Any ideas for names that work in Japanese in English?

[ayamegaijin2011]

Vowels usually work well, but there are several limitations - names with l/r, v, f are all problematic. Many of the general name websites list names that are just random words from a dictionary that would never be used as names.

I'd love to hear from people who have chosen names that work in both cultures.

Thanks!

I know a Japanese/English family with an Emma and a Tomasu (goes by Tom).

Wow, you ladies are quick! Thanks for all the ideas.

FYI for other interested readers - as exexpat said - Ben means excrement in Japanese. The children I teach all erupt with laughter if a character called Ben appears in their textbook!

I'm leaning toward Emma, even though I know it's top 10 material in Europe/ U.S. There are also the Chinese characters to think about and Ema or Eimi/ Amy have some good options.

Does anyone on the board live in Japan? I'm happy to go with a girl's name that works well in both languages, but if this little 'un is a boy, I'd like to give him a family name which can't be pronounced exactly the same in Japanese, so I would have to compromise on the kanji/ hiragana 'spelling.' Just wondering if anyone has done that. If yes, does it annoy you when people get it wrong?

Thanks again for so many responses. It was my first post - I'm overwhelmed :)