Japanese Names Meaning Moon: 40+ Picks with Kanji (2026)

Japanese moon names are some of the most graceful in the language – short, soft, and built around a single character, 月, that has been written into poetry, festivals and folktales for over a thousand years. A name that means moon suits a night-born baby, a quiet and thoughtful child, or a fantasy character with a silver edge.

This guide collects 40+ Japanese names meaning moon for girls, boys and unisex use – Tsukiko, Mitsuki, Mikazuki, Tsukuyomi and rarer picks from the old lunar calendar. Almost every entry shows the kanji, because in Japanese the same sound can mean very different things depending on how it is written. Three honest notes before you start: the character 月 means both moon and month, so many so-called moon names (Hazuki, Satsuki) are really month names; Akari, Hikari and Hotaru are often listed as moon names but mean light and firefly; and Luna is Latin, not Japanese – the closest modern Japanese form is Runa.

Quick answer: the 12 best Japanese names meaning moon

Name	Kanji	Meaning	Why it works
Tsukiko	月子	Moon child	The classic – soft, traditional and instantly readable
Mitsuki	美月	Beautiful moon	One of the most popular moon names, easy for English speakers
Tsuki	月	Moon	The word itself – minimal and modern
Tsukino	月乃	Of the moon	Gentle, lyrical and rare abroad
Tsukiyo	月夜	Moonlit night	A name that sounds like a poem
Tsukika	月花	Moon flower	Pretty and distinctive without being hard to say
Mizuki	水月	Water moon	The moon reflected on water – a classic image in Japanese art
Yuzuki	優月	Gentle moon	A modern favorite in Japan
Mikazuki	三日月	Crescent moon	Works for any gender and looks striking on a character
Izayoi	十六夜	Sixteenth night	The moon one night after full – rare and dramatic
Kaguya	かぐや	The moon princess	From Japan’s oldest tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
Tsukuyomi	月読	The moon god	The Shinto deity of the moon – bold and mythic

Girl names meaning moon

Most Japanese moon names lean feminine, and the strongest are built from 月 plus one other character. The kanji matter: a name like Mizuki can be written many ways, and only some of them mean moon.

Name	Kanji	Meaning & notes
Tsukiko	月子	Moon child (tsuki + ko, child). The -ko ending is the traditional Japanese girl-name suffix
Tsukino	月乃	Of the moon (tsuki + no, possessive). As a surname, 月野 means moon field – the family name of Usagi Tsukino in Sailor Moon
Tsukika	月花	Moon flower (tsuki + ka, flower)
Tsukiyo	月夜	Moonlit night; also an everyday Japanese word for a night lit by the moon
Mitsuki	美月	Beautiful moon (mi, beautiful + tsuki). Used for girls and boys; the same sound is written with other kanji too
Mizuki	水月	Water moon (mizu + tsuki). Mizuki is also written with kanji that do not mean moon at all, so check the characters
Yuzuki	優月	Gentle moon (yu, gentle + tsuki). Other spellings include 柚月 (yuzu citrus + moon) and 結月 (tie + moon)
Hazuki	葉月	Leaf month – the traditional name of the eighth lunar month (roughly August). A month name that uses the moon character
Kaguya	かぐや	The heroine of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a princess from the moon. The exact origin of the word is debated by scholars
Runa	varies	A modern pick – the Japanese form of Luna. Some parents write it with 月 (moon) and give the character an imported reading, part of the kirakira naming trend
Mikazuki	三日月	Crescent moon, literally the third-day moon (mika + zuki)
Oboro	朧	Hazy, misty – the word for a moon veiled in spring haze (oborozuki)
Izayoi	十六夜	Sixteenth night – the moon on the night after full, said to rise a little hesitantly
Gekka	月下	Under the moon. Gekka Bijin (月下美人) is the night-blooming cereus, a flower that opens only at night

Boy names meaning moon

Honesty time: literal moon names are rarer for boys in Japan, so this list is shorter and leans on myth, moon words and poetic compounds – every entry below is real.

Name	Kanji	Meaning & notes
Tsukuyomi	月読	The Shinto god of the moon, brother of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Usually depicted as male in the oldest chronicles. Better suited to characters than newborns
Gekko	月光	Moonlight (pronounced gekko; it is also the Japanese name for Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata)
Tsukikage	月影	Moonlight. In classical Japanese, kage means light as well as shadow, so the word reads as the glow of the moon
Mangetsu	満月	Full moon
Shingetsu	新月	New moon
Mikazuki	三日月	Crescent moon – also a historic name, borne by a famous medieval sword

Unisex names meaning moon

Name	Kanji	Meaning & notes
Tsuki	月	Moon. Short, balanced and easy in any language
Mitsuki	美月	Beautiful moon. Common for girls; also used for boys
Mizuki	水月	Water moon. Mizuki is used for both genders in Japan, with different kanji
Yuzuki	優月	Gentle moon – leans feminine but is used for either
Mikazuki	三日月	Crescent moon
Izayoi	十六夜	Sixteenth night – rare and gender-neutral

Moon phases and moonlight words

Japanese has a precise vocabulary for each stage of the moon. Several of these words are used as names, and the rest make beautiful middle names or character names.

Word	Kanji	Meaning & notes
Shingetsu	新月	New moon
Mikazuki	三日月	Crescent, literally third-day moon
Jogen	上弦	First quarter, the moon like a drawn bow with the string up
Mangetsu	満月	Full moon
Izayoi	十六夜	Sixteenth night, the first night after the full moon
Kagen	下弦	Last quarter
Meigetsu	名月	The famed moon – the harvest moon admired at Tsukimi
Oborozuki	朧月	The hazy moon of spring evenings
Tsukiakari	月明かり	Moonlight – the soft light of the moon on the ground

Moon-month names from the old Japanese calendar

Because 月 means both moon and month, the traditional names of the twelve lunar months are a rich source of names. They are not strictly moon meanings, but they carry the character and many are in real use. The old months run about four to six weeks behind the modern ones, so the dates below are approximate.

Name	Kanji	Meaning & notes
Mutsuki	睦月	Month of harmony – the first month, roughly January
Kisaragi	如月	The second month, roughly February; a poetic name with an uncertain origin
Yayoi	弥生	Growing, thriving – the third month, roughly March
Uzuki	卯月	Hare month (the hare is the zodiac sign of the old fourth month); the name is often linked to the deutzia flower, unohana – the fourth month, roughly April
Satsuki	皐月	The fifth month, roughly May – the name of a girl in the film My Neighbor Totoro
Minazuki	水無月	The sixth month, roughly June – written as water-less month though it falls in the rainy season
Fumizuki	文月	Letter month, the seventh month, roughly July
Hazuki	葉月	Leaf month, the eighth month, roughly August
Nagatsuki	長月	Long month, the ninth month, roughly September
Kannazuki	神無月	The month without gods – the tenth month, roughly October, when the gods are said to gather at Izumo shrine
Shimotsuki	霜月	Frost month, the eleventh month, roughly November
Shiwasu	師走	The twelfth month, roughly December – the one month name that does not use 月

Moon gods, folklore and stories

Fiction writers come alive here. Each entry comes from real Japanese tradition. If you like dark and mystical sources, our kitsune female names guide covers the fox spirits of the same folklore.

Name	Tradition	Story & notes
Tsukuyomi (Tsukuyomi no Mikoto)	Shinto	The moon deity, born from the right eye of Izanagi alongside the sun goddess Amaterasu and the storm god Susanoo. Read more on Wikipedia
Kaguya-hime	Folk tale	The moon princess found inside a glowing bamboo stalk, who must return to the moon in the end
Tsuki no Usagi	Folklore	The moon rabbit. In Japan the rabbit on the moon is seen pounding mochi rice cake
Usagi	Folklore	Rabbit – the first name of the heroine of Sailor Moon, and a rare real name
Tsukimi	Festival	Moon viewing – the autumn custom of admiring the harvest moon with dumplings and pampas grass, held in September or October. See Tsukimi on Wikipedia
Gekka Bijin	Botany	Beauty under the moon – the night-blooming cereus flower
Tsuki Hyakushi (月百姿)	Art	The title of the ukiyo-e print series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon by the artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi – an art reference rather than a name, but a rich source of moon scenes and character ideas

Surnames built on the moon

Surname	Kanji	Meaning & notes
Tsukino	月野	Moon field
Tsukishima	月島	Moon island – also the name of a district in Tokyo
Tsukioka	月岡	Moon hill
Tsukimoto	月本	Origin of the moon

Build your own moon name: the kanji toolkit

Japanese names are assembled from characters, so you can build moon names yourself. Start with 月 and add one of these.

Kanji	Reading	Meaning	Example name
月	tsuki, getsu	Moon, month	Tsuki
子	ko	Child	Tsukiko
夜	yo	Night	Tsukiyo
美	mi	Beautiful	Mitsuki
花	ka, hana	Flower	Tsukika
乃	no	Of (possessive)	Tsukino
優	yu	Gentle	Yuzuki
水	mizu	Water	Mizuki

How to choose a Japanese moon name

Choose the kanji, not just the sound. Mizuki and Mitsuki are written many ways, and only some mean moon. Write the characters down before you commit – the meaning lives in the kanji.

Check how it sounds outside Japan. Tsuki, Mitsuki and Mizuki are easy for English speakers. Tsukiyo and Tsukuyomi take a moment longer – not a problem, just something to know.

Treat gods with respect. Tsukuyomi is a real Shinto deity. On a character it adds depth; on a baby it invites questions, which may be exactly what you want.

Pair moon with another element. Moon names go beautifully with names from the rest of the sky: see our names that mean night and boy names that mean light for matching middle names.

Our takes: the best moon name for every situation

For a baby girl: Tsukiko or Mitsuki – classic, graceful and easy to wear abroad.

For a baby boy: Tsuki or Mikazuki – short, balanced and unmistakably lunar.

For a character: Tsukuyomi, Kaguya or Izayoi – names with built-in mythology.

For the bold: Oboro, Gekka or Kannazuki – rare, atmospheric and full of story.

FAQs about Japanese names meaning moon

What is the Japanese word for moon? Tsuki (月). In compound words the same character is read getsu, as in getsuyobi, the word for Monday – literally moon day.

What Japanese girl name means moon? Tsukiko (moon child), Mitsuki (beautiful moon) and Tsukino (of the moon) are the classics, with Yuzuki and Mizuki as modern favorites.

Is Mizuki a moon name? Only when written with moon kanji, such as 水月 (water moon). Mizuki is also written with kanji that mean other things, so the meaning depends on the characters chosen.

Is Luna a Japanese name? No – Luna is Latin for moon. The closest Japanese form is Runa, which some parents write with the moon character.

Who is the Japanese god of the moon? Tsukuyomi, the Shinto moon deity. He is usually described as male in the oldest chronicles and is the brother of the sun goddess Amaterasu.

Is Hazuki a moon name? It is a month name: 葉月 means leaf month, the traditional label for the eighth lunar month. It uses the moon character, which also means month.

What Japanese name means full moon? Mangetsu (満月) is the word for the full moon, used mostly as a character name. For a given name, Mitsuki and Tsuki are the more natural everyday choices.

More names to explore

The moon never rises alone – here is the rest of the sky family:

• Names That Mean Night – the dark the moon lights up
• Boy Names That Mean Light – the glow of the moon and beyond
• Names That Mean Dark – the other side of a new moon
• Names That Mean Shadow – what the moon throws across the ground
• Names That Mean Cold – the chill of a clear winter night
• Names That Mean Ice – frost under the moon
• Names That Mean Storm – when the moon hides
• Names That Mean Blessing – for a baby born under a lucky moon
• Silver Names – the metal of the moon
• Browse every meaning on the Name Meanings hub – updated weekly

Beyond Japan, the moon has names in dozens of languages: see our broader guide to names that mean moon for Latin, Arabic, Sanskrit, Hawaiian and more.