Baby Name and Surname (native Japanese)

Hi there,

We're trying to choose a name for a baby boy. We'd really like to find kanji for his name. We tried doing this on our own, but it's at the point where we need expert help. For simplicity's sake, I'll put the lists at the bottom.

Problem 1: His surname will be Bonn. Our dictionary gives us 凡 and 盆, but we'd really like to use two kanji. We found a few few for "BO", none for "N/NN", and a few for "ON". Suggestions are helpful/appreciated. See lists below.

Problem 2: We prefer "Kunio" or "Mitsuo" for his given name, beginning with 國/国 or 光, and are trying to stick to three syllables. We're having trouble with the ending, but have found a few we like, especially 士. Suggestions are helpful/appreciated. See lists below.

Problem 3: We heard about 名づけ and stumbled on www.naduke.info, which allowed us to try combinations and develop a list, We need a human eye, though. We'd really like a great combination that looks and sounds good, is balanced and appropriate, "makes sense", doesn't look weird to native Japanese, and is relatively easy to read. Suggestions are helpful/appreciated. See list below.

Thanks in advance for any and all help you can give!

BO: 母, 暮, 模, 募, 慕, 簿, 戊, 莫, 菩, 惚

ON: 音, 遠, 温, 御, 隠, 穏, 苑

KUNIO: 國男, 国男, 國士

MITSUO: 光男, 光央, 光雄, 光士

COMBINATIONS:
募御 光央
募御 光男
募遠 光央
募音 光央
惚御 光雄
惚御 光央
惚御 光男
惚遠 光男
惚遠 光雄
惚音 光央
慕御 光男
慕音 光男
慕音 国男
慕音 光士
慕音 光雄
慕音 国男
慕音 國男
戊穏 光雄
暮音 光男
模御 光男
模穏 国男
模音 光男
模音 国男
模音 光士
模音 光雄
模音 國男
母穏 光雄
簿御 光央
簿御 光雄
簿温 光央
簿遠 光央
簿音 光央
莫遠 光央
菩御 光男
菩温 國男
菩遠 光男
菩遠 光央
菩遠 国男
菩音 光男

Problem 1: If his surname IS Bonn, then I assume your surname is Bonn, but you are (I am assuming) not Japanese, so it is not originally written in kanji, is it? Then it makes no sense to make a kanji name, unless it is just for fun.
Are you a non-Japanese national living in Japan and married to a Japanese spouse? But you are not converting your surname to kanji, right?

Problem 2: "Kunio" and "Mitsuo" are names that exist in real-life Japan, and yes as you list, there are many ways to write them. Personally speaking the kanji "kuni" in the name Kunio loks somewhat stocky, so I would prefer Mitsuo... and 光央 looks rather modern and smart. But this is just my personal opinion.

Hi ...,

Correct, our surname is Bonn. His circumstances are unusual and irrelevant to my post but this is a full Japanese miracle baby we're welcoming in just a handful of weeks. :)

We have a few reasons we'd like to figure out a way to write his name in Japanese. I'm hoping you might have some awesome ideas!

I also prefer Mitsuo. The other person, however... lol. Okay, that's a +1 for 光央. I might have to fight the other person on 央 instead of 士, though. Thank you so much for your time and reply!

Hi,

Like the other "guest," I'm still having problems understanding what you're trying to do. The least I can say is that you cannot expect "expert help" through anonymous internet users like me, especially when you're not giving out much.

Perhaps you might be making a new koseki for that little boy. That's the only way I can justify you being in such a hurry to adopt kanji into his name other than it being just for fun.

But for most Japanese people, or at least or those who have the ability to provide "expert help," naming a child in kanji is a very serious thing. Each kanji has complex meanings to it, and typically parents (or godparents) chose kanji in hope to carry on their wishes for the child.

For example, names using 国 suggests that the name-giver has strong feelings about "country." Letters like 男 or 夫 at the end of a boy's name is plain, while applying 士 to be read as "o" usually has a strong intention. Whether things are strong or not doesn't matter, but if it's strong you need a strong reason. Same thing with 光 (light, ray, etc.) and the unusual 央.

Meanwhile, all your kanji for his surname would be typically read like the English word "bone." It's a kind of a pity when it would look much smarter with single kanji that can be read as French word "bon."

Also, I don't know how you are going to use the kanji version or how official it's going to be, but on the practical side, parents ten d to think a lot about schooling when they name their children. For example, too long a name or too complicated a kanji will cause difficulties when the child writes his name when taking paper tests. It would also be complicated when filling out immigration cards that needs to match his passport.

If you're not familiar to kanji, it would be best to learn the culture along with your little boy until you truly know the kanji you both want for yourselves.

Anyway, I would like to congratulate you on your welcoming the boy.

Hi Uco,

I consider native Japanese expert, especially compared to me!

An example of something on our to-do list is to embroider his receiving blanket with both the English and the Japanese. Another is for a friend who'd like to make a woodblock carving in the Japanese as a birthing gift. Carving, embroidering, painting, etc - all that takes time and the people who've asked us have expressed a strong wish to have things ready before he's born.

We're not really in a hurry, but we have been at this for a while and he won't be here for a few weeks yet.

Thank you for your insight on feelings behinds kanji. We went about it backwards - we picked names we liked and then tried to find kanji we liked to match the names.

Regarding two versus one kanji - the other person indicated that they'd been told single-kanji names were originally Chinese or Korean or something, and they wanted the name to be definitively Japanese. I'm more flexible - something "normal" and "sensible" suits me just fine, and after all, we want him to enjoy this little bit of his heritage as he grows up!

In that light, maybe... 盆 光央 or 盆 光士 works?

In no way is this going to be official unless he wants to use it himself in Japan, I guess. I know that later on we'd like to send him to Japan for a little while for school, so "normal" is something we should definitely think more about.

Thank you for your congratulations! He really is a miracle. Just a little while ago, we thought he wouldn't be here at all. :)

So I take it that this is for fun (particularly the surname part). Please keep in mind that unless one is originally given a name in kanji upon birth, with sound/reading and writing with its associated meaning, the only thing you can do is just "assign" kanji (in no way it will be his official "writing for his name"). It's only your arbitrary choice for fun.

I am Japanese (just as Uco is as far as I know), but I cannot figure out how 光士 can be read "Mitsuo." Maybe because lately young parents use readings of kanji quite liberally to give the child the name they want to give. To me that combination (provided it can be read as "Mitsuo") looks... a bit like taken out of science fiction character or something, "light" and one kanji of the word that means "warrior".

It is true that most Japanese surnames consist of two or more kanji, but there are family names with just one kanji. But 盆 is not among them (as far as I can look up). Also it worries me a bit that you say you want to send him to Japan, you sound as if you are expecting him to use his full name in kanji (in school, for example?). In that sense, Bonn is not a "normal" Japanese name, neither can 盆. Certainly, as I said earlier, you can arbitraily assign that kanji, but I wonder if it is really a good idea.

Yes, I am a Japanese national. I mostly went to school here in Japan, I am a parent, and I agree with the other guest.

Just to add...

single-kanji names were originally Chinese or Korean or something, and they wanted the name to be definitively Japanese.

I don't know who this "they" is, but the surname Bonn is not "definitively Japanese" in the sense that names of Chinese/Korean heritage is not. So I'm afraid I don't really understand the point.

The boy is inheriting the non-Japanese name of Bonn, so be it. He should be proud of this heritage, just as the distinguished Hata 秦 clan, originally from China, are of theirs.

Meanwhile, the more Japanese characters are the kana as compared to kanji. There are tons of people whose first names only has kana versions, and a lot of celebrities announce their names only in kana. You might want to keep that in mind too. Besides, kana is easier for children. So if you want things crafted for a newborn, kana might even suit the occasion better. I had lots of stuff crafted in kana for my son when he was little.

On a related note, not all single-kanji names were originally Chinese or Korean. Taira (as in Kiyomori) or Tachibana are both historical Japanese clans.

Another thing is that it's quite common for the Japanese to officially change the kanji of their first name as they grow up (ie. when their surname changes by marriage, they change the koseki first name just for better fortune to match the new surname).

Shirley MacLaine named her daughter Sachiko just because she loved Japan, and many people do similar things, so I can understand where you're coming from though. Sachiko MacLaine got her common kanji version from a renowned Japanese film critic Kazuko Komori who had befriended Shirley.

I just started looking up the kanji combinations, and for example 菩恩 seems to exist as Chinese name, by the way.

As far as can figure out, his surname will be "Bonn," which is definitely not Japanese, so I recommend simply using the katakana (phonetic Japanese writing system) version: ボン. So he would be ボン　光央. Of course this will clearly show that his surname is non-Japanese, so "different," but any kanji version of "bon" will be "different" too.

Japanese people married to non-Japanese and have adopted the non-Japanese surnames do use the katakana writing on their business cards, for example, so I see nothing wrong with it (and it IS accurate).

If it were up to me, I'd go for 梵 for Bonn. This is what it means:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman

Hi ... and Uco,

Thank you so much for your replies!

I've shown this thread to the other person and though they're reluctant since they aren't getting Kunio with 士, reason has won the day. 光央 it is.

ボン seems perfectly sensible. The other person is determined to use kanji, however. For my own peace of mind in case I lose this battle (since I won the battle for 光央), 梵 won't raise any eyebrows, will it? Would 梵 光央 come across as "normal"?

光央 is not normal (the other poster said it looks modern and smart, not normal). 梵 is not normal. 梵 光央 is not normal. They would indeed raise eyebrows. People would think that the parents are definitely anime fans from overseas, which is weird. I'm not saying that weird is bad though. Weird is good for many people.

ボン is normal. 光男 and 光雄 are normal. People would think that the name-holder is a Japanese with a foreign father, which again is normal.

A quick Google search seems to indicate that 光央 is not quite as abnormal as Uco suggests, but it certainly is much less common than 光男. But at the end of the day, it's not even certain your son (?) will even be interested in Japan or will ever want to set foot there, so this whole exercise seems quite pointless to me.

Like it or not, his name will be written in the Latin alphabet for all practical purposes. In your (and his) home country, nobody will use the kanji you have chosen. Even if he goes to live in Japan, his name will still be written in Latin characters on his residence card and all other official paperwork (sometimes in katakana). And if he wants to use a kanji name informally among his friends, or even if he obtains Japanese citizenship and chooses a kanji name, you can be sure he will feel free to disregard your chosen kanji (or even your chosen name, for that matter) if he does not like them.

A quick Google search seems to indicate that 光央 is not quite as abnormal as Uco suggests

Ah, that's true. See how reliable Japanese "experts" are? ;)

Well, personally I have seen names ending with 央 and pronounced "-o," so I am OK with 光央. 光男 and 光雄 are certainly fine, rather traditional-looking (note the kanji for "-o" mean "man" "male"). But I am OK with that.

ボン is fine. 梵, 盆, or 凡 for Bonn really isn't "normal."

It's not a matter of win or lose. It's a person's name, by the way.

It's a person's name, by the way.

For the reasons I explained above, I don't think those kanji will constitute the boy's name in any meaningful way. To me, and with all due respect, this looks like a typical case of parents doing something they think is for their child's sake, but actually is mostly to please their own ego.

ボン seems perfectly sensible.

光央 is not normal

Seriously? I have known 2 光央 through my life. It is not super common but not abnormal at all.
光男 and 光雄 are totally out of date. I would think if I see those names, oh how old is he?

Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I said I'm not reliable even though I'm a Japanese parent!