When a person of the samurai caste is born, they are given the same sort of names that peasants usually are-- very simple names. These names usually take one of a few forms. Choose one of these forms to create your characters name.

The first form is the birth order of the child.
1. Ichi
2. Ni
3. San
4. Yon
5. Go

For girls the name would end with a "ko" or "ka" or "ta" or "mi" while boys names with end with a "ji" or "ro" or "to" or "hito" or "jiro"

The second form would refer to when the child was born.

Spring - Haru
Summer - Natsu
Fall - Aki
Winter - Fuyu

Morning - Asa
Afternoon - Hiru
Evening/Night - Yuu

Once again, for girls the name would end with a "ko" or "ka" or "ta" or "mi" while boys names with end with a "ji" or "ro" or "to" or "hito" or "jiro"

The third form is to name the child after a virtue, either one of the virtues of bushido or one of the virtues of the 8 Fortunes. These names (with the exception of beauty and love) are generally more common for boys but could be considered gender neutral.

Compassion - Jin
Courage - Yuu
Courtesy - Rei
Loyalty - Chuu
Honor - Mei
Righteousness - Yoshi
Sincerity - Makoto

Strength - Riki
Wisdom - Chie
Beauty - Bi/Mi
Honest Work - Hiru
Wealth - Tomi
Love - Ai
Contentment - Kou
Longevity - Nobu

There names sometimes have the same suffixes listed in the first two examples, but just as often do not use them.


The fourth naming convention really only applies to girls-- it is not uncommon to name girls after flowers. In fact "Sakura" is the single most common name for little girls in Rokugan. In addition to flowers, trees and snow are also commonly used.

Apricot/Plum Blossom - Ume
Chery Blossom - Sakura
Chrysanthemum - Kiku
Lily - Yuri
Peach Blossom - Momo
Violet - Sumire
Wisteria - Fuji
Snow - Yuki
Maple - Kaede
Pine - Matsu
Camelia - Tsubaki
Snow - Yuki

These names usually don't have any sufficxes, but sometime "ko" or "ka" is added. Such as "Fujiko" or "Momoka".

When one passes their gempukku (coming of age test/ceremony) then a full fledged samurai will choose their own name that will generally consist of two characters and be 3 to 4 syllables long. It is not unheard of for them to still consist of some of the elements listed here.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:44, Thu 11 Feb 2021.