Japanese names that start with 'S' include Satoshi, Shinji, and Shigeru (for boys) and Sakura, Shizuka, and Saori (for girls). There are many more that we cover below.
A particularity of Japanese names is the existence of multiple different spellings for almost every name. Therefore, most Japanese names have several possible meanings, depending on the Kanji characters appearing in a particular spelling.
Kanji characters that often appear at the beginning of Japanese girl names that start with ‘S’ include the following:
To simplify the process of browsing these names, we have organized them into groups based on the initial Kanji character in one of their spellings (it is important to remember that the Japanese spelling provided for each name is just one of several possibilities).
| Name | Possible Spelling | Possible Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Shizue | 静江 | 静 (shizu): quiet, calm 江 (e): bay, inlet |
| Shizuka | 静香 | 静 (shizu): quiet, calm 香 (ka): fragrance |
| Shizuko | 静子 | 静 (shizu): quiet, calm 子 (ko): child |
| Name | Possible Spelling | Possible Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Sachi | 佐知 | 佐 (sa): help 知 (chi): wisdom |
| Sawako | 佐和子 | 佐 (sa): help 和 (wa): harmony 子 (ko): child |
| Saki | 佐紀 | 佐 (sa): help 紀 (ki): chronicle |
| Name | Possible Spelling | Possible Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Saori | 沙織 | 沙 (sa): sand 織 (ori): weaving |
| Sachiko | 沙知子 | 沙 (sa): sand 知 (chi): wisdom 子 (ko): child |
| Saki | 沙希 | 沙 (sa): sand 希 (ki): hope, rare |
| Name | Possible Spelling | Possible Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Sanae | 早苗 | 早 (sanae): early, fast 苗 (nae): seedling, sprout |
| Sayaka | 早耶香 | 早 (sa): early, fast 耶 (ya): question mark (used here for phonetic purposes) 香 (ka): fragrance |
Kanji characters that often appear at the beginning of Japanese boy names that start with ‘S’ include:
In the following, we will group some of the Japanese male names that start with ‘S’ into clusters based on the initial Kanji character in some of their possible spellings.
| Name | Possible Spelling | Possible Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Shigeru | 茂 | 茂 (shigeru): luxuriant |
| Shigeki | 茂樹 | 茂 (shige): luxuriant 樹 (ki): tree |
| Shigeo | 茂夫 | 茂 (shige): luxuriant 夫 (o): husband, man |
| Shigeyuki | 茂幸 | 茂 (shige): luxuriant 幸 (yuki): happiness |
We can identify a group of names that can be written with the Kanji character 翔, which also appears in the verb 翔る (kakeru), meaning “to fly” or “to soar.” Kanji characters have several different readings; in the following names, this character is read as “shō”.
| Name | Possible Spelling | Possible Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Sho | 翔 | 翔 (Sho): to soar, to glide |
| Shōhei | 翔平 | 翔 (Shō): to soar 平 (hei): peaceful, flat |
| Shota | 翔太 | 翔 (Sho): to soar 太 (ta): thick, big |
The Japanese Kanji 修 means “discipline” and “study.” It appears in words like 修学 (shūgaku), which means “learning.” It is also the initial Kanji in possible spellings for some Japanese names that start with ‘S’.
| Name | Possible Spelling | Possible Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Shuhei | 修平 | 修 (shu): discipline, study 平 (hei): peace, flat |
| Shuji | 修二 | 修 (shu): discipline, study 二 (ji): two |
| Shuichi | 修一 | 修 (shu): discipline, study 一 (ichi): one |
We can identify another group consisting of names with a possible spelling that begins with the Kanji character 俊. That Kanji character has a very positive meaning, as it denotes “excellence” and “genius”.
| Name | Possible Spelling | Possible Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Shun | 俊 | 俊 (shun): excellence, genius |
| Shunya | 俊哉 | 俊 (shun): excellence, genius 哉 (ya): how, what |
| Shunichi | 俊一 | 俊 (shun): excellence, genius 一 (ichi): one |
| Shunsuke | 俊介 | 俊 (shun): excellence, genius 介 (suke): mediate, assist |
A famous namesake can provide additional appeal to a name. In the case of Japanese names that begin with ‘S’ there are plenty of famous individuals with such names, including video game designers (Shigeru Miyamoto and Shinji Mikami), musicians (Sadao Watanabe and Seiko Matsuda), and many more.
| Name | Occupation |
|---|---|
| Satoshi Tajiri | Creator of Pokémon |
| Shinzo Abe | Former Prime Minister of Japan |
| Satoshi Nakamoto | Creator of Bitcoin (most likely the name is a pseudonym) |
| Shigeru Miyamoto | Video game designer who created “Mario” and “The Legend of Zelda” |
| Shinji Mikami | Video game designer who led the creation of the Resident Evil series |
| Sayuri Yoshinaga | Japanese actress |
| Sadao Watanabe | Japanese jazz musician |
| Satoru Iwata | Former CEO of Nintendo |
| Shinya Tsukamoto | Japanese filmmaker and actor who made the movie “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” |
| Sayaka Murata | Japanese author who wrote the novel “Convenience Store Woman” |
| Sakura Ando | Japanese actress |
| Shota Sometani | Japanese actor |
| Shohei Ohtani | Professional baseball player |
| Shizuka Arakawa | Figure skater who won an Olympic gold medal |
| Shuichi Shigeno | Manga artist who created the “Initial D” series |
| Seiko Matsuda | Japanese pop singer |
By the way, if you like Japanese names, why not learn the language? Start learning Japanese with a free lesson.