Japanese name if no Japanese heritage

[SpacePie]

I love the gentle sound of many Japanese names.

What names could pass in the UK without raising eyebrows at the fact that neither myself or my husband are Japanese.

I must admit it's studio Ghibli that inspires this love, but many don't seem to be pronounced how they're spelled:

Satsuki
Sôsuke
Arietty
Kiki

I am fairly sensible and wouldn't want to land a baby with an impossible to spell / pronounce name so I'm all ears to England friendly suggestions.

I think Arietty is from The Borrowers, isn't it?

And no, I wouldn't give my DC a Japanese name if I wasn't Japanese, because the constant, slightly baffled questions from just about everyone would get really annoying really quickly.

The first two you listed I'd consider 'obviously' Japanese, but you could just use Suki? I wouldn't question that or Kiki. Not that it's my business to question it anyway.

Arrietty is from The Borrowers which Ghibli adapted.

I know what you mean about the soft sound, it is a pleasant language to listen to.

I wanted Megumi for DD. It's a Japanese girls' name, I think now a little old fashioned, and means Blessing. I loved the sound of it and the meaning. DH hated it and pointed out that it wouldn't go with our surname so DD got a name that we both liked instead.

I sometimes wish I'd gone with it, but it would have sounded very odd, or set DD up for people who email to expect her to be mixed-race when she's not. She'll probably be grateful when she's older that we didn't go with it.

Arietty definitely isn't Japanese. It would be quite a twee name to give a child though. Similar to Pollyanna.

What about Suki/Sukey. Japanese, but also an old fashioned English shortening of Susannah.

I know a Kiki. She's actually Kirsten.

DD had 2 Japanese friends at school - Natasha and Mieko. Natasha was 1/4 English though!

I love Studio Ghibli and Japanese culture too too, so I get where you're coming from...

I wonder if you could find a Japanese name you like the sound of and then use that as an everyday name, working backwards to something more English?

So Suki could be a nickname for Susan for example, or Anzu works for Anna, or Kimi is just a longer form of Kim...plenty of scope to have fun I think!

I know a teenage Kiki, I've never given it a thought to be honest. Just suits her.

No, because of the lack of heritage.
They sound different when said by someone Japanese.

I'd say Satsuki as Sat-SOO-ki, but it's nearer SATS-ki in Japan.

Kiki makes me think of Kiki Dee, who was really Pauline from Bradford

I would go with Susannah and nn Sukey, both gorgeous names and you will get to enjoy the gentle sound of it without too many questions

Unpopular opinion here but I always think use whatever the hell name you like. There are so many names that have various spellings or pronunciations already.

My very non-Italian daughter has a very Italian name. No one has really questioned it. It sometimes gets misspelt or mispronounced, it’s fine, we correct if it’s important and move on.

Gina - a Japanese girl's name meaning "silvery"

Kiki makes me think of Hector's House (1960s children's programme with Hector the Dog, ZsaZsa the cat and Kiki the frog). It's also used sometimes as a nn for girls names that begin with a K. So I think there will be quite a pool of people who don't think of it as .Japanese at all

Arrietty is a lovely name (from the Borrowers) and I'm surprised it never caught on.

Kiki is fine as a nickname

I always thought Mei or a version of it would be lovely for the same reason OP!

My Japanese friend has a daughter called Arisa. I think it's beautiful and would work perfectly in the UK. My other Japanese friend has a daughter called Emiri - pronounced Emily. She said it means "beautiful England"

I look at Satsuki and see satsuma. I definitely wouldn't go with that. Sosuke would also be very random on an English child.
Arietty is fine but I'd suggest Kiera nn Kiki which I think works really well.

Arisa is lovely and would work really well I think.

Sayuri
Tenshi

I know two Japanese women with these babes and I think they’re beautiful. Not sure how ‘obviously Japanese’ they are.

Ones that could work

Aimi (the pronounciation is slightly different from Amy/Aimee but it’s subtle)
Ema
Emi/Emiko
Kazumi
Mayumi
Naomi
Natsuki
Sakura
Sayuri

They’re definitely Japanese but they seem wearable somehow

Arietty isn't a Japanese name and all Japanese words are phonetic so pronounced how they are spelled out. Go for it, Japanese names are lovely.

@JPG21 , they are but they tend to stress the syllables the same.
Tsunami is tsu-na-mi not 'Soon Army'

Please also take into account the fact that each name has its meaning based on their Kanji.

My youngest has a Japanese name literally straight from an anime I'm pregnant now and looking at japanese names again.

No japanese origin from either myself or partner.

I'm not sure about how they come across to English people, but both these names are vvv obviously Japanese. I'm not into Japanese culture at all but these are commonly known popular Japanese names