Japanese writes foreign names in katakana, the angular syllabary used for loanwords. Each katakana character is a whole syllable rather than a letter, so a name is rebuilt from the sounds Japanese has. Common English names already have a settled spelling, and the converter uses it. Anything else is sounded out and marked as approximate.
Popular Names in Katakana
| Name | Katakana (romaji) |
|---|---|
| Emma | エマ (ema) |
| Olivia | オリビア (oribia) |
| Charlotte | シャーロット (shārotto) |
| Lucy | ルーシー (rūshī) |
| Liam | リアム (riamu) |
| Noah | ノア (noa) |
| Oliver | オリバー (oribā) |
| James | ジェームズ (jēmuzu) |
| Michael | マイケル (maikeru) |
| Jack | ジャック (jakku) |
| Chris | クリス (kurisu) |
| David | デイビッド (deibiddo) |
| Peter | ピーター (pītā) |
| Smith | スミス (sumisu) |
| Parker | パーカー (pākā) |
How Katakana Rebuilds a Name
Every Japanese syllable ends in a vowel or the single consonant ン (n). An English name full of consonant clusters has to gain vowels: Smith becomes su-mi-su. Three marks do most of the remaining work.
ピーター — Peter, read pītā
Stretches the vowel before it. English -er and -ar endings usually become ー.
- オリバー Oliver
- パーカー Parker
A short pause that doubles the next consonant, used after short vowels.
- ジャック Jack
- シャーロット Charlotte
The only consonant that can end a syllable on its own.
- ジョン John
- ブランドン Brandon
Japanese has no separate L and R, so both become the ラ row (Lucy is ルーシー). V is written either with ヴ or with the B row, which is why you will see both ヴィクトリア and ビクトリア for Victoria. When writing a full name, Japanese separates given name and surname with a middle dot: ピーター・パーカー.
Common Questions
Should my name be in katakana, hiragana or kanji?
Katakana. It is the standard script for foreign names in Japan, on everything from passports to film credits. Some people pick kanji with matching sounds for fun or for a tattoo, but those carry meanings of their own and are not how Japanese people would normally write your name.
Why does my name have extra vowels in Japanese?
Japanese syllables end in a vowel or ン, so consonants that sit together in English each get a vowel. That is why Chris becomes ku-ri-su and Smith becomes su-mi-su.
Is there only one correct katakana spelling?
No. Katakana follows pronunciation, and people hear names differently, so variants exist (Ava can be エイヴァ or エヴァ). The tool shows the most common form it knows and sounds out the rest. If you have a Japanese friend, ask how they would write it.
How do I write my name in Japanese if it isn't English?
Type it as it sounds in English letters. The converter reads spelling, so a phonetic spelling (Sersha for Saoirse) gives a closer result than the original.