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.
Here is a list of Japanese girl names that start with the letter ‘S’ (when written in the Latin alphabet). We’ll explain their Japanese spellings below.
The first of these names (Sakura) might sound familiar. That’s because English has borrowed the word “sakura” from Japanese. It means “cherry blossom,” and it even has its own emoji:🌸 .
The second name on this list (Shizuka) might also sound familiar because of its resemblance to Shizuoka, the name of a city and prefecture in Japan from where one can see Mount Fuji (which also has its own emoji 🗻).
Most Japanese names have several different spellings. The meaning of a Japanese name depends on the chosen spelling, through the Kanji characters that appear in that particular spelling.
Many of the Japanese girl names that start with ‘S’ can be written with one of the following initial Kanji characters:
Let’s now see some Japanese girl names that can be spelled with each of these four Kanji characters (remember that the Japanese spelling provided for each name is just one of several possibilities).
In a country like Japan with its Zen temples and Zen gardens, calmness is highly valued. The Kanji character 静 (shizu), which means “calm,” appears at the beginning of Shizuoka, the name of a province in Japan from where one can see Mount Fuji in all its serenity.
This same Kanji character also appears at the beginning of some Japanese girl names, like the ones in the following table:
| 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: “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 |