| Name | Meaning | Era by Decade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Takamaru | Filial piety + precious (孝 丸) | 2000’s? | link |
| Takasuzu | Filial piety + double longevity or double congratulations (孝寿々) | 2000’s | link |
| Take | Take (竹) was a common girl’s name of the period, meaning “bamboo.” | 1870’s | Satow |
| Takeko | Bamboo child (竹子) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Takematsu | Bamboo + pine (竹松) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Takewaka | Young bamboo (竹若) | 1920’s | link |
| Takeyakko | Bamboo handmaiden (竹奴) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori Fujimoto |
| Tama | Written in hiragana: たま. Tama (玉) was a common girl’s name of the period, meaning “jewel.” | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Tamagiku | Precious chrysanthemum, or jewel chrysanthemum (玉菊) | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Tamakichi | Jewel of fortune (玉吉) | 1870’s 1890’s | Hearn Hearn2 |
| Tamakiku | Jewel + kiku (玉きく). Probably intended to mean “precious chrysanthemum (玉菊).” | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tamako | Tama + child (たま子). Possibly intended to mean “jewel child (玉子).” | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Tamaryō | Jewel dragon (玉龍) | 1890’s | Hearn2 |
| Tamasuke | Jewel helper (玉助) | 1890’s | Hearn2 |
| Tamatarō | Precious oldest son (玉太郎) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tamaye | Jewel + inlet [female name ending] (玉江) | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Tamayu | Excellent jewel (玉雄) | 1960’s? | 1966 Miyako Odori |
| Tamazuru | Precious crane (玉鶴) | 1910’s 1950’s | 1913 Miyako Odori 1960 Kitano Odori |
| Tamiko | Abundant beauty child (多美子) | 1930’s | link |
| Tane | Written in hiragana: たね. Tane (種) was a common girl’s name that meant “seeds” and symbolized posterity. | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Taneji | Seeds + two, second (種二) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Taneju | Tane + celebration/longevity (たね寿) | 2000’s | link |
| Taneko | Seed child (種子) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tatsu | Written in hiragana: たつ. Tatsu was a common girl’s name of the period, referring to the zodiacal sign of the dragon (辰). | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Tatsuko | Written partially in hiragana. Possibly intended to mean “dragon child (辰子or 龍子).” | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Teruhina | Shining + hina (照ひな) | 1990’s | link |
| Teruji | Second shining one (照二) | 1960’s? | link |
| Teruko | Teru + child (てる子), possibly intended to mean “shining child (照子).” | 1930’s | link |
| Teruyo | Shining generation (照代) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tetsu | Written in hiragana: てつ | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Toba | Bird wing. The 1930’s geisha Toba spelled her name with hiragana: とば. | 1930’s | link |
| Toki | One of the first female geisha of the Yoshiwara. | 1760’s | link |
| Tokiko | Timely child (時子). The Taisho-period geisha Tokiko wrote her name partly in hiragana: とき子 | 1910’s 1920’s | link |
| Tokimatsu | Timely pine tree (時松) | 1890’s | link |
| Toku | Written in hiragana: とく | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Tokumatsu | Virtuous pine tree, or benevolent pine tree (徳松) | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Tome | とめ. A traditional girl’s name that means “stop (留),” and indicates that the parents hope they won’t have any more children. | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tomeko | Remaining child (とめ子) | 1920’s | link |
| Tomewaka | Tome + young (とめ若) | 1930’s | 1933 Miyako Odori |
| Tomigiku | Fortunate chrysanthemum (富菊) | 1910’s 1960’s? | link link link |
| Tomiko | 1920’s: Tomi + child (とみ子) 1930’s: Abundant/wealthy child (富子) | 1920’s 1930’s | 1928 Kamogawa Odori 1933 Miyako Odori |
| Tomimatsu | Possibly “Virtuous pine tree, or benevolent pine tree (徳松).” | 1900’s | link |
| Tomino | Written in hiragana: とみの. Possibly intended to mean “abundant field (富野).” | 1790’s | Eishōsai Chōki |
| Tomiryō | Abundant dragon, or wealthy dragon (富龍), implying increasing abundance or increasing wealth. | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Tomitae | Fortunate and much-loved (富多愛) | 2010’s | link |
| Tomitaka | Greatly increasing good fortune (富多加) | 2000’s | link |
| Tomitsuru | Fortunate crane (富鶴) | 1980’s | Bacchus Magazine 1987 |
| Tomiwaka | Abundantly wealthy and young (富若) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Tomiyakko | Abundant handmaiden, or wealthy handmaiden (富奴) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tomizuru | Fortunate crane (富鶴) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tomogiku | Companion chrysanthemum (友菊) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Tomoko | 1910’s: Companion child (友子) 1950’s: Tomo + child (とも子) | 1910’s 1950’s | 1913 Miyako Odori link |
| Tomoryō | Companion dragon (友龍) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tomotarō | Friend + eldest son (友太郎) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tomowaka | Friend + youth (友若) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Tomoyuki | Companion + yuki (朋ゆき) | 2000’s | link |
| Tonbo | Written in hiragana. The name may mean “dragonfly (蜻蛉).” | 1930’s | link |
| Tonko | Possibly “kindly one (敦子)” | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Tora | とら. A traditional girl’s name that means “tiger (虎)” and refers to the tiger’s bravery. | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Toshifumi | Toshi + beautiful lotus (とし芙美). Possibly intended to mean “Beautiful lotus of the year of good fortune.” | 2000’s | link |
| Toshihana | Toshi + flower (とし花) . Possibly intended to mean “Flower of the year of good fortune.” | 2000’s | link link |
| Toshiko | Toshi + child (とし子) . Possibly intended to mean “Girl of the year of good fortune.” | link | |
| Toye or To’e | Written in hiragana: とゑ | 1810’s | Utagawa Toyokuni I |
| Toyochiyo | Eternally bountiful (豊千代) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Toyohina | Bountiful little adorable one [lit. doll] (豊雛) | 1790’s | link |
| Toyoji | Bountiful and sovereign/peerless (豊治) | 1960’s? | link |
| Toyoju | Bountiful longevity, or rich and long-lived (豊寿) | 1960’s? | link |
| Toyoka | Rising generation + perfume (登代香) | 1950’s? | link |
| Toyomaru | 1950’s?: Abundantly precious one, or abundant + maru [name ending] (豊丸) | 1910’s 1950’s? | Fujimoto 1961 Gion Odori |
| Tsunechiyo | Everlasting eternity (常千代) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tsuneko | Everlasting child (常子) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tsunemomo | Tsune + peach (つね桃) | 2000’s | link |
| Tsuneyo | Everlasting generation (常代) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Tsuneyū | Everlasting courage (常勇) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Tsuru | Written in hiragana: つる. Probably intended to mean “crane (鶴),” a popular girl’s name. | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tsurue | 1810’s: Crane bay (鶴江) | 1810’s 1900’s? | link Urakusai |
| Tsuruha | 1910’s: Crane + leaf (鶴葉) 2000’s: Tsuru + leaf (つる葉) | 1910’s 1920’s 2000’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori link link |
| Tsuruji | Second crane (鶴二) | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Tsuruka | Written in hiragana: つるか | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Tsurukichi | As fortunate as the long-lived crane (鶴吉) | 1810’s 1870’s | Urakusai link |
| Tsurumatsu | Tsuru + pine tree (つる松) | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Tsurunosuke | Crane helper, or helper who is as long-lived and fortunate as the crane (鶴之助) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Tsuruyo | Crane generation (鶴代) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Tsuruyū | Courage of the crane (鶴勇) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Tsuta | Written in hiragana: つた. Possibly intended to mean “ivy (蔦),” “moon treasure (月宝),” or “many harbors (津多).” | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Tsutaji | Many harbors + next (津多次). It may mean “the next of many harbors,” or “the next woman bearing the name ‘many harbors.’” | 1920’s | 1928 Kamogawa Odori |
| Tsuyachiyo | Captivating eternity (艶千代) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Tsuyu | Written in hiragana: つゆ. Possibly intended to mean “dew (露)” or “plum-blossom rain (梅雨),” among several other readings. | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Ume | Plum blossom (梅), a common girl’s name. | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Umechie | Plum-blossom + chie (梅ちえ). Possibly intended to mean “wise plum blossom (梅智).” | 2010’s | link |
| Umechiho | Plum-blossom + chiho (梅ちほ) | 2010’s | link |
| Umechika | Wise plum-blossom (梅智賀) | 2000’s | 2005 Kyoto Hanamachi Book |
| Umechiyo | Eternal plum blossom (梅千代) | 1910’s 2000’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori link |
| Umegiku | 1810’s: Plum-blossom + giku or kiku (梅きく) 1910’s: Plum blossom and chrysanthemum (梅菊) | 1810’s 1910’s | Urakusai 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Umeha | Plum-blossom leaf (梅 葉) | 2000’s | link |
| Umehisa | Plum blossom + compare + sand (梅比沙) | 2000’s | link |
| Umeji | Plum blossom + two, second (梅二) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Umejirō | Plum blossom + second son (梅二郎) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Umekichi | The modern geisha Hiyama Umekichi writes her name as うめ吉. The older spelling of the name may be 梅吉, lucky plum blossom. | 1870’s 1990’s? | link |
| Umekō | Plum-blossom fragrance (梅香) | 1900’s | link |
| Umeko | Plum-blossom child (梅子); Lanston translates the name as “happiness of the plum.” | 1900’s | Lanston |
| Umematsu | 1810’s: Plum-blossom and pine(梅松) 2000’s: Plum-blossom + matsu | 1810’s 2000’s | Urakusai 2002 Kyoto Hanamachi Book |
| Umeo | Plum blossom + o [male suffix] (梅夫) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Umeraku | Plum-blossom + raku (梅らく). Raku may be a reference to the old-fashioned name element raku, meaning “pleasure/music”and written 楽 or 樂, in which case Umeraku means “pleasure of the plum blossoms.” | 2000’s | link |
| Umeryō | Plum-blossom + dragon (梅龍) | 1910’s | 1914 Miyako Odori |
| Umeryū | Plum-blossom + dragon (梅龍) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Umesaya | Plum-blossom + saya (梅さや) | 2010’s | link |
| Umesuke | Plum-blossom helper (梅助) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Umesuzu | Plum-blossom + double congratulations, or plum-blossom + double longevity (梅寿々) | 2000’s | link |
| Umewaka | 1920’s: Plum-blossom bud (梅若) 2000’s: Plum-blossom + waka (梅わか) | 1920’s 2000’s | link 2002 Kyoto Hanamachi Book |
| Umewaka | Plum-blossom youth (梅若) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Umeyae | Plum-blossom + yae (梅やえ) | 2000’s | link |
| Umeyakko | Plum-blossom handmaiden (梅奴) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Umeyū | 1910’s: Plum-blossom courage (梅勇) 2000’s: Plum-blossom and citron (梅柚) | 1910’s 2000’s | 1913 Miyako Odori 2005 Kyoto Hanamachi Book |
| Uno | Written in hiragana: うの | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Unofuku | The rabbit’s good fortune (卯の福) | 1940’s | 1950 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unoha | The rabbit’s leaf (卯の葉) | 1920’s | 1928 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unohide | The rabbit’s excellence (卯の秀) | 1940’s | 1950 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unoji | The rabbit’s second (卯の二). If “Uno” is treated as a standalone name, Unoji can also mean “the second girl named Uno.” | 1950’s | 1953 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unoka | Written in hiragana: うのか. Several possible meanings, including “rabbit’s flower (卯乃花)” and “rabbit’s perfume (卯乃香).” The rabbit is the symbol of the fourth month of the year, April, so the spellings might be better translated as “April flower” and “April perfume.” (But take this with a grain of salt.) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Unokayo | The rabbit’s increasing generation (卯の加代) | 1950’s | 1960 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unokazu | The rabbit’s first, or the rabbit’s best (卯の一). If “Uno” is treated as a standalone name, Unokazu can also mean “the first girl named Uno.” | 1930’s | 1939 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unokiyo | The rejoicing generation of the rabbit (卯の喜代) | 1940’s | 1950 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unoko | The rabbit’s child (卯の子) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unoshizu | The rabbit’s peacefulness (卯の静) | 1950’s | 1958 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unosuke | Helper of the rabbit (卯之助). The rabbit is the symbol of the fourth month of the year, April, so the name might be better translated as “April helper” or “child who arrived in April.” (But take this with a grain of salt.) | 1910’s 1920’s | 1913 Miyako Odori 1928 Kamogawa Odori |
| Unowaka | The rabbit’s youth (卯の若) | 1920’s | 1928 Kamogawa Odori |
| Uta | Written in hiragana: うた. Probably intended to mean song (歌), a common girl’s name. | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Utachiyo | Eternal song (歌千代) | 1920’s | 1927 Miyako Odori |
| Utaji | Lafcadio Hearn claims the common geimei ending –ji means “service,” and lists Uta-ji, Shinne-ji, and Katsu-ji as examples of this. Utaji would therefore mean “song-service.” However, in sources that give the characters, -ji is usually written with the kanji for “two (二)” or “next (次),” both of which were normally given to indicate that a girl was her parents’ second daughter. The meaning must be slightly different in the context of geimei, but without corroborating evidence, I can’t see extending the meaning to mean “servant” or “service.” Utaji is more likely to mean “song + two (歌二)” or “song + next (歌次),” connoting the second girl named Uta. | 1890’s | Hearn2 |
| Utaka | Song + perfume (歌香) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Utakichi | Fortunate song (哥吉) | 1810’s 1890’s | Urakusai Hearn2 |
| Utamatsu | Song + pine tree (哥松). May refer to the sound of the wind in the pines. | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Utanosuke | Song helper (歌之助) | 1950’s | 1960 Kitano Odori |
| Utayū | Courageous song (歌勇) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Utazuru | Song + crane (歌鶴). (The 1913 Miyako Odori program spells the name “Utajuru” because of an oddity in Romanization. In the middle of a word, tsuつsometimes becomesづ, which is usually Romanized as zu, or occasionally as dzu. The 1913 Miyako Odori program Romanizes it as ju. Zu is closer to the real pronunciation, so I have changed the spelling.) | 1910’s 1920’s? | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Wakaba | New leaves (若葉), a name implying freshness. | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Wakachō | Young butterfly (若蝶) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Wakagusa | Young grass (若草), implying the “tender grass of spring,” according to Lafcadio Hearn. | 1870’s | Hearn |
| Wakai | Youth (若) | 1870’s | Hearn |
| Wakaji | Literally “young + road (若路).” The 路 character was used interchangeably with other “-ji” characters, like 二, so a more accurate reading of this name is “young + two, second, next.” | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Wakakichi | 1910’s: Youthful good fortune (若吉) | 1870’s 1910’s | Satow 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Wakakimi | Young and peerless (若君) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Wakako | Waka + child (わか子). Possibly intended to mean “young one (若子).” | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Wakakoma | Young filly (若駒) | 1890’s | Hearn2 |
| Wakamurasaki | Young purple (若紫). Also translated as “young violet,” referring to the color and not the flower. (The flower is sumire 菫.) The color denotes love and constancy, and has romantic associations with the heroine of The Tale of Genji and its author, Murasaki Shikibu. | 1890’s | Hearn2 |
| Wakaroku | Young + six, or sixth young one (若六) | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Wakatsune | Youth everlasting (若常) | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Wakaume | Poem of the plum-blossom (和歌梅). The type of poem referred to is a waka (和歌), a classical Japanese poem. | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Wakayakko | Young handmaiden (若奴) | 1910’s | 1920 Kamogawa Odori |
| Wakayo | Young generation (若代) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Wakayone | Young grains of rice (若米), a name implying wealth as well as youth | 1910’s | 1913 Miyako Odori |
| Wakazuru | Young crane (若鶴) | 1890’s | Hearn2 |
| Wako | Possibly “peaceful one (和子),” among many, many possible readings. | 1900’s | link |
| Yachiyoko | Eight + eternal child (八千代子) | 1890’s | Ogawa |
| Yae | Possibly “multilayered [lit. eightfold] (八重),” a reference to the multilayered blossoms of a particular species of cherry tree. A common girl’s name. | 1910’s | Fujimoto |
| Yaemi | Increasingly + e + beautiful (弥ゑ美) | 2010’s | link |
| Yaewaka | Eightfold youth, or layer upon layer of youth (八重若) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Yaezuru | Eightfold crane, or layer upon layer + crane (八重鶴), probably referring to the crane’s longevity. | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Yaichi | Increasingly + one, first (彌一) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Yamatochi | This name was recorded by Charles Appleton Longfellow, an American visitor whose Japanese transcriptions do not betray a finely tuned ear for the language. I haven’t had any luck translating this name, or even finding a reliable source attesting to it as a Japanese name. | 1870’s | link |
| Yasaku | Increasingly + work, harvest (彌作) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Yasohachi | One of the first female geisha of the Yoshiwara. | 1760’s | De Becker |
| Yasu | Possibly “the tranquil one (安),” a common girl’s name. | 1870’s | link |
| Yoi | よい. A traditional girl’s name that could be spelled “evening (宵).” | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Yone | よね. “Grains of rice (米),” a common name for girls of the era that implied wealth. | 1810’s | Urakusai |
| Yonehachi | Yonehachi (grains of rice rice + eight, 米八) appeared as a geisha character in a popular and much-adapted 1830’s novel, Shunshoku Umegoyomi. I don’t know whether the name predated the novel, but in later years, real geisha did bear the name. “Yone” has a secondary meaning of wealth, and the number eight 八 is a symbol of increasing prosperity [link], so Yonehachi can be translated as “increasing wealth.” | 1830’s 1910’s | link Fujimoto |
| Yoneyakko | Grains of rice + handmaiden (米奴), a name implying wealth. | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Yoshimaru | Fragrant and perfect [male name ending] (芳丸) | 1910’s | 1918 Naniwa Odori |
| Yuiko | Citrus clothes (柚衣子) | 1990’s | link |
| Yukako | Having beauty (有佳子) | 2000’s | link |
| Yūkari | Playful + perfume + village (遊香里) | 1960’s | 1968 Calendar |
| Yukiryo | Blessed/lucky and good/excellent (幸良) | 1960’s? | link |
| Yukizono | Blessed garden, or fortunate garden (幸苑) | 1990’s? | link |
Updated 12/16/2014