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Thread: What Japanese family names do you find cool ?

  1. #1
    Twirling dragon Maciamo's Avatar
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    Question What Japanese family names do you find cool ?

    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).

    What about you ?
    Last edited by Maciamo; Sep 8, 2005 at 16:59.

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    Angel of Life Kara_Nari's Avatar
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    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 !

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    i like ohara
    its an irish name too

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    Robot/Ninja xerxes99's Avatar
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    <- Mifune!

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    For some weird reason I really likethis family name : Kusanagi.

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    Where I'm Supposed to Be kirei_na_me's Avatar
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    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.
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  7. #7
    Danshaku Elizabeth's Avatar
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    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.

  8. #8
    You SPAM/We BAN !
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    For Me ......

    it will always be Hashimoto, (Yoshiko) burned into my heart forever!

    Frank

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  9. #9
    Regular Member Mars Man's Avatar
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    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

  10. #10
    JREF Resident Alien Pachipro's Avatar
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    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.
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  11. #11
    Regular Member White Comet's Avatar
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    Kusumoto and Kikuchi sound cool to me

  12. #12
    Regular Member MeAndroo's Avatar
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    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."
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  13. #13
    V˂I blade_bltz's Avatar
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    Kuwamoto, Kawasaki, Katsuragi. I don't really mind the short ones though, like Goto or Sato.

  14. #14
    Where I'm Supposed to Be kirei_na_me's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MeAndroo
    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.

  15. #15
    Regular Member pika la's Avatar
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    I like my future name: Morita @Xc

    I love the forest so much.. so the "mori" part really couldn't be any greater.

    I also like the sounds of: Inoue, Haruyama, Sawada, and Sugaya

  16. #16
    Horizon Rider Kinsao's Avatar
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    I like Matsushima. I have no idea if it really means it, but it still makes me think of island with pine trees...

  17. #17
    Techno Nudger Rich303's Avatar
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    My penpal's surname is Shinotsuka. I had never heard this name before.

    Her first name is Harumi which means 'clear sky'
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    Regular Member misa.j's Avatar
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    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".

  19. #19
    Techno Nudger Rich303's Avatar
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    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!)

    Does anyone know what Ayumi means,please?

  20. #20
    Wanderer Mamoru-kun's Avatar
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    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 )

  21. #21
    Where I'm Supposed to Be kirei_na_me's Avatar
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    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".

  22. #22
    Techno Nudger Rich303's Avatar
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    We should introduce her to my cousin,Roadrunner. His parents liked a drink,apparently

  23. #23
    Regular Member misa.j's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich303
    Does anyone know what Ayumi means,please?
    The one I can think of is "walking". Depending on which kanji are used, there might be a different meaning, though.

    Here is an interesting site for Japanese names.
    http://www2.gol.com/users/billp/students/kanjiname/

  24. #24
    Regular Member Minxie's Avatar
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    I like Totoki... only because its my moms maiden name, and also because you don't hear it often anymore.
    -.Minxie.-

  25. #25
    Twirling dragon Maciamo's Avatar
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    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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