MEANING & HISTORY
What does Kenji mean?
Kenji is a Japanese personal-name reading with several written forms. A common ji character means two, but other characters and combinations occur.
Ken can likewise represent different roots. The Latin spelling is a reading, not a complete character-level etymology. A second-son interpretation therefore requires the appropriate actual characters and cannot be assumed for every Kenji.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ˈkend͡ʒi/Standard-Tagalog
- [ˈk̠ɛn̪.d͡ʒɪ]Standard-Tagalog
- /ˈkend͡ʒiʔ/Standard-Tagalog
- [ˈk̠ɛn̪.d͡ʒɪʔ]Standard-Tagalog
- /ˈkendji/no palatal assimilation
- [ˈk̠ɛn̪.d̪jɪ]no palatal assimilation
- /ˈkendjiʔ/no palatal assimilation
- [ˈk̠ɛn̪.d̪jɪʔ]no palatal assimilation
Ken · ji2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Spanish
- /ˈkenʝi/
- [ˈkẽɲ.ɟ͡ʝi]
- /ˈkenʃi/
- [ˈkẽnʲ.ʃi]
- /ˈkenʒi/
- [ˈkẽnʲ.ʒi]
Ken · ji2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from Hepburn romaji of Japanese けんじ (Kenji).
a male given name from Japanese
EnglishEtymology & source
Borrowed from Japanese けんじ (Kenji).
A male given name from Japanese.
SpanishEtymology & source
Borrowed from Japanese けんじ (Kenji).
a male given name from Japanese
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Kenji
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Kenji Tashiro
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
1
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Kenji Tashiro
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Kenji in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Related forms & spellings
Related forms may have their own language histories. They are not included in this spelling’s PSA count.
Similar names to Kenji
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Kelli♀Variant of Kelly, from an Irish name or surname
- Ken♂Short form of Kenneth; also an independent Japanese name
- Kennie♀A familiar form associated with Kenny
- Kenot♂Ken with the familiar ending ot
- Kent·From the English county-name surname
- Kenzo♂Japanese Kenzō; kanji determine the sense
- Keiko♀Japanese name with character-dependent meanings
- Keith♂From a Scottish place name, probably linked with woodland
What rhymes with Kenji?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Explore Kenji further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q131417136 — Kenji (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Kenji Tashiro (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q131417136 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Kenji (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Kenji (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Kenji (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Kenji (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.
- Behind the Name: kenji (opens in a new tab)
Independent onomastic comparison and qualifications to the proposed origin.