The name Mitsiko, what does it mean?

[Gonzales]

Do you think "Mitsiko" is one name or first and last name, like "Mitsi Ko". My father is deceased and never talked about her, but he told my mother she was his girlfriend in Tokyo - apparantly, in love. When I asked my mother about it, she said she believed it was her first name. Can somebody give me some feedback?

This is the only clue I have to find her, except for some old pictures and one letter without an address, signed "Prieta", which is most likely spanish, a term of endearment meaning dark or black. In the Japanese culture, if she had my father's child out of wedlock, would she have named him using his last name (Gonzales) or hers? She is probably around 77 years or more by now and he would be in his late 50's. Give me some ideas on how to start looking. Thanks a million.

 

[Seppuku]

It most likely is her first name most women have "ko" at the end of their names for instance "yoKO ono".

 

[fixelbrumpf]

Well, perhaps it's just me, but the name "Mitsiko" doesn't sound too Japanese to me because of the "tsi" sound, which doesn't occur in standard Japanese, as far as I know. Are you sure her name wasn't "Mitsuko"?

Oh, by the way, JWPce, my Japanese word processing program of choice, has a rather large database of names, and "Mitsiko" isn't in it.

Oh, "Michiko" 'works', by the way.

 

[fixelbrumpf]

By the way, I, too, think it's a first name. According to this site, about 33 percent of Japanese women's names end in "ko", which is written like the kanji for "child" (子).

It is true that the Japanese generally consider their last names more "important" than we do. Nevertheless, women are more often addressed with their first name than men, as far as I know.

 

[Elizabeth]

Or it could be Mitsuiko....(三井子)

 

[fixelbrumpf]

Of course! Then the "u" would be silent, right? I didn't think of that.

 

[Elizabeth]

No, the "u" would still sound, it is just an issue of reconstructing what most likely was lost in romanization. Michiko should technically be either that or "Mitiko" .... or maybe the u was inadvertantly dropped. Or maybe something else entirely .

 

[fixelbrumpf]

Originally posted by Elizabeth
No, the "u" would still sound

Are you sure? In the anime "My Neighbour Totoro", one of the main character's called Satsuki, and her name's clearly pronounced "Sats'ki".

 

[Elizabeth]

I would think so with two vowels together, yes. A la "Matsui" the baseball player or department store. "Tsu" probably follows a pattern similar to "su" where the "u" is pronounced faintly or not at all before certain consonants, such as "k" in sukoshi or suki.

 

[Gonzales]

This is very interesting and clearly I have lots to learn. I will try different spellings when I search. Keep the ideas coming! thanks a bunch.

 

[Elizabeth]

Originally posted by Elizabeth
Or it could be Mitsuiko....(三井子)

And 三井子 could be "Miiko" as well, although I believe 三井 as part of a corporate name is normally "Mitsui" the pronunciation strain notwithstanding. :depressed: At any rate, as a woman's name 三井子 seems extremely rare indeed, so most likely not who you're looking for in this case. 日本人の名前としてはかなり変った名前ですね。