0

I have seen quite a bit of anime and manga now, and I believe I haven't seen a single japanese character with a double forename.

Question: Is there any anime with characters having a "middle" name? Also possibly interesting is, where these Characters originate? Are they "foreign" or are there japanese characters with a middle name?

To clarify i don't mean a Title or Nickname like Aisaka "Tenori taiga" Taiga (逢坂大河) from Toradora.

SingerOfTheFall
  • 9,361
  • 3
  • 44
  • 73
Vogel612
  • 2,043
  • 1
  • 17
  • 27
  • What do you mean by "double forename"? Also, this might be more of a culture question than an anime/manga specific question. – kuwaly Aug 20 '13 at 19:28
  • I also don't know what a double forename is, but in any case this seems to be primarily a question about Japanese culture. Questions here need to be anime-specific; see [this meta post](http://meta.anime.stackexchange.com/q/610/24). – Logan M Aug 20 '13 at 19:39
  • True, I didn't have to use any anime or manga references in my answer. – krikara Aug 20 '13 at 19:39
  • 6
    This question appears to be off-topic because it is about Japanese culture. Questions can involve some knowledge of culture, but all such questions still need to be specific to anime. For more information see [Where should we draw the line with “culture” questions?](http://meta.anime.stackexchange.com/q/610/24). – Logan M Aug 20 '13 at 19:41
  • @LoganM it was more oriented to anime... didn't get it to the audience that way it seems... i was asking specifically about why this does not appear in anime, i will jsut reformulate the question to more hit anime – Vogel612 Aug 20 '13 at 20:13
  • 2
    It's weird because while your question does pertain to anime, the answer doesn't need the anime reference. Japanese Anime names don't have double surnames because Japan as a whole doesn't use it. – krikara Aug 20 '13 at 20:50
  • Characters with middle names typically have connections to foreign countries. Take Asuka in Evangelion for example. – Asahiko Aug 20 '13 at 21:43

1 Answers1

4

Middle names are not in Japanese culture. Japanese people at birth are given a first and last name (or a surname and forename). In the rare occasions that you see someone with a middle name, it is usually one of the following two things. They are either of mixed descent, or a woman marrying a man, and using both her original surname as well as the spouse's surname.

With that said, double forenames don't exist in Japan and most other Pacific Asian countries. And because Japan doesn't use double forenames, Japanese anime are also inclined not to use double forenames.

There are some series that have used double surnames though, but they were never full Japanese characters. The characters would be of foreign ethnicity and names would be English names written in kata kana.

Check this out for more detailed and historical information on Japanese Names.

krikara
  • 5,482
  • 8
  • 33
  • 56