Using Kanji for Western Names

[Golgo_13]

In case you ever have kids in Japan (planned or unplanned ) and want to give them Western names that can be written in Kanji and still make some sense.

Here are a few examples I came up with:

Karen 花蓮 (flower)(lotus)

Dora 童羅 (child)(silk)

Erin 永 琳 (eternal)(jewel)


No boys' names?

I only want daughters anyway.

'cause girls kick ***!

 

[Golgo_13]

Okay, here's a boy's name

Ian 意安 (intention)(peaceful)

 

[m477]

You could also have:

襟華 - Erika
沙羅 - Sara
理佐 （りさ） - could be written as "Lisa" in English
恵美 （えみ） - pronounced about the same as "Amy" (perhaps this one is a little bit of a stretch)

As far as boys go, I knew a half-Japanese guy in college. His parents wanted to use names that would sound natural in both Japanese and English, so he was named Dan and his brother was Ken.

 

[fixelbrumpf]

毬夫 Mario
安敦 Anton
杏菜 Anna
安慧 Anne


You couldn't write "John" 全 or 鄭, could you?

 

[Golgo_13]

The problem is, you can't just arbitralily slap Kanji together just because they have the right sounds. There might be Kanji that's pronouced "jon" but what meaning would it have?

You still need to carefully choose the Kanji that have the meanings you want to attribute to the baby. That's part of the fun of naming kids in Japanese.

 

[Golgo_13]

Here's another


Anson 安尊 (peaceful)(precious)

Like in Anson Williams who was in "Happy Days"

 

[jaxfu]

Let me ask this question.

Is a kanji name simular to a "signature"? For example I deal with a lot of forms at work and many co-workers must sign theses forms. Their signatures are unreadable! But you get the sence of who's signature belongs to whom. That is why most forms have 2 places to sign both a printed name and then a signature.

 

[kara]

> Is a kanji name simular to a "signature"?

No, we mainly use 印鑑(inkan - personal seal or signet) to know the name of the document, and in some cases use signature like you Westerners.


Inkan itself:

銀行印｜即日OK！印鑑の年間35万件の販売実績！【ハンコヤドットコム】

Seals on the documents:

捺印(natsuin - sealing)

Thank to the inkan, we are expected to write neat and readable kanji. Quite annoyance to poor handwriting people like me.

 

[jaxfu]

OK I see, (thanks for the links) is inkan used for things like signing checks, homework, etc?

 

[Golgo_13]

Kara-san,

I've always wonder this. The inkan (or hanko) has only the surname on it, not your entire name. So if you have a common name like Watanabe, Suzuki or Inoue, anyone could get an inkan with your name and "forge" your inkan signature.

Is that why people are also required to sign their name by hand as well?

Since I never owned an inkan, I've been asked to use my "bo'in" (thumb print) a few times in the past. Is this still common?

 

[kara]

jaxfu-san,

About bills and checks, Japanese laws regard a printed name + an inkan as a signiture. However, we seldom use checks in our daily life. It is said that poor circulation of checks is one of the most surprising things for American people visiting Japan.

Golgo-san,

I'm not an expert of inkan, so please read my post as it is.

> "forge" your inkan signature

Inkan which mass-produced in factories(we call those 三文判 - sanmonban) must be easy to forge or to find the same product for cheating, whether they have entire name or not. So we use much expensive, order-made inkan for important use. But in these computer days, even such high-wrought inkan can be forged easily.

ちなみに(how do I say "chinamini" in English in such cases?), I'd always wondered this: "Why western people use signatures? they seem easy to forge. Handwriting analysts can tell the truth, but do they call analysts every time they sign?"

> Is that why people are also required to sign their name by hand as well?

I can't remember the situations that we are required signature + inkan.

> "bo'in" (thumb print) is still common?

I don't think so. My last boin was in 習字の授業(brush writing class?) of elementary school as a mischief.

 

[Golgo_13]

ちなみに(how do I say "chinamini" in English in such cases?), I'd always wondered this: "Why western people use signatures? they seem easy to forge. Handwriting analysts can tell the truth, but do they call analysts every time they sign?"

ちなみに "By the way," ga ichiban chikai de shoune.
An example: "Please come visit us. By the way, we are closed on Mondays"

Hand-written signatures are the best method available at this time.

My old Chi Kung Master used to sign his credit cards in Chinese (Kanji)

 

[jaxfu]

jaxfu-san,

About bills and checks, Japanese laws regard a printed name + an inkan as a signiture. However, we seldom use checks in our daily life. It is said that poor circulation of checks is one of the most surprising things for American people visiting Japan.


窶堋ｿ窶堙遺?堙昶?堙?how do I say "chinamini" in English in such cases?), I'd always wondered this: "Why western people use signatures? they seem easy to forge. Handwriting analysts can tell the truth, but do they call analysts everytime they sign?"

> Is that why people are also required to sign their name by hand as well?

In the USA for official documents such as deeds, contracts, and some others we have what are called "Notary Publics". These are people who are confirmed certified witnesses for signatures. They also sign with the person as a guarantee that the person's signature is their own. This is only used for very official things. Banks keep a copy of a person's signature on file. If there is a question about if a check belongs to someone they can compare it to the signature on file.

If you write your name on your belongings at school in case they are lost do you write your full name or just family name?

 

[Mayuka]

If you write your name on your belongings at school in case they are lost do you write your full name or just family name?

I would imagine a person would write his or her full name, especially if he or she had a common family name such as "Tanaka" or "Yamada."