Japanese names that mean warrior or samurai
Japanese names with a warrior or samurai feel: 武, 士, 将 and 勇, and the classic name endings of the samurai age.
武 take, bu: martial士 shi: samurai, gentleman将 shō: general
Japanese has no common given name that simply means samurai, but several kanji carry the warrior spirit. 武 means martial and gives Takeshi and Takeru. 士 originally meant a samurai or gentleman scholar and ends names like Yūshi and Hayato (隼士). 将 means a general or leader and gives Shō and Masaru.
Samurai-era names also had typical endings, such as -suke (介, 助), -nosuke (之介) and -emon (右衛門), and they are part of why names like Ryūnosuke sound classic today.
On this page
The kanji behind warrior names
| Kanji | Readings | Meaning | In names |
|---|---|---|---|
| 武 | たけ, ぶ, む | warrior, martial | 3 ranked names |
| 士 | さむらい, し | gentleman, samurai | 6 ranked names |
| 将 | まさ, はた, ひきい, もって | general, leader | 1 ranked name |
| 勇 | いさ, ゆう | brave | 6 ranked names |
Popular names with a warrior kanji
Spellings that have made Japan's yearly baby name rankings, most popular first.
Warrior names of real people
Given names with a warrior kanji carried by notable Japanese people. The number shows how many notable people share each one.
正武
Masatake正 right + 武 warrior
Boy2 people文武
Fumitake文 writing + 武 warrior
Boy2 peopleMore warrior names
Rarer spellings found in Japanese name records. In each one the warrior kanji keeps its own reading, so the meaning is really there, not just the sound.
Last names with a warrior meaning
Questions
Is there a Japanese name that means samurai?
Not exactly. The kanji 侍 (samurai) is not a name. 士, which once meant a samurai or gentleman, appears in many boys' names.
What is a strong samurai name?
Names like Takeshi (武), Shōgo (将吾) and Ryūnosuke (龍之介) have a classic warrior feel.