39 Unique Japanese Girl Names With Dark Meanings

I have hand-picked 39 unique Japanese girl names with dark meanings.

Mayonaka

Mayonaka means “the middle of the night” or “midnight.” “Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)” is the debut single of singer Miki Matsubara.

Kurai

Kurai is a Japanese name that means ”night” or ”dark.”

Noroi

It means ”malediction” or ”curse.” Noroi: The Curse is a Japanese horror film about a paranormal researcher.

Yami

Yami is symbolizing ”dark” or ”darkness.”

Mononoke

Mononoke are dark spirits, living spirits, dead spirits, or vengeful spirits in Japanese folklore and classical literature. They were mentioned for the first time in Nihon Kōki.

Ankoku

Ankoku means opaque, obscurity, shadow, blackness, and darkness in Japanese.

Akane

Akane is the Japanese word for deep red. Akane is ranked in the top 10 of the girl names in Japan. Japanese ballerina Akane Takada bears this name and she joined the Royal Ballet as an apprentice in 2008.

Kurayami

In Japanese, Kurayami translates as “deep darkness” or ”dark noun.” You may like the fact that the name Kurayami is very rare in the United States.

Shikigami

Shikigami refers to a ”small ghost.” These beings have a power that is connected to the spiritual force of their master. In the manga series Jujutsu Kaisen Shikigami are spiritual beings resembling cursed spirits.

Kage

Kage means ‘shade’ or ‘shadow.’ Kage is pronounced kah-geh in Japanese. In the Sega Virtua Fighter, Kage-Maru is a 10th-generation Hagakure Ninja.

Yamiko

Yamiko means ”night child” in Japanese. Yamiko is also a given name of the Chewa tribe that is a matriarchal Bantu-speaking ethnic group.

Kuroi

Kuroi means’black’ or ‘dark’ in Japanese. Atsushi Kuroi was a Japanese professional drifting driver who competed in the D1 Grand Prix series.

Facts about the Japanese language

More than 130 million people speak Japanese, with the majority of them living in Japan.

Japanese has no official status in Japan.

Kanji is a Chinese writing system used in Japan.

The word “emoji” comes from the Japanese.

Akuma

Akuma is meaning “demon” or “devil.” In Japanese Christianity, Akuma is the name that is set to Satan, also known as the Devil, a fallen angel who has rebelled against God.

Shinya

Deep night.

Izanami

In Japanese mythology, Izanami is the creator of both creation and death. This name means ”female-who-invites.”

Reiko

Depending on the used kanji, the Japanese name Reiko symbolizes a child of gratitude or a beautiful child. Reiko Ohara was a Japanese actress who was the subject of the drama Actress Reiko: Like a Flame.

Enma

The name Enma comes from the Sanskrit name Yama, the Hindu god of death. The word “Yama” means ‘twin’ or ‘binder.’ The Vedas described Yama as the first man to die. His chief role is to capture the souls who have sinned.

Yūrei

In Japanese folklore, Yūrei are the representation of ghosts. The quickest way to exorcise a yūrei is to help it fulfill its role. The yūrei exists on Earth (due to unfinished business) until it can be laid to rest.

Kurohana

Kurohana is interpreted as a black flower.

Kuroko

Kuroko is a Japanese name that is translated as ”black child.” Kuroko’s Basketball is a sports manga series that has 30 tankōbon volumes.

Yōkai

Yōkai are supernatural spirits and entities with animal-like features.

How to choose a Japanese name for your baby

Japanese names can be written in three scripts.

There is no limit to the number of characters.

The family name comes before the given name.

There are no restrictions on how the name can be read.

Note: In Japan, you must register the birth of your baby within 2 weeks of delivery.

Hotaru

Hotaru means “firefly.”

Kasumi

Kasum is a feminine Japanese given name, meaning mist. Japanese actress Kasumi Arimura won the 45th Japan Academy Film Prize.

Shinigami

Shinigami are creatures of darkness, helpers, monsters, and can lead individuals to where people have died. Shinigami has a meaning that I like, “death spirit(s).”

Ryū

Ryu means flow, prosperous, noble, or dragon. Japanese manga artist Ryu Fujisaki issued Hoshin Engi, a manga series about the history of China and Chinese mythology.

Tamashi

Tamashi has the meaning of ”soul” in Japanese.

Kurumi

Kurumi is symbolizing ”walnut tree.” A famous person with this name is Kurumi Inui, a mystery writer who wrote Initiation Love.

Yamiyo

Yamiyo means “dark night.”

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Yūko

Yūko is a Japanese girl’s name that MEANS ”freedom” and can also be written in katakana or hiragana.

Kuroshiro

It means evil or black.

Shiori

Shiori is a Japanese feminine given name that is interpreted as village or poem.

Shinku

”Truth.” Even if it doesn’t have a dark meaning, Shinku is a good name for this list.

Kurai

Kurai is another name that I love from this list meaning ‘dark’ or ‘night.’

Satsuki

Satsuki is a traditional Japanese name meaning shore of a wetland or early moon.

Kuroha

Feather or black.

Meian

Meian is translated as ”light and dark.”

Yūgure

Twilight.

Tamoe

Tamoe is of Japanese origin and means “blessing.”

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Kuroyuri

Kuroyuri means ”Black Lily.”