Japanese names that mean tree or forest
Japanese names of trees and forests: 樹, 森, 林, 杜 and named trees like 楓 and 柊.
樹 ki, itsuki: tree森 mori: forestCommon in surnames too
樹 means a standing tree, and it gives strong, steady names: Itsuki, Kazuki, Daiki and Naoki among them. It suggests growing tall and putting down roots, which is why parents like it for boys.
Forests and groves are more common in surnames, where 森 (Mori), 林 (Hayashi) and 木 (Kimura, Aoki, Suzuki) describe the places families lived. Named trees appear in given names too: 楓 (maple), 柊 (holly) and 椿 (camellia).
On this page
The kanji behind tree names
| Kanji | Readings | Meaning | In names |
|---|---|---|---|
| 樹 | き, じゅ | tree | 14 ranked names |
| 森 | もり, しん | forest | Rare in ranked names |
| 林 | はやし, りん | grove | Rare in ranked names |
| 木 | き, こ, ぼく, もく | tree | Rare in ranked names |
| 杜 | もり, ふさ, やまなし, と | woods | 1 ranked name |
| 柊 | ひいらぎ, しゅ, しゅう | holly | 4 ranked names |
| 楓 | かえで, ふう | maple | 7 ranked names |
Popular names with a tree kanji
Spellings that have made Japan's yearly baby name rankings, most popular first.
Tree names of real people
Given names with a tree kanji carried by notable Japanese people. The number shows how many notable people share each one.
睦樹
Mutsuki睦 intimate; friendly + 樹 tree
Unisex1 person楓由
Fuyu楓 maple + 由 reason
Girl1 personMore tree names
Rarer spellings found in Japanese name records. In each one the tree kanji keeps its own reading, so the meaning is really there, not just the sound.
Last names with a tree meaning
| Kanji | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鈴木 | Suzuki | 鈴 bell + 木 tree |
| 小林 | Kobayashi | 小 small + 林 grove |
| 佐々木 | Sasaki | 佐 to help + 木 tree |
| 木村 | Kimura | 木 tree + 村 village |
| 林 | Hayashi | 林 grove |
| 森 | Mori | 森 forest |
| 青木 | Aoki | 青 blue + 木 tree |
| 森田 | Morita | 森 forest + 田 rice field |
| 高木 | Takagi | 高 high + 木 tree |
| 木下 | Kinoshita | 木 tree + 下 below |
| 三木 | Miki | 三 three + 木 tree |
| 森本 | Morimoto | 森 forest + 本 origin |
| 森下 | Morishita | 森 forest + 下 below |
| 若林 | Wakabayashi | 若 young + 林 grove |
| 黒木 | Kuroki | 黒 black + 木 tree |
| 木内 | Kiuchi | 木 tree + 内 inside |
| 木原 | Kihara | 木 tree + 原 field |
| 八木 | Yagi | 八 eight + 木 tree |
| 大森 | Ōmori | 大 big + 森 forest |
| 松木 | Matsuki | 松 pine + 木 tree |
Questions
What Japanese name means tree?
Itsuki (樹) means tree. Many names ending in -ki, such as Daiki and Naoki, use 樹.
Why do so many surnames have trees in them?
Most Japanese surnames describe a place. Suzuki, Kimura, Hayashi and Mori all point to woods and trees near where a family lived.