Kiho
Hope and sail.
Kazuyo
Harmonious generation.
Kaede
Kaede is pronounced kah-EH-deh, and it’s the word for maple.
Koito
“Little thread.”
Komomo
Little peach.
Koyuki
Little snow. Koyuki Kato’s the actress who played Taka in The Last Samurai.
Kaho
Flower and sail.
Kimika
Precious, beautiful flower.
Kiyono
Pure, softened with no, a possessive ending.
Katsuko
Victory child.
Kazuko
Kazuko is symbolizing “harmony child,” or “first child.”
Kiko
“Chronicle child,” and the name of Crown Prince Fumihito’s wife.
Kyoko
Capital child, or respectful child.
Kirie
” Paper cutting” or “cut picture”.
Komachi
Little town, and Ono no Komachi, poet and legendary beauty.
Kanae
“Wish granted.”
Karen
Flower and lotus.
Kie
Kie is pronounced KEE-eh, and it combines “joy” with “blessing.”
Kaya
“Torreya tree,” prized for go boards.
Konatsu
Little summer, and a citrus grown in Kochi.
Boy Names
Kohei
Peace, evenness.
Kinji
“Gold and next.”
Kintaro
“Golden boy.” Kintarō’s a child of superhuman strength who was raised by his mother, Princess Yaegiri.
Keigo
Gemstone and “I,” with a similar sound as keigo, honorific speech.
Kosuke
Peace and help.
Kaname
Four meanings of one kanji: “pivot,” “key,” “main point,” “need.”
Kaito
From kai, sea, and to, a Chinese star group.
Kenta
Healthy and big.
Kairi
”Sea village.” Kairi is the word for a nautical mile.
Kanetsugu
“Combine and continue.” Samurai Naoe Kanetsugu had the kanji for “love” on his helmet.
Kazuki
“One brightness,” or “harmony and hope.”
Katsumi
“Overcome oneself.”
Kiyoshi
Pure. Japan’s version of Silent Night opens with this word.
Kojiro
Little second son, and Musashi’s rival in a famous island duel.
Kanta
Generous and big.
Kunio
Country man.
Kogoro
Kogoro (“little fifth son”) Akechi is Edogawa Rampo’s detective.
Kokichi
Happiness and luck. Mikimoto Kokichi made the first cultured pearls. He was inducted into the House of Peers by imperial decree.
Kazuya
Harmony.
Keita
“Celebration and big.”
Kotetsu
“Tiger pierce.” Nagasone Kotetsu was a swordmaker of the early Edo period. It is estimated that 90% of swords with his signature are fake.
Kaoru
Fragrance, and a Genji hero who was born with a natural scent.
Kazuma
Harmony and true, or one horse.
Katsuo
Victorious hero, and it’s the word for skipjack tuna, as in katsuobushi.
Ken’ichi
Healthy first son.
Kakeru
To soar.
Kuranosuke
“Treasury assistant.” Oishi Kuranosuke was the leader of the Forty-seven Rōnin in their 1703 vendetta.
Kyosuke
Respect and help.
Kanji
Kanji (“generous rule”) has a sound that is similar with the word for Chinese characters.
Keisuke
Gemstone help.
Kuniyoshi
Country and fragrant, and the ukiyo-e artist of a giant skeleton print.
Kazuo
“First son,” or “harmony man.”
Kosei
Light and becoming.
Kiichiro
Joy, one and son. Toyoda Kiichiro started Toyota’s car business. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit.
Kunihiko
Country prince.
Kensuke
Healthy help.
Kenzaburo
Healthy third son. Oe Kenzaburo won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Oe told New York Times magazine that his writing was concentrated on “the dignity of human beings.”
Kanata
From kana, play music, and ta, many. Kanata also means “yonder.”
Kazuhiko
Harmony prince.
Kazunori
Harmony and law.
Kiyomori
Pure and prosperous. Taira no Kiyomori was the first samurai to reach the court’s top post. He’s also the main character in the Kamakura period epic.
Kenzo
Humble third son, and a fashion label born in Paris.
Kisuke
Joy and help.
Kyohei
“Respectful peace.”
Koki
Light and brightness. As a word, koki means radiance.
Kazuyoshi
Harmony and righteousness.
Kiyoharu
Pure spring.
Kai
“Sea” in Japanese, and the same in Hawaiian.
Kenshin
Humble trust. Uesugi Kenshin was called the Dragon of Echigo because of his skills in martial arts.
Katsuya
“Victory.”
Kamatari
Sickle and foot. Fujiwara no Kamatari founded the Fujiwara clan.
Koichi
“Prosperous one.”
Kotaro
Light, big, son.
Katsuhiro
Victory and wide. Otomo Katsuhiro created the manga Akira.
Kazutaka
Kazutaka is meaning “harmony and nobility.”
Kuro
“Ninth son.” Minamoto no Yoshitsune went by Kuro in his youth.
Kichiro
Lucky son.
Kaishu
Sea and boat. Katsu Kaishu arranged Edo’s surrender without a battle.
Kazuhiro
“Harmony,” and “wide.”
Kiyotaka
Pure nobility.
Kazunari
Harmony and success. He’s Ninomiya Kazunari of the pop group Arashi.
Keiji
Respect and second.
Kunimitsu
Country light.
Kinnosuke
Gold and help. Natsume Soseki was born as Natsume Kinnosuke.
Kakuei
Corner and glory.
Kanzo
Generous third son.
Keiichi
Gemstone one. Tsuchiya Keiichi is the original Drift King.
Katsuie
Victory house.
Kosaku
To till the soil.
Kiyotsugu
Pure and next. Kan’ami Kiyotsugu shaped Noh with his son Zeami.
Kagetora
Scenery tiger.
Kenjiro
Kenjiro is meaning ”healthy second son.”
Kyotaro
“Capital, big, son.”
Kenshiro
“Fist, fourth son.” He’s the hero of Fist of the North Star.
Kengo
Healthy, and “I.”
Kunihiro
Country and wide.
Kozo
Happiness and three. Kōzō Arimori achieved the rank of 8-dan.
Koshiro
Happy fourth son.
Koji
“Prosperous second son,” or “light officer.”
Kento
Healthy, and to, a Chinese constellation. Kento Yamazaki starred in the television series Death Note.
Kiyomasa
Pure and just.
Kaisei
“Clear skies.”
Katsuhito
Victorious person. Katsuhito Yokokume was elected as a member of the House of Representatives,
Kanbei
Official, soldier, guard.
Katsuro
Victorious son.
Kyoji
Respectful second son. Kyoji Horiguchi is #8 in the Meta UFC flyweight rankings.[10]
Kazuaki
Harmony and bright.
Kazuto
Harmony person.
Katsuki
Victory and self. Katsuki Bakugo is one of the main protagonists of the manga series My Hero Academia.
Keizo
Respect and three.
Kazuyuki
Harmony and happiness.
Katashi
Firm. Katashi was a character that was introduced during Season 3 of Teen Wolf.
Koetsu
Light and joy.
Last Names
Konoe
Imperial guard.
Komine
Little peak.
Kobayashi
Small forest. Kobayashi Takeru ate fifty hot dogs in twelve minutes. The feat earned him his sixth straight title in the Independence Day hot dog eating competition on Coney Island.
Kameyama
Turtle mountain.
Kameda
“Turtle field.”
Kamo
Wild duck.
Kato
Add and wisteria. Kato Kiyomasa built Kumamoto Castle with great effort and the latest technology.
Kanayama
Gold mountain, a word for a mine.
Konuma
Small swamp.
Kimura
“Tree village.” Judoka Kimura Masahiko gave his name to the kimura armlock.
Kageyama
“Shadow mountain.”
Kakinuma
Persimmon swamp.
Kusunoki
“Camphor tree.” Samurai Kusunoki Masashige rides in bronze outside Tokyo’s Imperial Palace.
Kaburagi
“Whistling arrow” and “tree.”
Kurita
Kurita is symbolizing ”chestnut field.”
Kanemoto
Gold origin.
Kudo
Craft and wisteria. Kudo Shinichi is the teen sleuth shrunk into Detective Conan.
Kiyota
Pure field.
Kakuta
Corner field.
Kawaguchi
River mouth, and a lake at the base of Mount Fuji.
Kotake
“Little bamboo.”
Kumada
Bear field.
Kondo
Near wisteria. Marie Kondo was named to the TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people.
Kiriyama
Paulownia mountain.
Kamiyama
God mountain.
Kikuchi
“Chrysanthemum pond.” Rinko Kikuchi earned an Oscar nomination for Babel.
Kishida
“Shore field.”
Kuwata
Mulberry field.
Kojima
Small island. Hideo Kojima created Metal Gear.
Kuwahara
Mulberry meadow. Said twice, “kuwabara” is an old charm against lightning.
Kubo
Long and protect.
Kawasaki
River cape. The motorcycle maker started as a Tokyo shipyard.
Kaneko
“Gold child.”
Koizumi
Small spring. Writer Lafcadio Hearn became Koizumi Yakumo.
Kamata
Sickle field.
Kaneda
“Gold field.”
Kitano
North field. Students pray at Kyoto’s Kitano Tenmangu before exams.
Katagiri
One paulownia.
Kamiya
“God valley.”
Kishimoto
Shore origin. Masashi Kishimoto created Naruto which has sold over 250 million copies.
Kashiwagi
“Oak tree.”
Kawashima
River island.
Kurosawa
“Black marsh”. Akira Kurosawa made Seven Samurai, a film about a village of peasants who hire seven samurai to help defend their village.
Kitagawa
North river. Kitagawa Utamaro designed ukiyo-e prints of beauties.
Komatsu
Small pine.
Kawabata
River’s edge, and Yasunari Kawabata, author of Snow Country.
Kuroda
Black rice field.
Kubota
“Hollow rice field,” as well as a tractor maker founded in Osaka.
Kanda
God’s field, and Tokyo’s district of used bookshops.
Kitamura
North village.
Kawai
River meeting. Kawai pianos started in Hamamatsu.
Kurokawa
“Black river.” Kisho Kurokawa designed Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower.
Kanai
Gold well.
Kasai
“Kudzu west.”
Kagawa
Fragrant river. Kagawa is Japan’s smallest prefecture, famous for udon.
Kawakami
Upriver.
Kumagai
Bear valley. Kumagai Naozane killed young Atsumori, then became a Jōdo-shū Buddhist priest, as a disciple of Hōnen.
Kawamura
River village.
Koyama
“Small mountain.”
Kono
River field.
Kinoshita
Under the tree. Hideyoshi wasn’t always Toyotomi: his early surname was Kinoshita.
Kurihara
Chestnut meadow.
Koike
Small pond. Yuriko Koike became Tokyo’s first female governor. “I will lead Tokyo politics in an unprecedented manner, a Tokyo you have never seen,” she said at the time.
Kataoka
One-sided hill.
Kano
Hunting field. Kano painters ran Japan’s leading art school for about four centuries.
Kanno
Sedge field. Yoko Kanno scored the music of Cowboy Bebop.
Kishi
Shore.
Kumamoto
Bear origin, the castle city from the Kato entry.
Kuribayashi
Chestnut grove. General Kuribayashi Tadamichi commanded the defense of Iwo Jima.
Kurata
Storehouse field.
Kosaka
Small slope.
Kuno
Long field.
Kitajima
North island. Kosuke Kitajima won breaststroke gold at two straight Olympics.
Kiyohara
Pure meadow. Sei Shonagon, author of The Pillow Book, came from this clan.
Kaneshiro
Gold castle.
Kamei
Turtle well.
Komori
Small woods, and it sounds like komori, a nursemaid.
Kotani
Small valley.
Kitazawa
North marsh.
Kusanagi
Grass-mower, and an imperial sword never shown to the public.
Karasawa
From kara, an old word for China, and sawa, marsh.
Kuramoto
“Storehouse origin.”
Kanzaki
“God cape.”
Kirishima
Misty island. That’s where Sakamoto Ryoma spent what Japan calls its first honeymoon.
Kusama
Grass space. Yayoi Kusama covers whole rooms in polka dots.
Kuroki
“Black tree.”
Kuroiwa
Black rock.
Konishi
Small west. Christian lord Konishi Yukinaga refused ritual suicide before his execution.
Kurosaki
Black cape, and the surname of Ichigo, hero of Bleach.
Kitahara
North meadow.
Kikukawa
“Chrysanthemum river.”
Kanazawa
Gold marsh. Kanazawa makes almost all of Japan’s gold leaf.
Kusakabe
Kusakabe doesn’t sound like its kanji: sun, below and guild.
Kajiwara
Paper mulberry meadow.
Kawada
River field.
Kamimura
Upper village.
Kaji
“Blacksmith,” or “rudder.”
Kawahara
Riverbed. Kabuki began on a dry riverbed in Kyoto.
Kiryu
“Where paulownia grows.” Kiryu is also a city famous for silk weaving.
Koga
Old celebration.
Kihara
Tree meadow.
Kokubu
Province share. Emperor Shomu ordered a kokubunji temple in every province.
Konno
Now and field.
Kusumoto
Camphor origin. Kusumoto Ine was Japan’s first woman doctor of Western medicine.
Koyanagi
“Small willow.”
Kasuga
Spring day. Nara’s Kasuga Taisha shrine has about three thousand lanterns.
Katsura
Katsura tree, and Kyoto’s Katsura Imperial Villa.
Katsumata
“Victory again.”
Kakei
Bamboo water pipe.
Kanamori
Gold forest.
Katayama
One-sided mountain.
Kaga
Add joy, and a province of Kaga Yuzen silk dyeing.
Kagami
“Mirror.”
Kitayama
North mountain. Kitayama culture has origins in a villa that became the Golden Pavilion.
Kido
Wooden gate. Kido Takayoshi was a leader of the Meiji Restoration.
Kiuchi
Inside the trees.
Kumazawa
Bear marsh.
Kitaoka
North hill.
Komiya
Little shrine.
Kashiwabara
Oak meadow.
Kumano
Bear wilds. That’s also the moniker of the Kumano Kodo, a pilgrimage route on UNESCO’s list.
Kasahara
Straw-hat meadow.
Kurahashi
Storehouse bridge.
Kawamoto
“River origin.”
Kanagawa
Hokusai’s best-known wave rolls off this coast. God river.
Kamikawa
Upper river.
Koda
“Happy field.”
Kodama
Child and jewel. There’s a tree spirit called kodama in Japanese folklore.
Kamijo
Upper street.
Kazama
Kazama is meaning ”between the winds.”
Kyogoku
”Capital’s edge,” as well as a samurai clan from Omi.
Koshiba
Small brushwood. Masatoshi Koshiba won a Nobel Prize for detecting neutrinos.
Kubozuka
Hollow mound.
Kuramochi
Storehouse owner.
Kasama
Straw hat and space. There’s a stoneware style known as Kasama ware.
Kashima
Deer island.
Kurose
Black rapids. Kuroiwa gives the rock, this one gives the water.
Katori
“Fragrance” and “take.”
Kawabe
Kawabe is symbolizing ”riverside.”
Kitabatake
North dry field. Kitabatake Chikafusa wrote a history backing the Southern Court.
Kujo
Ninth avenue. There’s a Kyoto leek after it, Kujo negi.
Kosugi
Kosugi means ”small cedar.”
Kurumada
“Cart field.”
Kuze
Kuze isn’t common, and combines “long” with “ages.”
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