25 Baby Names That Work in Both Japanese and English


Are you having a baby in Japan? Choosing a name can be hard. You don’t want to have a Japanese-only name – but most English names don’t work in Japanese either.

In this blog, we list some names and their pronunciations that can work in both Japanese and English. Still, if you are looking for a name for your baby that will be easy to pronounce and “normal” in both English and Japanese, you will find that girl names are more commonly found in this intersection.

Japanese and English Girl Names

Japanese NameEnglish Version
はなHanna
えりかErika
りさLisa
まりえMarie
なおみNaomi
さらSara
めぐ Meg
あんなAnna
えりElly
あんAnn
えりな Erina
まりな MarinaMarina
えいみAmy
えみりEmily
かれんKaren
じゅんJune
えりんErin

Japanese and English Boy Names

Although there is a smaller selection of boys’ names to choose from, there are still several options.

Japanese NameEnglish Version
じょうじ George
けんKen
けいKay
じんGene
りくRick
れいRay
るいLouis
べんBen

One important thing to note is that there are definitely other names out there – but we chose to include the most commonly used names that have almost 1-1 direct equivalents.