Artists names you thought were their lastnames?? :P

[Cyria]

Koda Kumi. Since kumi means 'rubber' in Finnish I think Koda sounds prettier so I use either her full name (written in the Japanese last name - first name order) or the nickname Ku.

When I first started listening to Jpop Ayu almost always seemed to be listed as Ayumi Hamasaki but Hikki was the other way around - Utada Hikaru, don't know why.

[MsMiyabi]

I totally forgot this chick:

Goto Maki or Maki Goto


See I still don't know

sad huh?

[Calico]

I'm fairly certain her given name is Maki.

Another popular ending for girls' given names is "se". Such as "Nanase" Nana by itself means seven, (thus all the references with her music) but a "se" at the end makes it more feminine, or so I'm told.

I forgot Ringo as well. For a long time I couldn't figure it out either.

[sora-kara]

The one that confuses me the most is actually my favourite singer, Maaya Sakamoto.
It's quite easy to tell that Maaya is her given name, while Sakamoto is her family name, but it always appears differently on her albums.
Let me explain:

-her first album (Grapefruit) has her name as 'Maaya Sakamoto' (in English letters) on it (the 'Maaya' is kinda covered up though, so it looks like it just says 'Sakamoto')

-her second album (DIVE) also says 'Maaya Sakamoto' in English letters

-third album (HotchPotch) says 'Sakamoto Maaya' in English letters

-fourth album (Lucy) has her name written in Japanese on the spine, in English as 'Sakamoto Maaya' on another part of the spine, and as simply 'maaya' on the last page of the booklet.

-fifth album (Easy Listening) says 'maaya sakamoto'

-sixth (nikopachi) says 'Sakamoto Maaya' in English

-seventh (Shounen Alice) has her name in Japanese again

-eighth (Yunagi Loop) I'm not sure yet (my copy hasnt arrived), but the official site for the new album has her name written three different ways......all on the same page......O_O

So, sometimes it's not just the fans who can't be consistent. It's the artist.

[minkAYuko]

To heyrillp: Yes we know that... but the problem is that sometimes ppl from this part of the world can't tell if that's a name or a last name... and it dosen't help that it's switched lol... since we are so used to have ''name'' and ''last name'' what Brittany is explaining is quite useful and interesting... what sora-kara says is another problem too.

[stardusties]

Originally Posted by superdonut

Yup... Nozomi Tsuji for me too ^^;; but partly because I never knew her first name, because they always called her Tsuji... ^^;; So I thought that was her first name... I should've known better, because people don't go calling them by their first name all the time ^^; Ai Kago was easy to figure out though... ^^;;

o_o...YOUR KIDDING ME!!! X_________x ...Tsuji sounds sooo much cooler tho D: -cries- ...she looks more like a Tsuji than a Nozomi.......nozomi ...nozzle...D: SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE!?!? whhaaaat!?

[DA1SUK1DAY01691]

Originally Posted by Annabelle

Hikaru Utada, Kumi Koda, Nozomi Tsuji (still going on ). Oh and Ken Hirai. And Nanase Aikawa!

I only knew Utada was her last name because it was all in kanji, while hikaru was in katakana. Kumi makes more sense than Koda. Nozomi, as Brittany said, proves her point. Ken Hirai... lol, it is Ken right? hahaha. Nanase is the first name... Aikawa is like... 相川, right? so it's something river... lol. too helpful.

But as Brittany said, given names usually follow a trend in endings, such as "ko" or "ka" for girls, and i forget guys... lol. But I think guys name sound cooler.

[stardusties]

so Hikaru is her first name?

[minkAYuko]

Originally Posted by stardusties

so Hikaru is her first name?

apparently yes... UTADA is the last name! crazy world don't u think? that'; way the call her Hikki.. but Utada sounds so right for a first name

[heyrill]

well.....i never have problem guessing their names... ^__^
forgive me!!!

[chibi_sunny]

LOL. yeah, it seems that most of us are confused. I'm glad i visited this thread because i was having the same problem w/ Koda Kumi. Hikaru Utada was a bit confusing too, but i figured it out--i just call her Utada. But most Japanese names are hard to figure out cuz they keep switching it.

Utada Hikaru! I think Hikaru makes her sound like Hikaru Gosunkugi from Ranman 1/2, and by reading this thread I found out that Nono's name isn't Tsuji LOL

I thought Kumi Koda's first name was Koda. On another note, although I knew about Utada Hikaru, I kept typing/saying "Utada Hikari".

[emaNresU]

[Hachimitsu]

Lol, I didn't realise it was Kumi Koda until I read the first post.

I agree, people should be more consistent. Either you keep those names and start saying Hamasaki Ayumi, or you say Kumi Koda and Hikaru Utada.

[Brittany]

Yay, the Japanese and the rest of Asia like to confuse us foreigners

[Nikki]

I had the same thing as you! I thought Koda was her first name too.
And thanks for the explanation Brittany

[Ballerina_xXX]

When I first got into Jpop, I thought that Yaida Hitomi's first name was Yaida. It sounded right as a first name to me bc I actually know a girl named Yaida. But, then i realized it was Hitomi bc of the whole family name being first thing and the fact that Hitomi seems to be a fairly common Japanese name.

[Dustie]

omg... Utada's first name is Hikaru????... why they ALWAYS call her Utada?...are you sure about that?... 0_o strange, but i could have expected that...

i guess i was kinda suprised when i found out Kumi is Koda Kumi's first name... Koda sounds kinda better as for a first name...

i'm gonna be soooo confused when i go to Japan *_*

[sora-kara]

Originally Posted by Heartplace_007

When I first got into Jpop, I thought that Yaida Hitomi's first name was Yaida. It sounded right as a first name to me bc I actually know a girl named Yaida.

Not to mention, a lot of people call her YAIKO, so that's an easy one to mess up.

Originally Posted by Dustie

omg... Utada's first name is Hikaru????... why they ALWAYS call her Utada?...are you sure about that?...

Most fans call her Hikki. But lately she's been called 'Utada' a lot because that's the name she uses for her English language stuff. (ie. Exodus by Utada)
It's just easier for a Western audience to remember and pronounce. Also....it just sounds really cool......