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

Maetō

前垰

Surname-classified records in JMnedict.

まえとうマエトウMaetō
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 spellings6

group-level written forms

Source spelling/reading rows6

records contributing to this reading group

Coverage levelExtended

based only on the imported source footprint

Pronunciation & romanization

How to read Maetō

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まえとう

Normalized to hiragana for comparison.

Katakana formマエトウ

The same reading converted to katakana.

RomanizationMaetō

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

Mora segmentationま · え · と · う

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 Maetō 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

まえとう

Kanji-based spellings6

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 forms6

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 asSurname

まえとう in the imported JMnedict corpus

Given-name written forms0

0 source spelling/reading rows

Surname written forms7

7 source spelling/reading rows

Given-name labels

row counts carrying each JMnedict source label

Exact readingGiven-name evidenceGiven-name labelsSurname evidence
まえとうMaetō00 source rowssource rows · distinct forms: —77 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 Maetō

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 data6

15–27 strokes observed span

Median total strokes19

among forms with complete KANJIDIC2 stroke data

All-kanji name-classified forms4

all component kanji loaded as jōyō/jinmeiyō classes

Other/unclassified kanji forms2

contains at least one character outside that loaded classification

Source-reading distribution
ReadingRomanizationMoraeForms
まえとうMaetō46
Reading ambiguity

Can the same writing be read another way?

2 of 6 displayed written forms have more than one surname 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 checked6

distinct spellings displayed on this page

Multiple recorded readings2

exact written forms with 2+ source readings

Single recorded reading4

within this active surname corpus

Largest reading set4

distinct kana readings for one displayed writing

前納
4 source-recorded readings
ZennōぜんのうMaetōまえとう · this pageMaenoまえのMaenōまえのう
前峠
3 source-recorded readings
MaedaoまえだおMaetōまえとう · this pageMaetōgeまえとうげ

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 Maetō 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
in front, before660009さき, さと, まいJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 2
mountain pass, ancient kuni, low ground101009Unclassified in the loaded KANJIDIC grade field
mountain peak, mountain pass, climax101009Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
hit, right, appropriate101006たいJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 2
bear, accept, undertake1010013Unclassified in the loaded KANJIDIC grade field
settlement, obtain, reap1010010の, ろJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 6
wisteria1010018ぞう, と, ふじゅ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.

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 Maetō 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.

Same reading, different writing

Explore written forms of Maetō

6 source-recorded forms use the primary source reading まえとう. 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 Maetō 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
前垰まえとう前 — in front, before · 垰 — mountain pass, ancient kuni18Includes unclassified/outside loaded jōyō-jinmeiyō class
前峠まえとう前 — in front, before · 峠 — mountain peak, mountain pass18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
前当まえとう前 — in front, before · 当 — hit, right15All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
前當まえとう前 — in front, before · 當 — bear, accept22Includes unclassified/outside loaded jōyō-jinmeiyō class
前納まえとう前 — in front, before · 納 — settlement, obtain19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
前藤まえとう前 — in front, before · 藤 — wisteria27All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified

What does Maetō 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 surnames beginning with まえ

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.

Continue research

Where to go next from Maetō

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

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.

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