Japanese names that mean night
Japanese names for night and evening, written with 夜 and 宵: Sayo, Sakuya, Seiya and more.
夜 yo, ya: night宵 yoi: eveningSeiya 聖夜: Christmas Eve
Night names are gentle in Japanese. 夜 (night) gives Sayo (小夜, little night), Saya (紗夜), Sakuya (咲夜, blossoming night) and Maya (真夜). 宵 is the early evening, and gives the rare, poetic Yoi.
One night name has a festive meaning: 聖夜 (Seiya) means holy night, the Japanese word for Christmas Eve. Written 星夜, the same name means a starry night.
The kanji behind night names
| Kanji | Readings | Meaning | In names |
|---|---|---|---|
| 夜 | よ, よる, や | night | Rare in ranked names |
| 宵 | よい, しょう | evening | Rare in ranked names |
First names
More night names
Rarer spellings found in Japanese name records. In each one the night kanji keeps its own reading, so the meaning is really there, not just the sound.
Questions
What Japanese name means night?
Sayo (小夜), Saya (紗夜), Sakuya (咲夜) and Yoi (宵) are real names meaning night or evening.
What does Seiya mean?
Seiya written 聖夜 means holy night, Christmas Eve. Written 星夜 it means starry night, and 誠也 or 聖也 have other meanings.