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

Kenshin

健信

Given-name classification varies across source records.

けんしんケンシンKenshin
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 spellings17

group-level written forms

Source spelling/reading rows17

records contributing to this reading group

Coverage levelExtended

based only on the imported source footprint

Pronunciation & romanization

How to read Kenshin

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けんしん

Normalized to hiragana for comparison.

Katakana formケンシン

The same reading converted to katakana.

RomanizationKenshin

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

Mora segmentationけ · ん · し · ん

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 Kenshin 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

けんしん

Kanji-based spellings17

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

2-kanji forms17

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 asNo additional class found

けんしん in the imported JMnedict corpus

Given-name written forms0

0 source spelling/reading rows

Surname written forms0

0 source spelling/reading rows

Given-name labels—

row counts carrying each JMnedict source label

Exact readingGiven-name evidenceGiven-name labelsSurname evidence
げんしんGenshin2929 source rowsmale 1 · unspecified 28source rows · distinct forms: male 1 · unspecified 2822 source rows
けんしんKenshin00 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 Kenshin

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 data17

14–27 strokes observed span

Median total strokes22

among forms with complete KANJIDIC2 stroke data

All-kanji name-classified forms17

all component kanji loaded as jōyō/jinmeiyō classes

Other/unclassified kanji forms0

contains at least one character outside that loaded classification

Source-reading distribution
ReadingRomanizationMoraeForms
けんしんKenshin417
Reading ambiguity

Can the same writing be read another way?

3 of 17 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 checked17

distinct spellings displayed on this page

Multiple recorded readings3

exact written forms with 2+ source readings

Single recorded reading14

within this active given-name corpus

Largest reading set2

distinct kana readings for one displayed writing

謙臣
2 source-recorded readings
KaneomiかねおみKenshinけんしん · this page

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 Kenshin 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
信faith, truth, fidelity909009し, しが, しな, しの +5Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
謙self-effacing, humble oneself, condescend3300017かね, ゆずるJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
賢intelligent, wise, wisdom3300016かた, さか, さと, さとし +6Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
研polish, study of, sharpen220009のりJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
真true, reality, Buddhist sect2020010さな, さね, ただ, ただし +11Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
臣retainer, subject202007おみ, たか, と, とみ +1Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
健healthy, health, strength1100011かつ, たけ, たけし, たて +3Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
兼concurrently, and, beforehand1100010かねJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
剣sabre, sword, blade1100010—Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
心heart, mind, spirit101004—Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 2
堅strict, hard, solid1100012きんJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
進advance, proceed, progress1010011のぶJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3

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 17. 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 Kenshin 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.

信faith, truth, fidelity9 of 17 analyzed forms謙self-effacing, humble oneself, condescend3 of 17 analyzed forms賢intelligent, wise, wisdom3 of 17 analyzed forms研polish, study of, sharpen2 of 17 analyzed forms真true, reality, Buddhist sect2 of 17 analyzed forms臣retainer, subject2 of 17 analyzed forms
Same reading, different writing

Explore written forms of Kenshin

17 source-recorded forms use the primary source reading けんしん. 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 Kenshin 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
健信けんしん健 — healthy, health · 信 — faith, truth20All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
兼信けんしん兼 — concurrently, and · 信 — faith, truth19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
剣心けんしん剣 — sabre, sword · 心 — heart, mind14All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
堅進けんしん堅 — strict, hard · 進 — advance, proceed23All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
建信けんしん建 — build · 信 — faith, truth18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
憲信けんしん憲 — constitution, law · 信 — faith, truth25All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
拳信けんしん拳 — fist · 信 — faith, truth19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
研真けんしん研 — polish, study of · 真 — true, reality19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
研神けんしん研 — polish, study of · 神 — spirit19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
見信けんしん見 — see, hopes · 信 — faith, truth16All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
謙信けんしん謙 — self-effacing, humble oneself · 信 — faith, truth26All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
謙真けんしん謙 — self-effacing, humble oneself · 真 — true, reality27All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
謙臣けんしん謙 — self-effacing, humble oneself · 臣 — retainer, subject24All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
賢信けんしん賢 — intelligent, wise · 信 — faith, truth25All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
賢匠けんしん賢 — intelligent, wise · 匠 — artisan, workman22All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
賢臣けんしん賢 — intelligent, wise · 臣 — retainer, subject23All 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 Kenshin 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

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Kenichirō

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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 →
Continue research

Where to go next from Kenshin

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

Exact reading

Search けんしん

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

信 — faith, truth

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

Continue →Character reference

謙 — self-effacing, humble oneself

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 →