Like in every languages, there are names that one likes and others not. I haven't thought long about it, but my favourite Japanese surnames include Fujiwara, Murakami, Shimizu, Maruyama and Nakamura. Likewise, those I dislike most include Goto, Kato, Sato, Abe and Kabe (basically the ones with "on" reading; they are shorter and sound too rough).
Ooh I love Murakami, Kuchiyama, Kamiyama, Tanaka, Yamada, Tsutsumi, Teramura oh, there are too many to go on with, but I love the long Japanese family names.
Kara-Nari Smarty-Pants Wiz-Girl of the Southern Pacific Queen of Communication and International Arbitration and Diplomatic Solutions to Hairy Territorial Issues Her Majesty the Empress ｺｸﾈ・ you quite rightly deserve the title for your individuality !
I don't like mine because it's too popular. I was used to having a unique surname before I married, and one I liked. Sometimes, I wish I had kept my maiden name.
Saito, Mori, Morita, Ueno, Ueda, Yamanaka, Imai....no real pattern, but especially the first five. The others it's mostly due to their owners I've known.
Wow,...Good question there. I'd have to say that for me too there are a good number of names I like, but maybe I get some special ringing inside--like Frank--when I hear 'Matsuzawa'.
Actually I seldom use family names,even here in Japan. As long as those I know and meet--and of course all my students--agree to my using their first names, I use their name.
One professor here at the uni has a very unusual family name: Chouki
Hosoda, Sawada, and especially Tomoyori, as these were women who will always have a special place in my life's memories.
Other names I find cool that come to mind: Kawaguchi (mouth of the river) and Nakayama (middle of the mountain). There are others but I can't think of themm off hand. I always liked Japanese surnames as they always depicted nature. Much like the American Indian names.
I like my last name. It's rather prominent in Okinawa and rather than openly advertise it myself, i'll just say its kanji means "jewel castle."
Yeah, I didn't want to publicly disclose mine either, even though some people like Maciamo know it. Mine means something like "village in or near an open field". I just know it's something to do with a village and a field.
I always hated my maiden name, it means "under the mountain", seems like it's a name for where goblins or little monsters live and sounds kind of stupid.
My cousin had a cool sounding name Kouno which means "river and field".
Sorry, I know this is surnames but;
I met at a lady from NHK Washington called Kaori which means 'fragrance'. I was going to joke with her and call her 'smell', but I thought I should wait until she knew me better.
I've heard this name before, the girl in Akira (and I'm not an Anime buff!)
I personnally like "Nobunaga" (because of the strenght it inspire), and "Omata"...because it's my wife's name, and because of its meaning (小俣 - for the one who understand )
My sister-in-law's name is Kaori, and when they were visiting, lots of people around here couldn't pronounce it, and wound up calling her what sounded like "Coyote".
I noticed that many people have replied that they like one name because it is the name of people they know (and like). I think this typically happens when people have to choose a given name for their baby. It doesn't just happen with people which one knows personally, but maybe even more with celebrities, historical or mythical figures. It's amazing how Biblical (i.e. originally Jewish) names have become common in Western countries once the Roman Empire got Christianised. Ever since the Middle Ages, names like John, Mary, Peter, James, Paul, etc. have been used massively by people of all classes from royalty to peasants, in all European languages.
Funny (but natural) that people should react the same way for family names.
But personally I react differently. I rarely ever think of people I know when I think whether I like a name or not, because:
1) I have known different people who share the same first name which I eithe like and dislike very much.
2) People who share my (given or family) name are completely different from me.
3) Being a history buff, I can think of dozens of extremely different people for some given names, which effectively neutralises any feeling I may associate with that name (and all names as a result).
So, when I say that I like this or that name, I base it on purely esthetic (or phonetic) criteria, or on the meaning of the name. That7s why I have long had a liking for unusual (Western) given names, and don't mind creating new names to match my tastes. That is one think I like with Internet nicknames, as we can choose a new name which is neither inherited by law, nor decided by our parents. I think that in future societies, people should be able to decide (maybe once and for all) what their name should be. One thing I like about British and US legislation is that they give that choice to people, while in most other countries in the world, it is extremely difficult to change one's name, takes a long time and costs a lot of money.
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What Japanese family names do you find cool ?
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