Japanese Name Generator

Type your name into the free AI tool and it returns your name in Japanese two ways: the standard katakana spelling (the phonetically correct form every Japanese person would recognize) and a set of kanji ateji options — characters chosen to match the sound, each with its literal meaning, stroke count, and a tattoo-suitability rating. You pick the version that fits your intent.

Katakana is the linguistically correct default. Foreign names in Japan are written in katakana because they are phonetic, not meaning-based — this is how your name appears on a Japanese ID, business card, or news article. Kanji versions (ateji) are an optional, creative choice: they spell the sound using meaningful characters. They look striking on a tattoo but are not how your name is 'officially' written, so it is important to choose characters that read cleanly to a native speaker.

Yes. Generating your name in katakana and kanji, seeing the character meanings, and previewing tattoo fonts are all free. We only charge for an optional human-verified Tattoo-Ready Report if you want a native speaker to sign off before you ink.

It depends on the characters. A few Western names overlap with real Japanese names (for example Sarah → 沙羅), and those read perfectly. Most names are pure ateji, where the goal is characters that sound right and avoid embarrassing literal meanings. The tool flags risky characters (like ones that read as 'plate' or 'death') and favors human-name kanji, so the result stays natural rather than nonsensical.

That is exactly what inkanji is built for. Each result includes stroke counts, a tattoo-suitability rating, font previews in six tattoo styles, and warnings about characters to avoid. For permanent ink we recommend the optional native-speaker verification so you can be certain before committing.