Japanese names that mean bird or flight
Japanese names about birds, wings and flight: 翔 (to soar), 隼 (falcon), 翼 (wing) and 羽 (feather).
翔 shō, to: to soar隼 hayato: falcon翼 tsubasa: wing
Flight is one of the most popular ideas in boys' names, thanks to a single kanji: 翔, to soar. It is read shō, to or kakeru, and it appears in a huge share of modern boys' names, from Shōta and Haruto (陽翔) to Yuito (結翔). Japanese surveys of name kanji have put it at or near the top for boys for years.
Birds themselves appear too: 隼 (falcon) in Hayato and Shun, 鷹 (hawk) in Taka-names, and 鶴 (crane), a symbol of long life, in older names. Girls' names more often take 羽 (feather), as in Miu (美羽), and 翼 (wing) gives Tsubasa for both genders.
On this page
The kanji behind bird names
| Kanji | Readings | Meaning | In names |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鳥 | とり, ちょう | bird | Rare in ranked names |
| 隼 | はやぶさ, しゅん, じゅん | falcon | 5 ranked names |
| 鶴 | つる, かく | crane | Rare in ranked names |
| 翼 | つばさ, よく | wing | 2 ranked names |
| 翔 | かけ, と, しょう | to soar, to fly | 37 ranked names |
| 羽 | は, わ, はね, う | feather, wing | 12 ranked names |
Popular names with a bird kanji
Spellings that have made Japan's yearly baby name rankings, most popular first.
Bird names of real people
Given names with a bird kanji carried by notable Japanese people. The number shows how many notable people share each one.
千鶴
Chizuru千 thousand + 鶴 crane
Girl2 people鶴吉
Tsurukichi鶴 crane + 吉 good luck
Boy1 person隼也
Shunya隼 falcon + 也 to be (classical)
Boy1 person妃翔
Himeka妃 princess + 翔 to soar
Girl1 person里羽
Riu里 village + 羽 feather
Girl1 personMore bird names
Rarer spellings found in Japanese name records. In each one the bird kanji keeps its own reading, so the meaning is really there, not just the sound.
Last names with a bird meaning
Questions
What Japanese name means bird?
Names rarely use the word bird (鳥) itself. They use flight instead: 翔 (to soar), 翼 (wing), 羽 (feather), and particular birds like 隼 (falcon) and 鶴 (crane).
What does Tsubasa mean?
Tsubasa (翼) means wing. It is used for boys and girls.