The short version: foreign names are written in katakana, and they are written by sound, not by spelling. Say your name aloud, then map each sound to the nearest Japanese syllable using nine rules: give every consonant a vowel, turn L and R into the ラ row, mark long vowels with ー, add a small ッ before a final hard consonant, use the extended combinations (ティ, ファ, ウィ, ジェ) for sounds Japanese lacks, and join first and last names with a middle dot ・. So Michael is マイケル, Emily is エミリー, Jack is ジャック and Carlos is カルロス.
Why your name looks strange at first, and why that is a good sign
The first time most learners see their name in katakana, there is a small shock. Christopher becomes クリストファー, six characters long. Matt becomes マット, with a mysterious little ッ. Lily and Riley start with the very same character. It can feel as if something has been lost.
Nothing has. Japanese has a fixed set of about a hundred syllables, and almost every one of them is a consonant followed by a vowel. English is full of consonant clusters (str, ngth) and final consonants that simply do not exist in Japanese. Katakana transcription is the art of drawing a faithful sound portrait of your name with that palette. When you understand the rules, the long version of your name stops looking clumsy and starts looking precise: every extra character is there because your name contains a sound that needed it.
The nine rules
These rules follow the conventions set out in the Japanese government’s official guideline on writing loanwords, 外来語の表記 (The Notation of Loanwords, Cabinet Notice No. 2 of 1991), which is still the reference used by newspapers, publishers and schools.
Transcribe the sound, not the letters
Say the name the way you say it at home, slowly. Silent letters disappear, and letters that sound the same are written the same.
Every consonant needs a vowel
Except for ン, Japanese has no bare consonants. A final or clustered consonant borrows a vowel: usually u, but o after t and d (because トゥ and ドゥ would change the sound), and sometimes i after ch and j sounds.
L and R both become the ラ row
Japanese has one liquid sound, a light tap somewhere between English L, R and D. Both letters map onto ラ, リ, ル, レ, ロ, so Larry and Harry end up rhyming perfectly.
Long vowels take ー, and a final “-er” becomes アー
The long bar stretches the vowel before it. Because Japanese loanwords were largely shaped by British pronunciation, an R after a vowel is not pronounced; instead the vowel is lengthened. This is why Peter is ピーター and not ピテル.
A short vowel before a final hard consonant gets a small ッ
The small ッ is a tiny pause that doubles the next consonant. It captures the clipped, punchy ending of names like Jack, which without it would sound soft and drawn out (ジャク). After a long vowel or a diphthong there is no ッ: Kate is ケイト, not ケイット.
The same small ッ appears all over Japanese; see long vowels and the small っ.
V becomes the バ row, or ヴ
Japanese has no native V sound. The traditional and still very common choice is the B row (バ, ビ, ブ, ベ, ボ); the 1991 guideline also allows ヴ (ヴァ, ヴィ, ヴェ, ヴォ) when the writer wants to signal the V. Both are correct; pick one and use it consistently.
TH becomes ス or ズ
The voiceless TH of think becomes the サ row, and the voiced TH of this becomes the ザ row. When TH is actually pronounced T, as in Thomas, it is written with the タ row.
Use the extended combinations for sounds Japanese lacks
Modern katakana combines a full-size character with a small vowel to build sounds that do not exist in native Japanese words. These are the ones names need most.
Join first and last name with the middle dot ・
Foreign names usually keep their original order, given name first, separated by ・ (nakaguro). On a form with separate boxes, each name goes in its own box.
Find your name: 130 names in katakana
Type your name or filter by language. These are the most widely used spellings in Japanese media and everyday writing; where two versions are common (David デビッド or デイビッド), either is correct.
Not in the list yet. Use the nine rules above: say it aloud, give every consonant a vowel, and mark long vowels with ー.
Chinese and Korean names: two different habits
Names from other character-using languages follow their own conventions in Japanese, and they show the golden rule from a different angle. Chinese names are traditionally written in kanji and read with Japanese readings: Japanese newspapers write 習近平 and read it しゅうきんぺい. Korean names, by contrast, are now usually given with their Korean pronunciation in katakana, often alongside the kanji: 文在寅 is ムン・ジェイン. Spanish and Italian names follow the ordinary sound rules, with one trap: the Spanish J is an H sound.
| Name | Katakana | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Juan, José | フアン, ホセ | Spanish J is pronounced like a strong H, so it takes the ハ row. |
| Giulia, Luca | ジュリア, ルカ | Italian gi is “j”; the rest follows the vowels exactly as written. |
| Kim, Park | キム, パク | Korean surnames by Korean pronunciation; the final consonant keeps its own beat (ム, ク). |
| Wang, Chen | ワン, チェン | When a Chinese name is given by Mandarin sound rather than by kanji. |
The five mistakes that make a name unrecognisable
ミケ (Mike) · シーアン (Sean)Katakana follows the sound. Mike is マイク, Sean is ショーン.
ピタ (Peter) · エミリ (Emily)Without ー, the vowel is short and the name sounds clipped: ピーター, エミリー.
ンフィー (Sophie) · ツャーロット (Charlotte)The classic katakana look-alikes. ソ and ン, シ and ツ differ only in the angle of their strokes, so a hurried hand turns ソフィー into ンフィー and シャーロット into ツャーロット.
じょん・すみすHiragana is for native Japanese words. A foreign name in hiragana looks childlike or deliberately cute.
ジョ・ンThe middle dot separates names, never syllables.
Can I write my name in kanji?
You can, and some learners love doing it, but it is worth knowing what it means. Choosing kanji whose readings match your name is called 当て字 (ateji). It is a creative, informal choice, not a translation: a Japanese reader will still expect a foreign name in katakana, and official documents use the Latin spelling on your passport. If you do choose kanji, check every character’s meaning, not only its sound. Many characters that sound right carry meanings you would not want in your name, which is exactly the problem behind most bad kanji tattoos.
On Japanese forms you will often see a line labelled フリガナ above the name box. That is where the reading goes, written in katakana; see the furigana guide for why the form asks for katakana there rather than hiragana.
Check yourself — six names
Pick the katakana a Japanese person would write.
Short vowel + final k → small ッ + ク: ジャック.
Long ee → ピー; final -er → ター.
L → リ, final y → long リー. (ライリー is Riley.)
Sound, not spelling: Sean is pronounced “Shawn”.
Spanish J is a strong H sound, so Juan is フアン.
ティ for “ti”, ファ for “fa”, long ニー at the end.
Quick reference
- Which script?
- Katakana, for all foreign names. Hiragana looks childish; kanji (ateji) is an informal creative choice.
- The golden rule
- Transcribe pronunciation, not spelling.
- The nine rules
- (1) sound not letters; (2) every consonant needs a vowel, u by default, o after t/d; (3) L and R → ラ row; (4) long vowels → ー, final -er → アー; (5) short vowel + final hard consonant → ッ; (6) V → バ row or ヴ; (7) TH → ス/ズ; (8) extended combinations ティ ディ ファ フィ ウィ ウェ ジェ シェ チェ; (9) given and family names joined with ・.
- Official reference
- 外来語の表記 (The Notation of Loanwords), Cabinet Notice No. 2, 1991.
- Examples
- Michael マイケル, Emily エミリー, Jack ジャック, Peter ピーター, William ウィリアム, Jennifer ジェニファー, Carlos カルロス, Juan フアン.
Related Reading on Kanjijo
Frequently Asked Questions
Foreign names are written in katakana, by sound rather than spelling. Say your name aloud, break it into sounds, and map each to the nearest Japanese syllable: every consonant except n needs a vowel after it, L and R both become the ラ row, long vowels take a bar ー, and a short vowel before a final hard consonant takes a small ッ. For example, Michael becomes マイケル, Emily エミリー and Jack ジャック.
Because katakana transcription follows pronunciation, and pronunciation varies. David can be デビッド or デイビッド, Victoria can be ビクトリア or ヴィクトリア, and Hannah can be ハンナ or ハナ. All of these can be correct. Choose the version closest to how you actually say your name, then use it consistently.
You can choose kanji whose sounds match your name (called ateji), and some people enjoy doing so, but it is not standard. Japanese people will read a foreign name in katakana as normal, and official documents use the spelling on your passport. If you choose kanji, check the meaning of every character carefully; many sound-matching kanji carry meanings you would not want attached to your name.
Both are accepted. ヴ (ヴァ, ヴィ, ヴェ, ヴォ) shows that the original has a V sound, while the バ row is simpler and very common in newspapers and everyday writing. Victoria is written both ヴィクトリア and ビクトリア. Pick the one you prefer and use it consistently.
With the middle dot ・ (nakaguro): ジョン・スミス for John Smith. Foreign names are usually kept in their original order, given name first. On forms with separate boxes you simply write each name in its own box, often with a フリガナ line for the reading.
- 内閣告示第二号「外来語の表記」 (Cabinet Notice No. 2, The Notation of Loanwords), 1991 — the official guideline for katakana transcription, including the extended combinations ティ, ファ, ウィ and ヴ.
- 文化庁 (Agency for Cultural Affairs), bunka.go.jp — publishes the notation guidelines for Japanese (国語施策).
Your name was the first word. Keep going.
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