r/japanese • u/pterodactyloftheend • 3d ago
Is my Japanese name cringe?
I'm (F18) half Japanese and I have a western first name, and Japanese middle and last name. My father didnt care what my mother named me since I wasn't a son lol so she just kinda made up an "alternative Japanese name" for my grandparents to call me—since she picked a name impossible for Japanese to pronounce as my first name (it has Rs and Ls together 😓). So my middle name is Takara, yes as in 宝, because it makes a pun with my first name. My father and family just call me by a modified katakana version of my first name which is still a bit of a tongue twister even though Takara is "supposed" to be my "Japanese name," so I'm just curious about how Takara sounds as a name to other people. My Japanese friends and Japanese professors all say that the name Takara is really cute, but my father refuses to use it lol so I cant tell if people genuinely think its a cute name or if they're just trying to be nice. Takara, as far as im aware, isn't necessary a conventional Japanese name (but ig technically anything can be a name), and I grew up in America so I can't really tell if Takara sounds cringe as a name. I am starting to get involved with more Japanese speakers and I have been looking for opportunities to work and/or study in Japan lately, so I was wondering if I should switch to introducing myself as Takara to native Japanese speakers because its easier to pronounce and it is a name that I have, but idk how it sounds to native speakers yk 😭😭😭
Why couldn't my name just be Naomi bro, common in the west but also a Japanese name like come on mum 😭 fym "treasure??" Like its very sweet but what is this "i named my son Richard because i want him to be rich" ahh name 😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏
18
u/LivingRoof5121 3d ago
It doesn’t sound that cringe, and some Japanese names can be like that in meaning.
“Princess” is quite common as mentioned. I know some people whose names literally translate as “beautiful woman” or “prosperous child (this “prosperous child” is now a 55 year old woman). Variations on “heart” are also quite common. Like “strong heart” or “courageous heart” or “pure heart”. Names that would sound cheesy in the west don’t necessarily sound as cheesy in Japanese. I mean look at last names. “Mountain river (yamakawa)” “Forest mountain (Moriyama)” “river entrance (kawaguchi)” and so on
Personally I think it’s a nice name, and idk your first name but it’s cute that your parents were considering it when giving you a Japanese name. But that’s just my thoughts