#misterrimpossible

Hmmmmm, yes and no!

Looking through all the names listed on those websites, I can say that they all are names that do exist, and I’m sure have been names of actual Japanese people.

However.

What websites like Behind the Name don’t tell you is the feel of a name. 

For example, as English-speakers, we instinctively know that names like Edith and Agatha are a bit more vintage — they are names that were common a long time ago. While I’m sure there are people that are still being named with those very lovely names, it has a different feel and implication, you know? Naming a character Edith in a contemporary high school setting is something you can do; but it means something. It has a different feel because it’s a more classic, vintage name in the context of our modern day society.

Another thing we instinctively feel about names is how unusual it may or may not feel. There is an incredible variety of names in America alone; several names that we might not even realize exist might actually be someone’s name. There are also the more common names that we know about as well. You can name a character Anomaly (name taken from this article about unusual baby names) and that is a name that exists in the world. However, by deliberately choosing that name, you are making a statement of some sort. It might be that your world has different naming schemes from ours. It might be that your character’s name is unusual and different. No matter what, there is some sort of implication about naming a character Anomaly. Naming a character Emma might not have those same implications.

And that’s what I feel about those lists of names.

There are some common names in there, there are also some vintage names in there. There are some names that do exist, but are a bit more unusual. These are all names that you can absolutely use, but they have different feels and implications that I think are really important to consider, that this website doesn’t provide.

Additionally, the way that the name is written is incredibly important to Japanese names. I talk about it a bit more in depth here. I elaborate more on the naming conventions and the meanings given to names, and why that’s important.

On this website, you will see this phrase quite often:

Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.

The other thing this website does is give you possible kanji combinations. The way that a name is written (again, check it out here!) is incredibly important to Japanese names. This website only gives you a few variations — there are so many other possibilities. The way that a name is written changes the meaning of a name. This is something you absolutely must consider when naming a Japanese character.

And unless you have a pretty good grasp on the Japanese language and culture (i.e., you can read/write/speak Japanese and have worked hard on learning the culture), I would recommend you consult with an actual Japanese person to get their help. They can help you figure out what the feel of a name is, and they can help you figure out how to write it and whether it works or not.

If you are a non-Japanese person, I would advise against trying to put kanji together yourself to create a meaning. I have yet to see it done well. Please ask a Japanese person.

TL;DR The website has real Japanese names, but should be used as a starting point. Checking with a Japanese person is the best practice to make sure that the name fits both your story and the character.

WELL I MEAN IF YOU REALLY LOVED ME YOU’D HAVE GOOGLED FOR AMAZING STAR WARS CAKES AND PUT A PICTURE OF ONE IN MY INBOX LIKE THIS MAJESTY RIGHT HERE:

the darkling. if alina had just loved him then it would have solved the five hundred years of terror and abusive behavior that he committed on every woman around him and the country as a whole. his backstory is just SAD you know? he didn’t have a stable home and someone just wanted to USE him. just like alina didn’t have a stable home, grew up in an orphanage, enlisted in the army, got kidnapped by a man in a position of power, and got USED by him. so she should understand poor aleksander’s position and so should YOU.

robin

jack (good job!)

cody

charlie

cooper

jamison

cinna

emerson

chris

aeron

mica

dinah

theo

matteyn

enoch

tristan

saul

remington

beckett

madigan

emil

Gansey pocketed the Monmouth keys, letting them fall through his hands, on their lanyard, into the dark pocket of his shorts.  He checked his watch; it was almost nine in the evening.  He didn’t resent Helen, not exactly, but he would rather have not gone out for dinner, and instead gotten home earlier.  (This was home.  Monmouth was home.  Not the house with his parents.  Not with Helen.)

“Hullo the house,” he called, because the only reason Ronan would be asleep was if he were blackout drunk, which he had told Gansey he probably wouldn’t do tonight.  After a few moments, he heard a slamming door upstairs, then feet pelted down the stairs, creaking.  He only just had time to turn on the lights before a lanky, shaven-headed, heavily tattooed beanpole collided into his chest and suckered its tentacles onto him.

“Good evening,” said Gansey formally, looking down at his best-friend-brother-everything.  Ronan bared his teeth into a snarl, trying to crawl into Gansey’s suit coat.  “No talking?” asked Gansey.  Ronan nodded.  “Okay,” said Gansey, modulating his tone so that only a low voice came out of him.  Ronan head-butted him harder, putting pressure on his stomach.  His hands were wound around hsis torso, and he was pushing Gansey downwards.  He gave the ground, lowering himself to the floor carefully so that Ronan wouldn’t hit the deck hard.

They sat there for a few minutes, until Gansey’s leg had started to cramp up.  “Ronan,” he said, quietly.

“Mmph,” said Ronan, still holding onto him tightly.  Dinner with Helen had been far too much garlic.

“I want to go upstairs and brush my teeth.  Can we do that?”

Ronan made a noise of discontent, but they went up anyway.  It was slowly, because Gansey didn’t want to drag Ronan up the stairs in case it hurt Ronan, but Ronan wanted to be dragged up the stairs because walking up the stairs would mean he let go of Gansey a bit.  They made it, though, and then promptly fell over on the landing.  It was utterly dark, up there.  Ronan hadn’t had any lights on.

“Hhmph,” said Ronan, and snarled again.Gansey extricated a hand to stroke Ronan’s head with.  Ronan leaned into it.  “You’re my brother,” Gansey told him.  “You’re my family.  That’s never going to change.  It’s always you.”  Ronan bared his teeth, and his nostrils flared.  “It is not Helen,” said Gansey.  “Nor my mother, nor my father, nor any of my aunts or my uncles or my cousins.  You are my life.  Here.  Monmouth.  Glendower.  Us, on our quest, to find our miracle.”

“Miracle,” repeated Ronan, his voice slurring.  He didn’t smell like alchohol.  There wasn’t blood on his face or on his arms.  Gansey was inordinately relieved; he felt his heartrate drop.  “’m miracle.”

“Yes,” said Gansey, lifting them both up by the armpits.  “Yes, Ronan, you most certainly are.”