Japanese Names That Start with R: Girls, Boys & Last Names

Most R Japanese names come from kanji readings that entered Japanese from Chinese. I have selected these Japanese names that start with R, each with its meaning.

Japanese Girl Names That Start With R:

Rikka

“Snowflake,” or “start of summer.”

Rumiko

Rumiko (“stay, beauty, child”) Takahashi created Inuyasha.

Riho

Village, ear of grain.

Raimu

“Coming dream.” That’s also the Japanese word for lime.

Rie

“Reason/blessing.”

Rinka

Dignified flower. Singer Rinka made her solo debut with the digital single “I Feel Good At Myself”.

Runa

Lapis in Japanese, and “secret lore” in Old Norse.

Ruka

“Lapis flower” in Japanese.

Riko

Jasmine child.

Reiko

“Courtesy child.” Reiko’s the reporter chasing a tape in Ringu.

Riona

It combines jasmine and thread.

Rise

“Jasmine world,” as well as an idol in Persona 4.

Ryoka

“Cool flower,” or “cool fragrance.”

Ran

“Orchid.” Ran is a karate champion in Detective Conan.

Rimi

Village beauty.

Ritsuka

From ritsu, rhythm, and ka, flower. Fujimaru Ritsuka is a Master acting under the Chaldea Security Organization. Save

Rinne

Buddhists use this one for the cycle of rebirth. Dignified sound.

Ririka

It is made of jasmine, doubled, and flower.

Rika

Rika is meaning “pear blossom,” “village fragrance,” “jasmine perfume,” or “wise beauty.”

Rio

“Jasmine center” in Japanese and “river” in Portuguese.

Ruri

“Lapis lazuli,” one of Buddhism’s seven treasures.

Risa

“Reason/sand.”

Riyoko

Riyoko (“reason, era, child”) Ikeda wrote The Rose of Versailles.

Ryuko

Dragon child. Ryūko Seihō was a sumo wrestler and his highest rank in sumo was komusubi.

Reimi

“Courtesy and beauty.” Reimi is also a ghost girl in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Save

Ritsuko

Rhythm or law? Ritsu covers both, and ko is “child.”

Rina

Jasmine and fresh greens.

Reika

”Lovely splendor” or “beautiful summer.” Reika is also a character in the OEL manga series Miki Falls.

Rion

From ri, jasmine, and on, sound.

Renka

“Love flower,” or “lotus flower.”

Ryoko

I liked how Ryoko sounds: “cool child.”

Rinko

“Dignified child.” Rinko Kikuchi’s an actress with an Oscar nomination for Babel.

Rino

Jasmine.

Rei

Sound of jade in Japanese, and “king” in Portuguese. Save

Rin

“Dignified,” “bell,” “jewel,” or “ethics.”

Reina

Clever.

Boys

Ryusei

“Shooting star.”

Rintaro

Rintaro (“forest, great son”) was Mori Ogai’s real given name.

Rokuro

Sixth son.

Ren

“Lotus,” and Japan’s fifth most-given boy name in 2025.

Riku

Land. That’s all there is to it.

Ryoma

Ryoma (“dragon horse”) Sakamoto helped to finish the shogunate.

Rikuto

Land and Big Dipper.

Ryo

“Cool,” “clear,” “good,” or “distant.”

Raiden

“Thunder and lightning,” Raiden Tameemon is a sumo wrestler who lost ten top-division fights.

Ryuji

Dragon, second son. Save

Ryosuke

It combines bright and help.

Rennyo

Rennyo (“like a lotus”) was a monk who revived Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.

Ritsuki

From ritsu, law, and ki, hope.

Raigo

Trust and might. A monk with known as Raigo returns as an iron rat in legend.

Renta

Big lotus.

Rikiya

“Strength.”

Ryuichi

It is pronoucned as ryoo-ee-chee and means “dragon, one.” Ryuichi Sakamoto won an Oscar for The Last Emperor’s score.

Ranpo

A mystery writer chose it to sound like Edgar Allan Poe. Wild step.

Reon

Reon is symbolizing ”wise sound” or ”clever, performer.”

Ryota

“Bright and big.” He’s a boxer with Olympic gold from London.

Raito

It is made of rai, thunder, and to, dipper.

Ryokan

“Good and generous.” Ryokan was a Zen poet who played with village children.

Rikyu

Rikyu (“profit, rest”) was a tea master who served Hideyoshi.

Reiji

“Courtesy/second.”

Ryuhei

“Prosperous peace.”

Ryunosuke

“Dragon’s helper,” and Akutagawa, whose stories became Kurosawa’s Rashomon.

Rinto

A dignified person.

Raijin

“Thunder deity.” He’s on a Kyoto folding screen beside Fujin, the wind god.

Ryoji

Ryoji (“good, govern”) Noyori won a Nobel in chemistry.

Ryuto

Dragon of the Big Dipper.

Rentaro

“Pure, great son,” and Taki, who wrote “Moon over the Ruined Castle.”

Ryoichi

“Good, first son.”

Ryuta

Big dragon.

Ranmaru

“Orchid and circle,” and Nobunaga’s page, who died beside him at Honno-ji.

Rui

Rampart, or lapis and life.

Riichi

Riichi (“benefit, first”) Yokomitsu was the leadser of the New Sensationalist writers.

Ryusuke

Noble helper.

Ryoga

Ryoga is meaning “to surpass.””

Ryogen

Good source. Japan credits this Tendai monk with creating omikuji whcih are sacred fortune slips.

Rikidozan

Rikidozan (“strength, way, mountain”) was the ring moniker of Japan’s first pro wrestling star.

Ryuzo

Prosperous, third son.

Reo

Leo, said the Japanese way: “lion.”

Ryosaku

“Good harvest.”

Rennosuke

Lotus helper.

Raizo

“Thunder and storehouse,” and Ichikawa, who played swordsman Nemuri Kyoshiro.

Roben

“Eloquence.” There’s a hall for Roben at Todai-ji, where he was first chief abbot.

Ryonin

Good and patient. Ryonin is the founder of Yuzu Nembutsu Buddhism.

Ryokichi

”Good luck.”

Raiko

“Trust and light.” Raiko was a samurai who killed the demon Shuten-doji.

Rihito

A person of reason.

Raita

Raita is symbolizing ”thunder.”

Ritsu

Law, or rhythm. It isn’t only for boys.

Ryotaro

“Distant, great son.”

Ryutaro

“Dragon, great son,” and a prime minister in the nineties.

Ryuga

“Dragon fang.”

Renji

Lotus ruler. He’s a red-haired lieutenant in Bleach.

Ryohei

“Good,” or “peaceful.”

Ryuki

Dragon radiance.

Last Names:

Ryuzaki

“Dragon cape,” and an alias L uses in Death Note.

Reizei

Reizei is said ray-zay and means “cold spring.” A Heian emperor is known by it.

Rokugo

Six villages. It’s also a former town in Akita.

Rikimaru

It combines strength and circle.

Rusu

“Absence.” A clan got it for keeping watch while Yoritomo was away.

Royama

Wax mountain. It doesn’t come up much, even in Japan.

Ri

“Plum.” Ri Koran was a stage moniker of actress Yoshiko Yamaguchi.

Rikitake

“Strength and warrior.” Rikitake is a two-disk dynamo model of Earth’s magnetism.

Rokkaku

Hexagon. There’s a six-sided temple hall in Kyoto where ikebana began.

Rai

“Trust”.

Rikiishi

“Strength stone.” Joe’s boxing rival in Ashita no Joe has it.

Ryotsu

Ryotsu (“both harbors”) is the loud cop of Kochikame.

Ryu

Conical hat, and actor Chishu Ryu, a regular in Ozu films.

Ryuzoji

Dragon-made temple. Its most feared lord was called the Bear of Hizen.

Rokujo

“Sixth avenue,” as well as a lady in The Tale of Genji.