りな (Rina), りん (Rin), れな (Rena) sound like Lynna, Lyn, and Lena thanks to this quirk, too.
Thanks to the Japanese ら, り, る, れ, ろ (Ra, Ri, Ru, Re, Ro) being pronounced somewhat similarly to the English-language “L”-sound, many names work even though they may be written with an “R.” For example, りさ works-despite the fact it is often spelled Risa-as an equivalent of Lisa. Another example of looking different but having similar pronunciation is はな (Hana). Although the stress is different from the English name Naomi, it is close enough that with a slight switch of pronunciation, it works in both languages.įor those in love with Studio Ghibli’s creations, Totoro’s best friend, めい (Mei) could offer a cute name that works in both languages as, although it might not look like an English name, it is pronounced similarly to the Western name May. Luckily the success of Haitian-Japanese tennis player 大坂 なおみ (Osaka, Naomi) has made the name なおみ (Naomi) increasingly popular. あん (An), for example, is not a common name in Japan, but foreign families may bring it back as it sounds exactly like Ann. There are also some less common names that make good equivalents to Western names.
A lot of common names for girls work in both English and Japanese, most notably あんな (Anna), えま (Ema), and にな (Nina). Generally speaking, parents of little girls have a lot more options than parents of little boys. Welcome to the wonderful world of Japanese baby names. For many parents, especially those in intercultural relationships, the ideal name will be one that isn’t too tricky for non-Japanese people to pronounce and spell, but at the same time isn’t going to sound totally alien to Asian ears either.
While some parents are content to see which name sticks, others spend literal months fretting over the perfect moniker for their newborn.
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