Is there, anywhere out on the 'net, something like a database (or just
plain list) of Japanese names?

I've noticed that certain names seem to crop up over and over in fanfics.
It seems likely that this is because writers don't know very many Japanese
names.  I know _I_ don't.  And when I do encounter a name, it's usually
difficult to tell if it's a male or female name (or can apply to either).

When writing "Autumn and Spring", when I needed names for Ranma's two sons,
I simply picked a couple of names (Seiji and Hisao -- never mind where I
got them) and hoped like hell that they were both male.  I haven't had any
complaints yet, but this message may provoke some!

So -- is there any such resource available?  If so I suspect it would be
MOST helpful to a LOT of fanfic writers.

There are two net-resources that I use a lot for this, and which I've 
found to be quite helpful.


Japanese Culture Page at: http://www.io.com/~nishio/japan/index.html

This is primarily geared towards role-playing games, but it's useful for 
fanfics as well. It includes a section on creating authentic-sounding 
Japanese names.


Japanese <-> English Dictionary Server at: 
http://www.gsquare.or.jp/cgi-bin/j-e/dict

This has various dictionaries that you can search - words, legal, 
life-science, and names. If you want a name that begins with, ends with, 
or contains a certain sound (fx. you want a bunch of female names ending 
in "-ko"), you can find one this way.

This page also includes a kanji dictionary, which can be *very* useful if 
you want to create a name with a specific meaning. If you want someone to 
have a name having to do with "fire", for instance, go to the kanji 
dictionary, enter "fire" in the "general English tags" field, and you'll 
be given a list of kanji that mean "fire", their other meanings, the 
various ways they can be pronounced, how frequently it's used, and lots of 
other information that I (and possibly you) have no idea how to use. ^_^


Hassheen!