人名(じんめい)

Composed of 人(じん) (person) + 名(めい) (name). A formal, categorical term used when discussing names as a topic — in everyday conversation, 名前(なまえ) (name) is far more common.

Common collocations

• 人名(じんめい)辞典(じてん) — dictionary of personal names
• 人名(じんめい)用(よう)漢字(かんじ) — kanji approved for use in names
• 人名(じんめい)録(ろく) — name register; directory of people
• 人名(じんめい)の由来(ゆらい) — origin of a person's name

Similar words

• 名前(なまえ) — name (everyday term; can refer to any name, not just people's)
• 氏名(しめい) — full name (formal; used on forms and documents)
• 姓名(せいめい) — family name and given name (formal pair)
• 人命(じんめい) — human life (same reading but different kanji and meaning)

Cultural note

In Japan, 人名(じんめい)用(よう)漢字(かんじ) (name-use kanji) is a legally defined set of characters that can be used in given names. Parents must choose characters from this list or the 常用漢字(じょうようかんじ) when registering a child's name.