251+ Beautiful & Mysterious Japanese Names Meaning Darkness

These names are perfect for anyone looking for something unique and evocative. In this post, we’ll explore over 251 Japanese names meaning darkness, shadow, or night.

Japanese culture has a deep connection with nature and symbolism, making its names meaningful and beautiful. When it comes to darkness, many names carry rich, layered meanings that reflect mystery, depth, and power.

Origins of Japanese Names Meaning Darkness

Japanese names are often composed of kanji characters, where each kanji has its meaning. Names meaning darkness may use kanji such as “闇” (yami, meaning darkness), “影” (kage, meaning shadow), or “黒” (kuro, meaning black).

Many of these names are connected to nature, mythical creatures, or even spiritual elements from Japanese folklore. In Japanese tradition, darkness isn’t only associated with negativity but can symbolize depth, mystery, and hidden strength.

Male Japanese Names Meaning Darkness

• Yami
  Meaning: darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Kage
  Meaning: shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuragari
  Meaning: deep darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Ankoku
  Meaning: gloom or deep darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuro
  Meaning: black
  Origin: Japanese
• Gurei
  Meaning: gray, symbolizing the in-between of light and darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Raito
  Meaning: ironically, “light,” but also linked with dark powers (e.g., “Death Note”)
  Origin: Japanese
• Yoru
  Meaning: night
  Origin: Japanese
• Doku
  Meaning: poison, symbolic of hidden darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Shin
  Meaning: true, but also linked with depth and shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Akui
  Meaning: malice, representing dark intentions
  Origin: Japanese
• Meiyo
  Meaning: shadow of honor
  Origin: Japanese
• Raiden
  Meaning: thunder and storm, often connected with the darkness of the skies
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurai
  Meaning: dark or gloomy
  Origin: Japanese
• Karoshi
  Meaning: dark death
  Origin: Japanese
• Onyx
  Meaning: black gemstone, symbol of mystery
  Origin: Japanese
• Shirogane
  Meaning: white silver, a name that reflects both light and the encroaching darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Sumi
  Meaning: black ink
  Origin: Japanese
• Inmu
  Meaning: shadow of a dream
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurogane
  Meaning: black steel
  Origin: Japanese

Female Japanese Names Meaning Darkness

• Kurai
  Meaning: dark or gloomy
  Origin: Japanese
• Yami
  Meaning: darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Kageko
  Meaning: child of the shadows
  Origin: Japanese
• Kasumi
  Meaning: mist, associated with obscured darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Rin
  Meaning: dignified, often linked with a calm, shadowy presence
  Origin: Japanese
• Miyako
  Meaning: night child
  Origin: Japanese
• Yoru
  Meaning: night
  Origin: Japanese
• Amaya
  Meaning: night rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukiko
  Meaning: moon child, often connected to the night
  Origin: Japanese
• Shizuka
  Meaning: quiet, linked to the stillness of the night
  Origin: Japanese
• Anko
  Meaning: dark red, often symbolizing deep, mysterious beauty
  Origin: Japanese
• Sora
  Meaning: sky, often linked with the night sky
  Origin: Japanese
• Mei
  Meaning: dark, an alternate reading of the character for darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurohime
  Meaning: black princess
  Origin: Japanese
• Suki
  Meaning: beloved, also associated with the night
  Origin: Japanese
• Hinode
  Meaning: the rising sun, symbolizes the shift from darkness to light
  Origin: Japanese
• Kokoro
  Meaning: heart, often linked with hidden depths or darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Akumu
  Meaning: nightmare
  Origin: Japanese
• Hikari
  Meaning: light, but with dark undertones in specific contexts
  Origin: Japanese
• Yukiko
  Meaning: snow child, reflecting the coldness of darkness
  Origin: Japanese

Unisex Japanese Names Meaning Darkness

• Hikage
  Meaning: shadow of the sun
  Origin: Japanese
• Sumi
  Meaning: ink or dark substance
  Origin: Japanese
• Yoru
  Meaning: night
  Origin: Japanese
• Ame
  Meaning: rain, associated with dark weather
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuroi
  Meaning: black
  Origin: Japanese
• Mizu
  Meaning: water, often linked to dark depths
  Origin: Japanese
• Shinobu
  Meaning: to endure, often linked to silent or hidden darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Nozomu
  Meaning: hope, but in some contexts connected to the darkness before dawn
  Origin: Japanese
• Rei
  Meaning: ghost, spirit
  Origin: Japanese
• Kage
  Meaning: shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Hikaru
  Meaning: light, often paired with darkness for contrast
  Origin: Japanese
• Sora
  Meaning: sky, which can also mean the dark sky
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsuki
  Meaning: moon, associated with the night
  Origin: Japanese
• Yume
  Meaning: dream, often linked with the shadowy world of the unconscious
  Origin: Japanese
• Shiro
  Meaning: white, often contrasted with darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurenai
  Meaning: deep red, symbolic of dark intensity
  Origin: Japanese
• Gin
  Meaning: silver, often reflecting light in the darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Sei
  Meaning: star, a tiny light in the dark sky
  Origin: Japanese
• Yūrei
  Meaning: ghost, often linked to the shadows of the afterlife
  Origin: Japanese
• Niji
  Meaning: rainbow, often appearing after a dark storm
  Origin: Japanese

Names Meaning Night in Japanese

• Yoru
  Meaning: night
  Origin: Japanese
• Yozora
  Meaning: night sky
  Origin: Japanese
• Mayonaka
  Meaning: midnight
  Origin: Japanese
• An’ya
  Meaning: night
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukiyo
  Meaning: moonlit night
  Origin: Japanese
• Shinya
  Meaning: deep night
  Origin: Japanese
• Yorugami
  Meaning: night god
  Origin: Japanese
• Kon’ya
  Meaning: Tonight
  Origin: Japanese
• Yumemi
  Meaning: dreamer of the night
  Origin: Japanese
• Yoi
  Meaning: evening or dusk
  Origin: Japanese
• Getsuya
  Meaning: moonlit night
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurayami
  Meaning: pitch-black night
  Origin: Japanese
• Akaya
  Meaning: red night, symbolic of twilight
  Origin: Japanese
• Yasuyo
  Meaning: calm night
  Origin: Japanese
• Banshou
  Meaning: late-night watch
  Origin: Japanese
• Mangetsu
  Meaning: full moon night
  Origin: Japanese
• Yugure
  Meaning: twilight or dusk
  Origin: Japanese
• Tasogare
  Meaning: twilight
  Origin: Japanese
• Natsuyoru
  Meaning: summer night
  Origin: Japanese
• Touya
  Meaning: a night of endless winter
  Origin: Japanese

Names Meaning Shadow in Japanese

• Kage
  Meaning: shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagerou
  Meaning: heat haze or shadowy figure
  Origin: Japanese
• Hikage
  Meaning: sunlight shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Kageyama
  Meaning: shadow mountain
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagetsu
  Meaning: shadow of the moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagehisa
  Meaning: long-lasting shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagekiyo
  Meaning: shadow clarity
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagesuke
  Meaning: assistant or helper in shadows
  Origin: Japanese
• Shinkage
  Meaning: true shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagemaru
  Meaning: perfect shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagenori
  Meaning: faithful shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Kageto
  Meaning: a person of shadows
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagetora
  Meaning: shadow of a tiger
  Origin: Japanese
• Kageto
  Meaning: shadow person or ghost
  Origin: Japanese
• Mikage
  Meaning: noble shadow
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagehiko
  Meaning: Prince of the shadows
  Origin: Japanese
• Tokage
  Meaning: stealthy shadow, which also means lizard in some contexts
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagehira
  Meaning: shadow of peace
  Origin: Japanese
• Kageaki
  Meaning: bright shadow, paradoxical name linked to contrast
  Origin: Japanese
• Akikage
  Meaning: autumn shadow
  Origin: Japanese

Names Meaning Moon in Japanese

• Tsuki
  Meaning: moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukiko
  Meaning: moon child
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukiya
  Meaning: night of the moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukimi
  Meaning: moon viewing, associated with the beauty of the full moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukiya
  Meaning: moonlit night
  Origin: Japanese
• Getsumei
  Meaning: the light of the moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Mikazuki
  Meaning: crescent moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Mangetsu
  Meaning: full moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukihime
  Meaning: moon princess
  Origin: Japanese
• Luna
  Meaning: moon, commonly used in Japan even though it’s a Latin root
  Origin: Latin/Japanese
• Tsukiyomi
  Meaning: god of the moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukiyo
  Meaning: night illuminated by the moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Tsukuyomi
  Meaning: moonlit reading or nighttime vision
  Origin: Japanese
• Hantsuki
  Meaning: half-moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Shingetsu
  Meaning: new moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Mochitsuki
  Meaning: moon harvest or moon festival
  Origin: Japanese
• Hisakata
  Meaning: peaceful sky, often associated with a tranquil moonlit night
  Origin: Japanese
• Oborozuki
  Meaning: hazy moon
  Origin: Japanese
• Satsuki
  Meaning: moon of the fifth month, symbolizing beauty
  Origin: Japanese
• Hoshizuki
  Meaning: star and moon, representing a celestial night
  Origin: Japanese

Names Meaning Black in Japanese

• Kuro
  Meaning: black
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuroko
  Meaning: black child or figure in black
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurogane
  Meaning: black steel
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurona
  Meaning: black or dark
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurohime
  Meaning: black princess
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuroda
  Meaning: black rice paddy
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuroiwa
  Meaning: black rock
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuronaga
  Meaning: black eternity
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuroneko
  Meaning: black cat
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuroriku
  Meaning: black land
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurosaki
  Meaning: black cape
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurou
  Meaning: black rain, symbolizing a deep sadness
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuroshi
  Meaning: black death
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurousagi
  Meaning: black rabbit, often connected to mystery and folklore
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurohana
  Meaning: black flower
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurotaka
  Meaning: black hawk
  Origin: Japanese
• Kuroyuki
  Meaning: black snow, symbolizing something rare and dark
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurosora
  Meaning: black sky
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurofune
  Meaning: black ship, often used to describe something ominous or significant
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurokami
  Meaning: black hair
  Origin: Japanese

Names Meaning Night Rain in Japanese

• Amaya
  Meaning: night rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Ame
  Meaning: rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Amayo
  Meaning: nighttime rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Shigure
  Meaning: drizzle, symbolizing light rain at night
  Origin: Japanese
• Kirisame
  Meaning: misty rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Samidare
  Meaning: early summer rain, often symbolizing a night of rainfall
  Origin: Japanese
• Ametsuchi
  Meaning: heaven and earth, sometimes associated with the rain between them
  Origin: Japanese
• Amekage
  Meaning: shadow of the rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Amefuri
  Meaning: falling rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Ameonna
  Meaning: rain woman, a figure from folklore known to bring rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Amehoshi
  Meaning: rain star, symbolizing the appearance of stars through rain clouds
  Origin: Japanese
• Amekumo
  Meaning: rain cloud
  Origin: Japanese
• Ameiro
  Meaning: rain-colored, symbolizing the melancholy of the rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Amaharashi
  Meaning: clearing after rain, symbolizing renewal after a dark storm
  Origin: Japanese
• Urami
  Meaning: dark rain cloud, symbolizing sorrow
  Origin: Japanese
• Ametsubu
  Meaning: raindrop
  Origin: Japanese
• Amekaze
  Meaning: rain wind, symbolizing a stormy night
  Origin: Japanese
• Yuudachi
  Meaning: sudden evening rain shower
  Origin: Japanese
• Hideri
  Meaning: drought, but sometimes symbolizing the longing for rain
  Origin: Japanese
• Ushinami
  Meaning: rain-filled waves
  Origin: Japanese

Mythological Names Meaning Darkness in Japanese

• Amaterasu
  Meaning: goddess of the sun, often contrasted with darkness.
  Origin: Shinto mythology
• Tsukuyomi
  Meaning: god of the moon, embodying the night
  Origin: Shinto mythology
• Izanagi
  Meaning: male creator deity who ventured into the land of darkness
  Origin: Shinto mythology
• Izanami
  Meaning: female creator deity associated with the underworld
  Origin: Shinto mythology
• Yama-Uba
  Meaning: mountain witch, often linked to dark forests and shadows
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Yūrei
  Meaning: ghost or spirit, often connected to dark themes in folklore
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Jorogumo
  Meaning: spider woman, symbolizing deceptive darkness
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Tengu
  Meaning: supernatural creature often associated with the mountains and darkness
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Kappa
  Meaning: water creature often lurking in dark waters
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Shōjō
  Meaning: sea spirits are known for their dark songs and appearances
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Higanbana
  Meaning: flower associated with death and darkness
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Yatagarasu
  Meaning: three-legged crow, a symbol of guidance from darkness
  Origin: Japanese mythology
• Oni
  Meaning: demon, often depicted as dark and malevolent
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Shinigami
  Meaning: death god or spirit, representing the end of life
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Tama
  Meaning: jewel or spirit, sometimes associated with the darkness of the underworld
  Origin: Japanese mythology
• Jizo
  Meaning: guardian of travelers and children, often associated with the afterlife
  Origin: Buddhist influence in Japanese mythology
• Shōmen
  Meaning: dark spirit or malevolent being
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Yama
  Meaning: mountain, often linked with dark, mysterious places
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Yurei
  Meaning: restless spirit or ghost, symbolizing darkness and sadness
  Origin: Japanese folklore
• Shinjitsu
  Meaning: truth, but often linked to the dark aspects of reality
  Origin: Japanese philosophy

Names Meaning Gloom or Sadness in Japanese

• Urami
  Meaning: resentment or sorrow
  Origin: Japanese
• Hizashi
  Meaning: sunlight, but often symbolizes the longing for light in darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Shitsuren
  Meaning: heartbreak or unrequited love
  Origin: Japanese
• Kanashimi
  Meaning: sadness
  Origin: Japanese
• Yuuhi
  Meaning: evening sun, often symbolizes the transition into darkness
  Origin: Japanese
• Shinjitsu
  Meaning: truth, but can also symbolize harsh realities and sadness
  Origin: Japanese
• Zetsubou
  Meaning: despair or hopelessness
  Origin: Japanese
• Kurayami
  Meaning: pitch-black darkness, often associated with deep despair
  Origin: Japanese
• Yami
  Meaning: darkness or gloom
  Origin: Japanese
• Kokoro
  Meaning: heart or spirit, often linked to emotional depth and sadness
  Origin: Japanese
• Shoumei
  Meaning: darkness of fate, symbolizing life’s uncertainties
  Origin: Japanese
• Sonna
  Meaning: gloomy or sad
  Origin: Japanese
• Kowai
  Meaning: fear, often associated with the dark
  Origin: Japanese
• Fukitsu
  Meaning: sadness or misfortune
  Origin: Japanese
• Yuuutsu
  Meaning: melancholy or gloom
  Origin: Japanese
• Iin na
  Meaning: lonely night
  Origin: Japanese
• Mizukage
  Meaning: water shadow, symbolizing hidden depths of sadness
  Origin: Japanese
• Gensou
  Meaning: illusion, often representing a dark, deceptive world
  Origin: Japanese
• Kagefumi
  Meaning: shadow stepping, symbolizing lurking sadness
  Origin: Japanese
• Yumemiru
  Meaning: to dream, often linked with dark or unfulfilled dreams
  Origin: Japanese

Conclusion

Japanese names meaning darkness are rich with history and cultural significance. They evoke a sense of mystery, depth, and complexity, showcasing the beauty of shadow and gloom.

Whether you’re searching for a name for a character in a story, a pet, or even a baby, these names provide a unique way to express qualities associated with darkness and strength.