99 Japanese Girl Names That Start With M & Meanings

Japanese is the 13th most commonly spoken language in the entire world.

It consists of three written alphabets: Kanji, Katakana, and Hiragana. A kanji can have more than ten possible readings. I have selected 66 Japanese girl names that start with the letter M.

List Of 99 Japanese Girl Names That Start With M:

Miku

Miku combines mi (beautiful) and Ku (long time or sky). Hatsune Miku is a mascot for a Vocaloid software voicebank.

Mayu

Mayu means cocoon (繭) or “true gentleness” (真優).

Maaya

Maaya (”pure” or ”true”) Sakamoto voiced Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII and Ciel in Black Butler.

Misaki

It is a feminine Japanese given name that signifies (depending on the different kanji characters) promontory, blossom, sand, or ocean. Ayame Misaki is an actress who played Miki in Cutie Honey: The Live.

Maho

”True ear of grain” or ”true sail.”

Midori

Midori is symbolizing verdant or green. It originally represented freshness.

READ MORE: Unusual Botanical & Floral Names for Baby Girls

Minako

Using different kanji characters, it means truth or beauty. Minako Aino is a character in the Sailor Moon series. You should also know that Minako is a member of the musical group Kome Kome Club.

Mitsuki

Mitsuki is a Japanese name that is generally used by women and means three, shine, moon, light, and rare.

Madoka

Circle, flower.

How to choose one for your baby girl

Make sure the initials don’t spell anything unintentional.

Look up at the meanings.

Keep the first name short and vary the number of syllables in each name.

Check the name goes with your other children’s names

Megumi

”Blessing” or ”grace.” Megumi Ikeda is a former fencer and the recipient of the HEROs AWARD.

Mirei

Marvelous, young.

Makoto

”Sincerity.” Makoto Sumikawa is an actress who performed in the TV show Kage no Gundan. Makoto Tsumura is a voice actress known for her roles in Fullmetal Alchemist and Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002.

Momoka

”Peach flower.”

Mutsumi

To be harmonious.

Marina

”Truth and village.” In Latin, it is meaning “of the sea” and is pronounced as ma-REE-na.

Minae

To bless, wise.

Mashiro

It is used by girls as well as boys, and it means excellent, white, ten thousand, true, and dance. Yuki Mashiro is a professional wrestler who debuted at New Ice Ribbon #985.

Misae

”Clarity and cold brightness.”

Mikan

”Mandarin orange.” I’d call it closer to a nickname.

Machiko

In 1950 Machiko (”child of the town”) Kyo played the samurai’s wife in Kurosawa’s Rashomon.

Miyako

Meaning beautiful night child, I love the pronunciation of Miyako. Miyako Yoshida is a ballet dancer who is the artistic director of the National Ballet.

Mifuyu

”Splendid” and ”beautiful.”

Mika

Photographer and director Mika (“new moon” or “beautiful fragrance”) Ninagawa won the Kimura Ihei Award.

Manami

Manami has a meaning that I love, ”beautiful truth” or ”a beautiful love.”

Mizuho

”Abundant rice.” There are many celebrities with the name Mizuho. Mizuho Kusanagi is a manga artist best known for the manga series Yona of the Dawn.

Mahiru

Unaltered, complete, accurate, pure, or truth.

Facts

Certain sounds (such as “L”) don’t exist.

Kanji are Japanese versions of Chinese characters. The Japanese language has 40,000 to 50,000 kanji characters.

The Tokyo accent is the most common dialect.

More than 130 million people speak Japanese.

Miki

Beautiful hope, tree, noble, and chronicle.

Motoko

Motoko Obayashi is a retired volleyball player who competed in three Summer Olympics. It is meaning resourceful, child, fundamental, origin, or unadorned.

Mayuri

Cocoon, silk.

Michiko

”Child of the path” and “beautiful wise child.” Amazing translation. Fashion designer Michiko Koshino has a restaurant in London. Michiko Godai is an actress with 14 credits on IMDb.

Miyu

“Superior beauty” or “beautiful gentleness”.

Misuzu

Misuzu is another name that I like on this list and means “beautiful bell.”

Maiko

”Young dancer” or ”dancing child.”

Mitsuko

There are many celebrities named Mitsuko (“child of light”) including airline executive Mitsuko Tottori, actress Mitsuko Mori, gymnast Mitsuko Kandori, singer Mitsuko Horie, and more.

Moriko

”Forest” or ”guarded child.”

Mamiko

“Ma” (fullness, hemp, truth, reality) and “Miko” (full child, child of truth).

Mizuki

”Auspicious hope.” Nana Mizuki is a voice actress who, in 2001, released her album, Supersonic Girl. Actress Alisa Mizuki married Koji Aoyama in 2015. She was also the inspiration behind the Sailor Moon character Rei Hino.

Editor’s Pick: 33 Girl Names That Start With GR

Miho

Beauty, walk, sail, care, and ear of grain.

Mariko

Mariko is symbolizing ”child,” ”genuine,” ”real,” and ”long distance.”

Mai

”Dance or to dance.” Singer Mai Kuraki has a Guinness World Record for the most theme songs recorded for one anime series, Detective Conan.

Masumi

True purity.

Moeka

Moeka (”budding flower”) Minami played for the Italian club Roma.

Miori

Miori is symbolizing beautiful fabric or beautiful weave.

Mana

Dance, truth, affection, and love are the meanings of Mana. It is also found in Iran where it means ”everlasting.”

Miyoko

“Beautiful generations child”.

Mio

Mio’s meanings are from 美 (beauty) with 桜 (cherry blossom) or 緒 (thread, cord). It is pronounced as MEE-oh.

Mao

Skater Mao Asada won the 2010 Olympic silver as well as three World titles (2008, 2010, 2014), and is the first woman to make three triple axels in a single competition. Written 真央, it combines 真 (truth) with 央 (center).

Miu

“Beautiful feather.”

Mei

Mei combines 芽 (that means ”a sprout” or ”a bud”) and 衣 (”clothing”).

Momoko

”Peach child.” Momoko Sakura is the creator of Chibi Maruko-chan, a series she based on her own 1970s childhood.

Misora

”Beauty with sky.”

Momo

”Peach.” Momo no Sekku, the Peach Festival, is on 3 March.

Maki

Maki Goto joined Morning Musume at 13 as the group’s only third-generation member. Meanings include “linen, precious” and “true, precious”.

Mari

Mari is the flower jasmine.

Manaka

“The middle, the center.”

Miwa

”Three, harmony”. In 2011 singer-songwriter Miwa had her debut album Guitarissimo reach #1 on the Oricon chart.

Minori

”Harvest” or ”truth.”

Minami

“South sea.” Minami Takayama is best known for voice acting in Honkai Impact 3rd and Detective Conan.

Minamo

”Surface of water.”

Masami

It combines 雅 (elegance) and 美 (beauty). Actress Masami Nagasawa won the Toho Cinderella audition at age 12.

Miyuki

“Deep snow,” or “beautiful fortune.” Yuki is a short form.

Mieko

It is made of 美 (beauty) and 子 (child). Novelist Mieko Kawakami won the Akutagawa Prize for Chichi to Ran.

Masako

It is made of 雅 (”elegance”) 子 (”child”). Masako Owada earned an economics degree from Harvard and married Crown Prince Naruhito. She became Empress of Japan in 2019.

Michiru

Michiru is symbolizing ”to be mature” or ”to be full.”

Miyabi

”Refinement.”

Meiko

Actress Meiko (“bright child”) Kaji starred in Lady Snowblood in 1973 and sang its theme, “Shura no Hana.”

Mina

Mine (“apple tree / fruit tree”) is a diminutive of Minako and Minami. MEE-na.

Momiji

At the 2020 Tokyo Games, Momiji (”red leaves” or “autumn leaves”) Nishiya was age 13 when she won the first Olympic gold in women’s street skateboarding.

Mikako

“Fragrant, beautiful child.”

Mizue

”Beautiful water.” Mizue Hoshi competed in the women’s slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Mikage

”August shadow.”

Murasaki

Murasaki (”violet” or ”purple”) Shikibu has this as a nickname and wrote The Tale of Genji around the year 1000. You will not find a stronger literary namesake anywhere else on this list.

Mutsuki

”Month of affection.”

Mizore

Mizore is ăronounced as mee-ZOH-reh is the word for rain and snow falling at the same time.

Mahiro

”True and pure.”

Mahoro

Mahoro is from mahoroba, an archaic word for a splendid land.

Meisa

明 (bright) and 紗 (silk gauze).

Momoe

”Hundred blessings.” Singer Momoe Yamaguchi retired at 21 at the Nippon Budokan.

Mayumi

Written 真弓, Mayumi has ”true bow”.

Mikoto

”Lord” or ”diety.”

Mebuki

Mebuki is the moment leaves push out of the branch. I like it for a March baby.

Moegi

Yellow-green of fresh shoots is moegi.

Manatsu

Manatsu is 真夏, midsummer. Meteorological Agency calls any day at 30°C or higher a ”midsummer day.”

Misa

”Beautiful sand” in 美沙.

Mitsuha

Mitsuha (”three leaves”) Miyamizu was the shrine girl in Your Name.

Mineko

It comes from 峰 (peak) and 子 (child). Former geiko Mineko Iwasaki sued Arthur Golden over Memoirs of a Geisha.

Mirai

”Future”.

Mitsuyo

Mitsuyo is symbolizing light that lasts for generations.

Matsuko

”Pine child”. Every New Year pine sprigs are placed at front doors.

Masae

Elegance (雅) and blessing (恵).

Mugi

Mugicha is a roasted barley tea and a summer fridge staple.

Marika

”Star of the sea.”

Mako

Mako means 真子 ”true child”.

Mitsue

”Beautiful blessing” or “shining branch.

Masayo

”Elegant generation”, from 雅 and 代.

Miharu

Beauty and spring. Miharu is also a town in Fukushima.

Mariya

Singer Mariya (”truth”) Takeuchi released the track Plastic Love which went viral on YouTube about three decades later.

Mone

”Sprout” and ”sound.”

Misato

”Rural village.”