View Message

[Opinions] Some Japanese names
Mika
Nana
Jun
Miwa
Yua
Noa
KiyonaWDYT?
Is them usable?
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

Nana is a nn for a grandmother her, so that's off the list (English speaking countries, at least).
Mika- This is also a Polish name, I believe. There's a reporter here, Mika Brzezinski, whose parents are from Poland.
Jun- looks like misspelling of June, but useable.
Noa- looks like mispelling of Noah, but useable.
Miwa and Kiyona don't remind me of anything, so I can see people just saying "foreign name", so they're useable.
vote up1
I like Jun, Kiyona, and Nana. I would think they would be usable, and shouldn't have too many pronunciation issues. (I fully admit I like Nana because of the NANA manga.)
vote up1
Mika - Definitely usable, but my first association is with the camp male singer by that name.
Nana - Very granny-ish in an English-speaking context, but it could work.
Jun - Well it's pronounced just like June, so probably usable, though I bet a lot of people would pronounce it JUHN from the spelling.
Miwa - Cute, but I think it would sound strange in a non-Japanese context. I prefer Misa.
Yua - Perhaps best left to people of that culture. In English usage it sounds very East Asian (I think there's a Hmong girl in Gran Torino called this) and might cause "you are..." jokes. I prefer Yuna (Yuuna).
Noa - Usable and I like it. Unfortunately people might assume it's a male name because of Noah.
Kiyona - Quite nice, though I'd spell it Kiona so people would be more likely to get the pronunciation right.

This message was edited 10/20/2012, 9:19 AM

vote up1
Nana is usable for ya grandma lol!!
vote up1
So negative?
I can see a cool name rock girl name Nana though..
vote up1
I don't think that most people have a negative opinion on grandmas. It's just that whenever you hear Nana, you assume someone is looking for an old woman.
vote up1