A Japanese name has two parts: a family name and a given name, in that order. Tanaka Yui is Yui of the Tanaka family. There are no middle names. When Japanese names appear in English the order is often flipped to match Western habit, but since 2020 the Japanese government has asked for the family name to come first in English too, so you will see both orders.
Family names
Most Japanese surnames describe a place: 田中 (Tanaka) is in the middle of the rice fields, 山本 (Yamamoto) at the foot of the mountain. Ordinary people were only allowed to use surnames publicly from 1870, and every household had to register one from 1875, which is why landscape words dominate. About a third of the population shares one of the hundred most common surnames. Married couples must share a surname under Japanese law, and in the great majority of marriages the wife takes the husband's. See the 100 most common surnames.
Given names and kanji
Given names are usually written in kanji, which carry meaning, though hiragana and katakana are also allowed. Parents may choose from about 3,000 kanji: the 2,136 everyday jōyō kanji plus 863 extra jinmeiyō kanji approved for names. Any other kanji, however beautiful, cannot be registered.
The same sound can be written in many ways, and the same kanji can be read in many ways. Haruto can be 陽翔 (sun and soar), 悠斗 (distant and the Big Dipper) or 晴人 (clear skies and person), while 大翔 can be read Haruto, Hiroto or Yamato. That is why Japanese people often ask how a name is written when they first meet, and why this site shows every spelling of a name with its own meaning.
Boys' and girls' names
Sounds and endings hint at gender. Girls' names have long ended in -ko (子, child), the dominant pattern of the mid-twentieth century, and today often end in -ka, -na, -ri or -mi. Boys' names traditionally ended in -rō (郎, son) or -o (男, 雄, man), and today often end in -to, -ta, -ki or -ma. Many names, such as Aoi, Hinata and Haruka, are used for both.
How names change with the times
Names follow fashions closely. The most popular boy name of 1912 was Shōichi; in the 2020s it is Minato or Haruto. Each name page on this site shows its ranking history, so you can see whether a name sounds like a grandparent or a toddler. Modern parents also choose freer readings, and the most extreme, nicknamed kirakira (sparkly) names, led to a 2025 rule that readings must be registered. See the rules for naming a baby in Japan.