"your real japanese name generator!"

[bettega 431]

I tried this site and liked the result. To my japanese-speaker-friends: is it a like it said, tha kanji are right? It sound real japanese?

羽鳥 Hatori (feather bird) 海斗 Kaito (big dipper of the ocean)

(I know that's not a serious translation and all :-) - but i liked the sound of it "Hatori Kaito" and, maybe, will change my forum name to it)

[Mukonoso 273]

When I lived in Japan (20+ years ago) I had to take my wife's family name to open a bank account. The only bank in the neighborhood that had an English ATM required me to have an inkan (family name stamp) for official transactions involving paperwork. So during that time I was John Kawata.

EDIT: Generator says my name is Nakajima Kazuma

Edited July 15, 2014 by Mukonoso

[Couginishiki 33]

中島 Nakashima (center of the island) 籍真 Kazuma (take part in reality).

Wishful thinking with Kazuma...

[Jakusotsu 6,050]

So, Mukonoso and Couginishiki share the same name? Something must be broken...

[torquato 1,075]

中島 Nakashima (center of the island)

Shouldn't this rather be 'central island'? Mmmh...

I wonder how this generator works. Some names apparently are translation of its meaning, at least where the meaning is known. Where it is unknown (at least for this generator) ist seams to pick up something that starts with the same phonetics... or even emitts just some complete random stuff... Well. Nothing really to rely on. ;)

[Manekineko 200]

First problem - I input my name in the normal Given - Surname order, and the result is in Japanese (Surname - Given) order. That wouldn't be a problem if the software reversed the input, but it doesn't, so my (hypothetical) sister would have the same name (Manami) but different surname (Nakamura ws Fujimoto).

Secondly, I suppose the translation stuff only really works for English/US names.

Thirdly, all the names so far sound suspiciously nice and flattering... ;-)

Edit: additional testing resulted in same given name for me and two(!) of my aunts, although our names are not that similar at all. Also both my surname and my mother's maiden surname give "Nakashima"...

Edited July 15, 2014 by Manekineko

[Jakusotsu 6,050]

Reminds me of the little program I once did, called "prophet", which answered any question with either yes or no. B-)

[torquato 1,075]

Reminds me of the little program I once did, called "prophet", which answered any question with either yes or no. B-)

LOL. Playing around a bit with various names it seems that this isn't that far streched from reality.

The English 'Smith' becomes 坂本 Sakamoto and its German equivalent 'Schmidt' results into 石丸 Ishimaru. I cant't think of any reason for this - neither phonologically nor by meaning - besides the bare fact that theese are just ordinary Japanese names. Mmmh... maybe the number of shared letters in the Latin alphabet..?

The given translation of Sakamoto is worth being cited: "坂本 Sakamoto (book of the hill)".

"book of the hill" really? Are they serious!??? Sure, Japan 日本国 is the "book of the sun country", what else... :-D

PS: ran out of likes today. Your programm would have been worth an other one... ;-)

[Mukonoso 273]

So, Mukonoso and Couginishiki share the same name? Something must be broken...

I had used my real name on the generator. If I used my shikona I got 猿渡 Saruwatari (monkey on a crossing bridge) 一樹 Kazuki (one wood)

[Couginishiki 33]

So, Mukonoso and Couginishiki share the same name? Something must be broken...

Separated at birth. Raised far apart. The Nakashima boys have a lot in common, a love of sumo and the remarkable ability to type.

But for two weeks during every odd month they become clairvoyant and *know* things that others can only speculate on: Hakuho will be in the yusho race this tournament. These revelations are really a curse. A curse only possible by the power of the Nakashima Effect.