Minami (みなみ)

Minami is read みなみ and has 3 beats. Our data lists 3 spellings: 三奈美, 南美 and 南. All three are feminine.

Reading

み·な·み (3 beats)

Kanji spellings

3 in our data

Gender

Feminine

Source

JMnedict, the open name dictionary

Kanji spellings of Minami

One sound can be written with different kanji. Each spelling below is a different name on paper.

  • 三奈美
    みなみ
    Feminine

    Three + beauty

    • 三(み)— three
    • 奈(な)— chosen for sound
    • 美(み)— beauty
  • 南美
    みなみ
    Feminine

    South + beauty

    • 南(みな)— south
    • 美(み)— beauty
  • 南
    みなみ
    Feminine

    South

The kanji in Minami

What each kanji means on its own, and in how many of the spellings above it appears.

  • 美beauty2 spellings
  • 南south2 spellings
  • 三three1 spelling
  • 奈chosen for sound1 spelling

Minami with common surnames

Full names with a different spelling and surname on each card. Tap a card for the kanji breakdown.

Names that sound similar

Names that start or end with the same sounds.

Minato (みなと)Nanami (ななみ)Nami (なみ)Mizuki (みずき)

Minami on our lists

Topic pages that include a spelling of this name.

Beautiful Japanese NamesJapanese Girl Names and Meanings

Questions about Minami

Is Minami a boy's or a girl's name?

In our data every spelling of Minami is feminine.

What does Minami mean?

Minami is a sound, so the meaning comes from the kanji: 三奈美 reads as "three + beauty", 南美 reads as "south + beauty" and 南 reads as "south". Those come from what each kanji means by itself, and parents may have had a fuller picture in mind.

How many ways can Minami be written in kanji?

Our data lists 3: 三奈美, 南美 and 南. Other spellings exist, so ask how a person writes their own name before you write it for them.

How do you pronounce Minami?

みなみ is 3 beats: み · な · み. Give every beat the same length and keep vowels short and clear; Japanese has no stressed syllable the way English does.

Where this comes from

The spellings are from our hand-reviewed list of everyday names and from JMnedict, the open Japanese name dictionary. Meanings are built from what each kanji means on its own, so they describe the characters, not what a particular family had in mind.

How we check names · Content last reviewed: 2026-11-08.

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