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Evidence-led referenceJapanese names, readings and kanji
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ReferenceNamesKen'ichi
Canonical reference record
JMnedict-backedKANJIDIC2 character context
Japanese given name

Ken'ichi

けん一

Given-name classification varies across source records.

けんいちケンイチKen'ichi
Compare spellings
Reference coverage

Extended source depth

This reading group has a comparatively broad dictionary footprint across source-recorded spellings or records. The counts describe corpus coverage, not real-world popularity.

Distinct recorded spellings42

group-level written forms

Source spelling/reading rows42

records contributing to this reading group

Coverage levelExtended

based only on the imported source footprint

Pronunciation & romanization

How to read Ken'ichi

The kana reading is source-recorded. Romanization and mora segmentation are deterministic reading aids generated from that kana; pitch accent is not inferred.

Source readingけんいち

Normalized to hiragana for comparison.

Katakana formケンイチ

The same reading converted to katakana.

RomanizationKen'ichi

Macron-style display. Vowel-sequence form: Ken'ichi. Personal spelling and true vowel boundaries can differ.

Mora segmentationけ · ん · い · ち

4 morae in this reading. Small ゃ/ゅ/ょ-type kana join the preceding mora.

Audio note: the play button uses Japanese text-to-speech provided by the visitor’s browser/device. It is a convenience preview, not a recorded native-speaker pronunciation or pitch-accent authority.

Reading profile

How Ken'ichi is represented

These counts describe records in the imported name corpus. They are not a ranking of how popular a spelling is among people in Japan.

Recorded kana readings1

けんいち

Kanji-based spellings42

among the forms analyzed on this page

Kana characters4

in the primary dictionary reading

Morae4

small ゃ/ゅ/ょ-type kana combine with the preceding mora

1-kanji forms1

recorded spelling

2-kanji forms41

recorded spellings

JMnedict classification evidence

How this reading is classified in the source corpus

This separates dictionary classification from popularity. The same exact kana reading can be recorded as a given name, a surname, or both, and given-name records can carry male, female or unspecified source labels.

Primary reading recorded asGiven name + surname

けんいち in the imported JMnedict corpus

Given-name written forms52

52 source spelling/reading rows

Surname written forms1

1 source spelling/reading row

Given-name labelsmale 6 · unspecified 46

row counts carrying each JMnedict source label

Exact readingGiven-name evidenceGiven-name labelsSurname evidence
けんいちKen'ichi5252 source rowsmale 6 · unspecified 46source rows · distinct forms: male 6 · unspecified 4611 source row

Classification boundary: male/female/unspecified are labels attached to imported JMnedict name records. They are not population shares, probabilities, identity claims, or evidence that a spelling is currently common in Japan. A source row can also be repeated across different written forms, so row counts and distinct-writing counts are shown separately.

Spelling anatomy

Corpus structure behind Ken'ichi

This section summarizes the exact source-recorded forms loaded for this reading group. Stroke and character-position statistics are descriptive corpus properties, not popularity or style scores.

Kanji forms with complete stroke data42

1–24 strokes observed span

Median total strokes15

among forms with complete KANJIDIC2 stroke data

All-kanji name-classified forms36

all component kanji loaded as jōyō/jinmeiyō classes

Other/unclassified kanji forms6

contains at least one character outside that loaded classification

Source-reading distribution
ReadingRomanizationMoraeForms
けんいちKen'ichi442
Reading ambiguity

Can the same writing be read another way?

5 of 42 displayed written forms have more than one given-name reading somewhere in the active JMnedict corpus. This is dictionary-record ambiguity, not a prediction of how a particular person reads the name.

Written forms checked42

distinct spellings displayed on this page

Multiple recorded readings5

exact written forms with 2+ source readings

Single recorded reading37

within this active given-name corpus

Largest reading set3

distinct kana readings for one displayed writing

兼一
3 source-recorded readings
KaneichiかねいちKanekazuかねかずKen'ichiけんいち · this page
権一
2 source-recorded readings
Ken'ichiけんいち · this pageGon'ichiごんいち

A reading shown without a link is still source-recorded, but its destination group does not currently meet the canonical publication standard. Strong reference pages do not promote limited records merely to create extra internal links.

Kanji role reference

How recurring characters function across Ken'ichi spellings

Position counts are calculated only from the distinct written forms analyzed for this page. KANJIDIC2 nanori are character-level name-reading references; they are not used here to decompose or assert the reading of a specific multi-kanji name.

KanjiCharacter glossesFormsFirstFinalInternalSoloStrokesKANJIDIC2 nanoriLoaded class
一one, one radical (no.1)27027001かず, い, いっ, いる +7Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 1
市market, city, town10010005い, ちJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 2
健healthy, health, strength4400011かつ, たけ, たけし, たて +3Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
憲constitution, law3300016かず, のり, よしJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 6
賢intelligent, wise, wisdom3300016かた, さか, さと, さとし +6Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
壱one (in documents)202007い, かずJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
弌one202004はじめ, ひと, ひとつUnclassified in the loaded KANJIDIC grade field
兼concurrently, and, beforehand2200010かねJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
堅strict, hard, solid2200012きんJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
建build220009たけ, たつ, たてJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
研polish, study of, sharpen220009のりJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
硯inkstone2200012—Jinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 9

Counts describe this source-recorded spelling set, not population use. A repeated kanji can contribute to more than one position role across different spellings.

Exact writing research map

Move from a spelling to its readings, characters and literal sequence context

These relationships are exact and source-backed. Whole-name readings shown in each card come from JMnedict within the current name class; exact-writing search can surface records from other name classes. Character links open KANJIDIC2-backed kanji pages. Sequence context means the same kanji string occurs contiguously in another recorded written form—it does not prove shared origin or meaning.

Showing research maps for the first 10 distinct written forms out of 42. Every detailed spelling card below still links to exact-writing search and its component kanji.

For VPS safety, contiguous-sequence lookups are limited to six 2–4 kanji forms per canonical page and cached for 12 hours per active JMnedict generation.

Corpus pattern

Kanji recurring across Ken'ichi spellings

Only characters appearing in at least two distinct analyzed spellings are shown here. Frequency describes this source-recorded spelling set, not real-world baby-name popularity.

一one, one radical (no.1)27 of 42 analyzed forms市market, city, town10 of 42 analyzed forms健healthy, health, strength4 of 42 analyzed forms憲constitution, law3 of 42 analyzed forms賢intelligent, wise, wisdom3 of 42 analyzed forms壱one (in documents)2 of 42 analyzed forms弌one2 of 42 analyzed forms兼concurrently, and, beforehand2 of 42 analyzed forms堅strict, hard, solid2 of 42 analyzed forms建build2 of 42 analyzed forms
Same reading, different writing

Explore written forms of Ken'ichi

42 source-recorded forms use the primary source reading けんいち. Other source readings can appear in this romanized group when the imported records converge on the same index form. Use Compare to inspect exact spellings side by side.

Spelling comparator

Compare Ken'ichi forms side by side

Each exact written spelling appears once in this table even when JMnedict records more than one reading for that writing. Stroke totals and character glosses come from KANJIDIC2 when all component kanji are available.

SpellingOne source readingCharacter-level glossesTotal strokesLoaded character class
けん一けんいち一 — one, one radical (no.1)1All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
乾一けんいち乾 — drought, dry · 一 — one, one radical (no.1)12All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健一けんいち健 — healthy, health · 一 — one, one radical (no.1)12All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健壱けんいち健 — healthy, health · 壱 — one (in documents)18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健市けんいち健 — healthy, health · 市 — market, city16All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健弌けんいち健 — healthy, health · 弌 — one15Includes unclassified/outside loaded jōyō-jinmeiyō class
兼一けんいち兼 — concurrently, and · 一 — one, one radical (no.1)11All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
兼市けんいち兼 — concurrently, and · 市 — market, city15All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
剣一けんいち剣 — sabre, sword · 一 — one, one radical (no.1)11All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
堅一けんいち堅 — strict, hard · 一 — one, one radical (no.1)13All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
堅市けんいち堅 — strict, hard · 市 — market, city17All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
巻一けんいち巻 — scroll, volume · 一 — one, one radical (no.1)10All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
建一けんいち建 — build · 一 — one, one radical (no.1)10All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
建逸けんいち建 — build · 逸21All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
憲一けんいち憲 — constitution, law · 一 — one, one radical (no.1)17All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
憲市けんいち憲 — constitution, law · 市 — market, city21All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified

The comparison table shows the first 16 distinct written forms; the detailed cards above show up to 80 spelling/reading records.

What does Ken'ichi mean?

There is not necessarily one fixed English meaning. The reading identifies the spoken name; different written forms can use different kanji. Character glosses describe individual kanji and should not be treated as proof of the intention behind a particular person’s name.

Related readings

More names beginning with けん

Related by the opening kana of the dictionary reading. This is a deterministic browsing relationship, not a claim that the names share the same meaning.

Given name · male · limited reference

Kenji

145 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kennosuke

85 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kenichirō

71 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kenjirō

61 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · mixed records · limited reference

Kensuke

53 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kentarō

52 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Genjirō

45 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Gennosuke

42 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Gensaburō

41 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kenzō

41 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Genichirō

34 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · mixed records · limited reference

Kenshi

33 recorded spellings

Explore →
Continue research

Where to go next from Ken'ichi

Use literal reading, character and corpus relationships to continue without treating nearby records as automatically related.

Exact reading

Search けんいち

See source records matching this kana reading or beginning with it.

Continue →Reading family

Ke / け

Browse other public given names with the same opening reading family.

Continue →Character reference

一 — one, one radical (no.1)

Open the kanji page for readings, classifications and literal name-use context.

Continue →Character reference

市 — market, city

Open the kanji page for readings, classifications and literal name-use context.

Continue →Interactive discovery

Open Name Explorer

Use the same name type and 4-mora reading length as a starting point.

Continue →
Evidence on this page

What each source establishes

JMnedict establishes recorded written forms, readings and name classifications; where safely associated, this page can also show JMnedict-supplied trans_det source text without treating it as a whole-name meaning. KANJIDIC2 supplies character readings, nanori, stroke counts, grade classes and English character glosses. The Ministry of Justice remains the official reference for Japanese child-name character rules. The Agency for Cultural Affairs romanization guidance is the reference for generated Latin-script reading aids.

JMnedictChecked 17 Sep 2026Active data built 16 Sep 2026Stored status: downloaded
KANJIDIC2Checked 17 Sep 2026Active data built 17 Sep 2026
Japan Ministry of Justice — characters usable in children’s namesChecked 17 Sep 2026
Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs — Romanization Rules (2025)Checked 17 Sep 2026
Source boundary

The spelling-frequency and structural counts on this page are calculated from imported JMnedict records. They are corpus counts, not population-frequency claims. KANJIDIC2 supplies the kanji metadata used in character and stroke comparisons.

Review sources →