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Evidence-led referenceJapanese names, readings and kanji
littleden.blogJapanese name reference
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ReferenceNamesKenji
Canonical reference record
JMnedict-backedKANJIDIC2 character context
Japanese given name

Kenji

ケンジ

Given-name classification varies across source records.

けんじケンジKenji
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 spellings145

group-level written forms

Source spelling/reading rows145

records contributing to this reading group

Coverage levelExtended

based only on the imported source footprint

Pronunciation & romanization

How to read Kenji

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けんじ

Normalized to hiragana for comparison.

Katakana formケンジ

The same reading converted to katakana.

RomanizationKenji

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

Mora segmentationけ · ん · じ

3 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 Kenji 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 readings3

けんじ · ケンジ · ケンヂ

Kanji-based spellings143

among the forms analyzed on this page

Kana characters3

in the primary dictionary reading

Morae3

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

Kana-only2

recorded spellings

1-kanji forms1

recorded spelling

2-kanji forms142

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

けんじ in the imported JMnedict corpus

Given-name written forms199

215 source spelling/reading rows

Surname written forms14

14 source spelling/reading rows

Given-name labelsmale 60 · female 2 · unspecified 153

row counts carrying each JMnedict source label

Exact readingGiven-name evidenceGiven-name labelsSurname evidence
けんじKenji199215 source rowsmale 60 · female 2 · unspecified 153source rows · distinct forms: male 56 · female 2 · unspecified 1471414 source rows
けんちKenchi55 source rowsunspecified 5source rows · distinct forms: unspecified 599 source rows
けんじKenji00 source rows—source rows · distinct forms: —00 source rows
けんぢKenji00 source rows—source rows · distinct forms: —00 source rows

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 Kenji

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 data143

2–31 strokes observed span

Median total strokes18

among forms with complete KANJIDIC2 stroke data

All-kanji name-classified forms134

all component kanji loaded as jōyō/jinmeiyō classes

Other/unclassified kanji forms9

contains at least one character outside that loaded classification

Source-reading distribution
ReadingRomanizationMoraeForms
けんじKenji3144
けんぢKenji31
Reading ambiguity

Can the same writing be read another way?

28 of 80 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 checked80

distinct spellings displayed on this page

Multiple recorded readings28

exact written forms with 2+ source readings

Single recorded reading52

within this active given-name corpus

Largest reading set8

distinct kana readings for one displayed writing

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 Kenji 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
健healthy, health, strength242400011かつ, たけ, たけし, たて +3Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
二two, two radical (no. 7)23023002おと, つぐ, つぎ, にい +5Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 1
次next, order, sequence18018006き, すき, つぐ, よしJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
賢intelligent, wise, wisdom171700016かた, さか, さと, さとし +6Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
治reign, be at peace, calm down13013008し, ぢ, はり, はる +1Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
研polish, study of, sharpen13130009のりJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
司director, official, govt office11011005つ, つか, つかさJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
憲constitution, law111100016かず, のり, よしJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 6
謙self-effacing, humble oneself, condescend101000017かね, ゆずるJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
児newborn babe, child, young of animals808007るJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
士gentleman, scholar, samurai808003お, まJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 5
兼concurrently, and, beforehand8800010かねJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8

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.

Exact written form

ケンジ

Search exact writing →
Source-recorded full-name readings in this name class
Kenjiけんじ · this page
Characters in order
ケKanaンKanaジKana
Exact written form

ケンヂ

Search exact writing →
Source-recorded full-name readings in this name class
Kenjiけんぢ · this page
Characters in order
ケKanaンKanaヂKana

Showing research maps for the first 10 distinct written forms out of 145. 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 Kenji 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.

健healthy, health, strength24 of 145 analyzed forms二two, two radical (no. 7)23 of 145 analyzed forms次next, order, sequence18 of 145 analyzed forms賢intelligent, wise, wisdom17 of 145 analyzed forms治reign, be at peace, calm down13 of 145 analyzed forms研polish, study of, sharpen13 of 145 analyzed forms司director, official, govt office11 of 145 analyzed forms憲constitution, law11 of 145 analyzed forms謙self-effacing, humble oneself, condescend10 of 145 analyzed forms児newborn babe, child, young of animals8 of 145 analyzed forms
Same reading, different writing

Explore written forms of Kenji

144 source-recorded forms use the primary source reading けんじ. 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.

ケンジ

ケンジ · Kenji

Katakana ケンジMorae 3Strokes —

This written form uses kana rather than kanji, so there are no character-level kanji glosses to combine.

Character-set checkKana spelling
Search this exact writing

ケンヂ

ケンヂ · Kenji

Katakana ケンヂMorae 3Strokes —

This written form uses kana rather than kanji, so there are no character-level kanji glosses to combine.

Character-set checkKana spelling
Search this exact writing

Showing the first 80 spelling/reading records out of 145 loaded records for this reading group. The group contains 145 distinct written spellings.

Spelling comparator

Compare Kenji 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
ケンジケンジKana-only spelling—Kana spelling
ケンヂケンヂKana-only spelling—Kana spelling
けん二けんじ二 — two, two radical (no. 7)2All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
一二けんじ一 — one, one radical (no.1) · 二 — two, two radical (no. 7)3All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
乾二けんじ乾 — drought, dry · 二 — two, two radical (no. 7)13All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
乾司けんじ乾 — drought, dry · 司 — director, official16All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
乾次けんじ乾 — drought, dry · 次 — next, order17All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
乾治けんじ乾 — drought, dry · 治 — reign, be at peace19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
伸次けんじ伸 — expand, stretch · 次 — next, order13All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
倹二けんじ倹 — frugal, economy · 二 — two, two radical (no. 7)12All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健之けんじ健 — healthy, health · 之 — of, this14All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健二けんじ健 — healthy, health · 二 — two, two radical (no. 7)13All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健仁けんじ健 — healthy, health · 仁 — humanity, virtue15All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健児けんじ健 — healthy, health · 児 — newborn babe, child18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健兒けんじ健 — healthy, health · 兒 — child, young of animals19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
健史けんじ健 — healthy, health · 史 — history, chronicle16All 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 Kenji 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

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

Kenichi

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 Kenji

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

Exact reading

Search けんじ

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

健 — healthy, health

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

Continue →Character reference

二 — two, two radical (no. 7)

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

Continue →Interactive discovery

Open Name Explorer

Use the same name type and 3-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 →